Lake at Trace State Park finally reopens

Fishermen in Northeast Mississippi are rejoicing over the reopening of one of its best fishing holes after the lake at Trace State Park near Pontotoc, just west of Tupelo off Highway 6, reopened on Aug. 5.

The lake, which is actually two big bodies connected by a channel at the dam, has been closed more than three years for renovation and repairs to the water-control structure.

Trace Lake has long been a favorite of area bass fishermen. Both the big “ski” lake and the smaller “fishing only” lake are capable of producing big, fat, sassy largemouths as well as big stringers of bream.

The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks was able to retain most of the water in the fishing lake, which meant a lot of the original fish remained there untouched for three years. When the lake was returned to normal level, it was restocked, which the agency said is great news for fishermen.

Biologists there have placed a 16- to 22-inch slot limit on bass. All bass between 16 and 22 inches must be immediately released, without exception. To promote harvest of younger fish with some protection of bigger fish, the daily limit is 10; only one of those can exceed 22 inches.

Opening day

On opening day, about 60 boats hit the water.

“They caught fish, both bass and bream,” said Larry Pugh, fisheries director for MDWFP. “The bass fishing was great for numbers, with a lot of boats catching between 40 and 50 fish. Most fish were under the slot limit, which follows what we expected, with about 85% of the bass between 11 and 14½ inches. The biggest I saw was a 6-pound, 9-ounce fish.”

Truth be told, the lake was always just as good for its bream fishing and has always produced both redear and bluegill varieties and that held true on opening day.

“The bream fishing was outstanding,” Pugh said. “They not only caught numbers, they also caught quality fish. I mean big mature bream and the bluegills were on the bed. It was a full moon and they were on the beds. They also caught a lot of quality redear out a little deeper, just off where the bluegills were bedding.”