Public Waters Program

Mississippi is fortunate to have abundant fishing opportunities. With 119 public lakes, 123,000 stream miles, and 225,000 freshwater acres, it's easy to find a great place to go fishing.

About MDWFP Fisheries

Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks personnel work hard to improve fishing. A fishery has three parts: fish, habitat, and people. Knowledge of all three is required if fishery managers are to be effective. Anglers spend around $240 million a year in Mississippi and generate a total economic impact near $1.5 billion.

Quick Facts

651,000 licensed anglers in 2011, including 57,500 non-residents.
94% of our licensed anglers fish in freshwater.
72% of our resident anglers live in rural areas; 44% are female.
Cleanliness, safety, and proximity to home are important factors anglers use to decide where to go fishing.

Regions

Northwest

The Northwest Region includes the four U.S. Army Corps of Engineers flood control reservoirs: Arkabutla, Sardis, Enid, and Grenada Reservoirs. They total 95,920 acres at summer pool--over 40% of the state's public lake acreage. Other important fisheries include the streams and oxbows of the Yazoo and Mississippi Rivers. Tunica Cutoff is a popular Mississippi River oxbow. Community Assistance Program ponds are managed as urban fisheries for the cities of Olive Branch and Oxford.

Crappie are king on the flood control reservoirs, with national tournaments and outdoor media attention. Enid holds the state and world record white crappie, while the state record black crappie was caught in Arkabutla's headwaters. MDWFP has used innovative regulations and sampling techniques on these lakes to maintain quality crappie fishing with rising fishing pressure.

Although the oxbows are also good crappie fisheries, big bluegill bream are sought by anglers on these fertile waters. Catfishes occur in all waters, but are truly huge and abundant on the Mississippi River. Largemouth bass fishing is good, with best fishing in the clearer lakes such as Sardis, Enid, and Tunica. White, striped, and yellow bass are found in many waters, with stripers mostly confined to the Mississippi River. Fishing effort in this region is high, particularly during the spring crappie spawn, with local anglers supplemented by anglers from Memphis, TN, and many Midwestern states.

Contact Information

Keith Meals
Fisheries Biologist / Project Manager
(662) 234-1437
keith.meals@wfp.ms.gov

Arthur Dunn
Fisheries Biologist
(662) 234-1437
arthur.dunn@wfp.ms.gov

Katy Wilson
Fisheries Biologist
(662) 234-1437
katelyn.wilson@wfp.ms.gov

Northeast

Northeast Mississippi has some of the most diverse angling opportunities in North America. From cool, clear smallmouth streams to shallow, stumpy lakes filled with largemouth bass and crappie, Northeast Mississippi has something for every type of angler. MDWFP operates 4 State Fishing Lakes and 5 State Park Lakes, ranging in size from 15 to 565 acres, which are intensively managed for quality bass, bream, crappie, and catfish fishing. Pickwick Lake, a 47,000-acre impoundment of the Tennessee River flows through parts of Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee. The Mississippi portion is characterized by tall rock bluffs, waterfalls, and long gravel bars. Pickwick is known as the "Smallmouth Bass Capital of the World". In addition to the great smallmouth fishing, the largemouth bass population has boomed in recent years with the spread of aquatic vegetation. Pickwick also features some of the best crappie, striped bass, sauger, and catfish fishing in the country.

The most prominent fisheries resource in Northeast Mississippi is the Tennessee-Tombigbee (Tenn-Tom) Waterway. The Tenn-Tom begins just south of Pickwick Lake and flows south through an artificial canal into Bay Springs Lake. Bay Springs Lake is one of the best spotted bass fisheries in the country. The largemouth bass, crappie, and white bass fishing are excellent as well. Below Bay Springs Dam begins a series of 5 short pools known as the Canal Section of the Tenn-Tom. Below the Canal Section are Aberdeen, Columbus, and Aliceville Lakes. These three lakes support phenomenal crappie and catfish fisheries, and also provide opportunities to catch largemouth, spotted, and white bass.

For those who prefer smaller or more peaceful surroundings, Northeast Mississippi offers a number of ponds, Forest Service lakes, community lakes, and streams. The Tombigbee River, and its tributaries such as the Buttahatchie River and Luxapalila Creek, provide anglers the opportunity to catch white bass, catfish, spotted bass, and even walleye. Another unique opportunity is at Tishomingo State Park, which offers a float trip on Bear Creek, where catches of smallmouth bass are not uncommon. No matter what you like to fish for, or what type of water you prefer, Northeast Mississippi has a place for you.

Contact Information

Dustin Rodgers
Fisheries Biologist
(662) 840-5176
dustin.rodgers@wfp.ms.gov

Bryant Haley
Fisheries Biologist
(662) 840-5176
bryant.haley@wfp.ms.gov

Delta

The Delta fishery management region covers an eleven-county area in western Mississippi that contains the majority of the historic Mississippi River floodplain found within the state of Mississippi, as well as the adjacent Holmes County in west-central Mississippi. This unique region offers a wide variety of fishing opportunities and other outdoor activities.

Many large oxbow lakes created by the Mississippi River can be found both inside and outside the Mississippi River levee, and hundreds of smaller oxbow lakes created by other rivers are scattered throughout the region. These lakes can provide excellent fishing for crappie, bass, bream, and other fish species, and also contain breathtaking views of native wildlife and ancient cypress forests dripping with Spanish moss.

Rivers such as the Yazoo, Tallahatchie, Sunflower, and Yalobusha lazily meander through the flat landscape and support large populations of catfish, which are commonly sought after with hook and line, trotlines, jugs, and hand grabbling. The two state parks in this region (Leroy Percy State Park and Holmes County State Park) both have lakes stocked with largemouth bass, bream, and catfish, and are great places for a weekend getaway.

The abundance and diversity of fishing opportunities here make the Mississippi Delta a great place to wet a line and reconnect with nature.

Contact Information

Amber Blackert
Fisheries Biologist
(601) 432-2200
amber.blackert@wfp.ms.gov

Donta Reed
Fisheries Biologist
(601) 432-2200
donta.reed@wfp.ms.gov

Central

The Central management region contains 33,000-acre Ross Barnett Reservoir, 4,000-acre Okatibbee Reservoir, six oxbow lakes, and twelve MDWFP state fishing or state park lakes. Also included are the Pearl River, Big Black River, upper reaches of the Leaf River, and the scenic Chunky River. MDWFP lakes range in size from the 15-acre lake at Golden Memorial State Park to 404-acre Lake Calling Panther. Management practices at MDWFP lakes include adding fertilizer and agricultural lime, supplemental stocking of predator and prey species, harvest regulations, vegetation control, and fish attractor placement. Fish populations are routinely sampled with fall electrofishing, and angler catch is monitored with spring creel surveys.

Ross Barnett Reservoir is one of the premier crappie and largemouth bass lakes in Mississippi. The average weight of harvested crappie is 0.75 pounds, and catches of largemouth bass over 5 pounds are common. If you like to catch large bream, give Lake Prentiss Walker near Mize a try. MDWFP lakes are also big bass producers. Bass over 12 pounds have been caught at Lake Calling Panther, and bass over 10 pounds are common at Neshoba County Lake.

Contact Information

Buford Lessley
Fisheries Biologist / Project Manager
(601) 859-3421
buford.lessley@wfp.ms.gov

Coastal

The Coastal Region of the MDWFP Fisheries Bureau is home to several miles of public streams and rivers, as well as eleven state fishing lakes. Our most recognized system is the Pascagoula River, the largest remaining undammed river in the lower 48 states. In addition to the Pascagoula, the Coastal Region is home to Black Creek, which is designated as a national scenic stream. The eleven state lakes include: Geiger Lake (at Paul B. Johnson State Park), Tangipahoa Lake (Percy Quin State Park), Lake Lincoln, Lake Mary Crawford, Lake Jeff Davis, Lake Mike Conner, Lake Perry, Lake Bogue Homa, Lake Bill Waller, Lake Columbia, and Lake Walthall.

We speak to local groups, providing information on issues such as pond checks, fish restoration, and aquatic habitat and ecology. In addition to sampling fish populations in public waters and state fishing lakes, we also assist private landowners with pond questions and recommendations, coordinate with local municipalities on community assistance ponds, and investigate fish kills on public and private water bodies.