Freshwater Fishing Archives - Page 25 of 86

April 27, 2026

Shooting under docks to get to hard-to-reach crappie is normally best done with a round-head jig that flutters when it falls.

When to tip a jig with a minnow

February 15, 2018 Phillip Gentry

No discussion about jigs is complete without a discussion of how and when to pair live minnows with jigs for crappie. […]

In a typical six-rod set up, place at least two baited lines (1 and 6) on the break line itself. Other lines will target structure such as downed trees (2) , rock piles (3), and holes or depressions (5). The final line (4) should be straight down, to catch fish responding to active chumming.

Thoroughly work each spot

February 15, 2018 Phillip Gentry

Fan-casting to tempt winter catfish is more than just a random presentation of baits. Once the boat has been anchored, catfish anglers must target specific features within reach of the boat. […]

A large pallid sturgeon caught on a trotline in the Mississippi River near Natchez.

The Mississippi waters of the Mississippi River are home to pallid sturgeon and shovelnose sturgeon. Unlike many other sturgeon in North America and worldwide that migrate between the ocean and freshwater to complete their life cycle, the pallid and shovelnose sturgeon complete their life cycles entirely in rivers. […]

Scott Vance is a master at catching slab crappie at any time of the year, but he excels in February’s pre-spawn at Okatibbee Lake.

Slay slabs now!

February 1, 2018 Michael O. Giles

Scott Vance dropped a few jigs into the water, but before he could get all his poles out, the action began. […]

Tournament catfish angler Joey Pounders of Steens said it’s a fallacy that flathead catfish won’t feed during the winter. He has caught them when the temperature is in the single digits.

Catch more cold-water kitties

February 1, 2018 Phillip Gentry

February is one of the toughest months of the year to be outdoors. On the hunting side, many seasons are finished, and what big and small game that is available has seen a lot of traffic in the woods. […]

The jig is up. But which one?

February 1, 2018 Phillip Gentry

Walk into any tackle shop this time of year and you’ll likely be overwhelmed with choices of crappie jigs to use to tempt one of the country’s favorite gamefish. How do you decide which one(s) to buy and use? […]

The biology behind the bite

January 9, 2018 Hal Schramm

The vulnerability of fish to hook-and-line capture has become a hot topic among fisheries scientists. […]

When managers at Barnett Reservoir increase discharge at the spillway, crappie are pulled through the gates and congregate in the eddy currents below.

Sure-thing spillway slabs?

January 1, 2018 David Hawkins

A popular idiom for simplicity is to compare something to “shooting fish in a barrel.” It has no better application than some winter fishing opportunities on the Pearl River when the waters in the spillway below Barnett Reservoir begin to rise. […]

Shimano Curado 200 K series

January 1, 2018 Mississippi Sportsman

Shimano made some waves in the fishing industry last summer when it debuted its new Curado 200 K series baitcasting reels at the annual ICAST show, where they promptly took home the honor as the best new freshwater reel. […]

Limits of big crappie have been taken from the edge of the river channel above and below the Mississippi Highway 43 Bridge at Barnett Reservoir. It's usually a winter hot spot but this year, it started earlier and has just gotten better.

Barnett crappie hot in December

December 20, 2017 Bobby Cleveland

Crappie fishermen on Barnett Reservoir enjoyed an early Christmas present in December, with one of the best late-season runs on the fish in anyone’s memory. […]

Healthy bass populations produce quality bass.

Too much of a good thing

December 11, 2017 Hal Schramm

The adoption of catch-and-release benefited black bass fisheries, but now many fisheries managers wish it would go away — or that at least a few anglers would harvest some bass. […]

Get a grip on fish growth rate

November 8, 2017 Hal Schramm

Fish growth rate is also essential to predicting the effect of harvest restrictions, like length limits and creel limits. […]