Freshwater Fishing Archives - Page 42 of 86

July 22, 2026

Catfish have an amazingly developed sense of smell, so stink baits definitely work. But how much should you use?

Do stink baits really catch more catfish?

July 6, 2015 Hal Schramm

For many catfish anglers, at least those pursuing channels and blues, success follows those in the right place at the right time with the right smell. […]

Leftovers from fishing rodeos and long ago stockings, don’t pass up an opportunity to catch channel catfish at Mary Crawford, where the average cat is between 4 and 8 pounds.

Summertime magic — Fishing tips for Lake Mary Crawford’s panfish, bass and cats

July 1, 2015 Phillip Gentry

As summer peaks and outdoor enthusiasts look for locations to get away from the crowds and enjoy great fishing and camping opportunities, it would be hard to pick a better destination to celebrate the Fourth of July than Lake Mary Crawford.

[…]

Chotard Lake, an oxbow off the Mississippi River, is famous for producing hand- and ice chest filling catches of bluegill. Alex Stuart uses worms and crickets to get a mess for dinner.

Bluegill fishing on Lake Chotard and Eagle Lake

July 1, 2015 David Hawkins

Those of us dragging 65 or more years behind us remember when fishing at Lake Chotard meant double-checking river gages, crossing the Little Sunflower River and Steele Bayou on a barge ferry powered by a Ford Model A engine, and dodging potholes along a muddy road to reach Laney’s Fish Camp.

[…]

The slow, meticulous presentation of spider rigging allows anglers to tempt fish hiding in and around cover, like boat docks with surrounding brush.

Slow and steady — Keys to spider-rigging for crappie

July 1, 2015 David A. Brown

Lethargic in the heat of summer, fish need time to choose a meal. Spider-rigging is the perfect answer to put more crappie in the boat. […]

11 post-spawn tips to catch more crappie

June 22, 2015 Andy Crawford

Earlier this year, Tim Bye was working a turnaround while the Internet was abuzz about big catches of spawning crappie. […]

Brad Taylor knows finding bream beds can be the key to catching numbers of huge panfish.

How to mop up on bedding bream

June 21, 2015 Terry Madewell

Spawning bluegills and shellcrackers take over the shallows as summer approaches. Here’s how to catch a mess of them on fishing beds. […]

Bream fishing can be a lot of fun, as well as very productive — if you know the right approach.

Top 8 tips for more bream

June 20, 2015 Jerald Horst

Veteran angler Freddie McMullen has learned how to up his odds of success. Here are his tips to fill that cooler with slab-sized sunfish. […]

On June 2’s full moon and again on the new moon in mid June, expect another big run on bedding bream throughout Mississippi.

Freshwater opportunities abound

June 15, 2015 Bobby Cleveland

Looking inland, June offers fishermen myriad of opportunities highlighted by a second round of bedding bluegill. […]

Crappie fishermen at the four North Mississippi Flood Control Reservoirs — Arkabutla, Sardis, Enid and Grenada — have reason to be jealous of fishermen like Keith Partridge, who caught this spawning fish at Barnett Reservoir near Jackson. Many years of bad spawns are impacting the fishing at the northern lakes, leading to proposed changes in limits.

Big-lake crappie struggles continue

June 8, 2015 Bobby Cleveland

While fishermen struggle to find keeper crappie at some of Mississippi’s historically slab-producing lakes, state wildlife officials are taking steps to promote good fishing. […]

Gil Woodis shows off a really nice Lake Washington slab crappie caught during a tournament a few years ago.

Good fishing partners are hard to find

June 8, 2015 Paul Johnson

I fish 10 to 12 tournaments a year, every year — and I’m here to tell you that good partners are hard to find.

Over the last 27 tournament seasons, I’ve had half a dozen “regular” fishing partners and another half dozen or so subs or guest partners. […]

Resident anglers who pump millions into the local economy would go out of state to fish if state fisheries decline, a Mississippi State University study shows.

The value of fishing

June 4, 2015 Hal Schramm

My column this month is not about fish biology, fish habitat or how to catch fish. It is not about fishery management in the way you probably think of fishery management — topics like size limits and bag limits. […]

A proposed 11-inch minimum length limit and a 30-fish daily creel limit are designed to produce more slab crappie on Eagle Lake. It being a border lake, however, the changes would require Louisiana to adopt the same changes.

Changes proposed for crappie limits

May 27, 2015 Bobby Cleveland

Five of Mississippi’s top crappie hot spots would have new limits and other regulation changes under a proposal passed last week by the Commission on Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks. […]