Freshwater Fishing Archives - Page 52 of 86

July 22, 2026

This month, Catfish Hotspot Series takes us to the Pearl River in Lawrence County with veteran trotliner Albert Fortenberry.

Catfish Hotspot Series: Running lines on the Pearl

April 1, 2014 Phillip Gentry

Mississippi catfish come in a variety of sizes, colors and species, and similarly, there’s more than one way to catch them. […]

Rabbit Rogers knows catching spawning crappie requires a quiet approach, so he takes every precaution, including arranging his boat so that nothing can fall loudly on the aluminum hull.

Shallow angling requires stealth

March 31, 2014 Bobby Cleveland

Ask any serious, hardcore fisherman about the precautions taken when moving shallow and the answers are the same, whether you queried bass or crappie anglers. […]

A two-hour break in the weather Friday gave Bobby Cleveland the opportunity to verify reports of the first shallow movement and the darkly-colored male crappie to prepare for the spawn.

Darkened male crappie move shallow

March 28, 2014 Bobby Cleveland

Just after 10 a.m. on Friday (March 28), between rain bands that hit with a lot of roaring thunder and flashes of lightning overnight and those expected later in the day, the sun broke out and the winds slowed down. […]

Tommy Ware of Ocean Springs caught this 3-pound, 10-ounce rainbow trout in a Scooba pond Saturday (March 22) on a fly, establishing a new Mississippi record.

Fly produces new state rainbow trout record

March 26, 2014 Bobby Cleveland

If there is an ideal person to hold the odd record for the largest rainbow trout ever caught in Mississippi, it is Tommy Ware. […]

The author holds up a stringer of big redear from Old Trace Park near Pontotoc.

Nothing like a taste of redear action

March 20, 2014 Bobby Cleveland

Got this terse e-mail from a friend Wednesday: “Redear bedding, and they are huge!”

Sent this terse reply: “Yeah buddy! On my way!” […]

Barnett Reservoir is a top pick this month because of the excellent pre-spawn crappie fishing it has to offer.

March brings prespawn peak

March 16, 2014 Bobby Cleveland

Whether you prefer bass or crappie, the third month of the year is the peak time to catch a big one. The fish are busy feeding to build up their energy for the spawning season, and generally achieve their biggest weights of the year. […]

Many anglers think fish lose pounds when they release their eggs, but that’s not backed up by the science.

Gonad weight

March 15, 2014 Hal Schramm

“If I’d caught her before she spawned, she would’ve weighed over 9 pounds,” proclaimed the enthused angler as he showed off his trophy 7-pound bass. […]

MCC members worked with MDWFP officials in 2006 to improve the fish habitat at Eagle Lake.

Eagle Lake restoration example of effective partnerships

March 15, 2014 Paul Johnson

The Magnolia Crappie Club, in cooperation with MDWFP, undertook a massive lake-restoration project back in 2006 at Eagle Lake. Let me tell you about it. […]

For Rabbit Rogers, the satisfaction of catching crappie is all about the feel of the bite, or the thump as he calls it.

Fishing for the thump

March 13, 2014 Bobby Cleveland

Crappie fishing — especially in the spring when the fish get active during the pre-spawn and spawning process — appeals to all five of my senses. […]

For Rabbit Rogers, there's no room, or need, for minnows in his boat, especially during the crappie spawn. He's a jig man, through and through.

Crappie question: Jig or minnow? Or both?

March 9, 2014 Bobby Cleveland

“Is a minnow always necessary?”

One of the crappie fishermen in line at Tommy’s Trading Post on the upper end of Barnett Reservoir asked the question, probably tired of shelling out $10 a day for enough minnows to last the morning. […]

Mother Nature is pointing male crappie toward the shallows right now, and the big females are right behind them.

Crappie head to spawning grounds

March 6, 2014 Paul Johnson

Finally, we’re breaking out of a record cold and miserable Mississippi winter, and we’re looking at spring right around the corner. Snow and frozen interstates in South Mississippi? Frozen pipes and a few frozen lakes and ponds? Sixteen days in a row — a Mississippi record — where temps didn’t get above freezing in Central Mississippi? […]

Readying for a successful spawn

March 3, 2014 Hal Schramm

Have you heard the term “energy crises?” We are reminded of limits to energy when gas prices jump a quarter per gallon (energy for our vehicles) or grocery prices soar a couple hundred dollars a year above what we spent last year (energy for our bodies). […]