If you’re planning a trip to Mississippi, be sure to pack your fishing gear. Our location on the Gulf of Mexico, with numerous lakes and rivers throughout the state, means lots of opportunities to wet a line. Whether you prefer freshwater or saltwater angling (or both), fishing in Mississippi is all about having a good time and bringing in a great catch.
Coastal Mississippi offers everything from freshwater to brackish water to saltwater fishing. Anglers can hook red drum, flounder, sea trout, redfish, and more in the Mississippi Sound’s estuary habitats. Or hire an experienced fishing charter to help you find where the fish are biting in deeper Gulf of Mexico waters.
Located in Central Mississippi, just northeast of Jackson, the Barnett Reservoir (or “Rez” as it is often called) is a 33,000-acre reservoir that offers twenty-two boat ramp launches and numerous recreation opportunities. Bass, crappie, bream, and catfish are the most common catches. Once you’ve hit your catch limit, you’ll find some of Mississippi’s best restaurants and shops nearby.
Sardis Lake is a 98,520-acre reservoir in North Mississippi, near Oxford. While crappie and bass are the main attraction, catfish are also popular – and a world-record longnose gar (48 pounds, one ounce) was landed there in 2017. Pontoon boats can be rented at the Sardis Lake Marina, located in the town of Sardis on the far southwest end of the lake.
Columbus Lake is located in Northeast, Mississippi, next to the city of Columbus. It’s the largest reservoir on the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway, but not one of the best known of the state’s fishing lakes – which means more bass for you. Three-pound catches are common. Other common gamefish in the lake include catfish, redear sunfish, crappie, and bream.