Anglers gearing up for Winter Fishing
Winter fishing provides plenty of opportunities for anglers on the Coast. Black drum, speckled trout, redfish, sheepshead, crappie and bass are species often found in the waters of either the Mississippi Sound and public waters or the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks during this time of year.
The three-month winter period has the potential to produce an excellent run of solid fishing. Winter fishing in South Mississippi provides a few advantages some parts of the Magnolia state can't.
The MDWFP has jurisdiction over all waters north of Interstate 10. The DMR has jurisdiction over all marine waters in South Mississippi from I-10 to the barrier islands. The area has four primary barrier islands: Cat, Ship, Horn and Petit Bois. On Cat, Ship, Horn and Petit Bois Islands, redfish, black drum and speckled trout are found.
But Trout is the top fish to find at this time of year, according to DMR Biological program coordinator Paul Mickle. "The trout gets in the river, deep water and ball up in small areas," Mickle said. "The fishermen like that." Two of the state's major rivers are commonly called the drainage rivers: Pearl and Pascagoula. Both public waters are filled with various kinds of bass and crappie, which drain into the Northern Gulf of Mexico and filled with nutrients. The Pascagoula River flows generally southward through swampy bottomlands in George and Jackson counties. It splits into the east and west. In its lower course, the river forms several channels and bayous. The west is larger and flows into the Mississippi Sound at Gautier. The main channel passes Escatawpa and Moss Point and flows into the Sound at Pascagoula. The Pearl River, which forks 50 miles west of Picayune, serves as the 115-mile boundary between Mississippi and Louisiana in its lower reach near the Gulf of Mexico. The East Pearl River empties into Lake Borgne where Pearl River Channel meets the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. The discharge flows eastward past Grand Isle through St. Joe Pass and into the Mississippi Sound. The Louisiana Marsh consists of several small islands, including Nine-mile and Three-mile, where the mouth of the Pearl River empties into this body of water.
This story was originally published December 19, 2015 at 11:31 AM with the headline "Anglers gearing up for Winter Fishing ."