Mississippi sets no flounder closure, the only Gulf state without one, so flounder stay open at ten a day all winter. Red snapper are closed for the rest of the year, and the federally managed reef fish follow the federal seasons. Inland the winter is crappie, with the north Mississippi flood-control lakes let down to their winter pool and many lakes under limits of their own. Game fish may be used as bait here, within the creel limit, which Texas and Florida forbid.
What to fish for in early November
The coast is short and sheltered behind its barrier islands, and its winter is fronts, fog and the marsh rivers: the fish leave the open Sound for the bayous and the river bends and come back out on the mild spells. Inland Mississippi is a crappie state in winter, from the Delta oxbows to the big flood-control lakes of the north, where the low winter pool gathers the fish onto the old channels.
Crappie
Draws most of the winter's attention, and the north Mississippi lakes give up heavy fish while their levels are held down, the low water stacking them on the channels and stumps.
Where. Stumps and brush along the creek and river channels of Sardis, Enid and Grenada, and the deeper water of the Delta oxbows such as Lake Washington and Eagle Lake.
The crappie waters we forecast Water Usual water now Forecast Sardis Lake about 65F Best Sun, Nov 8, A+Today's forecast Lake Washington about 66F Best Sun, Nov 8, A+Today's forecast Spotted Seatrout
Moves up the coastal rivers and bayous out of the open Sound as it cools, and slides back toward the river mouths on the mild spells.
Where. The Pascagoula, the Jourdan and the bayous off the Back Bay of Biloxi, in the deeper bends.
The spotted seatrout waters we forecast Water Forecast Biloxi Best Sat, Nov 7, A+Today's forecast Sheepshead
Gathers on structure all winter and spawns late in it.
Where. Bridges, piers, the rock jetties and the reefs and rubble off the barrier islands.
Redfish (Red Drum)
Holds in the marsh and the river mouths, and is easier to find on a low winter tide, when the bayous drain.
Where. The marsh bayous of the Pascagoula and the Pearl, the St. Louis Bay marsh, and the jetties and bridges.
The redfish (red drum) waters we forecast Water Forecast Pascagoula Best Sun, Nov 8, A+Today's forecast Largemouth Bass
Slow and deep through the cold, with the oxbows and the reservoir channels holding fish that feed in short spells on the mild afternoons.
Where. The Delta oxbows, Ross Barnett's stump fields and upper river arm, and the backwaters of the Tennessee-Tombigbee pools.
Usual water now is that water's normal for this point in the season: a lake's modeled seasonal curve or a river gauge's long-run average, not this year's reading. The forecast link reads this week's.
What changes soon
Nothing on this report's calendar for Mississippi in the next six weeks.
Every date for Mississippi from November to February (2)
- Fri January 1In Gulf federal water, scamp, black, yellowfin and yellowmouth grouper close until July 1, and gray triggerfish until March 1.
- Sun February 28Last day of the gray triggerfish closure in Gulf federal water.
This week's fishing reports
This report covers the season. For what was caught this week, read the people who report on this water.
Mississippi had almost no independent reporting last winter, and the agency that fills the gap erases its own history: MDWFP's lake reports are overwritten every week, and the northeast pages carry no date at all. On the coast, Capt. Sonny Schindler's Shore Thing report in The Shoofly Magazine covers the western end every Wednesday, while Biloxi, Gulfport, Pascagoula and the barrier islands have nobody. Inland, Lake Washington, Grenada, Eagle Lake and Ross Barnett had no dated report from anyone but MDWFP.
Where to fish in Mississippi, area by area
Each water links to its live forecast. The engine outlook in these areas was generated November 3, 2026, for the 14 days from that date; good hours are the hours at or above a B+.
The western coast, Bay St. Louis and Pass Christian
Bay St. Louis · the Jourdan River · Pass Christian · Cat Island · the Pearl River marshes
The shallow, marshy western end of the Mississippi Sound, from the Pearl River marshes on the Louisiana line to Pass Christian, with the Jourdan and Wolf rivers draining into St. Louis Bay. Cat Island lies offshore, and the Pearl keeps this end of the coast fresher and muddier than the east.
Who reports here. Capt. Sonny Schindler's Shore Thing Fishing Report in The Shoofly Magazine of Bay St. Louis ran every Wednesday last winter apart from the holidays, and it is the one dated weekly report on the Mississippi coast. Much of it is about the Louisiana marsh, which is where its one winter water temperature came from.
Biloxi to Pascagoula and the barrier islands
Gulfport · Biloxi · the Back Bay of Biloxi · Ocean Springs · Pascagoula
The built-up middle and east of the coast, sheltered from the Gulf by a line of barrier islands a few miles out. Inside lie the Back Bay of Biloxi, the bayous of Ocean Springs and the mouth of the Pascagoula, a river with no dam on its main stem; the passes and shoals between the islands are the outer edge.
Who reports here. Nothing citable covers the middle and east of the coast, where most searches point: the Sun Herald runs no fishing column, Coastal Angler's Mississippi edition ended in 2018, and the charters post only to booking sites with no dates. Ship, Horn and Petit Bois were closed after Hurricane Isaias, with no reopening posted on October 11.
Engine outlook
- Best: Sat, Nov 7, A+11 good hours74F measured Nov 3 at BILOXI BAY AT POINT CADET HARBOR AT BILOXI, MSbest run 5h
- Best: Sun, Nov 8, A+12 good hours74F measured Nov 3 at Pascagoula NOAA Lab tide stationbest run 12h
The north Mississippi flood-control lakes
Sardis · Enid · Grenada · Arkabutla
Four big Corps of Engineers reservoirs in the hills above the Delta, built to hold floodwater and let down each autumn to a winter pool that leaves wide mud flats and the old creek channels exposed. They are crappie lakes above all, and the low water gathers the fish onto the channels and stumps.
Who reports here. MDWFP's Tuesday reports are the only ones that give each lake's pool and spillway release, but each page is overwritten weekly, and only two of last winter's editions survive, in Barton Outfitters' archive in Oxford. Arkabutla is held low until its dam is repaired, with boats reaching it from the Highway 51 Landing up the Coldwater River; the Corps posts all four lakes' levels daily.
Engine outlook
- Best: Sun, Nov 8, A+13 good hours70F modeled from this lake's own seasonal curvebest run 13h
The Delta oxbow lakes
Lake Washington · Eagle Lake · Moon Lake · Lake Ferguson · Chotard Lake
Old bends of the Mississippi cut off into long, shallow, cypress-lined lakes across the flat Delta, some still joined to the river in high water and some sealed behind the levee. They are fertile, stained crappie and bass water, and the ones open to the river rise and fall with it.
Who reports here. Lake Washington, the most searched Mississippi lake for a fishing report, and Eagle Lake had no dated report from anyone but MDWFP last winter, and only one of its editions can now be dated.
Engine outlook
- Best: Sun, Nov 8, A+14 good hours68F modeled from weather, no gaugebest run 14h
Ross Barnett Reservoir and central Mississippi
Ross Barnett Reservoir · the Pearl River
A broad, shallow reservoir on the Pearl at the edge of Jackson, with stump fields, grass and a long, winding upper river arm. It is a city lake as much as a fishing one, crossed by the Natchez Trace and ringed by houses at its lower end.
Who reports here. Nobody but MDWFP reports the reservoir, and its page is overwritten every week. The water supply district posts the lake level.
Pickwick and the Tennessee-Tombigbee
Pickwick Lake · the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway · Aberdeen Lake · Columbus Lake · Bay Springs Lake
The northeast corner, where Pickwick on the Tennessee River touches the state and the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway runs south through a chain of lock-and-dam pools. Pickwick runs with current when the dams generate; the waterway's pools are narrow, with backwater oxbows along the old river.
Who reports here. The Tupelo Daily Journal's weekly fishing report reprints MDWFP's text for the northeast lakes, which carry no date of their own; it ran twice in December and twice in January last winter and not at all in February. TVA posts Pickwick's forecast level and next-day release.
The south Mississippi lakes and rivers
Okatibbee Lake · the Pascagoula River · the Leaf River · the state fishing lakes
Small reservoirs, state fishing lakes and blackwater rivers through the pine country of the south of the state. The rivers run clear and tea-colored over sand, and most of the lakes are small enough to fish from the bank or a small boat.
Who reports here. Nobody reports the southern lakes and rivers, and MDWFP's pages for them put fresh dates over text that does not change from week to week.
The rules from November to February
What changed this time
- Red snapper closed on September 27 for the rest of 2026, with about 98 percent of Mississippi's private allocation landed.
- Arkabutla is held at a pool of 204 feet until its dam is repaired. The lake stays open except directly below the dam, and the Highway 51 Landing gives boat access up the Coldwater River.
Read on October 11, 2026, from the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks' license, general rules, creel limit, reciprocal agreement and lake pages, the Department of Marine Resources' licensing, limits and news pages, and the Corps of Engineers' Vicksburg District.
Licenses, and which state's rules apply
- Every visitor 16 or older needs a Mississippi license, and so do residents from 16 to 64; residents 65 and over are exempt but must carry proof of it while fishing. South of US 90 it must be a saltwater license, between US 90 and I-10 either license will do, and north of I-10 it must be a freshwater license. Licenses run a year from purchase.
- Residents of Mississippi and Louisiana may fish on their home-state licenses on the Pearl and East Pearl Rivers where they form the state line, and on the Mississippi River and the state-line lakes along it that the agreement names, Eagle Lake among them, under the rules of the state they are fishing in. On waters shared with a neighboring state, the creel limit for bass, crappie, bream and striped bass is whichever of the two states' limits is higher.
Bait, gear and fish you cannot keep
- An angler may fish no more than 100 hooks in all. Legally caught game fish may be used as bait so long as the angler stays within the creel limit, but game fish may never be sold. No one may keep more than a day's creel in a day, or carry more than seven days' creel per angler in a vehicle.
Lakes, ponds and rivers
- Statewide, black bass are ten a day, crappie 30, bream 100, sauger ten, and striped and hybrid striped bass six of at least 15 inches. Many lakes run their own limits: Lake Washington is five bass with anything under 15 inches released and 20 crappie under an 11-inch release length, and Sardis is ten crappie a day under a 12-inch release length.
Salt water
- Speckled trout are 15 a day of at least 15 inches; red drum three between 18 and 30 inches, one of which may be over 30; flounder ten of at least 12 inches with no closed season; sheepshead 15 of at least 14 inches; and black drum have no limit.
- Federally managed reef fish and pelagics open and close with the federal seasons, and red snapper trips and landings must be reported through Tails n' Scales. A tarpon is one per boat of at least 75 inches, and one over 40 inches may not be taken from the water unless it is being kept within that limit.
Read on these agency pages: MDWFP: Fishing License Requirements, Mississippi DMR: Licensing, MDWFP: Reciprocal Agreements (40 Miss. Admin. Code Pt 4, R 3.3), MDWFP: Public Water Body Regulations (statewide creel), MDWFP: General Fishing Rules & Regulations, MDWFP: Lake Washington, MDWFP: Sardis Reservoir, Mississippi DMR: Recreational Size and Possession Limits.
The season at a glance
What these months usually do
Each lake's own seasonal curve, the one the engine scores the lake on: what these dates usually do, modeled rather than measured, and not a forecast for this year.
| Water | Nov 1 | Dec 1 | Jan 1 | Feb 1 | Feb 28 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Washington | 67F | 57F | 50F | 50F | 55F |
| Sardis Lake | 66F | 56F | 48F | 47F | 50F |
The moon from November to February
| Month | New moon | Full moon |
|---|---|---|
| November 2026 | Mon, Nov 9 | Tue, Nov 24 |
| December 2026 | Tue, Dec 8 | Wed, Dec 23 |
| January 2027 | Thu, Jan 7 | Fri, Jan 22 |
| February 2027 | Sat, Feb 6 | Sat, Feb 20 |
The U.S. Naval Observatory's dates, on local time.
Daylight in each area from November to February
Worked out for one place in each area, on its own clock.
| Area | Shortest day | Earliest sunset | Latest sunrise |
|---|---|---|---|
| The western coast, Bay St. Louis and Pass Christianat Bay St. Louis | 10h 11m, Dec 21 | 4:58pm, around Dec 2 | 6:56am, around Jan 10 |
| Biloxi to Pascagoula and the barrier islandsat Biloxi | 10h 11m, Dec 21 | 4:56pm, around Dec 2 | 6:55am, around Jan 10 |
| The north Mississippi flood-control lakesat Sardis Lake | 9h 51m, Dec 21 | 4:50pm, around Dec 5 | 7:07am, around Jan 7 |
| The Delta oxbow lakesat Lake Washington | 9h 58m, Dec 21 | 4:59pm, around Dec 4 | 7:09am, around Jan 8 |
| Ross Barnett Reservoir and central Mississippiat Ross Barnett Reservoir | 10h 1m, Dec 21 | 4:56pm, around Dec 4 | 7:04am, around Jan 8 |
| Pickwick and the Tennessee-Tombigbeeat Iuka, near Pickwick Lake | 9h 49m, Dec 21 | 4:43pm, around Dec 5 | 7:02am, around Jan 7 |
| The south Mississippi lakes and riversat Hattiesburg | 10h 6m, Dec 21 | 4:56pm, around Dec 3 | 6:58am, around Jan 9 |
The lowest tides from November to February
| Station | Lowest, Nov | Lowest, Dec | Lowest, Jan | Lowest, Feb | Biggest range |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Louis Bay entrance | -0.7 ftThu, Nov 26, 10:27am | -1.2 ftThu, Dec 24, 9:33am | -1.3 ftThu, Jan 21, 8:34am | -1.0 ftWed, Feb 17, 6:54am | 3.1 ftDec 24 |
| Biloxi | -0.7 ftWed, Nov 25, 8:25am | -0.8 ftWed, Dec 23, 7:45am | -0.7 ftWed, Jan 20, 6:58am | -0.5 ftWed, Feb 17, 6:07am | 3.3 ftDec 23 |
| Pascagoula NOAA Lab | -0.7 ftThu, Nov 26, 8:41am | -1.1 ftThu, Dec 24, 7:48am | -1.2 ftWed, Jan 20, 6:17am | -1.0 ftWed, Feb 17, 5:29am | 2.9 ftDec 23 |
NOAA's predictions, in feet above the average of each day's lower low tide, so a minus tide falls below it. Wind and air pressure move the water off the prediction.