JACKSON, Miss.–You can catch fish right now, even though it’s really hot. An expert with the Miss. Dept. of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks is out to make sure you know about some of the best fishing opportunities in your state.
“We are very fortunate in Mississippi to have a lot of public water opportunities,” said Larry Pugh, who holds a Master of Science degree in fish biology from MSU, and who is considered the go to guy at the department, when it comes to baiting a hook.
“In particular I always try to highlight our state park lakes and our state fishing lakes. Those are owned and operated by Game and Fish and we focus on the simple things like providing good access like a boat ramp and a fishing pier.”
Pugh also said you should try fishing the state’s rivers, like the Mississippi, or the oxbows nearby it.
“Whether it’s the Mississippi, the Yazoo, the Big Black, the flood control reservoirs in north Mississippi are nationally known for the crappie fisheries, and that’s not counting the thousands of small farm ponds across the state.We are blessed.”
Now, if you’ve been fishing already, and they weren’t biting, Pugh said you should know that fish are still hungry when it’s hot.
“Regardless, fish still have to eat. It may be shorter windows. They may not feed as long. If they’re feeding, you can catch ’em.”
He said there’s always an excuse, if you didn’t catch anything, but maybe you could try fishing in the morning, or even night fishing.
“I was fortunate enough to go Saturday, and we spent a full day on the water and we caught fish all the way up until 3 o’clock in the afternoon.”
“I can always come up with a reason why I didn’t catch anything. I can blame it on the heat, the water temperature, a storm moved through. I can come up with a reason, and I’m pretty good at that,” said Pugh.
But, he said, despite the excuses, getting out on a Mississippi waterway is one of the best types of recreation there is in your state.
“The best time to go fishing is anytime you can go,” he said.
This website has everything you need to know about fishing in Mississippi, including how to get your license: http://www.mdwfp.com/
