Mississippi Simplifies Freshwater Fishing Rules for Several Lakes

Mississippi anglers have a round of freshwater regulation changes to read before they assume last year’s lake rules still apply.

The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks says the updates are meant to simplify daily creel limits and remove restrictions that are no longer needed. A big piece involves largemouth bass rules at state fishing lakes and state park lakes.

Previous size restrictions and special daily creel limits have been removed at Calling Panther Lake, Lake Claude Bennett, Lake Jeff Davis, Lake Lamar Bruce, Malmaison WMA Lakes, Campground Lake at Grenada Lake, and Paul B. Johnson State Park Lake. The statewide daily creel limit of 10 largemouth bass now applies at those waters.

Other largemouth bass rules were updated too. Lake Bill Waller and Simpson County Lake now carry an 18- to 24-inch slot with a 10-fish daily limit. Percy Quin State Park Lake has a 16- to 22-inch slot with a 10-fish limit. Natchez State Park Lake has an 18- to 22-inch slot with a 10-fish limit. Recon Lake, Bee Lake, and Horseshoe Lake have no length limit with a 5-fish daily limit.

There are also changes beyond bass: Horseshoe Lake, Lake Mary Crawford, and Simpson County Lake have a 20-fish daily crappie limit, with an 11-inch minimum on crappie at Horseshoe. Simpson County Lake has a 50-fish bream limit. Elvis Presley Lake is catch-and-release only for walleye. Commercial fishing rules were updated as well, including a smaller hoop-net mesh minimum and a ban on possessing, transporting, or selling live catfish 34 inches or larger.

Simpler rules are good only if anglers actually know them. Check the current MDWFP regulations before launching, especially on smaller managed waters where special rules can change faster than habits do. Legal harvest starts with knowing the line before a fish hits the cooler.