Crappie Fishing In Tunica, Mississippi Is Fine, And You Are All Invited!

Mississippi is divided into fishing districts. District 1 includes waters such as Tombigbee Water Way, Aberdean, Lake Monroe, Bay Springs, Lake Lamar Bruce, Columbus, J.P Coleman/PickWick.

District two includes Enid, Sardis, Arkabutla, Horn Lake, Grenda, Flower Lake Tunica Cutoff, and Desoto Lake.

All the lakes in both areas are great crappie lakes.

In these areas, it is always good to check with the office of the local wildlife to check the lake stages and help you determine which boat ramps are open to launch. In recent years, the waters have been low, and many ramps have been closed as a result.

When it comes to crappie fishing, don't discount small lakes, or 'cow ponds' close to your home as good places to fish for crappie either. They can be loads of fun and allow you to bring home the crappie in a major way!

Mississippi is very strict about creel limits and size regulations. Recently creel limits in Mississippi have dropped from thirty to twenty a person. Every crappie over twenty will get you a fine of $150 each fish.

Crappie bite best in water from fifty to sixty-five degrees, but they will bite most any temperature, and are even good ice fishing targets. The only time they are off the bite somewhat is in the heat of the summer, when they move into the deeper depressions and cover to seek shaded shelter from the elements. They will bite even then, but it is just a little bit harder to locate them.

It is important to note that the spawn normally runs a little bit late in Tunica Cutoff. Normal crappie spawn occurs in April, but it can be as late as May before it begins at Tunica cut off, due to the cold water temperatures from snowy run off. This is good in many ways, because you can focus on the spawn in other lakes and hit Tunica Cutoff when that is over, allowing you to capitalize on both areas.

Here are some tips for catching crappie in Tunica, especially Tunica Cutoff. When the weather cools off like it is right now, the crappie will generally move into deeper water areas that provide cover for them. At Tunica cutoff, consider fishing about three feet down (remember, their eyes are at the top of their heads, so the bait has to be above them) at the edge of the willows for good results.

Use a light test weight line unless you are fishing in waters where there are a lot of catfish. When the catfish are present, they will break your line and cause you to have to restring. Even though many people think this is a little too large for crappie, I have caught successfully with ten pound test, which keeps the cats from breaking my line as easily.

For Tunica Cutoff, probably the best lures to use for crappie are red and white, black and white, red and chartreuse, and black and chartreuse. Just get it in the water, swim the lure, move the lure up and down, and then which ever way entices a bite, that is the way to fish it. If you choose a 1/64 or a 1/32 oz jig and Berkley power bait crappie nibbles, you should have good luck.