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Mississippi Sport Fishing Index
This unique index
may help anglers plan their fishing trips
and help biologists identify management
needs. The beauty of MSFish is that it
uses information collected from anglers
on what they caught as well as the size
structure and abundance of fish in the
lake determined by biologists' samples.
Many lakes cannot be included in the rating
system since they are not sampled each
year.
MSFish indicates potential
fishing quality for bass, crappie, and
bluegill on individual lakes. Somewhat
like a test score, the index is based
on a 100-point scale. The higher the score,
the better the fishing.
It's important to realize
that MSFish in only a guide. High scores
do not mean that fishing will always be
better. Fishing success on any lake varies
from day to day, season to season, and
year to year.
Protecting and improving
Mississippi's fishery resources are important
to the Dept. of Wildlife, Fisheries and
Parks. Anglers want clean and accessible
places to fish, but they also want to
catch something. This index can't replace
good, sensible know-how and determination,
but it can be a useful tool to compare
potential fishing success.
Remember, if a lake
is not on the list, or if it has a lower
score, it doesn't mean that fishing will
be bad. It only means that the potential
for success may be lower than other lakes.
And let's not forget that great fishing
may occur at times on lakes at the bottom
of the list.
Bass Table
Many of the top bass
lakes are often intensively managed by
the Dept. of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks.
Intensive management can make a difference.
It's also important to realize that fishing
pressure for bass on some lakes may be
low and this may result in higher angler
catch rates and higher scores.
Bluegill Table
Much like bass, lakes
managed and operated by the state agency
rank relatively high. More Delta oxbows
aren't on the list because they were not
sampled. Shad may also compete with bluegill
in some agency lakes resulting in lower
scores.
Crappie Table
Good crappie lakes are
typically large and contain plenty of
bait fish such as shad. Flood control
reservoirs, Delta oxbows, or river impoundments
should be expected to score high. Smaller
agency lakes are managed primarily for
bass and bluegill and often rank low on
the crappie list.
NOTE: The MSFish Index represents
only those waters with current data on
angler catch. MSFish waters may not be
listed in the Best
Fishing Waters which is based on professional
opinion and history.
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