Northwest

Keith Meals
Fisheries Biologist / Project Manager
(662) 234-1437
keith.meals@wfp.ms.gov

Arthur Dunn
Fisheries Biologist
(662) 234-1437
arthur.dunn@wfp.ms.gov

Katy Wilson
Fisheries Biologist
(662) 234-1437
katelyn.wilson@wfp.ms.gov

The Northwest Region includes the four U.S. Army Corps of Engineers flood control reservoirs: Arkabutla, Sardis, Enid and Grenada Reservoirs. They total 95,920 acres at summer pool; over 40% of the state's public lake acreage. Other important fisheries include the streams and oxbows of the Yazoo and Mississippi Rivers. Tunica Cutoff is a popular Mississippi River oxbow. Community Assistance Program ponds are managed as urban fisheries for the cities of Olive Branch and Oxford.

Crappie are king on the flood control reservoirs, with national tournaments and outdoor media attention. Enid holds the state and world record white crappie, while the state record black crappie was caught in Arkabutla's headwaters. MDWFP has used innovative regulations and sampling techniques on these lakes to maintain quality crappie fishing with rising fishing pressure.

Although the oxbows are also good crappie fisheries, big bluegill bream are sought by anglers on these fertile waters. Catfishes occur in all waters, but are truly huge and abundant on the Mississippi River. Largemouth bass fishing is good, with best fishing in the clearer lakes such as Sardis, Enid, and Tunica. White, striped, and yellow bass are found in many waters, with stripers mostly confined to the Mississippi River. Fishing effort in this region is high, particularly during the spring crappie spawn, with local anglers supplemented by anglers from Memphis, TN, and many Midwestern states.