Freshwater Commercial Fishing

The following is a list of the non-game gross fish in Mississippi, as defined in State Law 49-7-9, that can be caught in commercial fishing gear and/or sold:

• Buffalofishes: smallmouth buffalo, bigmouth buffalo, black buffalo
• Other suckers: quillback, highfin carpsucker, river carpsucker, blacktail redhorse
• Catfishes: channel catfish, blue catfish, flathead catfish, yellow bullhead, brown bullhead, black bullhead
• Gars: alligator gar, spotted gar, shortnose gar, longnose gar
• Bowfin
• American eel
• Freshwater drum (gaspagoo, gaspergou)
• Common carp
• Paddlefish (spoonbill catfish): Closed to all commercial harvest, possession, and sale as of October 2019.
• Shad: gizzard shad, threadfin shad

The following non-native fish also require a commercial license to sell, as stated in State Law 49-7-90:

• Invasive carp: grass carp, silver carp, bighead carp, black carp

There are companies that buy silver carp, grass carp, bighead carp, and black carp and need commercial fishermen to harvest these species. If you would like more information about these companies and how to contact them, please call the Fisheries Bureau at (601) 423-2200.

Gill nets and trammel nets are nets made of multifilament or monofilament twine that are used to entangle fish. A minimum mesh of three and a half (3.5) inches square measure may be used statewide. Smaller mesh gill nets and trammel nets may be fished in the areas mentioned below.

Exceptions:

• A minimum of three (3) inch mesh square measure gill nets may be used in the main channels of the Mississippi and Pearl Rivers, Pickwick Lake, and in lakes and streams where the Mississippi/Louisiana state line occurs, including any public waters that are within the overflow of the Mississippi River along the MS/LA border.
• Gill nets and trammel nets must be set at least 100 yards apart and no nearer than 20 yards to piers.
• Maximum length shall be 3,000 feet.
• An equipment tag shall be attached to one end of the float line of each gill net and trammel net.

Trotlines are lines with droppers that have hooks. A commercial license is required to run trotlines with more than 100 hooks in aggregate.

Hooks must be at least 24 inches apart and tied so they cannot slip together. No trotlines shall exceed 1,000 feet. An equipment tag shall be attached within 5 feet of one end of the mainline of each trotline.

A trap made out of hoops and twine with throats that prevent escape of the fish.

Mesh: minimum of 3 inch square measure, made of No. 15 twine or bigger and treated. Twine or cord only. Hearts may be used only between the main levees of the Mississippi River. Hoop nets or barrel nets must be set at least 100 yards apart (Section 49-7-81). Legally licensed residents of Mississippi fishing with barrel nets and/or hoop nets in Mississippi waters, which are a common boundary between Mississippi and another state (oxbow lakes included), may use a mesh size which is the same mesh size allowed in the other state; except leads, hearts, and wings are prohibited in Mississippi waters when attached to barrel or hoop nets with minimum square mesh of less than three (3) inches. An equipment tag shall be attached to the front hoop on each hoop net.

A lead net is a hoop net with a net attached that "leads" the fish to the hoop net. A hoop net may be fished on each end of a lead. As such, this constitutes one set, and each set must be 100 yards apart. There is a maximum of seven lead nets per fisherman. Leads can be a maximum of 35 yards in length and must be made of three (3) inch square mesh of treated No. 15 twine or bigger.

These are similar to hoop nets but have a rigid wire frame instead of hoops. These nets may be used as long as the wire frame spacing is at least six (6) inches square measure. The wire framing must be covered with #15 or bigger twine or cord treated net mesh material which is at least three (3) inch square measure. 

Legally licensed residents of Mississippi fishing with reinforcement wire catfish nets in Mississippi waters, which are a common boundary between Mississippi and another state (oxbow lakes included), may use a mesh size which is the same mesh size allowed in the other state; except leads, hearts, and wings are prohibited in Mississippi waters when attached to reinforcement wire catfish nets with minimum square mesh of less than three (3) inches. An equipment tag shall be attached to the open end of each net.

These nets may be fished as lead nets.  See the hoop nets or barrel nets section to read the rules about fishing lead nets.

The use of seines is prohibited for all non-game gross fish.

No open season, except for minnow seines.

Totaling no more than 25 feet in length and four (4) feet in depth. The use of minnow seines in any of the public lakes in Mississippi and in certain waters below the flood control reservoir dams is prohibited.

Are jars constructed of glass, plastic, non-metallic, or wire mesh not more than 30 inches in length and 12 inches in diameter having no wings or leads and having an entrance no larger than one inch in diameter. May be used for taking minnows for bait only.

Crawfish traps are typically of the pillow or pyramid style or are life nets. Crawfish traps are any device constructed of coated wire or plastic mesh with openings of the throats or flues not exceeding two inches in diameter and which are used for the sole purpose of taking crawfish.

Tagging requirement: Each crawfish trap fished in public water shall be marked with a waterproof tag provided by the fisherman, with their MDWFP number legibly printed on the tag using the same criteria as other commercial equipment.

A wooden trap used to catch almost exclusively catfish.  A commercial fishing license is required to fish slat baskets.  In addition, a slat basket license must be purchased for each slat basket that is fished. 

Slat baskets shall be made entirely of wood and/or plastic slats in a boxlike or cylindrical shape. Slat baskets shall not exceed six (6) feet in length nor exceed fifteen (15) inches in width and height or diameter. May have no more than two (2) throats, and must have at least four (4) slot openings of a minimum one and one-fourth (1 1/4) inches by twenty-four (24) inches, evenly spaced around the sides of the catch area. The one and one fourth (1 1/4 ) inch-wide slots must begin at the rear of the basket and run twenty-four (24) inches toward the throat end of the basket.

Slat baskets shall be placed at least one hundred (100) yards apart and may not be used with any form of leads, netting, or guiding devices. Each slat basket shall have a tag permanently attached to the front end of the basket.

Freshwater shrimp traps are wire traps used to capture freshwater shrimp for bait. The traps must be no larger than 36 inches long from the rear of the heart to the leading edge of the trap, and no larger than 24 inches wide between the leading edges of the trap or heart opening and no larger than 12 inches high. The trap cannot have any external or unattached wings, weirs, or other guiding devices intended to funnel shrimp to the trap heart.

Shrimp traps fished in public water shall be marked with a waterproof tag provided by the fisherman, with their MDWFP number legibly printed on the tag using the same criteria as other commercial equipment.

All gill nets, trammel nets, hoop nets, reinforcement wire catfish nets, slat baskets, commercial trotlines, crawfish traps, and shrimp traps must have a tag attached that identifies the owner of the gear by their unique MDWFP Number (#) as found on the owner's license (found above the license holder's date of birth).

A valid tag will be waterproof and have waterproof marking, or engraving, of the fisher's MDWFP Number in legible numbers at least ¼" in height. A valid tag can be either a tag supplied by the fisherman, or tags previously sold by MDWFP in which the owner has engraved their MDWFP # on the tag. All tags sold by MDWFP prior to June 25, 2012 are no longer valid, as they do not have the owner's MDWFP # on the tag. However, those tags can be flipped over and will be valid when engraved or marked with gear owner's MDWFP #. The MDWFP # is a number unique to each customer of the MDWFP license system.

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