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Fishing Fact
Popular baits for white crappie include jigs, small crank baits, and minnows. These fish are often found around structures, such as logs, brush piles, and cypress trees.
Description
White crappie are deep-bodied and silvery in color, ranging from silvery-white on the belly to a silvery-green or dark green on the back with possible blue reflections. There are several dark vertical bars on the sides. Males develop dark coloration on the throat and head during the spring spawning season, which can cause them to be mistaken for black crappie. White crappie have five or six spines on the dorsal fin, whereas black crappie have seven or eight spines. White crappie typically weigh 1 to 3 pounds, grow to 14 inches or more, and live up to 10 years.
Habits and Habitat
Adults feed on small fish and insects. Crappie prefer deep water near drop offs and areas of cover. White crappie can be found in many different types of habitats, including reservoirs, oxbow lakes, and rivers. Like other members of the sunfish family, white crappie are nest builders. They produce many eggs, which can cause overpopulation, slow growth, and small sizes in small lakes and ponds. White crappie spawn from March through May when water temperatures are between 58ºF and 65ºF. White crappie can tolerate muddier water than black crappie.
Other Names
White perch, Sac-a-lait, Slab, and Papermouth.
Scientific Name
Pomoxis annularis
State Record
The current state and world record white crappie was caught by Fred Bright from Memphis, Tennessee in 1957 from Enid Lake; it weighed 5 pounds 3 ounces, and was 21 inches in length.
Fishing Fact
Slab spoons, deep running artificial lures, and jigs (particularly chartreuse and white colors) are effective when trying to land a striped bass.
Description
Striped bass are laterally compressed, elongated fish with large mouths. The back is olive green or blue-green with a white belly. The sides have up to nine dark lateral stripes against a silver or silvery-blue background. They can be distinguished from white bass by having several stripes extending to the tail, two tooth patches on the back of the tongue, a torpedo shaped body, and normally a larger size. These fish usually weigh between 5 and 15 pounds but can weigh up to 60 pounds or more with fish living in reservoirs growing faster than those in rivers. Striped bass can live up to 12 years.
Habits and Habitat
Striped bass feed on insect larvae, shrimp, small crustaceans, and fish, particularly shad. These bass live in freshwater streams, reservoirs, and coastal drainages. Striped bass prefer cooler water, especially larger striped bass. Because of this, stripers typically don’t do well in Mississippi reservoirs. These fish will spawn as early as February or as late as April when water temperatures reach about 57ºF to 70ºF.
Other Names
Rock fish, Stripe, Greenhead, Striper, and Sea-run.
Scientific Name
Morone saxatilis
State Record
The Mississippi Rod and Reel record weighing 37.8 pounds was caught in 1993 by T. Graves in the Bouie River.
Fishing Fact
Jigs, spinners, crank baits (small and medium) and minnows are popular lures used for white bass fishing.
Description
White bass are deep bodied with an arched back and a lower jaw that projects further than the top jaw. White bass are often confused with small striped bass. The white bass is a bluish gray on the back with white in the belly area, and both of the silvery sides have between four and seven dark lateral stripes. These fish usually weigh between 1 and 3 pounds but can reach weights of 7 pounds. White bass typically do not live more than 5 years.
Habits and Habitat
Although they will eat insects, white bass feed mostly on gizzard and threadfin shad. These bass, which are a popular sport fish, can be found in the Mississippi River and oxbow lakes along the river. White bass are native to large rivers but are also found in reservoirs. They typically move upstream into rivers and streams when spawning. Water temperature for spawning is between 62ºF and 68ºF (usually between March and May). Prior to spawning, white bass form large schools and migrate upstream.
Other Names
Sand bass, Barfish, Stripe, Silver bass, and Striped bass
Scientific Name
Morone chrysops
State Record
Mississippi’s Rod and Reel record for the white bass is 5 pounds 6 ounces, caught by William Mulvhill in the Grenada Reservoir Spillway in 1979.
Looking for a place to hunt? MDWFP has more than 50 Wildlife Management Areas across the state that are open to hunting.
Wildlife & Hunting
The Deer Management Assistance Program (DMAP) is a comprehensive deer management program consisting of data collection and cooperator education. Using this data, the MDWFP tries to put the landowner/cooperator in a better position to manage their…
Wildlife & Hunting
Rules & Regulations
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Have you ever wondered what the score was of the largest buck in your county? Or the beard length of the heaviest turkey scored in Mississippi? Thanks to the Mississippi Deer and Wild Turkey Records Program, you don't have to guess anymore!
Wildlife & Hunting
Any person born after January 1, 1972, must complete a hunter education course to legally hunt in Mississippi.
Enforcement & Education
Licenses & Permits
Find information on common diseases and conditions that affect white-tailed deer, including hemorrhagic disease ("bluetongue"), nasal bots, cutaneous fibromas ("deer warts"), and chronic wasting disease (CWD).
Wildlife & Hunting
Find an MDWFP shooting facility to improve your shooting skills before your next hunt.
Enforcement & Education
MDWFP has compiled data from more than twenty years of white-tailed deer health checks to create a reference map of simulated mean conception dates for deer across the state of Mississippi.
Wildlife & Hunting
Gear up for the hunt with our general rules and regulations—your quick guide to a safe and successful outdoor experience.
Wildlife & Hunting
Read about how to simply and economically establish effective warm season supplemental plantings and a complete cool season forage mixture for white-tailed deer, as well as how to evaluate food plots using exclosure cages.
Wildlife & Hunting
Wildlife & Hunting
Wildlife & Hunting
Learn about Chronic Wasting Disease in Mississippi, including how to submit samples in suspected CWD cases.
Wildlife & Hunting
There are thousands of trail cameras in the woods of Mississippi each year, but a full-fledged trail camera survey can help hunters and managers gather important and useful management data.
Wildlife & Hunting
A primary goal of CWD response and management efforts is to determine the geographic extent and prevalence of the disease. MDWFP asks hunters to aid in this effort by submitting deer for testing during the white-tailed deer hunting season.
Wildlife & Hunting
View data on CWD sample total and sample totals by county. MDWFP thanks all hunters that submit samples during hunting season.
Wildlife & Hunting
Find details on the Deer Carcass Transportation Ban, including what parts of the carcass are permissible to transport.
Wildlife & Hunting
Following the discovery of CWD, Mississippi adopted CWD Management Zones that have regulations pertaining to deer carcass transportation and supplemental feeding. See the maps and regulations pertaining to these zones.
Wildlife & Hunting
The CWD Deer Management Assistance Program (CWD DMAP) was developed as a tool for private landowners and leaseholders to work together with MDWFP to manage CWD prevalence and increase sampling intensity in infected areas.
Wildlife & Hunting
See statistics and distribution of CWD-positive samples recorded across the state of Mississippi.
Wildlife & Hunting
Watch informational videos about CWD myths, sample drop offs, test results, and more.
Wildlife & Hunting