No Result
View All Result
No Result
View All Result

Barnett Reservoir )))

A close up of a man holding two crappies in his hands with an empty kayak sitting on the bank of Barnett Reservoir in Mississippi.
Outline of golf ball and person kayaking 
Outline of cabin and trees with "Places to stay" written underneath 
Mobile Blue Food Icon
Drawing of a crappie head with a hook as the body, with "Local Guides" next to it 

Lake Information

LOCATION: This lake is located six miles northeast of Jackson, MS and extends through Hinds, Rankin, Madison, Scott, and, Leake counties.

SIZE: 33,000 acres

DEPTH: Depth Varies from 12 to 60 feet

AQUATIC VEGETATION: Alligatorweed, Waterhyacinth, & Hydrilla

MAJOR SPORTFISH: White Crappie, Black Crappie, & Magnolia Crappie, Hybrid Striped Bass, Bream, & Catfish

FISH FORAGE: Threadfin Shad, & Gizzard Shad

VISIBLE COVER: Cypress Trees, Stump Fields, Rip-Rap

BOTTOM FEATURES: Sunken Christmas Trees, Drop-Offs, Channels

LAKE CRAPPIE RULES
& REGULATIONS

LENGTH LIMIT: No Size Limit

CREEL LIMIT: 30 Crappie Fish 

POLE/HOOK LIMIT:  No Pole Limits Per Angler or Number of Hooks Per Pole Limit

Click Here to Download
a PDF of Barnett Reservoir.

Interactive Map of
Barnett Reservoir

Barnett Reservoir is a reservoir of the Pearl River between Madison and Rankin counties in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The 33,000-acre (130 km2) lake serves as the state’s largest drinking water resource, and is managed by the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District. The lake features 105 miles (169 km) of shoreline impounded on the south by a 3.5-mile (5.6 km) man-made dam and spillway. The western shore is bounded by the historic Natchez Trace Parkway.

Crappie Fishing Hot Spots

Barnett Reservoir offers some of the state’s best crappie fishing. Both white and black crappie can be caught anytime of the year. The majority of black crappie can be found in the upper reservoir area between Highway 43 and the Low Head dam.

Experience some of the best crappie action during the spring months as crappie move into shallow areas to spawn.  Using jigs and/or minnows anglers can catch these fish in locations such as Cane Creek, Oil Well Woods, the cove behind the Old No. 7 channel marker and Plummer Slough located in Pelahatchie Bay.  During the early spring months fishing the edges of the river channel can produce quality catches as crappie stage just before moving into shallow waters.

Recreation

Each year over two million people visit the Ross Barnett Reservoir for outdoor recreation: types include boating, fishing, water-skiing, and camping. There are five campgrounds, 16 parks, 22 boat launches, three handicapped-accessible trails, two multi-purpose trails, and a mountain bike trail which meanders near Mule Jail Lake. Two state records come from the reservoir: Smallmouth buffalo (57 lbs 12 oz) and Bowfin (18 lbs 14 oz). In 1974 a state record Paddlefish of 65 lbs was caught at the spillway. In 1978 the Bassmaster Classic World Championship was held at the reservoir. In late March 2019 fishermen reported abundant and large Black crappie when normally White crappie are the main catch.

Up Coming Events
On Barnett Reservoir

No event found!

Barnett Reservoir WEATHER

Featured Businesses: 

Mobile Google Map of Barnett Reservoir and surrounding areas with the words "get directions" above the map.
The Letters "MS" in large font with two crappie swimming through the letters and "Buy Fishing License" above the letters.

Destination Articles:

Touch Photos
To Learn More

“It’s a big current-break area,” said
Crappie Guide Brad Chappell. “It’s a
deep hole within the old river channel.
Look for crappie to hold to the edge of
the channel.”

Over a mile of rip-rap on either side of the bridge structure will help warm the water. But the highest concentrations of crappie will be under the bridge overpass.

Another bend in the Pearl River channel, this location is smaller in stature, and notoriety, but fishes similar to the Welfare Hole. The outside bend is adjacent to the entrance to the channel that leads to the public boat ramp.

With the exception of the 43 bridge, all of these hotspots so far as either trolling or jigging spots. You may go another way in the S curves, as crappie may congregate on either the inside or the outside bend of this spot.

The ledge in this location runs from north to south, running diagonally from channel marker 29 to marker 30. There are stump fields on both sides of the channel that will hold crappie from now and through the spawn in the spring when crappie will move off the channel and out into the fields to spawn.

The Oil Well Woods spot is a creek channel that runs off the Pearl River channel and winds back through a stump field that was the original Oil Well Woods but is now associated with the surrounding area on the east side of the reservoir.

Years ago the ground beneath Ross Barnett Reservoir was generally swampy land dissected by the Pearl River. Like most lowland rivers, the Pearl would occasionally change course, leaving an oxbow in her wake. The Saddle Bag spot is one of those old oxbow lakes of the Pearl.

Like Saddle Bag, Big Lake is a great place to target crappie when there is a lot of current flow in the main channel. Big Lake is a large area, and the whole area can be productive but difficult to access. A look at the map may make this statement questionable, but on the water, someone new to Barnett can quickly tear up a boat or at least a lower unit by trying to run across the upper part of the lake. 

The unique feature with the Big Lake area is that it has sort of an entrance, on the south end, and an exit, on the north end. To set up a nice trolling run, put your poles at the last spot, Big Lake South, and troll back to this spot, Big Lake North. The distance between the south and north spots is well over 1,000 yards, at least a half mile.
No Result
View All Result

Visit us on FacebookVisit us on TwitterVisit us on Youtube