See every public fishing venue in Mississippi on the map, with boat ramps, camping, parking and full rules for each one.
Horn Lake is a public lake in DeSoto County, Mississippi, managed by Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries & Parks. It is public water managed for fishing by the Mississippi Department of Conservation & Natural Resources. Public access confirmed via MDWFP public water.
A Mississippi Delta oxbow lake — a former bend of the Mississippi or Yazoo (Washington, Eagle, Moon, Ferguson, Chotard, Wolf, Bee, Tunica Cutoff). Rich, flat, cypress-and-willow water: largemouth bass, slab crappie, big bluegill and shellcracker, yellow bass, bowfin ('grinnel'), gar, buffalo, and outstanding catfish. Some connect to the river in high water.
Horn Lake covers about 1,184 acres in the Delta region. Anglers here mostly fish for largemouth bass, black crappie, white crappie, bluegill; redear sunfish, yellow bass, bowfin, longnose gar are also on record. The nearest other mapped waters on PiscaMaps are Horn Lake Creek and Mud Lake.
Species from MDWFP fishery-management data.
Night fishing: No statewide night-fishing closure in Mississippi. State, county and state-park lakes have posted hours and gate at night, and some have electric-motor-only rules — check the MDWFP page for that lake. Trotlines, limb lines, jugs and set hooks are legal on most public waters (not on the state lakes) with the gear tagged with your name and address.
Boats: The big Corps and TVA reservoirs (Sardis, Enid, Grenada, Arkabutla, Ross Barnett, Pickwick, the Tenn-Tom pools) have no horsepower limit; idle / no-wake zones are marked near ramps, dams and marinas, and the flood-control lakes can drop 10-20 ft in the fall drawdown so watch for stumps and shoals. Most MDWFP state and county lakes are electric-motor-only or have a small gas-horsepower cap. A Mississippi boater-education certificate is required for operators born after 30 June 1980.
Bank & bivvy camping: Camp at Mississippi state parks (many sit on the best lakes — Roosevelt, Legion, Trace, Lake Lowndes, George P. Cossar on Enid, Hugh White on Grenada, John W. Kyle on Sardis), Corps campgrounds on the four flood-control lakes and Ross Barnett, and the Bienville, Homochitto, De Soto and Tombigbee national forests, which allow dispersed camping on much of their land. Delta oxbow lakes are mostly day-use with private camps around them.
Tackle: Statewide black-bass daily limit is 10 (no statewide minimum, but many lakes carry a slot or minimum — the state lakes especially); crappie 30 per day on most waters with a 15-fish / 12-inch rule on Sardis, Enid, Grenada and Arkabutla in spring; white and yellow bass have generous limits; catfish limits vary. Check the current MDWFP fishing regulations for this water.
Anyone 16-64 needs a Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries & Parks fishing licence — resident freshwater is about $14 (a resident Sportsman licence ~$32 adds the WMA and other privileges), non-resident annual about $60, and non-resident 3-day (~$30) licences are sold. Mississippi residents 65 and older, and residents born before 1 July 1946, fish free with proof of age. A separate saltwater licence covers the marine and tidal waters of the Gulf Coast. Mississippi has no trout and no trout stamp. Buy from MDWFP at mdwfp.com. A Mississippi fishing licence covers this water. Pickwick Lake is fished lake-wide on a Mississippi, Alabama or Tennessee licence. State and county lakes may charge a small daily fishing fee and have their own hours.
Every water carries species, bank & boat access, current regulations and live water conditions — and members get Swim Mapper, Catch Logger and Trip Planner. It's the only US map with a dedicated carp-water layer.
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