Dunbar Street Pier, Bay St. Louis Fishing

Dunbar Street Pier is one of the City of Bay St. Louis's public piers, a long walk out over the quiet bay side of the town's peninsula. The city bills it as a place to fish, crab or just stroll over the water, and it is a relaxed choice for a family evening.

• A public pier with covered pavilions, on the upper Bay of St. Louis
• Speckled trout, white trout and redfish, plus flounder in the fall
• Promoted by the city for crabbing as well as fishing
• Rebuilt in 2007 after Hurricane Katrina destroyed the original

The pier stands on North Beach Boulevard at the foot of Dunbar Avenue, on the bay shore north of Old Town and the US 90 bridge. The road here runs right along the water, and the pier leaves straight from it.

• Getting there: follow North Beach Boulevard north from downtown Bay St. Louis to Dunbar Avenue
• Parking: the city publishes no lot or fee for the pier; park only where signs allow and keep driveways clear
• The walk: from the roadside straight onto the deck, with no sand or rocks to cross
• Hours: none are published; read the signs at the entrance

This is brackish bay water, fed by the Jourdan and Wolf rivers, so the fish move with salinity, temperature and wind.

• Spring (Mar-May): speckled trout and white trout spread along the shoreline as the bay warms, with croaker on the bottom
• Summer (Jun-Aug): white trout, croaker and catfish through the day, specks at dawn and dusk, and blue crabs at their best
• Fall (Sep-Nov): the best season, as trout, redfish and flounder feed hard ahead of the first fronts
• Winter (Dec-Feb): sheepshead and black drum around the pilings, and trout on the milder afternoons

A 7-foot medium-light spinning rod with 10 to 15 lb braid and a fluorocarbon leader covers almost everything here.

• Speckled trout: live shrimp or a cocahoe minnow under a popping cork, cast off the pier's sides and end
• Redfish and flounder: a soft plastic on a light jighead, or a live minnow on a Carolina rig, worked slowly along the bottom
• Searching for fish: a gold spoon or a white grub with a red tail covers water fast
• Sheepshead and black drum: dead shrimp or crab dropped tight to the pilings
• Blue crabs: a crab net or a hand line baited with chicken necks, lowered and lifted slowly

The tide on this bay is small and diurnal: usually one high and one low a day, a foot or two apart, and a few days each fortnight when it hardly moves. Wind and the rivers often matter more, so check the forecast and the nearest NOAA station in the Bay St. Louis area.

• Moving water is essential; the start of the falling tide is often best
• North winds behind winter fronts drain the shallows and push fish into deeper water
• A strong south wind piles water against this shore and stirs up the bottom
• After heavy rain upstate the bay turns fresh and brown, and trout slide south toward the Sound

The pier itself is an easy, level walk, but the boulevard beside it is a busy, narrow road with the water on one side.

• Cross North Beach Boulevard with care, especially with children and gear
• Storm surge floods this stretch of road; stay away when tropical weather is forecast
• Leave the pier at the first thunder; summer storms build fast over the bay
• Handle catfish and crabs carefully; spines and claws both hurt
• Access: the deck leaves straight from the roadside, so most visitors can reach it without steps

The pier is a simple public structure rather than a full park.

• A public fishing and crabbing pier
• Covered pavilions on the deck for shade and shelter
• No restrooms, bait shop or lights that we could confirm; bring what you need
• Old Town Bay St. Louis, a short drive south, has food, fuel and supplies

• Bring a crab net along with the rods; the city promotes this pier for crabbing as much as fishing
• Fall mornings after the first cool front are the time for trout and reds
• Live shrimp beats dead bait for trout here; carry an aerated bucket
• In winter, drop shrimp or crab straight down beside the pilings for sheepshead
• If the boulevard is awash on a big south wind, come back another day

The pier is a City of Bay St. Louis public pier, listed among the city's boat launches and fishing piers.

• Follow any rules posted at the pier
• Crabbing has its own MDMR rules for gear and keeping crabs; check them before you go
• A Mississippi saltwater fishing license is required south of US 90 unless you are exempt; between US 90 and I-10 either a saltwater or a freshwater license will do
• The pier is north of the US 90 bridge, so the second part of that rule applies here
• Anglers under 16 are exempt
• Check current MDMR rules for size, bag and season limits before keeping anything