Garfield Ladner Memorial Pier Fishing

Garfield Ladner Memorial Pier is Waveland's city fishing pier, and it is closed while the city rebuilds it after Hurricane Zeta. When it reopens it should again be the town's main place to fish the Mississippi Sound from the shore.

• Closed since the 2020 storm; rebuilding began in February 2026 and was due to finish in the fall
• Fish meanwhile at the Washington Street Pier or the Jimmy Rutherford Fishing Pier in Bay St. Louis
• Or wade the public beach in front of Buccaneer State Park, west along the coast
• Known for white trout, redfish and speckled trout when open

The pier stands at the foot of Coleman Avenue on Waveland's beachfront, beside the Waveland Lighthouse. It is closed to the public, and the site is a construction zone.

• Who: the City of Waveland owns the pier and is rebuilding it with FEMA approval and funding
• Status: crews brought in large pre-stressed concrete sections by truck and barge in 2026 and removed the old ones
• Getting there: follow Coleman Avenue down to the beachfront
• Do not cross the fencing or walk out on any part of the structure until the city reopens it

When the pier was open, it reached out over the shallow, brackish Mississippi Sound and caught the same fish as the beachfront around it.

• Spring (Mar-May): speckled trout and white trout moving along the beach
• Summer (Jun-Aug): white trout, croaker and catfish on the bottom, with trout early and late
• Fall (Sep-Nov): redfish and flounder joining the trout, the pier's best season
• Winter (Dec-Feb): sheepshead and black drum around the pilings on milder days

These are the methods locals used on the pier, worth knowing for the day it reopens.

• White trout and croaker: fresh shrimp on a two-hook bottom rig
• Speckled trout: live shrimp or minnows under a popping cork, especially at dawn
• Redfish: cut bait or shrimp on the bottom, or a spoon worked along the sand
• Sheepshead: fiddler crabs or shrimp beside the pilings in winter
• Tackle: a medium spinning rod with 10 to 15 lb line covers it all

The Sound off Waveland has one high and one low tide on most days, only a foot or two apart, and wind moves the water as much as the moon does. Check the nearest NOAA station in the Bay St. Louis area when you plan a trip to the open spots nearby.

• Moving water fished best from the pier, as it does from the beach
• South winds push water and murk up onto the beach
• North winds after cold fronts pull the water out and make the shallows slow
• Heavy rain up the Pearl and Jourdan rivers freshens and browns the water along this shore

Stay off the structure while it is closed; it is a construction site with heavy equipment and open edges.

• Obey the fencing and signs around the pier and the work area
• The beach and the lighthouse area nearby remain places to walk, but give the crane and barges room
• At the open spots nearby, watch for boat traffic and summer lightning
• Shuffle your feet if you wade the beach; stingrays rest on the sand
• Accessibility: none while closed

The pier itself is shut, and with it anything on the deck.

• Before the storm, the 2010 pier had round-the-clock lighting, pavilions and a bait shop on its upper deck; what the new pier will have is not yet published
• The lighthouse area by the pier has parking and a comfort station
• The Washington Street Pier in Bay St. Louis has restrooms and parking
• Buccaneer State Park has bathhouses, a picnic area and campsites

• Until it reopens, the Washington Street Pier is the closest public pier, a few miles east in Bay St. Louis
• The Jimmy Rutherford Fishing Pier at the Bay St. Louis harbor is the longest pier nearby
• Wade the beach in front of Buccaneer State Park for redfish and trout on calm mornings
• Local news and the City of Waveland announce the reopening, so check them before you drive over
• The city's beachfront by the pier has parking, the lighthouse and a comfort station, so it is an easy stop to see how the work is going

The City of Waveland owns the pier and keeps it closed until the rebuilding is finished.

• No fishing or walking on the pier while it is closed
• At the open spots nearby, follow each site's posted rules
• 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
• Anglers under 16 are exempt
• Check current MDMR rules for size, bag and season limits before keeping anything