Jimmy Rutherford Fishing Pier

Jimmy Rutherford Fishing Pier runs along the north side of the Bay St. Louis Municipal Harbor, a short stroll from Old Town. It is the city's main fishing pier, and two of the bay's best-known trout structures, the CSX railroad trestle and the US 90 bridge, sit just to the south and north of it.

• More than 1,000 feet of public pier with side fishing platforms
• White trout and speckled trout, plus redfish, flounder and croaker
• Winter sheepshead and black drum around the pilings
• Old Town restaurants and shops within walking distance

The pier belongs to the Bay St. Louis Municipal Harbor, which the city built on the Old Town shoreline between the CSX railroad bridge and Demontluzin Avenue. Jody Compretta Drive leads from Beach Boulevard into the harbor.

• Parking: the harbor was built with parking for boaters and visitors; it fills on weekends and festival days
• The walk: a level, railed deck runs from the harbor shore out along the basin's north edge
• Boats: a 350-foot day pier for visiting boats runs parallel to the fishing pier
• Fees and hours: none are published for the pier, so check with the harbor office before a night trip

The Bay of St. Louis is brackish, and the catch shifts with the season, the wind and how much rain has come down the Jourdan and Wolf rivers.

• Spring (Mar-May): white trout and speckled trout arrive as the water warms, with croaker and the first flounder
• Summer (Jun-Aug): white trout and croaker on the bottom, speckled trout early and late, and jacks or Spanish mackerel chasing bait on calm, clear days
• Fall (Sep-Nov): the best season, with speckled trout, white trout, redfish and flounder feeding hard before winter
• Winter (Dec-Feb): sheepshead and black drum on the pilings, and speckled trout on mild afternoons

A 7-foot medium spinning rod with 10 to 15 lb line handles almost everything here.

• White trout and croaker: a two-hook bottom rig with fresh dead shrimp, or a small soft plastic on a light jig head
• Speckled trout: live shrimp or live cocahoe minnows under a popping cork; soft plastics near slack water and sinking twitchbaits later in the fall
• Redfish and black drum: cut mullet, a piece of blue crab or a whole shrimp on a Carolina rig
• Sheepshead: fiddler crabs or shrimp on a small, strong hook, dropped tight to the pilings
• Bring a long-handled net or drop net for anything big

The Mississippi Sound and its bays get one high and one low tide on most days, only a foot or two apart, and a few days each fortnight when the water hardly moves. Wind and river flow often matter more than the tide, so check the nearest NOAA station in the Bay St. Louis area.

• A moving tide is best; slack water around the turn is usually slow
• North winds behind winter cold fronts drain the bay and push fish into the deeper water by the bridges
• Strong south winds stack water up in the bay
• Heavy rain upstate freshens and muddies the bay for days and pushes trout toward the Sound

This is one of the easier places on the coast to fish with children or limited mobility: a solid, railed deck with no rocks to cross.

• Keep casts clear of boats in the harbor channel and at the day pier
• Leave at the first thunder; summer storms build fast over the bay
• Shade is limited, so bring water, a hat and sun protection
• Hardhead catfish carry sharp, venomous spines; use pliers or cut the line
• Access: level from the harbor shore, but the pier is long, so plan the walk with small children

The pier is part of a working municipal harbor beside Old Town, so most needs are close at hand.

• A pavilion at the end of the pier and fishing platforms along its side, as the harbor was designed
• Harbor parking for boaters and visitors
• Restaurants, cafes and shops a short walk away in Old Town
• A day pier where boaters can tie up for a few hours
• Bait: no bait shop on the pier is listed, so bring shrimp or buy it on the way

• Fall, and early November in particular, is when the bay's bridge trout bite is at its best
• The railroad trestle just south of the harbor holds trout, drum and sheepshead, so cast toward the deeper water on that side
• Live cocahoe minnows are a favorite trout bait on this bay
• When the trout turn fussy, swap between live and dead shrimp; on some days they take only one
• Come back in winter with fiddler crabs for the sheepshead on the pilings
• Old Town festivals fill the harbor lots, so check the city calendar before a weekend trip

The City of Bay St. Louis runs the municipal harbor and its fishing pier.

• Follow the rules posted at the harbor and on the pier
• Fish from the public pier, not from the boat slips or the day pier
• 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