Hiller Park, Biloxi Fishing

Hiller Park combines a big family park with a small, sheltered fishing spot: the rebuilt launch piers on Bayou La Porte. It suits a short session with children or a quick evening cast close to home.

• Finger piers and side piers at the city boat launch, rebuilt in 2022
• Speckled trout, redfish and flounder following bait up the bayou
• Sheepshead, black drum and catfish around the pilings
• The rest of the city's largest park for the family

The launch is at the north edge of Hiller Park, off Pass Road in west Biloxi, on a bayou that leads out to the Back Bay. The City of Biloxi runs the park and the launch.

• Getting there: Pass Road to Hiller Drive, then Egers Road and Atkinson Road; the ramp is on the left
• Parking: the city lists a large lot with ample trailer parking
• The structures: a 40-by-70-foot concrete launch with finger piers on both sides, a 25-foot pier to the south and a 58-foot pier along the shore to the north
• Hours: follow the park's posted hours

This is the brackish fringe of the Back Bay, so the fish come and go with salinity.

• Spring (Mar-May): sheepshead around the pilings, speckled trout following shrimp up the bayou
• Summer (Jun-Aug): catfish and croaker on the bottom, small redfish and trout early and late
• Fall (Sep-Nov): the best time for redfish, trout and flounder as bait moves down toward the bay
• Winter (Dec-Feb): black drum and the odd trout in the deepest water by the ramp

Keep it light: a 6 to 7 foot spinning rod with 8 to 10 lb line.

• Speckled trout: live shrimp under a small popping cork, or a 1/8 oz jig with a soft-plastic tail
• Redfish: a small gold spoon or a shrimp on a jig head along the bank
• Flounder: a mud minnow on a light Carolina rig dragged along the bottom
• Sheepshead and black drum: shrimp or fiddler crabs beside the pilings
• Catfish and croaker: cut shrimp on a simple bottom rig

The tide here is the small north-central Gulf tide, one high and one low on most days and barely a foot or two of change, so the bayou can sit still for hours.

• Fish when water is moving in or out of the bayou
• A south wind pushes salt water and bait up from the Back Bay
• North winds drain the bayou and send fish back to the bay
• After heavy rain the bayou runs fresh and brown, and catfish take over
• Dawn and dusk are best in summer

The piers are part of a working boat launch, so boaters come first.

• Step aside and lift your line whenever a boat launches or docks
• Never fish from the ramp itself
• Keep children well back from the ramp edge
• Leave at the first thunder
• Mosquitoes are thick on still evenings; bring repellent
• Access: the piers are level and close to the parking lot

The fishing structures are simple; the park around them is large.

• A rebuilt concrete launch with finger piers and two side piers
• A large parking lot with trailer spaces
• No bait shop at the park; bring bait
• Restrooms and other park amenities are not described on the city's launch pages, so check on arrival

• Weekday evenings are quietest at the launch; weekend mornings are busy with boats
• Use the 58-foot pier along the shore only when no boats are waiting to load
• After a south wind, try a cork and shrimp at the bayou mouth end of the piers
• Bring small hooks and light leaders; the fish here are mostly modest
• If the launch is busy, Popp's Ferry Causeway Park is a short drive north

Hiller Park and its launch are run by the City of Biloxi.

• Follow the park's posted rules and hours
• Do not block the ramp, the docks or the trailer spaces
• The city does not post fishing rules for the launch piers online that we found; read the signs on site
• 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