Fishing spots in Harrison County

Harrison County is the middle of Mississippi's coast and its busiest stretch, where Pass Christian, Long Beach, Gulfport and Biloxi line US 90 behind the county's public sand beach on the Mississippi Sound. Behind Biloxi lies the Back Bay, a brackish water of bayous, causeways and bridges that meets the Sound through Biloxi Bay at Point Cadet, and an hour's ferry ride from Gulfport, West Ship Island has cleaner, saltier water and Gulf surf. Several city piers wrecked by Hurricane Zeta in 2020 reopened in 2025 and 2026.

Anglers come for speckled trout, white trout and croaker from the piers, sheepshead on the pilings from late winter into spring, heavy black drum at Point Cadet, Spanish mackerel off the long piers in summer and fall, redfish and flounder in the fall and pompano in the island surf. The tide is small, usually one high and one low a day, so wind and rain matter more. The county keeps Central Time.

Pass Christian and Long Beach

• Character: small-town harbors on the open Sound
• What it suits: trout, redfish, sheepshead and drum at Pass Christian Harbor's walls and public pier; croaker, white trout and cool-weather sheepshead at the rebuilt Jim Simpson Sr. Memorial Pier, Long Beach
• Access: live bait and restrooms at Pass Christian; harbor and beach-pavilion parking at Long Beach

Gulfport's beach and harbor

• Character: long piers off the beach front and the harbor beside Jones Park
• What it suits: trout, redfish, sheepshead, drum and seasonal Spanish mackerel at the Ken Combs Pier, the Fred Urie Pier and Jones Park; croaker and white trout at the Libby Milner Roland Municipal Pier
• Access: restrooms at Ken Combs; a bait shop and the island ferry at Jones Park; no services at Libby Milner Roland

Biloxi's front beach and Point Cadet

• Character: shallow Sound off west and east Biloxi, ending where Biloxi Bay meets the Sound
• What it suits: sheepshead, croaker, white trout and fall Spanish mackerel from the 908-foot Coliseum Pier; spring wading for trout at West Biloxi Boardwalk Beach; trout and croaker at Lee Koplin Sun-n-Sand Park and the short Oak Street South Pier; black drum and night trout from the drive-on Point Cadet Fishing Pier
• Access: restrooms at the Coliseum Pier and the boardwalk, lights at Point Cadet; the Biloxi Lighthouse Pier is closed

The Back Bay of Biloxi

• Character: calm, brackish water that shifts with rain and river flow
• What it suits: trout and sheepshead at the Old Ice Wharf; black drum at the Oak Street North Pier; young reds and night flounder at the Forrest Avenue Pier; trout, reds and flounder at Popp's Ferry Causeway Park and Fountain Pier, D'Iberville; small fish at the Hiller Park launch piers
• Access: city piers, several with pavilions; Popp's Ferry and Fountain Pier post hours

Bayou Bernard

• Character: a marsh backwater in north Gulfport
• What it suits: redfish, trout and flounder at Bayou Bernard Park; reds, drum and winter trout from the bank at the Gulfport Lake Boat Ramp
• Access: a pier and boardwalks at the park; just a ramp and a lot at Gulfport Lake

West Ship Island

• Character: a barrier island in the Gulf Islands National Seashore
• What it suits: redfish and trout on the Sound side; pompano, Gulf kingfish and Spanish mackerel in the Gulf surf
• Access: the ferry from Jones Park, mid-March to early November; restrooms and a snack bar, but no bait

Season	Likely species (shore)	Notes
Spring (Mar–May)	Black drum, sheepshead, speckled trout, white trout, croaker, pompano, Gulf kingfish	Big black drum gather at Point Cadet and sheepshead crowd the pilings; late March into May is the window for wading the front beach for trout; pompano and ground mullet reach the island surf
Summer (Jun–Aug)	Croaker, white trout, catfish, speckled trout, flounder, Spanish mackerel, ladyfish	Bottom fishing all day, trout at dawn and under Point Cadet's lights, ribbonfish after dark, flounder at night around the Back Bay pilings, mackerel and jacks off the long piers and the island
Fall (Sep–Nov)	Redfish, speckled trout, flounder, Spanish mackerel, white trout	The best all-round season: mackerel run past the end of the Coliseum Pier, flounder slide out past the harbor piers, and big reds feed at West Ship before the ferry stops
Winter (Dec–Feb)	Sheepshead, black drum, white trout, speckled trout	Fish the pilings, the Ken Combs jetty and the deeper water by the Popp's Ferry Bridge and at the far end of Point Cadet; no ferry runs to the island

• Popping cork: live shrimp under a cork for speckled trout and redfish off pier ends, harbor walls and marsh edges
• Bottom rigs: a high-low rig with small hooks and fresh shrimp or cut squid for croaker, white trout and ground mullet
• Sheepshead: fiddler crabs or shrimp on a small, strong hook dropped tight to the pilings and jetty rocks
• Black drum at Point Cadet: a heavy rod, 30 lb line and a fish-finder rig with half a blue crab, on a stout leader
• Spanish mackerel: a 1/2 oz silver spoon or a Gotcha plug ripped fast across bait schools off the ends of the long piers
• Wading the front beach: a 7-foot spinning rod with 15 lb braid and a 3-inch mullet-colored soft plastic on a 1/4 oz jig, worked low and slow
• Bring a drop net or long-handled pier net; most decks sit well above the water

• The tide is small and diurnal, one high and one low on most days and only a foot or two apart, with a few days every two weeks when it barely moves; use the Gulfport or Biloxi area predictions
• North winds behind winter cold fronts drain the Sound and the Back Bay and move fish to deeper water at pier ends, harbor mouths and the channel by the Popp's Ferry Bridge
• South winds raise the water, bring bait to the beach piers and muddy the shallows
• Heavy rain upstate freshens and browns the Sound for days and pushes trout off the beach toward the islands; the Back Bay runs fresh and catfish take over
• Biloxi Bay squeezes the tide past Point Cadet, giving that pier more current than most; a falling tide carries bait out of the Back Bay
• Clean, green water after a few calm days is what the front-beach trout and the mackerel want; West Ship's Gulf side is usually the clearest water in the county

• Lightning: storms build quickly over the Sound on summer afternoons; leave piers and the water at the first thunder
• US 90 is a busy four-lane highway: cross only at a signal to reach the Coliseum Pier, Lee Koplin Sun-n-Sand Park and the beach
• Point Cadet is a drive-on pier: drive slowly, keep children on the sidewalks and keep the travel lanes open
• Boats share most spots: harbor mouths, launches and the Back Bay are working waters, and boats, jet skis and paddlers tie up at the Oak Street South Pier; stay off the Ken Combs jetty rocks
• Wading: shuffle your feet for stingrays and keep clear of swimmers; on West Ship's Gulf side watch for rip currents, carry water and shade, and keep track of the last ferry
• The Biloxi Lighthouse Pier is closed and damaged; stay off it
• Catfish spines hurt, and mosquitoes are thick on still evenings on the Back Bay and Bayou Bernard

• Buy live shrimp at the Jones Park bait shop or Pass Christian Harbor's two bait sellers; most piers sell nothing
• Late March through May is the time to wade the front beach for big trout before they move out to the islands
• Half a blue crab on the bottom is the early-spring bait for big black drum at Point Cadet; on summer nights, arrive early for a spot under a light
• Bring fiddler crabs from late winter into spring for sheepshead on the pier pilings
• In fall, keep a spoon rigged at the end of the Coliseum or Ken Combs pier for passing Spanish mackerel
• When the Sound is blown out, the Old Ice Wharf, Popp's Ferry Causeway Park and Bayou Bernard Park stay fishable
• Take the 9 a.m. ferry to West Ship and pack a light rod in a tube; long rods and carts are hard to carry aboard
• Many locals still call the Libby Milner Roland Municipal Pier the Westside Pier

• Hancock County, Mississippi – west across the Bay of St. Louis: the Jimmy Rutherford Fishing Pier in Old Town Bay St. Louis, the upper bay's seawall and piers, winter trout up the Jourdan River and wade fishing at Buccaneer State Park
• Jackson County, Mississippi – east across Biloxi Bay from Point Cadet: the Ocean Springs Fishing Pier, Front Beach and the harbor, then the bayous and rivers of Gautier, Pascagoula and Moss Point

• Do I need a fishing license in Harrison County?
  • 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. Bayou Bernard Park and the Gulfport Lake Boat Ramp lie between US 90 and I-10. MDMR has the details at dmr.ms.gov.
• Can I keep what I catch?
  • Check current MDMR rules for size, bag and season limits before keeping anything.
• What is the best month to fish here?
  • Fall, from September into November, for trout, redfish, flounder and Spanish mackerel. Spring is the time for big black drum at Point Cadet, sheepshead on the pilings and wade fishing for trout on the front beach.
• Can I fish at night?
  • The Point Cadet Fishing Pier has overhead lights and is popular on summer nights. Fountain Pier is open until 10 p.m., and Popp's Ferry Causeway Park until 10 p.m. (11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays). Most other piers publish no hours, so read the signs and bring a light.
• Where can I fish when the Sound is rough?
  • On the Back Bay, at the Old Ice Wharf, the Forrest Avenue Pier or Popp's Ferry Causeway Park, or on Bayou Bernard at Bayou Bernard Park in Gulfport.
• How do I get to Ship Island?
  • By the passenger ferry from the Gulfport Harbor in Jones Park, which runs from mid-March to early November, daily in summer and Wednesday to Sunday in spring and fall. It takes about an hour, charges a fare and allows only small coolers, so bring all your bait.

Area	Coast character & access	Best species	Prime season	Go-to methods	Key safety notes	Facilities
Pass Christian and Long Beach	City harbors with public piers on the Sound	Trout, redfish, sheepshead, croaker, white trout	Fall; late winter for sheepshead	Live shrimp under a cork, bottom rigs	Harbor and launch traffic	Live bait and restrooms at Pass Christian
Gulfport's beach and harbor	Long rebuilt piers and a harbor-mouth pier	Trout, reds, sheepshead, drum, Spanish mackerel	Spring and fall	Corks, Carolina rigs, spoons	Jetty rocks, harbor traffic, lightning	Bait shop at Jones Park; restrooms at Ken Combs
Biloxi's front beach and Point Cadet	Beach piers, a launch park, a wading beach and a drive-on pier	Black drum, sheepshead, croaker, white trout, trout	Spring; summer nights	Crab on fish-finder rigs, wading jigs	US 90 crossings, cars on the pier	Lights at Point Cadet; restrooms at the Coliseum Pier
The Back Bay of Biloxi	Calm, brackish bay with city piers and a causeway park	Trout, redfish, flounder, black drum, sheepshead	Fall	Corks, mud minnows at night	Boats, mosquitoes	Pavilions, grills and cleaning stations at Fountain Pier
Bayou Bernard	Sheltered marsh backwater	Redfish, trout, flounder, black drum	Fall and winter	Spoons, Carolina rigs	Launch traffic, soft banks	Pier and boardwalks at the park
West Ship Island	Barrier-island Sound beaches and Gulf surf	Redfish, trout, pompano, Spanish mackerel	Spring and fall	Spoons, pompano rigs, jigs	Rip currents, sun, last ferry	Restrooms, showers, snack bar