Fishing spots in Jackson County

Jackson County is the eastern end of Mississippi's coast, from Biloxi Bay and Ocean Springs to Grand Bay on the Alabama line. In between lie the open Sound shore along Front Beach, Gulf Park Estates and Pascagoula, quiet marsh bayous such as Old Fort Bayou, Davis Bayou and Graveline Bayou, and the lower Pascagoula and Escatawpa rivers, which wind past Gautier and Moss Point to the Sound. Much of the fishing is in brackish water whose saltiness rises and falls with the rivers.

Anglers come for big black drum, redfish and sheepshead at the Ocean Springs Fishing Pier and Point Park, speckled trout, white trout and croaker from the long Pascagoula Beach Park Pier, and trout, redfish and flounder along the marsh edges in a dry fall. After heavy rain upstate the rivers run fresh and catfish, bass and bream take over. The tide is small and mostly once a day, and the county keeps Central Time.

Ocean Springs Front Beach

• Character: the town's shore of Biloxi Bay and the Sound, from the US 90 bridge east to the harbor
• What it suits: black drum, redfish and sheepshead in the current at the Ocean Springs Fishing Pier; trout, croaker and reds from the lit Chester McPhearson Jr. Pier; sheepshead on the breakwater rocks at the Ocean Springs Harbor Pier
• Access: piers with shaded pavilions; restrooms across the road in Fort Maurepas Park; a free harbor lot

Ocean Springs' bayous and St. Martin

• Character: winding, marsh-lined bayous around town, and St. Martin Bayou across the Back Bay
• What it suits: trout, redfish and flounder at the Old Fort Bayou Pier, Percy Miller Marine Education Park, the Davis Bayou Fishing Pier and the Brittany Avenue Pier
• Access: launch piers with shade, cleaning stations at Percy Miller and Brittany Avenue; Davis Bayou, in the national seashore, opens 8 a.m. to sunset

Gulf Park Estates, Graveline and Gautier

• Character: open Sound at Lake Mars, the Graveline Bay marsh and the lower Pascagoula marshes
• What it suits: redfish, trout and croaker at the Lake Mars Pier; trout, reds and flounder at Webbs Landing, George Martin City Park and Shepard State Park
• Access: county piers; restrooms and a splash pad at George Martin; camping and a marshwalk at Shepard

Pascagoula

• Character: the Sound beach, the river mouth and a deep ship channel on Bayou Casotte
• What it suits: trout, white trout, croaker and reds from the 1,000-foot Pascagoula Beach Park Pier; bull reds and big black drum at Point Park; fall trout and reds at River Park and the Old Spanish Fort Pier; winter trout and drum at the Bayou Cassotte Pier
• Access: restrooms at Beach Park and Point Park; a 650-foot river pier and accessible kayak launch at River Park

Moss Point and the Escatawpa

• Character: tidal marsh rivers, salty in dry spells and fresh after rain
• What it suits: fall trout and redfish, catfish all year and bass after rain at Riverfront Park, the Highway 63 Pier and the McInnis Bayou Pier; blue crabs in summer
• Access: a downtown boardwalk with bait nearby; basic county launches

Grand Bay

• Character: wide salt marsh on the Alabama line
• What it suits: trout, redfish and flounder at the Bayou Heron Pier in the Grand Bay reserve and the quieter Bayou Cumbest Pier
• Access: free, remote launches; very high tides can flood Bayou Heron Road

Season	Likely species (shore)	Notes
Spring (Mar–May)	Sheepshead, speckled trout, redfish, black drum, croaker	Sheepshead finish their run on the bridge pilings and breakwater rocks while trout and reds return to the marsh edges; the rivers often run fresh, with bass, bream and catfish
Summer (Jun–Aug)	Croaker, white trout, catfish, speckled trout, Spanish mackerel, ladyfish	Trout at dawn and under the pier lights at night, mackerel and jacks off the ends of the long piers; salty water creeps up the rivers and blue crabs are thick
Fall (Sep–Nov)	Speckled trout, redfish, flounder, black drum	The best season: shrimp drain out of the marsh and the fish follow on falling tides, with bull reds and big drum at the river mouth and in Biloxi Bay
Winter (Dec–Feb)	Black drum, sheepshead, white trout, speckled trout	Fish drop into the deep channels and river bends, from Bayou Cassotte to Biloxi Bay's channel, while sheepshead return to the pilings

• Popping cork: live shrimp under a cork, or a soft plastic shrimp on a 1/8 to 1/4 oz jig, for speckled trout along marsh edges, channels and pier lights
• Big drum and bull reds: half a blue crab or a chunk of cut mullet on a fish-finder rig with a 3/0 to 5/0 circle hook and 20 to 30 lb line at the Ocean Springs Fishing Pier and Point Park
• Sheepshead: fiddler crabs or shrimp on a short leader along the pilings and breakwater rocks; bring spare rigs for the rocks
• Marsh redfish: a weedless gold spoon or a spinnerbait along the grass
• Flounder: a mud minnow on a Carolina rig, dragged slowly in fall
• Night: a small shrimp-pattern jig at the edge of the lights on the Beach Park and McPhearson piers
• When the rivers are fresh, worms or crickets for bream and soft plastics for bass; a drop net for blue crabs in summer

• The tide is small and mostly once a day, a foot or two of range, with near-still days every two weeks; use the Biloxi or Pascagoula area predictions
• River flow sets the salinity: after a dry week the trout and redfish move up the Pascagoula and Escatawpa as far as Moss Point, and after heavy rain upstate the rivers run fresh, fast and brown and the fish drop back to the Sound
• A falling tide drains shrimp and bait out of the marsh and is the time to fish the bayous
• North winds behind winter fronts drop the water and stack fish in deep water such as Bayou Casotte, the river holes and the deeper channel by the Biloxi Bay bridge; the shallow marsh bayous can be nearly dry at low water
• Strong south winds push water and mud into the marsh, and very high tides can flood the road to the Bayou Heron Pier
• A light north or east breeze keeps the open Sound at Lake Mars cleaner; on a hard south wind, fish the end of the Beach Park pier or the river side at Point Park

• Lightning: leave piers and open marsh at the first thunder; summer storms build quickly over the Sound
• Alligators live in the bayous, marshes and rivers; keep pets and children back from the edge and never feed wildlife
• Ships, barges and tugs use the Bayou Casotte channel; reel in as they pass and stand back from their wakes
• Stay off the breakwater rocks at the Ocean Springs harbor and Point Park, and never wade the river current at Point Park, River Park or Moss Point
• Fish from the piers, not the road bridges at Old Fort Bayou, Highway 63 and Brittany Avenue, and keep clear of the many launch lanes
• The Grand Bay launches are remote, with no stores; bring water, repellent and sun protection
• Respect fencing at the Chester McPhearson Jr. Pier while its repairs go on

• Check recent rainfall before choosing a river spot; a dry week in fall is the best time on the Pascagoula and Escatawpa
• Big black drum often bite late in the afternoon as the tide turns at the Ocean Springs Fishing Pier; have a heavy rod rigged
• Try a summer evening under the new lights on the Pascagoula Beach Park Pier for trout and white trout
• On windy days, fish the bayous, the deep Bayou Casotte channel or the river side of Point Park
• Bring a crab net to McInnis Bayou, the Highway 63 Pier and Bayou Heron in summer
• Launch a kayak at Percy Miller onto the Old Fort Bayou Blueway, or at Webbs Landing into the Graveline Bay coastal preserve
• Pick up bait at Wiggles Bait & Bar in Moss Point or in town; almost no spot here sells it
• Plan an afternoon at the Lake Mars Pier; one local regular says the redfish pass in mid-afternoon

• Harrison County, Mississippi – west across Biloxi Bay: the drive-on Point Cadet Fishing Pier, the Back Bay piers and Biloxi's front beach, and the ferry from Gulfport to West Ship Island
• Mobile County, Alabama – east past Grand Bay: Bayfront Park in Coden, Cedar Point Pier and the Dauphin Island surf, where an Alabama saltwater fishing license and Marine Resources Division rules apply (see outdooralabama.com)

• Do I need a fishing license in Jackson 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. Several bayou and river spots, including the Old Fort Bayou Pier, Percy Miller, the Brittany Avenue Pier, the Old Spanish Fort Pier and River Park, 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, especially after a dry week, when trout, redfish and flounder feed on falling tides and bull reds and big drum run the river mouth. Late winter into early spring is the time for sheepshead.
• Can I fish at night?
  • The Pascagoula Beach Park Pier has deck lights and fish lights, and the Chester McPhearson Jr. Pier and Percy Miller Marine Education Park list lighting. Most spots publish no hours, the Davis Bayou area closes at sunset, and the Brittany Avenue Pier has no lights.
• Where can I fish when the Sound is rough?
  • In the bayous, at the Old Fort Bayou Pier or Percy Miller, in the deep channel at the Bayou Cassotte Pier, or on the river side of Point Park.
• Where can I take children?
  • The Pascagoula Beach Park Pier, with its concession stand, splash pad and playgrounds; George Martin City Park in Gautier; the McPhearson pier across from Fort Maurepas Park; and the small pier at Davis Bayou, where pinfish and croaker keep a rod bending.

Area	Coast character & access	Best species	Prime season	Go-to methods	Key safety notes	Facilities
Ocean Springs Front Beach	Bay-mouth pier, beach pier and harbor rocks	Black drum, redfish, sheepshead, trout	Late winter; fall	Crab on fish-finder rigs, fiddler crabs, corks	Boat traffic, slick rocks	Pavilions; restrooms at Fort Maurepas Park
Ocean Springs' bayous and St. Martin	Sheltered, brackish bayous with launch piers	Trout, redfish, flounder	Fall	Corks, weedless spoons	Alligators, insects, ramps	Cleaning stations, shade, visitor center at Davis Bayou
Gulf Park Estates, Graveline and Gautier	Open-Sound pier, marsh bayous, a state park	Redfish, trout, flounder, croaker	Fall	Cut bait, corks, mud minnows	Lightning on open decks, alligators	Restrooms at George Martin and Shepard
Pascagoula	Long beach pier, river mouth, river pier, deep channel	Trout, white trout, bull reds, black drum	Fall; winter in the channel	Corks, crab on the bottom, heavy jigs	River current, ships	Lights, restrooms and concessions at Beach Park
Moss Point and the Escatawpa	Tidal rivers with a boardwalk and county launches	Trout, redfish, catfish, black drum	Late summer and fall	Corks, cut bait, crab nets	Current after rain, alligators	Bait in Moss Point
Grand Bay	Remote salt marsh reserve	Trout, redfish, flounder	Fall	Light corks, spoons	Flooded road, insects, no services	Accessible pier; little else