Bayou Heron Pier, Grand Bay Reserve Fishing

Bayou Heron Pier is the shore angler's way into the Grand Bay reserve, a vast salt marsh on the Mississippi-Alabama line. It is remote, quiet and beautiful, and the marsh is classic trout and redfish water.

• A free, handicapped-accessible fishing pier and boat launch
• Salt marsh water in a national estuarine research reserve
• Speckled trout, redfish and flounder along the marsh edges
• Fishing and crabbing both welcome from the pier

The pier and launch are at the end of Bayou Heron Road, about three miles south of the Grand Bay Coastal Resources Center (6005 Bayou Heron Road, Moss Point), in far southeastern Jackson County. The reserve is a Mississippi Department of Marine Resources site in the national estuarine research reserve system, alongside the Grand Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

• Getting there: follow Bayou Heron Road south past the Coastal Resources Center to its end
• Fees: the launch is free
• Parking: space at the launch is limited
• Road: very high tides have flooded Bayou Heron Road and closed the launch; check conditions before you go
• The reserve's trails and visitor center are back up the road

This is salt marsh, away from the river mouths that freshen much of the Mississippi Sound shore.

• Spring (Mar-May): trout and redfish move onto the marsh edges as the water warms; sheepshead linger
• Summer (Jun-Aug): trout at dawn, croaker and catfish on the bottom, blue crabs everywhere
• Fall (Sep-Nov): the best season, with trout, redfish and flounder feeding as shrimp leave the marsh
• Winter (Dec-Feb): black drum and sheepshead in the deeper bayou channel; trout on warm afternoons

Light tackle rules here: a 7 ft spinning rod with 8 to 12 lb line and a fluorocarbon leader.

• Speckled trout: live shrimp under a popping cork, or a soft plastic shrimp on a 1/8 oz jig
• Redfish: a weedless gold spoon or a soft plastic along the grass edges
• Flounder: a mud minnow on a Carolina rig worked slowly
• Sheepshead and black drum: shrimp or fiddler crabs near the pier pilings
• Blue crabs: a drop net or chicken necks on a string

The marsh feels the Sound's small, mostly once-a-day tide, and the bayou gets very shallow when it falls.

• Fish the first half of the falling tide, when the marsh drains and bait pours into the bayou
• At dead low water the bayou can be too shallow to fish well; plan around the tide table
• Very high tides driven by south winds can flood the access road
• North winds after winter fronts empty the marsh and push fish to deeper channels
• Calm mornings give clear water and good sight of feeding fish

The pier is accessible, but the setting is remote.

• The fishing pier is built to be handicapped accessible
• There are no stores nearby; bring water, food and sun protection
• Mosquitoes and biting flies are fierce in warm months; bring repellent
• Alligators live in the reserve; keep distance and never feed them
• Leave at the first thunder; the open marsh offers no shelter

Expect only a launch and a pier at the water.

• A handicapped-accessible fishing pier
• A free public boat launch
• Limited parking
• No restrooms confirmed at the launch
• No bait sales nearby that we could confirm; bring bait with you

• Check the tide and the reserve's notices before driving out; the road can flood
• Bring a crab net in summer; the reserve rates the pier for crabbing as well as fishing
• Visit the reserve's Savanna Trail Boardwalk or the free Oak Grove Birding Trail while you are here
• A kayak from the launch opens up miles of quiet marsh
• Fall mornings bring the best trout fishing

The pier is in the Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve.

• Follow the reserve's posted rules and leave the marsh undisturbed; do not dig or collect bait
• 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. The reserve notes the license is needed in its tidal waters unless you are under 16 or otherwise exempt
• Saltwater and crabbing limits are set by MDMR (dmr.ms.gov)
• Check current MDMR rules for size, bag and season limits before keeping anything