Share your catch
US

Bay Springs Lake Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

The northernmost lake on the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway: about 6,700 acres in Tishomingo and Prentiss counties, managed by MDWFP for black bass, crappie, bream and catfish.

4/5
Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
Water temp
~74 F est.
Air / High
75 / 79 F
Wind
ENE 3 mph

Sources: Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Tap a marker for today's tip
Friday
23
October 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

4/5Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Bay Springs Lake offers the kind of conditions this water was made for. Today brings clear skies, wind ENE around 3 mph, falling pressure near 1021 hPa and a high of 79. Water sits around 74 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:29 AM-11:29 AM and 9:57 PM-11:57 PM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Largemouth bassExcellent

The main feeding season after the spawn: work moving baits along weed edges, points and wood, and follow up with a soft plastic where a fish swirls.

Catfish (blue, channel)Excellent

Spawning season from late May into summer: Iowa DNR suggests drifting bait under a float along riprap and snags where males guard nests in cavities.

Smallmouth bassExcellent

Post-spawn and summer feeding: cover rock, wood and current breaks with crankbaits, jigs and tubes, and use live crayfish, minnows or hellgrammites where bait is the plan.

Yellow perchExcellent

Michigan DNR gives 66-70Β°F as the water perch prefer, so this band is the heart of the open-water season: drift or slowly work weed edges and flats with small baits near the bottom until a school turns up.

CrappieGood

Early in this band crappie are spawning in protected coves; afterward they move to docks, brush piles and standing timber near deeper water.

Tomorrow: Similar at 78 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made β†’

Water and weather

Live readings.

No live gauge on this water

Conditions here are modeled from weather, season and the nearest stations. Water readings appear when a USGS gauge is available.

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~74 F now

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp75 F
High / Low79 / 45 F
WindENE 3-5 mph
Pressure1021.4 hPa, falling
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:05 / 18:08
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~74 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Which day to fish Bay Springs Lake this week

Today is the pick of the week on Bay Springs Lake, at 4 out of 5.

Best day this week: today, Oct 23 β€” good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Oct 23 β€” Good

Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Solunar majors
9:29 AM-11:29 AM and 9:57 PM-11:57 PM
Minor period
3:51 AM-4:51 AM
Sun
07:05 to 18:08
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Clear, 6 mph
Rain chance
0%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

Species guide

The species that matter on Bay Springs Lake: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Largemouth bass illustration

Largemouth bass

Best: the spring pre-spawn and the fall feed

A warm-water sunfish of lakes, reservoirs, ponds and slow river backwaters that holds tight to cover: weeds, logs, rock ledges and docks. In Texas, TPWD surveys rank it "by far" the freshwater fish anglers most want to catch. The main feeding season after the spawn: work moving baits along weed edges, points and wood, and follow up with a soft plastic where a fish swirls.

Crappie illustration

Crappie

Best: the spring spawn; summer around docks, brush and the thermocline

Two slab-sided panfish, the white crappie and the black crappie, that gather around submerged timber, brush piles, docks and bridge pilings in lakes, reservoirs and slow river backwaters. Texas Parks and Wildlife counts crappie as the state's most popular panfish. Early in this band crappie are spawning in protected coves; afterward they move to docks, brush piles and standing timber near deeper water.

Catfish (blue, channel) illustration

Catfish (blue, channel)

Year-round, best at dusk and after dark

Three big catfish share most of the country's rivers and reservoirs: the channel catfish, the most widespread; the blue catfish, the largest; and the flathead, which hunts live fish. All feed mostly on or near the bottom. Spawning season from late May into summer: Iowa DNR suggests drifting bait under a float along riprap and snags where males guard nests in cavities.

Smallmouth bass illustration

Smallmouth bass

Best: spring and fall, when bigger fish come shallow

A bronze-brown black bass of clear, cool streams and rocky lakes, with dark vertical bars instead of a side stripe. Michigan DNR says its southeastern coast, from Port Huron to Lake Erie, is known nationally for both the size and the number of its smallmouth. Post-spawn and summer feeding: cover rock, wood and current breaks with crankbaits, jigs and tubes, and use live crayfish, minnows or hellgrammites where bait is the plan.

Yellow perch illustration

Yellow perch

Caught all year, including under the ice through winter

Yellow perch are schooling panfish of the Great Lakes and northern lakes, and Michigan DNR calls them the game fish most often caught in that state. Michigan DNR gives 66-70Β°F as the water perch prefer, so this band is the heart of the open-water season: drift or slowly work weed edges and flats with small baits near the bottom until a school turns up.

When to come: the Bay Springs Lake calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Largemouth bass
Crappie
Catfish (blue, channel)
Smallmouth bass
Yellow perch
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 74 F (estimated, not a reading).

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~74 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Bay Springs Lake today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Largemouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 80 F, wind to 8 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Largemouth bass led the card at good. High of 80 F, wind to 7 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Largemouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 79 F, wind to 6 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used if we need to ask you about your report. No mailing list, no spam.

Before you go

License

Mississippi requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

Mississippi fishing license. MDWFP special regulation for Bay Springs Lake: crappie (white and black combined) 30 a day, release fish under 9 inches. Statewide limits apply to everything else; MDWFP's 2026 sheet lists black bass 10 combined, bream 100 combined and no limit on catfish.

Access

MDWFP lists 7 public boat ramps, a marina, a campground, a public beach, picnic areas and a lock-and-dam overlook. Corps day-use areas on the lake are McDougal Branch, Piney Grove (picnic area and beach), West Damsite and Old Bridge Beach; Piney Grove Beach and Old Bridge Beach charge a day-use fee.

About this water

A Corps of Engineers lake of about 6,700 acres (MDWFP) on the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway, Tishomingo and Prentiss counties, Mississippi; level set by TVA's Pickwick Dam.

Fishing Bay Springs Lake: the full guide

The lake

MDWFP describes Bay Springs Lake as about 6,700 acres and 8 miles long, the northernmost impoundment on the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway, about 26 miles east of Booneville on Highway 4. The Corps of Engineers operates the lake and MDWFP's Fisheries Bureau manages the fishery. Because Bay Springs connects to Pickwick Lake on the Tennessee River through the Divide Cut and Yellow Creek, MDWFP notes that its water level is controlled by TVA's operations at Pickwick Dam.

What MDWFP manages and stocks

MDWFP's 2026 Reel Facts sheet lists largemouth, spotted and smallmouth bass, crappie, bream and catfish as the managed species. The stocking history includes Florida largemouth bass in 2009, 2011, 2013, 2019 (110,000) and 2023 (100,000), and threadfin shad in 1999 and 2025. In the October 2025 electrofishing survey along 5.9 miles of shoreline, bluegill made up more than half the catch; largemouth bass reached 18.7 inches and spotted bass 14 inches, and yellow perch also turned up.

Where the biologist points anglers

The same sheet suggests main-lake and secondary points for bass, timber in the backs of coves in spring, standing timber near Jackson Camp and the Ashcraft Holler and McDougal Branch areas for crappie, and the riprap on the north side of the lake near Crow's Neck for summer catfish at night.

Common questions

What is the crappie limit at Bay Springs Lake?

MDWFP's special regulation is 30 crappie a day, white and black combined, with fish under 9 inches released.

Who controls the water level?

TVA, indirectly: MDWFP says Bay Springs connects to Pickwick Lake through the Divide Cut and Yellow Creek, so its level follows operations at Pickwick Dam.

Has Bay Springs been stocked?

Yes. MDWFP lists Florida largemouth bass stockings in 2009, 2011, 2013, 2019 and 2023, and threadfin shad in 1999 and 2025.

Is fishing good at Bay Springs Lake right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Nearby waters

Cedar Creek Reservoir22 miPickwick Lake29 miWilson Lake47 miColumbus Lake72 miWheeler Lake73 miLewis Smith Lake76 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 34.5500, -88.3200 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
Pages checked
The facts in the written guide were checked against these pages, from the agencies and operators that manage the water, on October 6, 2026. Anything we could not verify was taken out.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written text was drafted with AI assistance from the official pages listed above, and its facts were checked against those pages by automated verification on October 6, 2026; anything that could not be verified was taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.