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Big Black River Fishing Report

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

The Big Black River: about 300 miles from Webster County to the Mississippi River south of Vicksburg, through rural central Mississippi.

4/5
Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
Flow
109 cfs
Air / High
83 / 84 F
Wind
ENE 5 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 07290000, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
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.

Big Black River sits in the sweet spot of the season: active fish and workable weather. The river is running 109 cfs, dropping and clearing. Today brings clear skies, wind ENE around 5 mph, falling pressure near 1019 hPa and a high of 84. Water sits around 74 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:39 AM-11:39 AM and 10:06 PM-12:06 AM: 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.

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 82 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 from Big Black River near Bovina, MS.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 07290000.

124152179109 cfs09/2310/0310/1310/23

Today’s flow against 90 years of October 23

At 109 cfs, the flow at USGS gauge 07290000 (Big Black River near Bovina, MS) is at the 14th percentile for the date: below normal. In half of the 90 years of approved record the daily mean on October 23 was below 268 cfs; the highest was 25,400 cfs and the lowest 78 cfs.

p10 95median 268p90 1,395

Percentiles of the daily mean flow for this date, from the USGS Water Data Statistics API for gauge 07290000; today’s reading is the latest instantaneous value. Classes follow the ones the USGS used on its WaterWatch maps (retired at the end of 2025): below 10th, much below normal; 10th–24th, below; 25th–75th, normal; 76th–90th, above; over 90th, much above.

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp83 F
High / Low84 / 48 F
WindENE 5-6 mph
Pressure1019.1 hPa, falling
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:12 / 18:20
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 Big Black River this week

The best day on Big Black River this week looks like Monday Oct 26, at 5 out of 5, against 4 today.

Best day this week: Monday, Oct 26 β€” excellent at 5/5, 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
9:39 AM-11:39 AM and 10:06 PM-12:06 AM
Minor period
4:01 AM-5:01 AM
Sun
07:12 to 18:20
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Showers, 6 mph
Rain chance
0%

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

Species guide

The species that matter on Big Black River: 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.

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.

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.

When to come: the Big Black River 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
Catfish (blue, channel)
Crappie
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 Big Black River 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 85 F, wind to 7 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

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 82 F, wind to 6 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Largemouth bass led the card at good. High of 79 F, wind to 8 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
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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's freshwater size and creel limits (eRegulations, updated Aug. 14, 2026) list no rules specific to the Big Black River, so statewide limits apply.

Access

No official list of public launches on the river was found; ask MDWFP before planning a float.

About this water

About 300 miles (MDEQ), from Webster County to the Mississippi River below Vicksburg, Mississippi.

Fishing Big Black River: the full guide

The river and its basin

MDEQ says the Big Black River begins in Webster County near Eupora and flows southwest for about 300 miles to the Mississippi River, 25 miles south of Vicksburg. Its basin drains about 3,384 square miles of central Mississippi, runs about 155 miles long and averages 22 miles wide, and is sparsely populated: urban land covers 7 percent, most of it in Madison and Hinds counties around Jackson.

Common questions

How long is the Big Black River?

About 300 miles, from near Eupora in Webster County to the Mississippi River 25 miles south of Vicksburg, according to MDEQ.

Are there special fishing rules on the Big Black River?

None appear in MDWFP's freshwater size and creel limits; Mississippi's statewide limits apply.

Is fishing good at Big Black River 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

Eagle Lake20 miRoss Barnett Reservoir39 miLake Washington53 miLake Chicot76 miLake Ferguson76 miOuachita River84 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 07290000 β€” Big Black River near Bovina, MS
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 19:15 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 32.3478, -90.6969 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 8, 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 8, 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.