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Okatibbee Lake Fishing Report

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

Okatibbee Lake: a 3,500-acre Corps reservoir north of Meridian where MDWFP manages the fishery under statewide limits.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Water temp
~74 F est.
Air / High
80 / 80 F
Wind
E 5 mph

Sources: 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.

3/5Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Okatibbee Lake sits in the sweet spot of the season: active fish and workable weather. Today brings clear skies, wind E around 5 mph, steady pressure near 1019 hPa and a high of 80. Water sits around 74 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:31 AM-11:31 AM and 9:59 PM-11:59 PM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

CrappieFair

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 76 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 temp80 F
High / Low80 / 43 F
WindE 5-7 mph
Pressure1019.2 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:05 / 18:13
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 Okatibbee Lake this week

The best day on Okatibbee Lake this week looks like Saturday Oct 24, at 4 out of 5, against 3 today.

Best day this week: Saturday, Oct 24 β€” good at 4/5, steady pressure, neither help nor hindrance.

Today, Oct 23 β€” Fair

A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Solunar majors
9:31 AM-11:31 AM and 9:59 PM-11:59 PM
Minor period
3:53 AM-4:53 AM
Sun
07:05 to 18:13
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Partly cloudy, 6 mph
Rain chance
0%

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

Species guide

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

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 Okatibbee 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
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 Okatibbee 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. Crappie led the card at good. High of 82 F, wind to 8 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Crappie 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. Crappie led the card at good. High of 77 F, wind to 6 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 needed. MDWFP says statewide creel and size limits apply to all species at Okatibbee (black bass 10 a day combined, crappie 30 a day, no daily limit on catfish; eRegulations, updated Aug. 14, 2026).

Access

The Corps maintains one full-service campground, four day-use parks with three swimming areas and four boat ramps. Corps areas: Collinsville, East Bank, Gin Creek, Pine Springs, Twiltley Branch and West Bank; Cove's Nest Marina also operates on the lake. The Corps listed storm-related closures at Twiltley Branch on Oct. 8, 2026.

About this water

3,500 acres (MDWFP; the Corps counts the whole project at 11,000 acres) on Okatibbee Creek, 8 miles north of Meridian on Highway 19, Lauderdale County, MS; built in 1968.

Fishing Okatibbee Lake: the full guide

Lake facts

MDWFP describes Okatibbee Reservoir as a 3,500-acre impoundment built in 1968 to reduce flooding along Okatibbee Creek and the Chickasawhay River. The Corps of Engineers operates it, and MDWFP's Fisheries Bureau manages the fish and posts weekly reports. The Corps counts the whole project at 11,000 acres, including 6,900 acres of land and flooded woodland leased to MDWFP for hunting and wildlife viewing.

Giant salvinia alert

MDWFP has reported that giant salvinia, a highly invasive floating plant, was detected in Okatibbee Reservoir. It asks every angler and boater to inspect and clean boats, trailers and gear before leaving the lake, because small fragments can start new infestations elsewhere.

What MDWFP reports

MDWFP's Oct. 7, 2026 report rated bass and crappie fishing as good. It said bass were moving from deep water toward coves and creeks and were also taken along creek channels and the riprap on the dam, and that crappie were suspended over brush piles, standing timber and other deep structure. MDWFP placed fish attractors in February 2016 near 32.50 N, 88.80 W and publishes their GPS points.

Common questions

How big is Okatibbee Lake?

MDWFP gives 3,500 acres of water. The Corps describes an 11,000-acre project, which includes the land and flooded woodland around the lake.

Are there special fishing limits at Okatibbee?

No. MDWFP says statewide creel and size limits apply to all species.

Why clean my boat after fishing Okatibbee?

Giant salvinia has been detected in the reservoir, and MDWFP asks anglers to clean boats, trailers and gear so fragments are not carried to other lakes.

Is fishing good at Okatibbee Lake right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Nearby waters

Demopolis Lake55 miRoss Barnett Reservoir72 miColumbus Lake72 miPascagoula River105 miGrenada Lake108 miBankhead Lake108 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 32.5040, -88.7990 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.