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Ross Barnett Reservoir Fishing Report

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

Jackson’s Rez: a 33,000-acre Pearl River impoundment with timber, oxbows and pad flats for crappie, bass, bream and catfish.

4/5
Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
Gauge
250.65 ft
Air / High
69 / 84 F
Wind
E 6 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 02485601, 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.

Ross Barnett Reservoir sits in the sweet spot of the season: active fish and workable weather. The gauge reads 250.65 ft, up 0.08 over the week. Today brings clear skies, wind E around 6 mph, falling pressure near 1021 hPa and a high of 84. Water sits around 74 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:36 AM-11:36 AM and 10:04 PM-12:04 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 80 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Water and weather

Live readings from Pearl River at Ross Barnett Reservoir, MS.

Gauge height, last 30 days

USGS gauge 02485601.

250.52250.68250.83250.65 ft09/2310/0310/1310/23

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp69 F
High / Low84 / 51 F
WindE 6-11 mph
Pressure1021.0 hPa, falling
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:09 / 18:18
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 Ross Barnett Reservoir this week

The best day on Ross Barnett Reservoir this week looks like Monday Oct 26, at 5 out of 5, against 4 today.

Best day this week: Monday, Oct 26 — excellent at 5/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Oct 23 — Good

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

Solunar majors
9:36 AM-11:36 AM and 10:04 PM-12:04 AM
Minor period
3:58 AM-4:58 AM
Sun
07:09 to 18:18
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Partly cloudy, 9 mph
Rain chance
0%

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

Species guide

The species that matter on Ross Barnett Reservoir: 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.

When to come: the Ross Barnett Reservoir 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)
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 Ross Barnett Reservoir today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

5/5 Excellent. Go now. Everything lines up: pressure, wind and light are in your favor. Largemouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 84 F, wind to 6 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

5/5 Excellent. Go now. Everything lines up: pressure, wind and light are in your favor. Largemouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 81 F, wind to 6 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 7 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 publishes Ross Barnett Reservoir special regulations, including rules for trotlines, throw lines, limb lines, jugs and yo-yos on parts of the reservoir; read them with the current MDWFP creel and length limits.

Access

33 boat launches and two kayak launches managed by the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District, plus district campgrounds and day-use parks.

About this water

A 33,000-acre Pearl River impoundment northeast of Jackson, Mississippi, operated by the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District.

Fishing Ross Barnett Reservoir: the full guide

Lake and river in one

Ross Barnett Reservoir impounds the Pearl River northeast of Jackson. MDWFP describes it as 33,000 acres: about 24,000 acres of open lake and 9,000 acres of riverine habitat north of Highway 43. The Pearl River Valley Water Supply District operates the reservoir, and MDWFP’s Fisheries Bureau manages its fisheries and posts regular fishing reports.

Crappie

MDWFP’s reports send crappie anglers to timber on the main lake, submerged oxbows, the points and bends upriver, and the river channel from Highway 43 up to the single pole markers. The agency expects the bite to improve as the weather cools in fall.

Bass, bream and catfish

For fall largemouth, MDWFP suggests creeks and coves and lists chatterbaits, spinnerbaits, crankbaits and speed worms, with green pumpkin, black and blue or junebug colors. Bream come on crickets and worms near pad flats and gravel. Catfish are taken in deep timber, on jugs drifted through stump fields, and on the flats and old oxbows above Highway 43.

Launches and parks

The water supply district manages 33 boat launches and two kayak launches, campgrounds including Coal Bluff, Goshen Springs, Low Head Dam and Timberlake, and day-use parks such as Old Trace Park and Pelahatchie Shore. Skiing and other boating sports concentrate on the main lake, while the 9,000 riverine acres suit paddling and fishing.

Common questions

Where do crappie hold on the Rez?

MDWFP points to main-lake timber, submerged oxbows, the points and bends upriver, and the river channel between Highway 43 and the single pole markers.

Who runs the boat launches?

The Pearl River Valley Water Supply District, which manages 33 boat launches and two kayak launches around the reservoir.

Are there special rules for catfish gear?

Yes. MDWFP notes special regulations on parts of the reservoir for trotlines, throw lines, set hooks, limb lines, jugs and yo-yos; check them before setting gear.

Is fishing good at Ross Barnett Reservoir 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

Big Black River39 miEagle Lake56 miOkatibbee Lake72 miLake Washington73 miLake Ferguson90 miLake Chicot94 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 02485601 — Pearl River at Ross Barnett Reservoir, MS
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 14:15 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 32.4300, -90.0300 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 5, 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 5, 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.