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Sardis Lake Fishing Report

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

Sardis Lake: the oldest of north Mississippi's four Corps flood-control reservoirs, managed by MDWFP with a 12-inch crappie minimum.

4/5
Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
Water temp
~74 F est.
Air / High
80 / 80 F
Wind
ENE 7 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.

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

Sardis Lake offers the kind of conditions this water was made for. Today brings clear skies, wind ENE around 7 mph, falling pressure near 1020 hPa and a high of 80. Water sits around 74 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:35 AM-11:35 AM and 10:03 PM-12:03 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

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 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 / 47 F
WindENE 7-10 mph
Pressure1020.2 hPa, falling
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:11 / 18:15
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 Sardis Lake this week

The best day on Sardis Lake 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
9:35 AM-11:35 AM and 10:03 PM-12:03 AM
Minor period
3:57 AM-4:57 AM
Sun
07:11 to 18:15
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Partly cloudy, 8 mph
Rain chance
0%

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

Species guide

The species that matter on Sardis 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 Sardis 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 Sardis Lake today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Crappie led the card at fair. High of 80 F, wind to 7 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 6 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Crappie led the card at fair. 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

Anglers need a Mississippi fishing license. MDWFP (eRegulations, updated Aug. 14, 2026): crappie under 12 inches must be released and the limit is 10 a day per angler, with a 25-crappie aggregate for boats carrying three or more anglers; no more than 4 poles per angler, each with no more than 2 hooks or lures. Sardis spillway and Lower Lake to Spaulding Creek: 10 crappie a day with no length limit. Other species follow statewide limits (black bass 10 a day combined). Fish may be cleaned only at designated cleaning stations where they exist, not on the water or in ramp parking lots.

Access

Corps areas including Engineers Point, Hurricane Landing, Sleepy Bend, Coles Point, Lower Lake Boat Ramp and Weir Ramp; Corps project office on Highway 315, Sardis (662-563-4531).

About this water

32,100 acres at summer pool, 10,700 at winter pool (MDWFP), on the Little Tallahatchie River, north Mississippi; built by the Corps in 1939.

Fishing Sardis Lake: the full guide

A flood-control reservoir

MDWFP describes Sardis Reservoir as the oldest of the four flood-control reservoirs in north Mississippi, built by the Corps of Engineers in 1939 on the Little Tallahatchie River. It covers 32,100 acres at summer pool and is drawn down each fall to a winter pool of 10,700 acres; flood pool is 58,500 acres. Levels follow an annual rule curve but depart from it with local rain and spillway operations. Below the spillway lies the 400-acre Sardis Lower Lake. MDWFP calls Sardis the state's most popular angling destination.

From MDWFP's fishing report

MDWFP's report read on Oct. 8, 2026 pointed crappie anglers to 14 to 16 feet of water in the main lake from Clear Creek to the dam, using active sonar, trolling or drifting, and asked anglers to use single hooks or pinched barbs so short fish survive release. It noted that winter often concentrates white bass at Engineers Point and the dam, and that white bass have no size or number limits. In the spillway and Lower Lake the best fishing comes when some water is being released, but not too much.

Corps recreation areas

The Corps lists Sardis Lake for its sand beaches and fishing, and a state park with a swimming pool, cabins and a golf course sits on the lake. Corps areas include Engineers Point, Hurricane Landing, Sleepy Bend, Coles Point, Beach Point, Cypress Point, the Lower Lake Boat Ramp and the Weir Ramp. On Oct. 8, 2026 the Corps listed the Clear Creek campground as closed and Elmer's Hill as closed for renovation.

Common questions

What is the crappie limit at Sardis Lake?

10 a day per angler, all 12 inches or longer, and no more than 25 in a boat with three or more anglers. In the spillway and Lower Lake to Spaulding Creek the limit is 10 with no length minimum.

When does Sardis Lake drop to winter pool?

MDWFP says the lake is lowered each fall from its 32,100-acre summer pool to a 10,700-acre winter pool; its 2026 report noted the drawdown usually begins on August 1.

Is there a limit on white bass at Sardis?

No. MDWFP notes there are no size or number limits on white bass.

Is fishing good at Sardis 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

Enid Lake18 miArkabutla Lake30 miGrenada Lake40 miBay Springs Lake85 miColumbus Lake97 miLake Ferguson102 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 34.4087, -89.7939 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.