Striper and catfish spring run at Ross Barnett

By By Mike Giles / outdoors writer
March 28, 2003
Late winter and early spring rains have swelled the Pearl River to near flood stage for the last couple of months. All of the Pearl River drainage above Jackson comes to a head in a small bottleneck at the Ross Barnett Spillway. While this might spell trouble for many low-lying areas, it means big business for fishermen. Literally thousands of pounds of crappie, stripers and catfish have been caught in the last two months at the spillway.
During my youth I cut my fishing teeth at the spillway. It was there that I was taught how to catch crappie, catfish and large stripers on light line and small jigs. Although many things have changed since that time, spillway fishing has stayed relatively the same. Oh yes, there are a few more people fishing the area now, but one thing hasn't changed the amount of fish that swim its bountiful waters.
During a couple of late afternoons last week I ventured back to the past, and caught a pile of fish in the process. On the first afternoon, I joined a few die-hard local fishermen who specifically targeted the hybrid stripers. It didn't take long for us to begin hooking up with the dynamos. On this afternoon the stripers were running from eight to twelve pounds. The fish were so fat that they looked like they would burst at the seams. They had obviously been gorging themselves on baitfish 24-7! Charles Burrage of Brandon caught one striper in the eight pound range that looked almost deformed. The fish was almost as wide as he was long.
Moby Dick
After catching a few stripers on buck tail jigs, I had a fish take my bait and keep on going. This time I couldn't turn the fish for quite some time. I would take in some line and the fish would strip it back out. The raging river current was playing in the big bruiser's favor. I was definitely playing on his home court. To compound matters, the water was filled with large rocks, old fishing line and other fishermen's lures.
After about 15 minutes I finally worked the fish near the bank but it still kept near the bottom. With the line singing and the rod bent to a near breaking point, it was nip and tuck. Finally I got the fish to a point where he would not budge. After letting the fish strip off more line, I worked it back to the same point but couldn't get it over the hump. Finally, I knew that I had only one chance, for time was against me.
I made my way upstream and climbed to the top of the rock bank to get a different angle and more leverage on the monster.
As I made my way to the top, the huge fish tore loose from a line that was hung on the bottom and the fight was on again. By now there was quite a crowd watching and I wasn't sure if I could land the big striper or catfish. I didn't know what it was, but it was the biggest fish I had ever tangled with.
Finally after what seemed like an eternity, the fish wore down and gave out. To my surprise it turned out to be a large Appaloosa catfish, otherwise known as a tabby cat or flathead. One of the onlookers who had been watching me throw back ten and twelve pound stripers told me, "I don't think I'd throw that one back. I'd have to eat him!"
Other people offered to buy the big cat. However, no amount of money could have bought the massive fish. I was also advised that it had taken me 28 minutes to land the big fish.
Scale breaker
After a trip back home we finally weighed the fish 3 or 4 hours later and it weighed in at a hefty 45 pounds, with a length in excess of 43 inches. "You done caught Moby," exclaimed one excited onlooker. Well, it wasn't quite Moby Dick, but it was the biggest fish I've ever caught on a 6-1/2 foot spinning outfit.
A couple of afternoons later I had made my way back to the spillway with my brother Mark. We spent a couple of hours casting for the stripers once again and had more fun. In fact, Mark caught the biggest hybrid striper of his life.
If you want to experience some fine big game fishing, then you owe it to yourself to pay Ross Barnett spillway a visit. If you need some further pointers give me a call at 626-8843 or online at mgiles17@msn.com. You just might catch the biggest fish of your life too.