‘The bass haven’t seen a spinnerbait or a plastic worm in a while. The bream fishing is about to turn on. The lake has always been known for redear sunfish.’

A popular state park lake is set to open next week and when it does, the fishing experience could be better than ever.

“We closed it last year in 2023,” said Jerry Brown, Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks’ Fisheries director. “Parks was already doing some work on the cabins and we took the opportunity to lower the lake at the same time.

“We brought the water level down 8 feet. We closed it to fishing and boating at that time.”

The lake is Bob M. Dearing Natchez State Park Lake located near Natchez. The park is one of several that has seen upgrades recently including renovation of its cabins.

The lake is 230 acres and is where the Mississippi state record largemouth bass weighing 18.15 pounds was caught in 1992.

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Upgrades to Bob M. Dearing Natchez State Park Lake

According to Brown, a number of upgrades were performed to make fishing better and more convenient.

• Courtesy piers at boat launch removed and replaced
• Fishing piers re-decked and railed
• Additional courtesy piers built near cabins
• Multiple gravels beds constructed to attract bedding bream near fishing piers and accessible banks
• Stake beds constructed near banks and fishing piers to attract crappie
• Brush piles added to attract crappie, bream and bass

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Will the fish be biting?

The lake is scheduled to open at 6 a.m. on May 6 and while the fish may not jump in the boat, the action should be excellent.

“You’d expect the fishing to be good,” Brown said. “The lake’s been closed for a while.

“The bass haven’t seen a spinnerbait or a plastic worm in a while. The bream fishing is about to turn on. The lake has always been known for redear sunfish. The lake has some good crappie. The fish attractors will be hotspots and concentrate fish.”

How many fish can I keep?

Bass fishermen should be aware there is a slot on largemouth bass. All fish 18-22 inches must be released and only one fish over 22 inches may be kept per angler per day.

• Bass: 7 per angler
• Catfish: 10 per angler
• Crappie: 30 per angler
• Bream: 100 per angler

How much does it cost?

• Fishing permit: $5 for anglers 16-64, $3 for anglers 65 and older or disabled.
• Boat launch: $7 for anglers 16-64, $6 for anglers 65 and older or disabled. This also covers the fishing permit fee for the boat owner. Others in the boat must purchase the appropriate fishing permit.
• Anglers 15 years and younger: Free
• Note: Anglers must have a valid Mississippi freshwater fishing license unless exempt.

More information

Do you have a story idea? Contact Brian Broom at 601-961-7225 or bbroom@gannett.com.

If you’re looking for a good craft beer brewed in Mississippi, you may not have to look far. With roughly 20 brewers in the state, your chances are good.

Finding the best beers in the state is another story, but SB Nation’s Hustle Belt – Belts Beer Garden makes it easier to hop on a crafty destination.

This year’s Top 5 breweries in the state feature some familiar favorites and a couple new ones to sample, if you haven’t yet.

Hattiesburg’s Southern Prohibition Brewing Co., which opened in 2013, tops this year’s list.

It’s the passion of the people working at SoPro that makes the brewery what it is.

“The beer is a piece of the puzzle,” said Ben Green, who has been SoPro’s head brewer since the beginning. “It might be a big piece of the puzzle, but it’s the details that make it go from good to great. We’re always striving to get better at those details.”

Over the years, the brewery has experimented with a lot of beers and beer styles, pushing each to the extreme and trying variations of the brews to make them exciting, fun and appealing to beer aficionados. In addition, SoPro opened a taproom, a large outdoor patio and an event room for special occasions. There is a full-service restaurant and full bar, including a selection of alcohol-free mocktails, making it a family-friendly, something-for-everyone kind of place.

“In 2024, we look a lot different,” Green said. “We’re really focused on the experience.”

But Southern Prohibition is focused on the beers, too. Greens said the brewery is constantly making improvements.

“The landscape is awesome right now,” Green said. “It’s become more competitive, which is better for everybody. We’re constantly trying to be better versions of ourselves and that shows in our beers.”

Other breweries on the list include No. 2 Fly Llama Brewing in Biloxi; Natchez Brewing Co. in Natchez at No. 3; No. 4 Lazy Magnolia Brewing Co. in Kiln; and Jackson’s Fertile Ground Beer Co. rounding out the list at No. 5.

Fertile Ground owner Matthew McLaughlin said his brewery takes a different perspective on making beer.

“We approach our portfolio a little bit differently than other breweries,” he said. “IPAs ruled the world for the last 15-plus years. We make some of those, but we really focus on lagers, which take a considerable amount of time and attention to brew.”

The brewery is in the heart of the Belhaven Town Center development. Weekly events include trivia and adult spelling bees, and monthly weekend events include crawfish boils and cookouts. Oktoberfest, of course, is a main event going into the fall.

“It’s a social magnet,” McLaughlin said. “Being that kind of cohesive community glue is what is most inspiring to me.”

Mississippi’s venture in the craft beer industry was slow getting started, mainly because state law wasn’t conducive to building a thriving beer business.

The first new law that kicked off the movement was one that allowed for beers containing more than 5% alcohol to be sold in the state. Allowing breweries to sell their beer on site also helped.

The changes to state law started in 2012, and since then the growth of beer sales and number of breweries popping up has continued to grow.

The oldest brewery in the state is Lazy Magnolia, which started making and selling packaged beer in 2005. In 2013, Southern Prohibition Brewing and several other breweries opened and the craft beer trend took off.

Although the breweries could make beer, they couldn’t sell it on location, so beer lovers had to buy their favorites in retail stores. Instead of selling beer, breweries offered tours for a fee and gave away samples of their beer with the tours.

In 2017, another new law was enacted to allow breweries to sell a limited amount of their beers, so many opened taprooms to the delight of fans. Craft beer lovers could meet at the breweries and compare notes on the beers in person.

Other new laws in recent years have done even more to help the craft beer business in Mississippi, creating an even more robust industry.

Today, Mississippi’s craft beer industry has an economic impact on the state of roughly $269 million per year, according to 2022 figures, the most recent available from the Brewers Association. The state’s breweries produce more than 20,000 barrels of beer each year.

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Do you have a story to share? Contact Lici Beveridge at lbeveridge@gannett.com. Follow her on X  @licibev or Facebook at facebook.com/licibeveridge.