Fishermen in Mississippi already know that angling opportunities in the Magnolia State vary greatly in terms both of fish species and of places to catch them. But the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks estimates that 85 percent of Mississippi fishermen are licensed to fish only in fresh water, and so are likely to prefer fishing close to home.

As this month-by-month look at the state’s angling possibilities shows, those tendencies may be making them miss out on a lot of exciting action.

JANUARY

Yellowfin Tuna

Gulf Of Mexico

A trip into federally regulated waters in the area known as “the Midnight Lump” is usually an overnight affair — and one that can deliver yellowfin tuna upwards of 150 pounds. Decent weather — trips are usually slotted in between cold fronts — and appropriate clothing are key to offshore safety. Safe trips require capable seamen and good boats.

Numerous such boats drift flat lines with cut bait while anchored over 300-foot depths some 20 miles beyond the mouth of the Mississippi River. Charters are available in both Biloxi and Gulfport; they can be found online at www.mscharterboats. org.

Options: Offshore fishing during the winter months can be quite good, as red snapper concentrate on the deeper Liberty Ship and other offshore reef areas. Schedule your trip between passing frontal systems.

Crappie take small jigs and minnows when they stack up in deep water in the Mississippi River oxbows between cold fronts.

FEBRUARY

Largemouths

State Lakes

These are the perennial bassin’ favorites. Bass — especially the biggest largemouths — in the many state-operated lakes are moving well into their spawning mode this month, especially in the warmer southern half of the state. Many state lakes are also opening this season after new construction or renovation.

Look for consistent bass action on the reservoir at Roosevelt State Park near Morton, following closure of the impoundment for more than two years. Florida-strain largemouths readily take slow-rolled crankbaits. Big bass will bite early this year in the lakes at Columbia and Natchez state parks, as well as at Simpson County State Lake.

Options: Deep-trolling the bays and backwaters at Biloxi just after cold fronts is the ticket to success for the speckled trout angler throughout the month.

Crappie reliably school in deep water on state lakes where water levels are stable.

MARCH

Smallmouth Bass

Pickwick Lake

It’s trophy time for smallmouth bass at one of the nation’s leading venues for fans of these bronze-backed beauties. With a reputation as a top smallmouth bass lake in the South, Pickwick Lake’s long run-of-the-river stretch, which straddles the Mississippi-Alabama-Tennessee border, solidly delivers trophy smallmouths during this pre-spawn period.

Target middepths; there, successful locals rip suspending deep-diving jerkbaits in natural patterns along the ledges and humps near spawning sites in 8 to 12 feet of water. Jarring strikes are also coaxed by heavy spinnerbaits with a single brass willow-leaf blade.

Options: Drift small jigs tipped with minnows on Enid Lake, where big crappie stage in schools along the ditches and creek channels that lead toward the flats and coves in which the fish will spawn next month.

Soft-plastic topwater lures draw big strikes from largemouth bass cruising the lily pads in the southwestern part of Eagle Lake.

APRIL

Redears

Lake Claude Bennett

Also called “shellcrackers” or “stumpknockers,” they can be caught in good numbers this month at a host of state-operated lakes, but Lake Claude Bennett takes the lead in the action with these large, scrappy sunfish. It’s located in Jasper County, about 20 miles east of Bay Springs.