Picking Mississippi's three best fishing opportunities each month of the calendar year may sound easy. Well, the assignment couldn't have been more difficult.

The problem lies in what is actually a plus for fishermen -- in the Magnolia State we are blessed with a climate that provides us a 12-month fishing season.

Rivers and lakes, streams and ponds, as well as the Gulf of Mexico, all provide possibilities that required a painful process of elimination to come up with an elite list. It was torture, but what follows is one man's opinion of 36 sure bets for 2007.

JANUARY
Crappie
Lake Chotard
If you like crappie, and can't wait for the spring spawn to get your first fix of the year, fret not. Some of the best, and most consistent, action of the year is available at Lake Chotard, a Mississippi River oxbow about 20 miles north of Vicksburg.

Water temperature and levels are not critical on Chotard in January, just the barometer. The passage of a strong winter front shuts the fish down for days, but as the front approaches and when the weather settles after it passes, the action can be awesome.

The key is finding concentrations of shad with electronics. They could be as shallow as 12 feet or as deep as 25. Crappie may even get as deep as 30 feet at Chotard and still be biting.

Red hooks with glow tubes and tipped with a minnow produce in the deep, dark waters.

Other choices: If it's bigger fish you're after, there are a couple of options worth checking. Winter is a great time to find concentrations of redfish in the lower marsh area of the Pascagoula River. On cold days, find deep holes and bounce soft plastics. On warm days, fish shallow banks or bars near those same deep holes with plastics or spinnerbaits.

Bass fishermen should consider a trip to Lake Calling Panther at Crystal Springs. Use jerkbaits along the dam or flip the trees on points and in coves.

FEBRUARY
Mixed Bag
Coastal Rivers
Hard to believe, but in the Pascagoula, Biloxi, Jordan and Pearl River systems on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, it is possible, no probable, that a fisherman can catch flounder, redfish, speckled trout, striped bass and largemouth bass without moving a boat.

It just depends on which direction one is casting and what lure is tied at the end of the line. The coastal river marshes load up with all species each winter, and in February, as the water begins to warm, all of these fish will bite. Work the banks for redfish and largemouths, but the trout, stripers and flounder are out in deeper water.

A stiff-armed saltwater spinnerbait is an all-around good choice. Jigs and soft plastics work best on the deeper fish.

Other choices: The pre-spawn crappie bite at Ross Barnett Reservoir is one of the best times to fill a cooler with a limit of big, fat sows. The upper end of the main lake is the place to find them -- on the edge of the river channel, in the open water of the old lakebeds, or on the deep flat just southeast of the State Route 43 bridge. Trolling is the preferred method, fishing with minnows with a multiple set that covers depths from 8 to 15 feet.

Bass fishermen can pick any of the south Mississippi state lakes for some great pre-spawn bass action. Lake Columbia is the place for big fish, but lakes Perry, Bogue Homa, Mike Conner, Simpson Legion and Jeff Davis are all good choices, as is Natchez State Park.

MARCH
Largemouths
Lake Calling Panther
This state lake opened in March 2006, and the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks couldn't have picked a better month for the debut. Fishermen had a lot of fun and a lot of success on numerous patterns.

The most productive tactic for big fish was flipping jigs and soft plastics on standing timber or downed logs in the coves and on the main-lake points. The most productive tactic for numbers of fish was tossing worms and spinnerbaits on shallow cover in the coves.

For the best combination of quality and quantity, fishing suspending hard jerkbaits off the dam was tough to beat.

Other options: Old-timers say the inconsistent water levels on the Mississippi River oxbow lakes in March play right into the hands of trotliners, who can catch enough channel catfish this month to fill their freezers for the year ahead. On rising waters, place trotlines in shallow water where cats moving up with the water can find the bait. On falling waters, move the trotlines back closer to the outside edges of the tree line to get the fish as they pull back out.

Grenada Lake is the place to look for true trophy crappie, and March is the time to find the big females at their heaviest. The pre-spawn puts them on cover in the mouths of the creeks and coves.