These waters were once thought to be most productive for producing large crappie when Old Man River is at lower stages and the lake is cut off from its flow. Thus, most crappie fishermen based their fishing activity at Chotard on the Mississippi River stage. However, a few of the guys in the Magnolia Crappie Club have proved this theory to be incorrect.

"Forget the river stage," admonished Paul Johnson, president of the club, which is one of the largest local crappie clubs in the country. "I proved in the winter of 2005 that it is possible to catch huge quantities of really large slabs at Chotard with the river coming up over a foot a day. I did it over and over again by fishing the shad schools. Locate the shad, catch the crappie -- it's really very simple.

"The river eventually got to flood stage in February 2005," Johnson continued, noting that the water level exceeded 46 feet on the Vicksburg river gauge, "and I was still limiting out on practically every trip to Chotard. Shoot, the last day I fished over there before it flooded, the ramp at Chotard Landing was all underwater.

"Now, after the floodwaters receded, it was a different story," Johnson added. "We had a crappie tournament over there a few days after the 10-year flood began to go down, and the fish were nowhere to be found."

Most slab crappie caught at Chotard in February are in the 15- to 20-foot depths. But if that doesn't work, Johnson has another trick up his sleeve. He recommended next fishing the bottom at depths from 25 to 35 feet deep.

Johnson rigs up with a 1-ounce weight on the end of the line. He then ties on three dropper lines, spaced about 15 to 18 inches coming up the main line above the weight. To the ends of those he attaches a white (or for muddy water conditions, orange) "glow-in-the-dark" hook. To those hooks he adds live minnows.

His technique is to bounce the lead weight off the bottom as he slowly drifts parallel to Chotard's steep banks.

According to Johnson, the only other items you need to bring are a couple of ice chests and a fish counter, because "you're going to catch the limit!"

As with other oxbow lakes on waters bordering adjacent states, the daily limit on Chotard is the same as that of the adjoining state. In this case, that makes a creel limit on the lake the same as Louisiana's 50 per day, rather than the Magnolia State's 30.

To reach Chotard Lake, take U.S. Highway 61 north from Vicksburg and then turn left onto SR 465. Follow the signs to Eagle Lake, continue past that body of water until you reach the levee. The road stays on top of the levee as it continues to Lake Chotard.

ROSS BARNETT RESERVOIR
Built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as a flood-control project for the Pearl River, 33,000-acre Ross Barnett Reservoir is located just north of Jackson along the historic Natchez Trace Parkway. With over 100 miles of shoreline, Barnett is home to some of the Magnolia State's premier crappie habitat. The reservoir is drawn down during the winter months to almost half of its normal summer capacity. The result is a lot of fish packed into a much smaller body of water.

Options are abundant when it comes to crappie fishing on Ross Barnett. With 18 free boat ramps to choose from beginning at the spillway and scattered along its length to its northern reaches above SR 43, Ross Barnett offers crappie anglers a wide variety of fishing sites to pick from. Whether you prefer the shallows, the deep holes along the old river channel, or the turbulent water below the dam, access is never a problem.

According to the MDWFP, 54 percent of the anglers on Ross Barnett Reservoir are targeting crappie. The lake also has a high catch rate, and the average crappie take here weighs in at just under a pound. However, reservoir fishermen take a good number of 2-pound-plus slabs each year. And with no minimum size limit, Ross Barnett anglers stand a better chance of reaching their daily limit of 30 crappie.