A number of excellent bream lakes in the south half of the Magnolia State that didn’t make the MDWFP’s short list are simply too productive to be overlooked. My bonus list would have to include Lake Lincoln State Park in Lincoln County, Natchez State Park Lake in Adams County, Roosevelt State Park Lake in Scott County, Calling Panther Lake in Copiah County, Lake Chotard in Warren and Issaquena counties, and Lake Mary in Wilkinson County.

Chotard probably is the most famous lake on this list in terms of big bull bream, but a couple of other areas are fast gaining reputations of their own. Calling Panther Lake, recently opened near Crystal Springs, is beginning to produce some nice stringers of bream, thanks in part to the numerous artificial bedding areas placed in key locations around the lake during its construction.

Then there’s Lake Mary near Woodville. This old oxbow has to be the single most overlooked bream hotspot in the state. The few local bream fisherman who frequent Lake Mary in the spring are a tight-lipped crew, but the secret about this outstanding bream lake is slowly getting out.