B ‘n’ M Pro Staff team Michael Haney (left) and Rodney Crimm display a catfish
Haney caught on Grenada Lake while pulling planer boards through submerged timber.
Catfish Bonanza: Grenada Lake, Mississippi
By Michael O. Giles
Grenada Lake is best known as the country’s top lake for big crappie, but this Magnolia State destination produces some huge catfish as well.
Michael Haney reared back on his rod and drove the steel hook deep into the jaws of a Grenada Lake blue catfish. The lunker cat dove deeper and fought wildly but was ultimately no match for the veteran angler and tournament competitor who finally wore it down and landed it.
Grenada Lake is well known for its crappie fishing, but crappie aren’t the only fish that are plentiful in the lake. For locals, the lake is also known for its fantastic catfishing, as well as the abundant outdoors opportunities found around the lake and in Grenada.
Haney and his brother Rodney Crimm have been catching catfish all their lives, and they are very familiar with fishing in the lake. They won the first catfish tournament they entered there.
Veteran anglers know there are certain areas of the lake that produce year-round and some areas that are better at specific times. The key is knowing where to fish during the time of year you’re visiting and which species you are after.
“It’s not hard to catch a world of eating-size fish on Grenada,” said Rodney Crimm. “If you are after blues, then you are going to catch them in the 3- to 20-pound range.”
Here are a few spots to be familiar with.
Levee Rocks and Riprap Banks
Grenada has a long levee with lots of rocks, and there are other rock-lined banks around various boat ramps.
“Anglers catch channel catfish along the rocks of the levee and other places that have riprap,” Crimm said. “Most are caught there during the prespawn and spawning seasons, but you can almost always catch some along the rocks, regardless of the time of year.”
Skuna River Channel
Both the Yalobusha and Skuna River channels offer excellent catfishing. The Skuna River is the northernmost arm of Grenada and has a lot of ditches and channels that hold catfish.
Yalobusha River
The Yalobusha runs into Grenada on the southeastern arm of the lake.
“The Yalobusha River runs near Choctaw Landing, and there is a lot of submerged structure under there,” said Crimm. “We use a Humminbird for navigation along the ditches and structures to locate fish. After we locate a few fish in a stretch of water, we troll back through them and usually catch more fish. They may be in a 100-yard stretch of water, and we will work back and forth through them until the bite slows down.”
Graysport Bridge
“We fish in about 12 to 14 feet of water along the Graysport Bridge and sometimes we wear out the catfish, crappie and white bass,” said Michael Haney. “I’ve been there when every time you dropped a bait down you got bit!”
You just never know what may bite when you are fishing there.
Grenada Spillway
Don’t have a boat? Then you might want to try fishing in the Grenada Spillway. Although it is not in the main lake, it is one of the most popular places to catch catfish and lots of them. Whether you want eating-size fish or monster cats, you can catch them there almost anytime you have sufficient current flow.
During the fall, upper-lake drawdown anglers will have an opportunity to catch multiple species of catfish and other fish. Thousands of pounds of catfish are caught below the spillway every year.
Bait Choices
“Our bait choices are usually determined by the species, size and location of catfish we are fishing for that day,” said Haney. “We use shad, worms, minnows and skipjack.
“We use skipjack for bait below the spillway,” he continued. “Traditionally that bait is one of the best to use down there, and it always produces for us. We use fresh skipjack if possible and frozen skipjack if we can’t get it fresh.”
They catch skipjack at spillways like Wilson, Wheeler, Pickwick and a few other places when they’re plentiful.
“We catch as many as we can in one day and put them on ice in a big cooler,” said Crimm. “We then layer the fish with a coating of ice and salt on top and then add the next layer until we have all the bait we can take. Then we wrap them in Saran wrap, vacuum seal them and freeze them. We put their backs down with their bellies up to keep the blood in their backs. They’ll keep fresh for two years when preserved that way, and we just take out what we need before we go fishing.”
“On Grenada, I like a two-finger wide slice of bait,” Haney said. “We may use a three-finger wide slice on other lakes, depending on what they want that day. However, for big fish, the game changes.”
Big Bait = Big Fish.
“Generally big fish prefer big baits, and one of our biggest cats, a 50-pounder, was caught on a 12-inch fillet,” said Haney.
Haney’s biggest cat to date is a 47-pounder, and Crimm’s is a 55-pounder.
“We practice catch and release, and it works for us,” Haney said. “We caught a 41 pounder and released it and then caught it again about three weeks later in the same spot.”
Area Attractions around Grenada
There are plenty of fun things to do around Grenada, Mississippi.
“We have the Dogwoods Golf Course on the banks of the lake, and many enjoy the opportunity to golf,” said Grenada Tourism Director Gary Worsham. “We also have Hugh White State Park with camping, cabins and a variety of outdoor activities.
“There is also a unique downtown area in Grenada that has antique shops and unique locally owned specialty shops that are popular among visitors.”
The Lee Tartt Nature Preserve in Grenada is a unique area with a mile and a half of walking trails and kayaking opportunities.
“The preserve is a bottomland hardwood forest featuring a series of interconnected oxbow lakes known as Chakchiuma Swamp,” said Worsham. “The area affords people opportunities to get outdoors and experience nature right in the city limits.”
Whether you are looking to catch a bunch of catfish or score on a trophy catfish, you can do it at Grenada Lake. After the fishing is over for the day, you’ll have ample opportunities to sample some scrumptious cuisine and visit the downtown area.
For more information, go to visitgrenadams.com.
(Michael Giles of Meridian, Mississippi is an avid bass and crappie angler and part-time guide. He’s also an award-winning wildlife photographer, author and writer who has been fishing and hunting since 1965.)
