Columbus Lake fishing: Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Spotted Gar

Target species: Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Spotted Gar, White Crappie, Blue Catfish, Black Crappie, Highfin Carpsucker

The lake

Columbus Lake covers 2,570 acres in Mississippi, across 2 counties: Lowndes and Clay. It is a lake: 91.2% of it is 10 feet deep or less; the deepest point measured is at least 27 feet (8.2 m). Our records hold 34 species for this water.

7 target fish, led by Largemouth Bass

  • Largemouth Bass — Feeding water: 65–85°F.
  • Walleye — Feeding water: 50–75°F.
  • Spotted Gar — Feeding water: 70–85°F.
  • White Crappie — Feeding water: 65–75°F.
  • Blue Catfish — Feeding water: 70–85°F.
  • Black Crappie — Feeding water: 65–75°F.
  • Highfin Carpsucker — Feeding water: 65–75°F.

Also recorded here: Bluegill, Redear, Flier, Flathead Catfish, Channel Catfish, Freshwater Drum, Blacktail Redhorse, Chain Pickerel, Golden Redhorse, River Redhorse, Spotted Bass, Redfin Pickerel, Warmouth, Green Sunfish, Longear Sunfish, Orangespotted Sunfish, Longnose Gar, Bowfin, Yellow Bullhead, Common Carp.

Depth and bottom

Deepest measured point: at least 27 ft (8.2 m). That is the deepest contour line: the bottom goes deeper. 91.2% of the water is 10 feet or shallower. We hold 137 depth contour lines for this water.

USACE John C Stennis Lock and Dam.jpg
Adrien Lamarre, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers · Public domain
  • 0–2 ft: 18.9% of the water
  • 2–4 ft: 26.2% of the water
  • 4–6 ft: 26.6% of the water
  • 6–8 ft: 12.4% of the water
  • 8–10 ft: 7.1% of the water
  • 10–12 ft: 4.5% of the water
  • 12–14 ft: 2% of the water
  • 14–16 ft: 1.2% of the water
  • 16–18 ft: 0.7% of the water
  • 18–20 ft: 0.2% of the water
  • 20–22 ft: 0.1% of the water

Water and conditions

Our water temperature readings average 80°F; they do not cover the whole year, so this is not a yearly average. pH averages 7.1. These readings span 2016–2018. The latest reading is from 2018, more than three years ago: read these numbers as history, not as the water today.

What is hard here

With 91.2% of the water 10 feet or less, low level turns the flats into hazards. Summer water sits at 89°F: heat and afternoon lightning are the real risks, not the fishing.

Where this data comes from

  • Mississippi Dept. of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks — Mississippi Dept. of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks: depth contours: class A, a survey of the bottom.
  • EPA NLA — EPA National Lakes Assessment: class B, a depth figure measured and published by an agency, without a bottom map.