Lake Tangipahoa fishing: Largemouth Bass, Flathead Catfish, Blacktail Redhorse

Target species: Largemouth Bass, Flathead Catfish, Blacktail Redhorse, White Crappie, Bluegill, Redear, Warmouth

The lake

Lake Tangipahoa covers 474 acres in Mississippi, across Pike County. It is a lake: the deepest point measured is at least 16 feet (4.9 m). Our records hold 14 species for this water.

7 target fish, led by Largemouth Bass

  • Largemouth Bass — Feeding water: 65–85°F.
  • Flathead Catfish — Feeding water: 70–85°F.
  • Blacktail Redhorse — Feeding water: 65–75°F.
  • White Crappie — Feeding water: 65–75°F.
  • Bluegill — Feeding water: 70–85°F.
  • Redear — Feeding water: 65–85°F.
  • Warmouth — Feeding water: 70–85°F.

Also recorded here: Green Sunfish, Orangespotted Sunfish, Longnose Gar, Gizzard Shad, Golden Shiner, Threadfin Shad, American Eel.

Depth and bottom

Deepest measured point: at least 16 ft (4.9 m). That is the deepest contour line: the bottom goes deeper. We hold 62 depth contours for this water, drawn from 42 soundings.

Aerial imagery: USDA NAIP 2023
USDA Farm Service Agency, NAIP 2023 aerial imagery (USGS The National Map) · Public domain
  • 0–1 ft: 22.6% of the surveyed bottom
  • 1–2 ft: 11.1% of the surveyed bottom
  • 2–3 ft: 9% of the surveyed bottom
  • 3–4 ft: 9.1% of the surveyed bottom
  • 4–5 ft: 12.2% of the surveyed bottom
  • 5–6 ft: 12.8% of the surveyed bottom
  • 6–8 ft: 6.7% of the surveyed bottom
  • 8–10 ft: 5.7% of the surveyed bottom
  • 10–12 ft: 7.1% of the surveyed bottom
  • 12–14 ft: 2.7% of the surveyed bottom
  • 14–16 ft: 1.2% of the surveyed bottom

Water and conditions

Our water temperature readings average 80°F; they do not cover the whole year, so this is not a yearly average. The coldest single reading we hold is 53°F and the warmest is 93°F; the warmest monthly average is 87°F. pH averages 6.7. These readings span 2019–2021. The latest reading is from 2021, more than three years ago: read these numbers as history, not as the water today.

What is hard here

Summer water sits at 87°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.
  • Webster, K.E., McCullough, I.M., Soranno, P.A. LAGOS-US DEPTH v1.0, EDI, doi:10.6073/pasta/64ddc4d04661d9aef4bd702dc5d8984f (CC BY 4.0); Cheruvelil et al. LAGOS-US LOCUS v1.0 (EDI) — LAGOS-US DEPTH v1.0: Lake depth for 17,675 lakes in the conterminous U.S.: class B, a depth figure measured and published by an agency, without a bottom map.

Part of these depths rest on an averaged water level, so they are approximate (≈).