The Mississippi River is on the move again. Only this time, the level is falling instead of rising. The old river bend lakes still connected to the Mississippi River continue to pump out limits of bass, bream, crappie and white bass.

The fluctuating water will keep the fish moving and active. If you bomb out in an area that produced well during a higher stage, just back off to the next available cover or break-line in the structure. This could be as distinct as a 10-foot drop along a ledge or point or as subtle as a two- to three-foot drop near the edges of the flats.

Today the river stage at Natchez is around 26.5 and falling fast. By Wednesday or Thursday the level may be right back to 23 feet, the stage the river was before last week’s rise to 28 feet.

Expect limits of big crappie from the next few days from Deer Park, Minorca and Yucatan; then the size of the fish may drop off. If the river falls below 20 feet by next weekend, there will be very little cover left near the banks.

This, of course, will pull the crappie and bream out of the shallows. They will suspend or follow the huge schools of shad offshore. Try drift fishing with shiners and jigs for big slab crappie during the lower stages. Of course, you’ll need a good depth finder to keep you on the fish.

The bass fishing was great on the Old Rivers at 28 feet. The big fish were holding on the points and we caught them on big deep diving crankbaits and heavy spinners and jigs.

As the water level falls, you may have to switch to medium running cranks that will cover water down to about 10 or 12 feet. The secret to the crankbait bite on the Old Rivers is to make the lure bounce off something.

Crank it down and hit the cover or bottom. Stop your retrieve and let it float up for a second or two. If you catch a few bass on crankbaits, go back over the area with a Carolina rigged craw or creature-style lure. A heavy jig will work to if the crankbait bite is tough.

The bream moved up when the river level hit 28 feet this past Friday. The bream were holding along the edge of the flooded green willow trees. They’ll still be there until the level falls below 23 or 24 feet. During the lower stages, target the old dead stumps and snags for big chinquapin and bluegills on the Old Rivers.

We had a blast catching big white bass and a few sea run stripers this week from the Old Rivers at Deer Park and Vidalia. The whites are very easy to locate.

Try tail spinners, jigging spoons and bright colored crankbaits. Chrome blue back Rat-L-Traps will work, too. The smaller whites hold and feed near the surface, so keep your lure below the small fish and you’ll catch bigger fish.

With all the fishing attention directed toward the Old Rivers, lakes Concordia and St. John are receiving very little pressure. There is a good top water bite going on early and late. Try poppers, buzz bait and walking lures for some nice-sized bass on the landlocked lakes.

Eddie Roberts writes a weekly fishing column for The Natchez Democrat. Reach him at

fishingwitheddie@highstream.net

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