Social distancing is a term few Mississippians, if any, heard before coronavirus arrived.
Now it's one of the most common phrases in the world. Fortunately, the state has thousands of miles of creeks and streams where people can get away, enjoy nature and catch a wide variety of fish.
"Well, I stay on Black Creek quite a bit — some stretches in Lamar County that most people don't float," said Michael Turnage of Hattiesburg. "I do Red Creek and the Tallahala and some other small creeks that I couldn't tell you the name of.
"Most of the time I'm bass fishing, but I'll fish for anything that swims. If I can take my kayak, I do, but some are too small so I wade."
When most people think of bass fishing, they think of fast boats, big lakes and tournaments. Turnage has a bass boat, but said more times than not it's sitting at home collecting dust because he prefers the scenery and solitude of creeks over manmade impoundments.
"It's just something different all the time," Turnage said. "It's constantly changing by the minute, which causes me to adapt if I want to catch fish.
"It's the solitude. You get to experience more things in an area with more wildlife and less people. The outstanding fishing doesn't hurt at all, either."
The quality of the fish he catches is surprising.
"It gets pretty exciting," Turnage said. "I've caught some 6 to 7-pound largemouth bass. I've caught some 4-pound spotted bass. You wouldn't think fish that size would be in these creeks."
Turnage also fishes for catfish and the sizes these small creeks produce are even more surprising than the bass.
"It's not unusual for a 35 to 40-pound flathead to come out of these creeks," Turnage said.
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Family time and a variety of species
For Colt Mooney of Seminary, getting away with family and a wide variety of fish is what fishing creeks is all about.
"I fish the Okatoma and small creeks feeding into it," Mooney said. "Some of the upper parts, me and my nephew are probably the only people to float in 20 years.
"Aside from the short portion that has been commercialized by canoe (and) kayak rentals, the vast majority is untamed and difficult to navigate even for a 1-person kayak. In areas it’s less than knee-high all the way across, but it has holes that can be upwards of 30-feet deep."
Mooney said his gear is simple; limb lines, trotlines and a spincasting rod and reel. His baits consist of bream, minnows and night crawlers.
And those baits catch a variety of fish. On a recent two-night trip, Mooney's trotlines produced 13 types of fish ranging from shadow bass to flathead catfish. Some unintended catches were an eel and a soft shell turtle.
"We set our lines while the others set up camp and build a campfire, then we take turns checking every two hours while the others sit around the fire and tell stories (and) pole-fish," Mooney said. "You have fun with family and go home with a stringer of fish. In all honesty, the fishing is just secondary in my opinion."
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Kyle Johns of Copiah County said a nearby creek is a natural playground where his sons and cousins learn about fishing and have fun.
"The headwaters of Copiah Creek start near here," Johns said. "My 5-year-old fishes that creek quite often.
"I go down there with him. I take him down there with worms and crickets. We've got a few fishing holes on it. He's caught a lot of creek bass and bream. My 12-year-old fishes some. My cousins up the road go quite often, so we'll have four corks bobbing."
And when the kids get tired of fishing, it's time to jump in the creek.
"There's a swimming hole on this property," Johns said. "What's crazy about it is it's actually spring-fed.
"In July and August, when the water's down, it has a cold blue tint to it. The kids absolutely love it."
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Back to basics: Creeks offer solitude, wildlife, big fish and fun during pandemic - Clarion Ledger
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