Guide
Fishing: what is open, and the limits
Checked September 30, 2026 against the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources and NOAA Fisheries.
The Fishing tile says, for Mississippi waters, whether each fish people go out for is open today and what may be kept. When it cannot be sure, it says Check and links the rule.
What the tile covers
Red drum, spotted seatrout, flounder, sheepshead, cobia and king mackerel, which are open all year with daily limits; and red snapper, gag, greater amberjack, gray triggerfish and red grouper, whose seasons the Department of Marine Resources (MDMR) opens and closes by order.
- Red snapper opened for the summer on May 22, 2026 and closed July 5. From September 4 it is open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays only, until MDMR projects the state’s catch limit met. Every trip needs a Tails n’ Scales trip authorization.
- Gag was open September 1 to October 1, and greater amberjack September 1 to October 14, by MDMR’s orders.
- Gray triggerfish is closed in January and February and in June and July.
- Reef fish and cobia need the free MS-ROLP permit.
Which water your town reads
| Water | Towns |
|---|---|
| The Sound and the Gulf | Waveland, Bay St. Louis, Diamondhead, Pass Christian, Long Beach, Gulfport, Biloxi, D'Iberville, Ocean Springs, Gautier, Pascagoula, Moss Point |
Mississippi’s limits are the same in the Sound and the state’s Gulf waters, so every town reads one water.
How the words are earned
- Open, Closed or Check. Each fish’s word comes from the season and limits we read off the agency’s own pages and orders, written down with the date we read them.
- A notice turns a fish to Check. When the agency, or NOAA Fisheries for the Gulf, posts anything about one of these fish after we read its rules, that fish says Check, with a link to the notice, until someone has read it and brought the words up to date. A wrong “Open” is a ticket; Check is a minute reading the rule.
- A page that changes turns its fish to Check. The limits pages are compared, word for word, every time the board refreshes. An edit we have not read yet is Check.
- A season that closes when the quota is met says so under the word. The agency announces those closings, sometimes with a day’s notice, and the notice turns the fish to Check.
- The limits here are the state’s, for its own waters out to 9 nautical miles. Federal waters beyond that have their own rules.
Who to call
- MDMR, 228-374-5000. Tails n’ Scales and MS-ROLP, 228-325-1585.