Fall mullet run builds in Mississippi Sound as Red Snapper stays closed

What's next

Expect water temps to hold in the upper 70s to low 80s over the next few days, with only gradual cooling as nights lengthen — normal for Mississippi Sound in mid-October. Tide-wise, one Sound gauge shows a predawn high near 1:58 a.m. CDT sliding to a low near 5:54 a.m., while a second nearby station reads a low around 3:22 a.m. building toward a late-morning high near 11:27 a.m. Plan around moving water near first light and again toward midday. With a waning crescent moon this week, tidal swings are moderate rather than peak spring-tide strength, which tends to spread the bite out across the day instead of concentrating it into one short window.

The mullet run Saltwater Sportsman describes should keep building through the rest of October and into November, so watch passes and bayou mouths off the Sound for bait showers as the week progresses — that's usually the first visible sign of predators staging up before a cold front pattern sets in. With Red Snapper closed for the remainder of 2026 per MS DMR, build trips around other legal bottom and inshore targets, and check current state regs before keeping anything off reef structure.

Context

Early October in Mississippi Sound sits at the handoff between late-summer heat and the real fall pattern. Water in the low 80s runs warm for the calendar but isn't unusual here, since Gulf Coast cooling lags weeks behind the rest of the Southeast. The fall mullet run arriving now is right on schedule for the region, typically running from September into November. The Red Snapper closure landing in late September is standard timing for Mississippi's state season, which usually wraps well before year's end once the date-certain limit is reached.