Legion Lake Reopens

Nov 29, 2023

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After three long years Simpson County Lake reopened to the public at 6 a.m. on Wednesday, June 7. A special Youth Fishing Day was held Saturday, June 3, with gates opening at 7 a.m.

Trucks with and without boats, cars, and SUVs – too many to count – lined up on Highway 49 waiting to enter. Wardens and personnel from the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks were on hand to guide and direct the traffic as visitors entered.

The lake, formerly called Legion Lake, was drained in 2020 with plans to renovate the dam as it was a high-hazard dam, according to Gregory Perry, lake manager.

"There were some structure flaws in it," he said. "(Highway) 49 is an emergency evacuation highway for everybody in the state of Mississippi. When we redid the dam, we sloped it at an angle and put more drains on it. If there is a problem it will drain."

Simpson County Lake has been stocked with Florida bass, white crappie (trout), red ear bream, blue gill and, of course, catfish. Perry added that a 24 inch valve was added on the dam's drain and he added more structure to the lake by sinking 30 oak trees, 150 Christmas trees and 16 nine foot long culverts, creating a habitat for the fish.

In addition the earthen piers were redecked, adding more structure by using screws for stabilization over nails to prevent wobbling. A new double boat ramp was added along with a new larger maintenance shop.

New water lines and 50 amp breakers were added to all the campground sites. The pads were also leveled out and new rock was added.

In an effort to make the lake more accessible to foot traffic, Perry put in four different bream beds "to make it a little more bank friendly for people who don't have boats."

Perry says he has mixed emotions about the opening. He has enjoyed having the lake to himself even with the amount of work necessary for the renovations to get to this point. "It's nice to come in, have a cup of coffee and enjoy the birds. I do miss the people getting excited catching fish, enjoying themselves."

He added, "I think the last time they drained it was in ’91. We should be good for 20 or 30 years. I won't see it drained again; maybe I will, but…

"I did see we do have a new guy here. Before we closed we had about an 11 foot alligator and I haven't seen him. Just the other day I saw the new one we have, he's about 7 feet long. That's good; it keeps the turtle population down. It's the circle of life."

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