Fishing So. Louisiana Bayou in Late February

[07Rapala]

My wife and her sister want to do Mardi Gras. I'd much rather spend my time paddling my canoe around the Atchafalaya. Being from WI, that's a whole different world for me.

 

Does anyone have any tips on what the bass will be up to that time of year and where (and how) to look for them?

 

I'm assuming that they will be in early pre-spawn and feeding on crayfish around that time? With the shallow waters in most areas (I assume) and ample vegetation and wood in the water, I was thinking of focusing more on jigs, T-rigged soft-plastics and flukes. I'd limit my treble-hooked lures to just a couple lipless crankbaits, maybe a couple finesse crank baits, and a handful of spinnerbaits and chatterbaits.

 

Am I on the right track here? I want to keep things simple for this trip and limit how many boxes of tackle I take.

 

Thanks!

[river-rat]

Living in Baton Rouge and with my family having a camp near the Atchafalaya Basin my whole life (I'll be 73 soon), I would be hesitant about taking a canoe into the Basin. Understand that to enter the Basin from the east side you first have to cross the Intercoastal Canal and there is always heavy barge traffic.  And then once you cross the Canal, you would have to paddle a long distance to get to any decent water to fish.

 

Success in the Basin is dependent on the water level which could be rising in late February and that's never a good situation.

 

Just a suggestion, you might look at Bayou Segnette State Park. It's less than 20 minutes from New Orleans and you can find decent fishing without traveling too far from the landing. Your choice of tackle would work well in the area.

 

If you're dead set on going into the Basin, email me and I can give you more details. Let me know the dates you will be down here. Maybe we could arrange a trip and I could take you in my boat.

 

 

[07Rapala]

I appreciate your concern.

 

I didn't want to fill my initial post with too much excess text, but perhaps I could have been a bit more clear. I plan to drop-off my wife and sister-in-law in New Orleans, Then I'm going to find somewhere to camp and fish/paddle/hike etc. I will probably go back to get them later.

 

I was thinking of camping at Lake Fausse Point State Park. I could paddle/fish around that lake and the park, or I could launch from one of the boat launches on the other side of the levee into Bayou Chene. I would certainly be open to other ideas where I can get off the beaten path with a canoe... and find fish.

 

Oh, and thanks for the tip about the water possibly starting to rise. I kept reading that water levels would rise in "spring" but I don't have a good frame of reference for when spring is in LA. Up here in WI, the lakes are still solid ice into mid-March.

[river-rat]

You won’t have any problems with that plan. As I said you have the right idea as far as tackle. Good luck. 

[BayouSlide]

Fished Fausse Point a couple of days ago. Dauterive/Fausse Point are large lakes and the water is extremely muddy at this point. Only one fish and it was a large freshwater drum. Wouldn't be my first choice to fish (I usually try it once a year and have had luck in the past on some occasions jugging for catfish) but the park itself should offer nice camping.

 

Not familiar with the bayou you mention but that side of the levee is a good choice rather than the lake. Here's a view from the far end of Fausse Point (near Cotton Canal) from the other day. On the occasions I fish Fausse Point I usually run to various points, always on plane to deal with water levels in places that can be less than two feet deep. My personal opinion is that over time the lake is silting in.

 

 

My first choice by a long shot for fishing and camping is Caney Lake, much further north and a real bass factory. Second choice, less further north, would be Lake Chicot, which can be stingy but I have pulled a couple six pounders from there. Lake Verret and Grassy Lake are good as well, I'm heading that way later this week.

 

Since you're limited in the area you can cover in a canoe, your plan on exploring a bayou is wise. I would respect River Rat's advice on the Basin: Basin fishing calls for some real experience and the right water levels to be successful. Best of luck and enjoy your time in the bayou state.

 

 

[Catt]

If you are looking at the Atchafalaya on Google Maps/Earth you will be misguided.by what you see. While the Basin is absolutely beautiful lots of it doesn't hold fish. In my opinion this is a body of water that requires an outboard motor to effectively fish it. 

 

If I were to fish the Basin out of a kayak, I would look at the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge areas.

[BayouSlide]

27 minutes ago, Catt said:

While the Basin is absolutely beautiful lots of it doesn't hold fish. In my opinion this is a body of water that requires an outboard motor to effectively fish it.

 

X2

 

There are some promising areas and bayous accessible when launching from the Bayou Benoit landing the other side of the levee but they require burning some fuel and avoiding the shallowest and muddiest water.

 

The best numbers day of my life was on Beau Bayou off Bayou Darby one year when the water was high enough for access. Visibility was amazing (a couple feet of clarity) and all sorts of fish were cruising and bait fish were jumping. Just magic conditions.

[river-rat]

I completely forgot about Lake Chicot. It's located in Chicot State Park near Ville Platte, LA. At one time I fished there quite a bit, although not so much in the past 6-7 years. I have caught several 5-9 lb. bass but you really have to work for them. Like BayouSlide said it can be kind of stingy at times. 

 

It's a beautiful place to fish. It was stocked with Florida Bass for several years up until 2021. Stocking efforts now are focused on native largemouths.

 

The drive from New Orleans would be about 30 minutes longer than going to Lake Fausse Point State Park. As far as I know the park is still well maintained and has cabin rentals, hiking trails, and a primitive campground.

 

 

 

 

[BayouSlide]

If you go to Chicot, launch at the North Landing (on the way into the park near the dam). Will save you some paddlin' 😉👍

[Catt]

16 hours ago, river-rat said:

Chicot State Park near Ville Platte, LA.

 

Personal I would go to Ville Platte for Mardi Gras before New Orleans. Experience real Mardi Gras not a commercial version. 

[07Rapala]

Thanks all for the input.

A big part of what I want out of this trip is to experience some real cypress swamps and coastal marshes. I'm going to be bringing a camera long toHonestly, the fishing is a secondary goal... but you know, if I'm on the water, I'm going to be tossing something out there to see who I can get to bite. With that said...

I looked at Chicot Lake when I was researching the trip. Apparently the biggest bald cypress in LA can be found in the park. That said, I think its a littler further out than I want to go.

BayouSlide, that photo of Lake Faust Point looks amazing to me. Very weird, to me at least, to see a lake that muddy. How does that not settle-out? So maybe I don't spend so much time fishing in that lake, or don't expect much while I explore it. What drew me to that park is that there are some paddle-in camp sites, and overall, it looked like the park and/or the Achafalaya Basin adjacent to it would have some pretty 'natural' swamps. I will also check out Lake Verret and maybe Grassy Lake if I can get up there.

Whoever said that Google satellite images would lie to me, yeah I get that. I can imagine tree cover hides a lot and fluctuating water levels changes the landscape quite a bit.

[BayouSlide]

5 hours ago, 07Rapala said:

Apparently the biggest bald cypress in LA can be found in the park.

 

Chicot has some beautiful cypress but the largest bald cypress is in the Cat Island National Wildlife Preserve in St. Francisville, and is not always accessible except by boat due to high water. Seen pictures and it is truly astounding. And, yes, sometimes the water around here is so muddy that even the gars have to come up for air 😉. For bass you need to look for cleaner water, with "cleaner" always being relative.

 

Based on your response, you'll have a good time wherever you go. Pick a bayou, paddle and enjoy. Cypress, Spanish moss,  eagles, osprey, herons, anhinga, kingfishers and egrets abound, along with dinosaurs like gators, gar, bowfin and paddlefish. It sure ain't nothing like Wisconsin 😄.

 

If you have any questions that I can answer, feel free to PM for my phone number. Between River Rat, Cat and I we can provide intel on a pretty broad swath of South Louisiana.

[Clinton john]

All I can add to what has already been said is this.

 

Keep your head on a swivel. Not only for the two legged critters that might be out and about. But this isn't the north. Their "Will" be snakes and stinging insects and gators and more then likely swarms of skeeters.

 

Personally I would talk the females into going to mardi gra somewhere other then NEw Orleans. That way you could get to camp and fish at a better lake/swamp.

 

I honestly would never feel comfortable leaving woman alone in NO during the drunk/drug/crime fest that they call Mardi gras in NO.

 

Hope this helps.