Easter Weekend Fishing Forecast

As we fished around Lake D’Arbonne Thursday, I noticed two very distinct patterns.  First, fishermen are found just about everywhere. Second, fish are being found just about nowhere.  We fished right through the “major biting period” Thursday morning and the only bite I got was me nibbling on a bag of Cheese crackers.

But that is slowly changing, especially the second part about the fish. These crazy freezing temperatures at night have messed up the morning fishing, but fishing is picking up at D’Arbonne and on other area lakes especially in the afternoons with warming water temperatures. The next two days should be extremely warm and it won’t be that cold at night, so considering the full moon is out, the weather is warming and it’s just the right time of year, so hopefully it will be a good fishing weekend.

Here are a few details:

White perch are scattered at Lake D’Arbonne, but they are coming up shallow in the evenings and being caught on popsicle, gray ghost, chartreuse, pink and white plastics and chartreuse/white spinners when you can find them. You may not catch a lot, but the fish are pretty good size and it doesn’t take many to make a fish fry! Yo-yo’s are starting to produce at night. Most of the big white perch are loaded with eggs.  There is a Fishers of Men Big Bass Tournament on D’Arbonne Saturday and if you want to know what’s going on by the hour, take your radio. The results are being broadcast live on Z-107.5 radio. You can’t get much more up-to-date fishing reports than that. Look for it to take a 7-8 pounder to win the top prize.

Amazingly enough, there aren’t any reports of many catfish being caught, mostly due to the cold temps, I think. A few catches are being made around the banks on worms. Bream catches have been pretty much non-existent. Of course, again, with the warm days we’re about to have,it should get better quickly. Bass have moved shallow and are being caught in shallows around the bank and in the back of creeks around the brush and grass on Lake Claiborne. Wacky worms are working well as are jigs and other plastic creature baits. Crappie are moving in and out of the shallows here as well, but this weekend they could stay a little longer. Shiners are working well. There are also reports of some good striper fishing below the spillway.

The Ouachita River crappie bite has slowed in some of the backwater lakes, but they are catching some good stringers in the bayous around tops and shallower water. Bass fishing has been fair in backwater lakes. The river itself is pretty muddy. As you would expect, the 7-10 pounders are starting to show up at the scales at Caney Lake. Wacky worms, flukes, creature baits and jigs are working well. You have to fish slowly. This is the only lake around where we have heard any reports of bream biting. Some big Chinquapins are being caught on worms and small crawfish. This warmer weather will make it easier to find some of the small crawfish with a seine in roadside ditches. Watch out when collecting these, though. Seems some creatures called “snakes” like the same type habitat.

A lot of fishermen are taking advantage of the numerous bank fishing opportunities at Poverty Point Reservoir and are catching some white perch on shiners and a few bream and catfish on worms. Shallow water white perch are being caught on some of the more popular Electric Chicken and Popsickle colored plastic jigs as well. Most of the bass being caught are males, but a few big females up to five pounds have been caught in the cuts and around shallow banks.

Be safe out there.