Fishing the Fourth

This would be a good week to celebrate the Fourth of July with red and white bobbers and fresh blue channel catfish filets in the fryer! I wouldn’t say fishing is hot as a firecracker, but…  Okay, I’ll stop.

Fishing isn’t great right now, but it isn’t bad either. If you go this week, be aware that boat traffic will be extremely high Thursday through the weekend. The campgrounds will be full and the swimming holes splashing! The fireworks will be popping (Saturday night, 9 p.m., on D’Arbonne along Hwy. 33). Be careful – but don’t let the crowds keep you home.

Three nice summer D’Arbonne bass

Here’s a Holiday fishing report:  Bass fishing on Lake D’Arbonne continues to be pretty good, especially for this time of the year. The lake is still slightly above pool stage and that is helping the fishing a bit. Topwater baits, buzz baits and shad colored crank baits are working well early and late. Up in the day fishing is good around mossbeds and flats, using plastic worms in purple, tequilla sunrise and other dark colors. Fishing is good in 5-8 feet of water early and late, around grass beds or on the channel humps later in the day. Some good fish are being caught in 10-14 feet of water off the channels.

I haven’t heard too many good reports on white perch this week, but there are a lot of boats out on the deeper sloughs so either the fishermen are just getting a suntan or somebody’s on some white perch! Actually, it’s a bit easier to get a suntan than to catch a mess of crappie right now. Best reports are on watermelon, chartreuse or pink jigs with black or dark blue. Fish are being caught suspended at 8-10 feet in about 16-18 feet of water. Fish are mostly scattered, but some groups are found hovering over tops and brushpiles. Bream and catfish continue to be caught regularly on crickets and cold worms. Fishing had been really good around the banks, but hotter water temps are moving the fish out a bit.

At Lake Claiborne, stripers are still providing some good action on spoons and topwaters. If you have a strong heart, you might even try this super fighting fish around the piers and boat docks where there are big lights out. Seems they are chasing the shad there. Bass fishing seems to be best at night and early in the morning on worms and spinnerbaits. Bream and catfish are still good.

The Ouachita River is looking much better that the past several weeks and it continues to fall. White perch fishermen are having some pretty good success in the creeks and river lakes around tops. Bass fishing has been good on points and sandbars on crankbaits and spinnerbaits. Bayou D’Arbonne continues to produce some good bass. 

Area lakes are also reporting some good fishing. At Black Bayou in Monroe, bass fishermen are throwing plastic frogs and floating plastics around the grassbeds with pretty good luck. Schooling bass at Caney Lake are good and there have been some really big ones caught at night on spinnerbaits and black worms.  This may not be the best week to fish Poverty Point Reservoir. Fishing reports haven’t been that good, but you never know until you go. A few good bass are being caught at night.