The rut is winding down as bucks come out of overdrive and gradually return to familiar ground. Yet, with shades of testosterone remaining and an occasional female cycling into estrus, a handful of deer are still engaged to procreate.
Dear Capt. Paul:
What is the best launch and way to get to Wonder Lake in Montegut? Are there any obstacles, and how deep is Wonder Lake?
Thanks a lot, Bert
Capt. Paul’s response:
Sorry, but I cannot offer any specific directions for the route that you are attempting to negotiate without a lot more additional information on the size of your vessel, its draft under way and at rest, its beam and the power source/ fuel consumption as well as the experience of the navigator.
I do however, have a few suggestions that may benefit you making the trip.
First, I suggest that you get the latest maps of the area. It is almost a necessity to have hard copies of maps of the area. USGS topographical maps in a 1:24,000 scale usually show the most detail of the terrain.
A start would be downloading the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries map of the Point au Chien Wildlife Management Area. The map can be found on their web site at wlf.louisiana.gov/pdfs/wmas/PointeAuxChenes.pdf
Wonder Lake is partly located in the Point au Chien WMA east of Bayou Terrebonne at its point near Point Barre, north of the twin pipeline canals near the junction with the Humble Canal and west of Bayou St. Jean Charles. About one half of the lake is at and just north of the southern boundary of the WMA near Point Barre.
The center of Wonder Lake at the southern WMA boundary is at or about N29 25.887 x W90 31.532.
A trip using the existing canals from Point Barre eastward to Wonder Lake is just over three miles. Wonder Lake is a relatively shallow body of water, but the oil canals that criss~cross the lake and surrounding area are usually deep enough to accommodate oil-service vessels.
Depending on the draft of your vessel, you may be able to actually run in the lake itself. If not, stick to the man-made canals.
Unless otherwise specified, all positions are stated as degrees, minutes and thousandths of minutes (DDD,MM.mmm), and were determined using WGS 84 datum. All bearings and courses are stated in magnetic degrees.
