These 12 spots will put you on wintertime fish in the Biloxi Marsh.
Dear Capt. Paul:
I have looked on several maps but cannot find DuLarge. I read about it all the time in Louisiana Sportsman, but have not yet been able to find out exactly where it is.
Could you please tell me where DuLarge is located, and a possible route there out of Houma or Leeville?
Thanks, Ben J. Lair
Capt. Paul’s Response:
Bayou DuLarge begins just south of Houma at Mulberry, and flows southward through Crozier and Theriot.Highway 315 follows the bayou on the east side all the way to the south past St. Andrew’s Mission and the radio towers, where the roadway ends.
The bayou continues to a point just north of Caillou Lake, and then south westerly to a point where it runs into Taylors Bayou and the north part of Caillou Bay. That part of the bayou is west of Cocodrie and the Houma Navigational Canal, and east and south of Lake Mechant.
Basically the entire area along the bayou is called the DuLarge area.
Dear Capt. Paul:
I have just starting to fish the Pointe a la Hache area, and am interested in trying Pointe Fienne Bay. I noted on Standard Map 47B (Delacroix/Breton Sound) that there is a pipeline canal from First Bay (N29 36.74/W89 47.32) that runs due north to Pointe Fienne Bay.
Can you advise if I can run this canal from First Bay to Pointe Fienne.
Respectfully, John LaCour
Capt. Paul’s Response:
That canal is commonly called the Pencil Canal.
The canal is at its worst in the area between First Bay and River aux Chenes (Oak River). By its worst, I mean that it is fairly shallow in that stretch, but deepens as you venture farther north.
To say you can run the entire length would depend on your boat, its draft and the type of power your rig has. I fish the area regularly, and have found that I can run the canal all the way from Little Lake to First Bay in the canal.
However, at a low tide, I have kicked up a mud rooster tail in the section between Oak River and First Bay.
If you venture through that section of the canal, don’t stop.
Of course you can go though the canal to the east into Wreck Bay and then through the winding canal into Oak River, thereby bypassing that questionable stretch of the Pencil Canal.
North of Oak River, try these spots along the canal. West of the canal very near Oak River: N29 38.111 Lat./W89 47.557 Long. And, in Pointe Fiene Bay, west of the canal at N29 39.507 Lat./W89 47.466 Long.
Unless otherwise specified, all positions are stated as H,DDD,MM.mmm and were determined using WGS 84 datum. All headings, bearings and courses are stated in magnetic degrees.
Dear Capt. Paul:
I am getting ready to buy a Sonar/GPS unit, and am considering the Lowrance LMS-320.
Do you consider this a good unit? Also who makes the best GPS marine mapping programs to load on these units?
Thanks, Gary Talbot
Captain Paul’s Response:
The Lowrance LMS 320 is one of Lowrance’s state-of-the-art units. It is a very impressive unit.
I particularly like the 1,000 waypoint and 100 route with 100 waypoint per route storage feature.
It has the new WAAS differential system that will allow a position accuracy of under 10 feet, and it can accept any standard Media Memory Card (MMC) that has the mapping software installed.
To quote Lowrance, “Optional GPS Mapping Accessories Pack with MapCreate™ CD software lets you create unlimited, custom, detailed maps on MMC or SD memory cards for LMS-320 navigational display. Includes unique, searchable database of over 700,000 points-of-interest to easily find/identify restaurants, airports, emergency services and more. It is compatible with optional Navionics® CLASSIC™ and HotMaps™ electronic charts on MMC cards for select domestic and international areas, featuring depth contour lines and other helpful navigational aids.”
If you fish inland waters or the coastal regions, I suggest you get the Lowrance MapCreate 6 U.S. East and West mapping program. I believe that the topo maps offer greater detail than the nautical charts, and would be very valuable for any inland lakes and rivers.
Hasn’t technology improvements made it great to be able to even consider such features in a navigation device?
