Air Force veteran heads to Caddo and Cross lakes for summertime fishing
For years, Charles Thompson has counted on catching bass and feasting his eyes on breathtaking scenery at a midsummer place on the Texas-Louisiana border.
What is Thompson’s July “hotspot?” Caddo Lake. He’ll target the docks bass hide under at Cross Lake on a few occasions, but most of the time you’ll find him hooking and boating bass cooling their fins in the shade from so many cypress trees and vegetation at 25,400-acre Caddo Lake. The largest natural freshwater lake in the South also boasts the largest cypress forest in the world … and plenty of bass.
No one knows that better than Thompson. The 51-year-old proud military veteran from Haughton was born at Barksdale Air Force Base and raised in Bossier City.
“Right now, looking at June and July, a pretty hot time of the year, one of the lakes I like to frequent is Caddo,” he said. “I know that heat kind of pushes them to cool areas, like us. Caddo Lake is definitely one of those lakes. They get under a cypress tree and hang out. They start to find their personal ‘shade tree’ when the sun gets high and Cross (with its many docks) and Caddo have that.
“I tend to go to Caddo more than Cross in July. Any other time, I would probably go to Cross. Caddo’s the thing for July in the middle of the summer.”
Close to home
Thompson, who served six years in the U.S. Air Force, was featured in the August 2022 issue of Louisiana Sportsman magazine as head coach of the LSU-S Fishing Team. He built the fishing team into a powerhouse quickly.
The Pilots recently completed their seventh season on a high note under his direction. They finished ninth in 2025-26, which gave them their third straight year in the Bass Pro Shops School of the Year Top 10.
“It’s been a pretty cool ride, man,” Thompson said. “They go on to do pretty good things from getting jobs to one or two going to semi-pros and invitationals and stuff like that. It’s pretty awesome. I’m glad God’s given me the opportunity to have a front row seat to see all these guys. I’m excited. I’m happy.”
Thompson worked nine years as a radiology practitioner assistant before joining a medical device company. The LSU-S Fishing Team’s head coach was named Director of Annual Giving with the LSUS Foundation in August 2024. He has been devoting his working hours to that job, which leaves precious little time to get away to his top lakes.
“They’re really close,” Thompson said about Caddo Lake and Cross Lake. “With how busy I am, they’re close. That’s some of the important stuff … to get on the water and be home by noon because of the heat.”
The shade line
Thompson has learned over the years that Caddo Lake’s bass favor moving baits such as plastic frogs and other topwaters in the morning. During the hottest part of the day, things are different.
“In the middle of the day, just get in the cypress trees and lily pads,” he said. “All that cover is bass heaven. Fish the shade line. You know what I’m saying. You have plenty to choose from over there.”
There are no particular spots. Thompson said he’ll fish all over.
“Really all over the lake, in or around all the islands between the clumps of trees,” he said. “It’s a little different in the river, you know, with overhanging tree limbs, different things like that.”
He uses plastic frogs and poppers early, then switches to dark-colored soft plastic worms or creature baits like a Rage Bug or a Sweet Beaver.
He’s also partial to Caddo Lake because it’s a “slot lake.” Usually, he said, anglers catch a lot of mid-sized fish between 14 and 18 inches.
“Not good for tournaments but good for fun fishing because you’re able to use all techniques,” he said. ‘If you can skip baits under overhanging tree limbs and between trees to get the bait in those shade lines, it’s going to work out for you pretty good.”
And, if they don’t bite, he said, “When you’re not catching them and it gets too hot, get on pad and run about 45 mph, put on nature’s air conditioning and take it all in, God’s creation.”
