If you want bassin’ action in January, fish the lower stretch of the Calcasieu River from the Moss Bluff public ramp south to the Saltwater Barrier at West Lake.
No one knows how good bass fishing success can be there more than Ron Castille of Lake Charles, an all-around outdoorsman who has managed the local evening bass tournament circuit 38 years. The avid bass fisherman has pulled bass from that stretch most of his life. And he has a detailed plan that can help you catch them, too.
Castille recommends fishing from the public boat launch at the Saltwater Barrier near Westlake upriver to the public boat launch at River Bluff near Moss Bluff.
Around the Saltwater Barrier, Castille points out the six concrete buttresses along the concrete weir are an “excellent place” to fish with either a dropshot, a soft plastic shrimp imitation, like a DOA Shrimp or Vudu Shrimp.
“Occasionally, fish get on the weir itself,” Castille said. “They hold in slack water and the rocks between the weirs. You can throw spinnerbaits, plastic worms and shrimp imitations. They are there for one reason, so color is not that important.”
Find the rip rap
From there, head upriver about three quarters of a mile to the rip rap on the east bank, an area that can be very productive, according to Castille. Soft plastics, crankbaits and spinnerbaits can pull fish out of the rocks, particularly those that have fallen away from the main stretch.
Go upriver some more and turn into the West Fork. Fish the bends with spinnerbaits and bladed jigs in chartreuse/white blue and chartreuse/white or, if the water’s dingier, black/blue or other dark colors. Farther up the West Fork, target three sets of giant (6-foot diameter) pipes that come out of the Little Burns, a big flood plain. Fishing is best on an outgoing tide with crankbaits, spinnerbaits and soft plastics. Two of the pipes are single pipes while the other is a double pipe.
Castille, 70, a deputy sheriff who works as a bailiff in the courtroom of Judge Mitch Redd in the 14th Judicial District Court, said there are a lot of camps with docks and treetops up and down the river that can be fished with those same artificials. Watermelon/Magic plastic crawworms are hard to beat.
After fishing the West Fork, return to the Calcasieu River. Fishing upriver from there can be good, he said, even better the day after a cold front because the cuts start running as the north wind blows the water out. You can also head into English Bayou where it meets the river and travel past the 171 Bridge. Fish the cypress trees on the outside bends with jigs and/or soft plastic crawworms, Castille advised.
Back to the river
Ride back to the river, turn upriver and fish every cut you see, he said, use a depth finder to determine where each cut drops into the river and fish either side of the mouth first without going in, then fish the middle and inside.
Farther north start fishing about ½- to 1-mile before the River Bluff public boat ramp at Moss Bluff. For 21 weeks there during the year, bass are released from every Wednesday afternoon tournament. Target the shoreline, which drops off rapidly into deep water, with soft plastics, crankbaits and spinnerbaits.
Castille, whose Fishing Southern Style television show was popular for 18 years in the region, said motor upriver about 300 yards from the ramp and slip into Moss Bluff Bay. Fish the back before trying the next stop, Watermelon Bay, where it’s best to fish the main points at the mouth and cuts at the back before finishing in Berry Bay.
Weather and water conditions permitting, you won’t be disappointed with that stretch of water.
