Death, taxes, and crappie in deep water on the channel at D’Arbonne.
Three sure things in life. Especially this time of year.
“There’s no doubt. It’s one of the top places to catch crappie this time of the year,” said Jimmy Watt of Bastrop.
The 44-year-old Advancion (formerly known as ANGUS) employee is one angler who often takes advantage of that annual stacking of the fins.
“The fish stack up on the channel because the water is so cold,” he said. “That’s where the shad and baitfish go to survive, so that’s where the crappie go right behind them. I like to fish the bends of the channel or something irregular. You can find crappie around where feeder creeks come in, too. And if you just want to target black crappie, the bridges are an excellent spot to try.”
Follow the boats
You can locate schools of shad and schools of crappie on your electronics, he said. But the easiest way to see where at least somebody is catching them is to just look for the boats. They’ll be stacked up along the channel just like the fish.
D’Arbonne was formed by building a dam across Bayou D’Arbonne and the old bayou offers a stark contrast in depth in the lake. Most of the lake is 4-10 feet deep, but the old channel that meanders throughout the lake is 30-40 feet deep in places. That’s the key for January crappie.
“If the weather warms up a few days or they open up that Tainter Gate and it makes current, the fish will move off the edge of the channel on to the flats,” Watt said. “But when it gets cold or still again, they move back. The majority of the fish will stay in that pattern all the way to the end of February, some of them even into March.”
The bridges at Stowe Creek, Hwy. 33 and Hwy. 2 (the Bernice highway) offer a constriction on water flow and seem to work as a funnel to move crappie. That’s one reason they are so popular.
Watt has a favorite bait that he fishes almost exclusively. It is a homemade jig that he makes himself. He sells them as well, but he is limited in how many he can make for the market. When the water is clear, like it has been with the lack of rain and low water levels the past few months, he likes a natural color jig.
“When the water is clear or lightly stained, I like to stick with gray colors, maybe something like a shade of Monkey Milk or light blue color,” he said. “When the water gets dirty, I’ll go with gold and orange or black and pink. I think they work well and in stained water, the fish seem to like a combination color. They like that contrast.”
Fish normally stay 15-18 feet deep suspended near the edges of the channel. But occasionally they’ll chase bait and come up to 10 feet or so. Watt said if you can find those shallower fish on your electronics, target them. They are feeding and active.
Thump addiction
Watt grew up fishing for bream with his dad, then went through a bass fishing phase. But he said he soon learned better.
“I have been crappie fishing ever since I was old enough to drive myself to the lake,” he said. “I figured out real quick that I like to feel the thump of a crappie hitting that jig on a crappie pole.”
For those new to D’Arbonne, or who haven’t fished there recently, there are two changes you should be aware of. First, there is a launch fee for using public ramps and you can pay on the spot or buy a yearly permit.
Second, a new slot limit for crappie has been installed on the lake to try and ensure a continued supply of what made the lake famous — two pound and better slabs. The new regulations took effect on Nov. 20, 2022, limiting the daily take of crappie that measure over 12 inches in length to seven per person. The total daily take remains 50 crappie per person.
