What you need to know about fishing Lake D’Arbonne

On the way to the Highway 15 boat launch, John Odom provided a quick primer on fishing Lake D’Arbonne.

The lake, he said, has good catfishing and bass fishing, but it is best known for its crappie — a fish that he said is his favorite to catch and eat.

Access to the lake is easy. He knows of eight to 10 boat launches, but the official count shows 17 launches.

The lake has three major arms, each so contorted that finding a lee shore or protected cove in any wind is also very easy.

However Odom cautioned that navigation must be done with care. The lake was flooded, with much of its timber standing. Over time the standing trees rotted off just beneath average water level, creating vast flats of stumps in the shallows of the lake.

“Tell people to use the marked boat channels,” he said.

Channel markers are pilings marked with red on one side of the channel and green on the other side of the channel. Both are banded with silver.

“It’s easy to remember,” Odom said. “If the green markers are on your right, you are moving toward the lower end of the lake with the dam and spillway.”

Creek channels are also marked. These pilings have both green and red on the same piling.

About Jerald Horst 959 Articles
Jerald Horst is a retired Louisiana State University professor of fisheries. He is an active writer, book author and outdoorsman.