Fishing reports are difficult to come by right now because those that can’t fish aren’t even thinking about it, and those that can fish can hardly find an open ramp. There have been lots of questions about Calcasieu Lake, though, so Captain Erik Rue with Calcasieu Charter Service (337-598-4700) gave his assessment of the situation.
“Some are saying that the affects of Ike on Big Lake are worse than Rita,” said Rue. “That’s true in some cases, but it looks like this wound up being a flood-water event rather than a devastating wind event. The water in the lake is close to normal, but the marshes are still swollen like crazy and backed up. It’s taking a while for it to filter out.”
Even if anglers around Calcasieu were thinking about getting out on the lake, they couldn’t because the water was closed to marine traffic. According to Rue, Big Lake has just now opened back up for boaters, but that doesn’t mean that everything is back to normal.
“Our big problem right now is getting people down here,” he explained. “Both of the bridges are fried, and they are having to use tugs to open them. Right now, they’re letting us cross for one hour in the morning and again for one hour in the evening.”
Rather than spending his mornings getting ready to fish during the last week, Rue has been showing up at his lodge to gut and repair the lower section. He realizes that he came through the storm a lot better than some, and he pointed out that the Hackberry side seems to have been hit the hardest of all.
“I don’t think the amount of debris is as much now as it was after Rita,” Rue said, “but there’s going to be a lot of work to be done on the west side of the lake. There’s a lot to do on the east side, too. Hebert’s isn’t open. I don’t know if the lifts even work… the gas pump there at Hebert’s is stilly lying over in the water. Those that were right on the lake took the brunt of it, and there’s going to be several dozer jobs.”
Rue said he had a couple trips lined up for Monday, but he didn’t know if they would realistically be able to fish that soon. He is ready to fish, and the sleeping part of his lodge is ready, but getting anglers in and out over the bridges still presents a problem.
“Once we get those bridges back up and running, which looks like it might be fairly soon, we’re going to be ready to fish again next week,” Rue said. “You can bet there’ll be somebody out there this weekend, though, so I would caution all to be extremely careful and go slowly. You have no idea what’s floating around out there in the water.”
Upon being able to fish the lake again, Rue said he expects the fishing to be just as good as it was right before Ike. Before the storm, speckled trout and redfish were on fire all over the lake. And with the apparent lack of a major fish-kill, Rue says this fall should offer some great fishing at Big Lake.
“It’s just a matter of people being able to get back out there,” he concluded. “It’s going to be tough for a lot of guides, and I’m sure we all would appreciate any support we can get in the coming weeks. Scale down your expectation for the facilities, though. The fishing may be great this fall, but our facilities need some work.”