Mother Nature threw Plaquemines Parish a curveball this year, but May is the month speckled trout anglers should hit it out of the park.
The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) has released a new Iatt Lake aquatic plant management plan.
Recent surveys of Iatt Lake, located in Grant Parish, have shown that aquatic plant problems have increased to record levels. Infestations of submerged aquatics, primarily hydrilla, are now at moderate to severe levels throughout the entire waterbody. Hydrilla has become the dominant species of submerged vegetation in the southern half of the lake and is found in waters up to 8 feet deep.
The Iatt Lake plan includes a recommendation for a summer drawdown followed by a stocking of triploid grass carp after the water level returns to normal. Iatt Lake has a large watershed draining a surrounding area of 238 square miles. This large watershed has made it difficult to dry the water bottom during the usual fall/winter drawdowns due to frequent rainfall and fluctuating water levels.
LDWF is recommending the lake be lowered 8 feet below pool stage beginning May 12, 2008 and ending Oct. 6, 2008. Due to numerous factors including an 80 percent reduction in surface acreage and recent increases in the game fish populations, fishing will be closed on Iatt Lake for the duration of the drawdown.
This proposal was presented at the Grant Parish Police Jury meeting on April 10 and received support from those attending.