Features
Wade your way to great Big Lake specks
Wading for speckled trout is a great tactic on Lake Calcasieu and it even works during August’s heat. Here’s how one expert does it.[…]
Big Lake
Fishing Hotspots
Summer redfish, trout on Big Lake love lure fished under popping corks
According to Brian Windsor, who guides on Lake Calcasieu, July is popping cork time when cruising the beachfront.[…]
Fishing Hotspots
Big Lake flounder run
Mike Malone, president of the Elite Kayak Club, is a firm believer in Berkley Gulp’s chartreuse Swimming Mullet when he wants flounder at Big Lake.[…]
Fishing Hotspots
Turner’s Bay reef is hot spot on Big Lake
Capt. Nick Poe didn’t hesitate when asked about a wintertime speckled trout location on Big Lake within a short ride of the boat launch.[…]
Flounder
Big Lake gives up big flounder
Starting in mid-October and peaking in November, saltwater fishermen enjoy some of the best fishing — then feasting — the coast has to offer in the Calcasieu Ship Channel along the western edge of Big Lake.[…]
Inshore Fishing
Big Lake kayaker finds insane action on specks and reds
Many anglers look forward to the fall bite, and for good reason.[…]
Inshore Fishing
CCA: Big Lake oyster reefs on the comeback
According to a press release from the Coastal Conservation Association of Louisiana, biologists with the state’s Department of Wildlife and Fisheries saw a 50 percent increase in total abundance of oysters on Calcasieu Lake in 2018 compared to 2017 — when scrapers were prohibited on Calcasieu and Sabine lakes, and hand-tonging was made the only legal means of harvest.[…]
Fishing Hotspots
Catch Big Lake’s transition trout
September is a month that drives anglers crazy.
“You can smoke them one day, and then next day wonder where they went,” Calcasieu Charter Service’s Capt. Erik Rue said.[…]
Fishing Hotspots
Big Lake beach fishing
With speckled trout fishing success up and down this year in Calcasieu Lake, particularly during a summer plagued by high west winds, it’s time to point the bow of the boat to the beach from Johnson Bayou to Holly Beach.[…]
Inshore Fishing
Big Lake fishing is ‘best of the season’ right now
Farmers might be bemoaning a lack of rain in Southwest Louisiana, but Capt. Erik Rue sure isn’t complaining. That’s because low rainfall levels have allowed salinity in his home waters to soar.[…]
Sidebars
Tip of the day
Jeff and Nick Poe recommend using electric trolling motors as sparingly as possible. In fact, neither of them use one much because they believe it spooks the fish. […]
Sidebars
Why the Poes know
When I first envisioned a comprehensive article to make sense out of all the lure options available to speckled trout fishermen, it became obvious I needed the help of someone who really knew his stuff.[…]
Features
Pick your poison
I sure was happy when Jeff Poe pointed his boat’s pointy nose north out of Hebert’s Landing on Calcasieu Lake. In the early light, the sky to the south looked like a bruised eggpant — purple and ugly. […]
Fishing Hotspots
Conditions improving at Big Lake
After a subpar year of speckled trout fishing last year at Calcasieu Lake due to seven flooding events, anglers are hopeful June’s fishing helps them forget about 2017.[…]
Field Notes
Topwater troubles?
May is a great month to throw topwater lures for speckled trout all along the coast, and it’s especially true in Big Lake.[…]
Fishing Hotspots
It’s prime time for speckled trout at Big Lake
With a little cooperation from Mother Nature, Capt. Nick Poe expects May to be a banner month for speckled trout on Big Lake.[…]