Cypress Bayou Reservoir is located in the northwestern part of Louisiana, about 7 miles north of Bossier City via Airline Drive. It is approximately 3,875 acres, about .75 miles wide and 6.25 miles long. The reservoir has water depths ranging up to 30 plus feet in the channels. Cypress Bayou is an open lake and very popular with fishermen and recreational boaters. The one drawback of the lake is that an annual permit is required to put your boat on the water. There are several boat launches located around the lake, all of which require a parking fee. The main boat ramps are located on Parks Road and Linton Road (inside the park).
There is an approximately 350 acre park located on the reservoir (http://www.cypressblackbayou.com/). The park offers many options for those that love the out of doors. There is a store and a marina, a beach area for swimming, picnic tables and grills for cooking, petting zoo, hiking trails, a motel like facility, several cabins to rent, primative camping areas, and numerous improved camp sites for motorhomes and camper trailers. There is a fee to enter the park.
The reservoir offers great fishing for several species of fish. Bass, crappie, and catfish are among the most sought after by the anglers frequenting the lake. Quite a few of the boat dock owners have feeders set up for catfish and at feeding time it is an interesting sight to see. Cypress has several coves with different types of structure; such as grass lines, lily pad fields, stumps, brush tops, boat docks, and points. The main lake also provides similar structure. The majority of the boat docks are located on the main lake and quite a few of the boat docks have brush tops sunk around them. On the very north end of the lake a channel winds thru a very shallow area providing even different types of fishing techniques.
WINTER
The winter months on Cypress find most folks fishing deep for crappie and pitching the docks for bass. Live shiners and crappie jigs are the main bait used in the winter months with fishermen doing a lot of drift fishing in the deeper water on the lake. Several channels run thoughout the lake and fishermen work those on a regular basis for crappie. The deeper docks on the lake also provide a good spot for crappie fishing. For bass, pitching jigs on docks can be extremely productive. Lots of the docks have good brush around them and the bass find themselves a home buried up in the brush. Smaller jigs have worked best for me and the best color I have found for winter time on Cypress is watermelon. Black/blue jigs are also productive. Don't rule out pitching soft plastics on the docks also; like tubes, small creature baits, and even worms.
SPRING
When the air and water temperatures start to rise, the fishing is on the rise also. For crappie, the fishermen move shallow with shiners and artificial baits. Small spinnerbaits and beetle spins (best is usually white, but chartruese also works) are always a good choice. When fishing these baits, it is best to cover a lot of water. However, once you get catch a crappie then you need to stop and make several casts in the same area. The crappie will bunch up for the spawn and if you find one of those areas then you can really have some fun. For crappie, boat docks also offer the option of flipping a crappie jig as far under the dock as possible. I work the small spinnerbait mostly but if I catch a crappie, then I pick up the beetle spin and work the area thoroughly. Areas to look for are bank lines with reeds growing in the edge of the water and grassy bank lines. For bass, spring means spinnerbait time on Cypress Bayou Reservoir. I start throwing an 1/8 ounce spinnerbait in March and continue with it until the end of April. Keeping the boat moving and covering water has been the best pattern I have found for catching bass. I don't spend much time on docks, but I will work the spinnerbait in the shallow areas around the walkways of docks. The bank lines offer grassy areas, rock banks, seawalls, and some almost totally bare banks. All have been productive during the spring for bass fishing. Senko's and fluke's are also productive in the spring time on Cypress, but I prefer the spinnerbait because it lets me cover more water. In late spring, the latter part of April and May will bring on dock fishing again. Flipping lizards and worms on the docks can produce some very good bass. Topwater fishing will begin to produce fish also; using buzzbaits, pop-r's, and torpedo's.
SUMMER
As summer time arrives on Cypress Bayou Reservoir, there are a lot of different options for the bass fishermen. Topwater baits early and late in the day; such as buzzbaits, pop-r's, and other topwater baits work well along bank lines, grassy areas, and shallow areas of the reservoir. Spinnerbaits can also be productive during summer. During mid-day hours, bass fishermen work deep diving crankbaits and carolina rigged soft plastics in deeper water. Another very good option is pitching soft plastics on deeper, brush filled docks. During these warm weather months, night fishing is a must on Cypress. Black spinnerbaits and buzzbaits, as well as soft plastics, can produce very nice stringers of bass. Besides being a lot calmer because of the absence of water skiers and jet skiers, the bass bite extremely well at night.
FALL
Fall on Cypress gets the bass active. Grassy areas and lily pad fields provide good cover for the bass and fishermen work those areas with buzzbaits and spinnerbaits. Other type top water baits can also be used during this time of year. There is still a good deep water bite going for crank bait and carolina rig fishermen. Of course, flipping soft plastics on boat docks is a technique that you won't want to forget. With the water cooling, the fishing gets really good.
Even though Cypress Bayou Reservoir is not a really large body of water, the recreational possibilities are limitless. For the avid fishermen, this is also a great place to spend time on the water. It provides another option for fishing in northwest Louisiana. See you on the water.
Mike Noble
mike.noble@ultimatebass.com
