Calcasieu River Bass Fishing Reports

Brush Hawg · May 01, 2005, 12:31:38 PM

Jimmy Brown and myself fished the river late yesterday afternoon. We caught 8 bass with 4 keepers. The largest about 2 lbs. They were hitting black wacky worms. Caution to anybody who likes to fish the high lines north of White Oak Park: Use the south cut to the four corners or don't go at all. We got high centered coming in from the east entrance way. The ditch is about 3 or four feet lower than normal. Jimmy had to get out of the boat this time.

Jared LeBlue · May 01, 2005, 12:42:33 PM

Is it still muddy?

BIG PAPA · May 01, 2005, 09:04:45 PM

Quote from: Wildcat26 on April 29, 2005, 08:22:07 AM
Haven't fished in several weeks and its been a rough couple weeks at work. So yesterday about 2PM I headed up the river above White Oaks. Was not seriously fishing, took some beer, the dog and just went to relax. Got a bit excited on a huge strike on a buzz bait which turned out to be a 7 lb swamp bass. Had a good time with plastic crawfish. Caught a lot of huge-huge goggleye on it. I think they were on beds. Water was much to dirty to see a bed. But my goal was achieved - a relaxing afternoon.

By the way the water has not cleared up any, got to be rice field run off messing it up like that.

OK wildcat I will bite if no one else will, what is a "swamp bass"? I am guessing it is a "grinnel"

papa

Brush Hawg · May 02, 2005, 08:15:04 AM

Yeah, the river is still muddy. Of course North of White Oak is better than South. The Bayou Serpent continues to pump in chocolate milk (mud) at 50,000,000 gallons per second. For all you goo fisherman forgot to say that Jimmy caught a 5 lb goo on a black crankbait with a red eye.

Jared LeBlue · May 02, 2005, 09:53:14 PM

Went to the river this morning and caught 7. I had 3 nice keepers and the other four were dinks. Going hit the Sabine tomorrow.

Oh Papa, a swamp bass is a cypress trout or as you put it a grinnel. I caught one of those today too, it was about 5lbs.

Wildcat26 · May 03, 2005, 10:17:14 AM

Ran as far north up the river as I get in a bass boat Sunday afternoon. Ran til I got to some logs I could not get by. Water was dirty even up that high. Only caught on keeper and a number of small fish with a lot of strikes from small fish. Used spinners. Tried plastics but the current was to fast to fish them well.

hulapopper · May 03, 2005, 07:14:48 PM

Ive been fishin the Calcasieu pretty hard since the middle of march. Been doin well even though the water is muddy. Cuts and sloughs have been having better water. Most fish are comin off of spinnerbaits and buzzbaits. But slow fishing plastics are working well also. Most of my fishing is north of White Oak.

Zuk · May 06, 2005, 05:37:56 PM

Made a morning trip to white oak today. We caught about 15 and had 8 keepers. Our five biggest fish weighed in at 7.9lbs with a nice large mouth that weighed 2.15 lbs. The majority of the fish were caught after 9:00 a.m. We caught a few early on buzz baits and then finished up on a junbug wacky worm. We fished a few cuts but most of the fish were on the main river.

Wildcat26 · May 09, 2005, 01:36:21 PM

Ran into Zuk on the river Saturday. Unfortunely for me I did not get out till about 2PM and the bite had really slowed down. Broke my transducer off on a stump got irriatated and left early.

Friday evening caught 10 on topwater, mostly Kentucky's but there were a couple of nice largemouth. Above Serpent, by the way the water clarity was much better down to the park, did not go south of the park.

Brush Hawg · May 10, 2005, 12:47:43 PM

Could have been worse Wildcat, I heard some guy lost his boat at the launch on Saturday and had to wait for it to come back to shore.

Wildcat26 · May 10, 2005, 01:29:23 PM

What kind of fool would do a think like that? If the wind had been blowing the other direction he would have been swimming.

Jared LeBlue · May 11, 2005, 10:26:24 PM

Fished an afternoon tournament on the river today and getting a keeper fish was tough for me. i caught 5 fish but only one keeper. Congratulations to Shannon Thibodeaux and Chris Chanler for taking first place. They had five fish that went 5lbs and some change. Two highschool kids whipped our old butts and took second with 4 fish that went 3 lbs and some change, and finally Mike and Jimmy brown took third with 4 fish weighing 3lbs and some change. Mike Brown also took big bass with one going 1lb. 8oz. As you can see it was a typical river tournament with the size fish being weighed in but everyone enjoyed themselves and for a 3 1/2 hr. tournament there were quite a few fish caught.

Wildcat26 · May 13, 2005, 09:33:52 AM

I fished the other dogfight Wednesday. Unfortunely I did not place. Fourth place was 7lb 8oz and first place was 11lb 3oz. Nice river stringers.

Wildcat26 · May 23, 2005, 09:54:40 AM

Fished the river Sunday morning. Caught 8 with the big one an even 2lbs.

I hooked him and thought I had a hog. Then he got hung up, I gave him some slack he swam off to the left then the fight was on again and he got hung up again. Three times I gave him slack, three times he swam free and three times he hung up.
So I moved the boat around to get on the other side of the "log". I then fought the fish to the surface but could not lift him. Now that felt really weird. Close inspection showed that the hook had gone through the side his mouth and snagged on a trout line. The fish was just sliding up and down the line. The fish would swim off with the line each time, I would fight him and the weight of the trout line till I got in the slack and then feel the hang up.

Jared LeBlue · May 23, 2005, 10:06:44 AM

I bet you thought that was a hawg. I was out there Sunday as well but I was bream fishing with my daughter. We must have caught 50 or more bream but we only had 14 worth keeping.

Wildcat26 · May 23, 2005, 10:15:00 AM

There was a club having a tournament our of White Oaks. I pulled out while they were setting up to weight. The stringers I say were few and small. But I did not hang around and watch.

Jared LeBlue · May 23, 2005, 10:19:46 AM

I saw bass hitting the surface all morning. I figured they would be ripping them but I talked to a couple of guys that said they were only catching small ones and keeper were hard to come by.

Jared LeBlue · May 26, 2005, 08:09:35 PM

Once a month I will put a report here to let everyone Know what's happening and what to expect on the Calcasieu. Here is the one for June:
With the lack of rain we've experienced for the past three weeks the river is low but clearing up. Good reports on quanity of bass have been coming from North of Ward 8 while quality fish are being caught on the West Fork and southern portions of the river. Buzzbaits are hot right now and should be good throughout the next couple of months. Shallow diving crankbaits and wacky worms are picking up the numbers. If you have young ones right now is the time to take them bream fishing on the river. Look in the coves for bedding bream. Worms are always a good choice for bream on the river and if your bite slows down take your cork off and slowley drag the worm on the bottom. White perch have slowed down and there hasn't been many reports on them but with the heat you will need to find deeper structure and use small tubes jigs. Jig patiently around deeper cover and limbs hanging over deeper water.

BIG PAPA · May 26, 2005, 11:19:09 PM

Quote from: Wildcat26 on May 23, 2005, 09:54:40 AM
Fished the river Sunday morning. Caught 8 with the big one an even 2lbs.

I hooked him and thought I had a hog. Then he got hung up, I gave him some slack he swam off to the left then the fight was on again and he got hung up again. Three times I gave him slack, three times he swam free and three times he hung up.
So I moved the boat around to get on the other side of the "log". I then fought the fish to the surface but could not lift him. Now that felt really weird. Close inspection showed that the hook had gone through the side his mouth and snagged on a trout line. The fish was just sliding up and down the line. The fish would swim off with the line each time, I would fight him and the weight of the trout line till I got in the slack and then feel the hang up.

Wild cat I fought a trout line (without a fish) in a tourney one time and would have argued with you that I had a fish one, sure felt like one

thank god I was fishing by myself

papa

Wildcat26 · May 30, 2005, 10:45:21 AM

Fished last Wednesday afternoon north of 171. I was to late to enter the dogfight. Fishing was slow, had caught one when the thunder started getting closer so I left. Got wet on the ride to the landing.

Went back Friday morning and went up river from White Oak. Caught 7 nothing over 1 1/4 lbs. Lot of misses. Fish were very concentrated. Long stretchs with nothing then several hits in the same area.

Wildcat26 · June 06, 2005, 08:51:51 AM

Yesteday, Sunday June 5th I had a great river trip.

Launched at White Oaks and was above the high lines before first light. Fished the cuts in that area without a bite till daylight. I then decided to run north. Ran north for 45 minutes, far above Barnes Creek, had to work over logs and past sandbars. The river really is beautiful up there, deer tracks on all the sandbars and squirrels everywhere.

I could not get my back running light unplugged and I did not want to break it off going under a tree. So I went to the only other boat I saw up there to barrow a pair of pliers. In the boat was a three tooth woman running catfish lines. She was baiting them with home made soap. Scenes from Deliverence kept flashing through my head. She turned out to be nice and let my use her pliers.

Started fishing at seven and caught the first fish at 8, it was a carp. From 8 to 9 I had three undersized bass and two perch.

At nine I was fishing some slack water when a stike almost ripped the rod out of my hands. I just knew it was a swamp bass but was enjoying the drag pulling fight when this largemouth pokes his head out of the water and looks me over. The fight was really on then. I managed to land the 4lb 13oz fish and immediately went Ike. For those of you that do not know that is a huge river bass. Thats as rare as 11 pounds on Toledo.

I continued fishing and by 11:30 I had a total of 2 carp, 4 perch, and 12 bass. Of the bass I had the one kicker and three 12 to 13 inch keepers. I stopped to eat lunch and decided I would fish until I had five keepers.

Soon after I caught my fifth keeper, another 13 inch fish. I cranked up and started in but decided to stop and fish one more lenght of the bank. After about 70 yards it started raining and lightning was striking to the west. I was about to give up when I got a tremendous strike. The fish immediately jumped and I saw it was hogette. Despite him pulling drag I managed to keep her away from the log jam and after a great fight I landed the fish and did a double Ike. This bruiser weighted in a 5 pounds.

The current had moved me down the river a ways so I trolled back to the spot the big fish hit at and cast some more, on the fifth cast into the spot I got another hit. I got this fish, which I estimated to be 3 lbs, to the boat but as I lifted his head out to the water to lip him the hook pulled out. The lightening was getting serious so I headed for the house. Ended up stopping at a houseboat to wait out the storm.

The five best weighted in at 13 lbs 4 ozs. A weight that would win any river tournament.

The pictures are the first on a roll so it may be a while but I will post them when they are developed.

White spinner bait.

Jared LeBlue · June 06, 2005, 09:01:56 AM

Man that is awesome for the river, way to go.

Now if you can do that in our club tournament in August look out. Better yet if you can do it for the Big Bass Bonanza you would be in high cotton. A 5lber and a 4lb fish in one trip on the river is awesome and quite an achievement, I'm sure you are still pumped.

Wildcat26 · June 06, 2005, 10:28:21 AM

Yes I am. I have been wishing it was it a tournament.

BIG PAPA · June 06, 2005, 08:42:25 PM

Way to go Wildcat

That is a pretty good string wherever you are

papa

Rickoos · June 07, 2005, 03:51:16 PM

Hey Wildcat,

That's great, what a day for you.......

I got the 2 battery set up done in my boat and man does it work well. Also got one of the new props by Kipawa Propellers in yesterday for the trolling motor. I think this is the best set up yet. Now if only me & you can sell the idea to Tracker, we'll be rich & can fish all the time.....

Ricky