Hidden away in the rolling hills just north of Ville Platte is a small state lake that has a big reputation to it. The cool, clear waters of this lake have yielded record catches of bass and other game fish year after year. Once you are on this lake you can encounter the most beautiful relaxation that nature has to offer. From the thousands of great cypress & tupelo trees that fill the lake, to some of the most breathe taking scenes of wildlife you can imagine. It’s not unusual to see a group of deer walking along the banks or have a big gator swim right up next to your boat just to get a peek of who you are. Also the skies are always full of ducks and native birds of Louisiana.
This little lake truly has a lot to offer the bass fisherman. One of the best things about the lake is that it doesn’t seem to get a lot of pressure and really gets turned on during the spring and fall/winter months. Just 2 weeks ago a 12 lb. 8 oz. bass was caught while flipping a creature bait around the base of the cypress trees. This is just one of the many stories that have come from the waters of Chicot Lake.
The lake is divided into 3 sections, North, Central, and South with each one having a nice boat launch and pier. The South landing is the main launch and is located near the main entrance of the park. It really doesn’t matter which landing that you use because you are only a few minutes run from either end of the lake. To me, Chicot looks like a small Toledo Bend with its creek channel markers telling you were to run and its open bays and coves. Most of the lake depth is in the 7′-8′ range while the creek channel runs from 12′ to 18′ in depth giving plenty of room for ole bucket-mouth to swim around and dodge our lures.
Another great thing about Chicot is that throughout the year there is the possibility of catching not only large numbers of bass, but also a wall hanger too. Chicot does sport a slot limit that requires that all fish between 14"-17" inches be released, which also helps to keep this lake full of nice size bass. Anglers can catch a limit of 8 bass per day with 4 of these being over the slot and anything below the slot can also be kept for a nice meal if wanted.
One of the best parts I like about this lake is that you can fish Secret Weapon spinner baits all year long. With its standing timber throughout the open bays & coves you can work spinner baits around them and cover a lot of water. I have also found that during this time of year the bass are moving up into the shallow areas to feed on the shad & bait fish which also gives you a good chance to hook into a wall hanger. By far, I have more fun with the spinnerbait in this lake, but I also like to throw the old stand by Bill Lewis Rattletrap in chome/blue around the creek channels and drop offs in this fine lake.
Chicot has become one of our special lakes close to home were we can hook up and be on the water in less than 30-35 minutes depending on have slow I am getting ready. With my work being so busy, it’s hard to travel away and do any fishing so Chicot has been a blessing for us. In the past 3 weekends of fishing just a few hours on Saturday mornings, I have managed to put a 4 lb. and several 3 lb. bass in the boat with a bunch of good solid 2 pound fish. All of these fish were released back in the lake in order to fight another day!
This past Saturday it was Kid’s fishing day for us as we took Brian, our 5 year old nephew with us. He didn’t catch a bass Saturday, but he sure left us with some great memories. One time he had made a bad cast into the lower limbs of a cypress tree, so I had said something to him about it like "you cast like a little girl", the next thing I knew he was telling me not to worry because he had plenty of practice watching me get untangled from the same lower tree limps & that I must have be casting like a little girl too! Another time he had made a bad cast and his aunt Merila had said something to him and he looked at her and told her to "talk to the plastic worm he was throwing", that it had a mind of its own and went where it wanted to. Even if the fishing wasn’t the greatest that day for him, you can always find something that happened during the day that was special and make it a Kodak moment for a later scrap book.
So if you are looking for a quiet, out of the way place to fish let me suggest Chicot State Park & Lake. It’s a small lake full of big bass & crappie that just might give you that special wall hanger you have been looking for. For more information on Chicot Lake please call 888-677-2442 and find out what Chicot holds for you.
As always, please take a child fishing with you, it might just make you a star in their little eyes. Also remember to Pray for our Troops overseas, it is because of them that we have this great freedom of ours! Until next time, tight lines,
Ricky Ingram
ricky.ingram@ultimatebass.com
