Getting familiar with north Louisiana

I’ve lived in St. Mary Parish since 1984 and pretty much kept my outdoor activities exclusively along the gulf coast south of Interstate 10.
Up until this past fall, I did make two excursions into the northern part of the state. One was while attending a Louisiana Outdoor Writers Association Conference in the Bossier/Shreveport area where I fished the Red River Pool. And the other was an invite from a fellow outdoor writer to do a combo wood duck/squirrel hunt while floating down the Dugdemona River in Winn Parish.
It’s not because I haven’t had a desire to hunt or fish other regions of the state. It’s just the opportunities due to a variety of circumstances from raising kids, to work to geography all played a role in my missing out.
Nonetheless, just before winter, I was invited by Explore Louisiana North to participate in a media familiarization trip that included some fishing, some sightseeing and an opportunity to taste a little north Louisiana cooking.
What I discovered was the Sportsman’s Paradise isn’t limited to the marshes, rice fields, swamps and bayous along and below the I-10 corridor. No, the paradise part also is alive and well in the northern parishes, too.
One of our first stops was Caddo Lake where we would meet Billy Carter, owner/operator of Caddo Lake Guide Service at Earl G. Williams Park near Oil City. Again, this was a familiarization trip, so fishing wasn’t on this stop’s agenda.
But, Carter did take us out onto the 25,400 acre lake and talk specifically about its fishing.
There were a couple of things about Caddo Lake that stood out to me. First was how beautiful the lake is with groves of cypress trees interspersed throughout the landscape. Second was the lake happens to be the location where the first oil well over water was drilled.
It wasn’t quite the image of the place I had conjured up in my head for something as significant as that.
Drilled by Gulf Refining Company in 1911, the 2,185 feet deep well produced 450 barrels of oil per day.
But, getting back to outdoor activities, the lake is known for its stellar bass fishing and diver duck hunting.
However, what I left with was Carter’s insistence that the catfishing is really out of this world on the lake and few take advantage of it.
Our next stop was just up the road to the town of Vivian where EPIC boats are manufactured. Steve Hutchins has 30 years in the boat building business and is currently the Lamination Manager for the company. Hutchins would be our plant tour guide.
What’s unique about EPIC boats is they use an infusion process that reduces the chances for fiberglass resin deformation and reduces unwanted emissions. The boats are sleek and full of innovative quality concepts inside the hull that will make them attractive to buyers.
Vivian is also a small town and in a very rural community in Caddo Parish. The plant means jobs and is important to citizens.
Hutchins said, “We currently employ just over 50 employees and have a capacity to produce two hulls a day. We’re hoping to increase capacity to four hulls a day. These are quality jobs where employees can make a decent wage in an area that has little manufacturing.”
Our next stop in the northern tour of the state was Lake Claiborne where we finally got to do a little fishing.
Donny Hood is owner and operator of Captain D’s Fishing Guide Service that targets hybrid striped bass fishing. What’s more, Claiborne has produced two of the top 10 hybrid stripers in the Louisiana record books.
“The average depth of Claiborne is 16 feet, and the water is really clear and virtually stays that way all year,” Hood said. “The preferred method of fishing stripers is trolling. We catch stripers year round, but the best time to catch larger 8 to 9 pound stripers is in the spring — particularly the middle of March through April. The thing about stripers is, if you have a good largemouth bass hole, you don’t say anything about them, but when stripers are running, you call all of your buddies.”
Since we were fishing the fall months, we managed to catch 10 smaller stripers in short order.
However, Lake Claiborne is an absolutely beautiful lake. And for the recreational vehicle enthusiast, there just may not be a prettier location in Louisiana to tow the trailer to than Lake Claiborne State Park. The park rests on hillside overlooking the lake’s deep blue waters and went through updated renovations in 2015.
While visiting Lake Claiborne, be sure to stop in at the Port au Prince restaurant. I had the fried catfish and hush puppies, and all I can say is “Wow!”
After an overnight stay at Jimmie Davis State Park, our tour of Caney Lake was canceled due to heavy rains.
But, some notables anglers from the southern parishes should consider are Caney holds six of the top 10 largemouth bass records, including the No. 1 fish, a 15.97-pound monster caught by Greg Wiggins. The lake also holds five of the top 10 bluegill records, five of the top 10 black crappie records and the No. 1 red eared sunfish (chinquapin) ever taken: a 2.87-pound perch that would make any bream fisherman proud.
Caney Lake is located southwest of Monroe, between Chatham and Jonesboro.
But while in the northern parish area, take some time to visit the late Gov. Davis’ Home place Museum. Davis served two terms as governor, 1944-1948 and 1960-1964. One of Louisiana’s most popular governors, Davis was elected to six different halls of fame, including the Gospel Music and Country Music halls.
The last leg of our trip to Cypress Bend on Toledo Bend was canceled due to the inclement weather. No worries, though. It just gives me reason to get back up to explore some more of the northern part of the state.
For information on booking a fishing trip on Caddo Lake with Carter, visit www.cadoguideservice.com.
To book a Hybrid Striped Bass trip on Lake Claiborne, contact Donny Hood at www.striperfishing.la.
For more information on fishing, birding, camping and all sorts of activities in north Louisiana, visit www.explorelouisiananorth.org
EDITOR’S NOTE: Flores is The Daily Review’s Outdoor Writer. If you wish to make a comment or have an anecdote, recipe or story you wish to share, you can contact Flores at (985) 395-5586 or gowiththeflo@cox.net or visit his Facebook page, Gowiththeflo Outdoors.