Wild West
It’s been a little while since the last fishing trip. It was actually the trip Scott and I guided for Pack & Paddle. So a trip was, I felt, overdue.
A lot of people that I talk kayak fishing with frequent the Lake Charles area, in the western most part of our state. Prien Lake, Big Lake, and West Cove are all areas that I’ve heard friends talk about but I’ve never gotten the opportunity to visit. But between cold fronts this week, I had the chance to fish the north-eastern shore of Calcasieu Lake with John Williams (Owner, Pack & Paddle), Scott Bienvenu, and Stephen Outten (El Camino Blues).
Our targeted species for this trip was to be trout, and being that I’d never fished Big Lake before, I was relying on the help of my friends to let me know where certain reefs were located. However, as we entered into the open water, the predicted 10-15mph SSE winds were actually blowing more like 15-18mph! There were white-caps all over the place and there we were in the midst of it.
Even with the wind as bad as it was, the water was “bathtub clear”
After about an hour hanging out around some nearby piers searching for some trout, we decided to move to the more protected waters in the nearby marsh. Scott & Stephen were both ahead of me in getting there and found reds pretty quickly. They were hanging out in a canal that was slightly deeper than the surrounding water. By the time I had gotten there, the short window had all but closed. Stephen had landed seven reds pretty quickly, and Scott had two. I hooked a rat red and a larger one who spit my hook, and also had a sheepshead play with my lure. The fish that were caught were pretty cold. It was definitely a day for bouncing a jig-head.
It wasn’t the most killer of days on the water, and the wind definitely made things difficult, but this was my introduction to Big Lake, and hopefully I can do some more learning soon.
Fish were caught using:
- Lure: 1/4oz Jighead with a purple haze Vortex Shad
- Rod: 7ft Rod, Medium Action
- Line: FINS 20# Windtamer
