Big Lake
 

OK guys, V bay is hosed for the next few months and I cant wait that long to wet a line. I would like to make a trip to Big Lake. I will be coming from Lafayette. I have seen posts on reefs in the lake and dont want to hit one. So what areas are clear to run? Also what landing should I go to? what areas of the lake would be best to target for trout and reds this time of year?

Need some assistance here fellas...

When u going? All depends on winds on where I launch

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[SIZE=3]First….Big Lake and Lake Calcasieu is the same thing. Big Lake is a “local” name. The lake is Pear shaped and approximately 15 miles long and 3 to 6 miles wide. West Cove is west of the ship channel (Calcasieu River) on the south end of Big Lake. West Cove is about 2 miles (North to South) and about 5 miles (E-W).[/SIZE]
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On the East side of Big Lake…… Calcasieu Point landing is off Big Lake road south of Lake Charles. They will have live shrimp after the season opens in May. The store opens at 6 AM.

To get there from I-210 in Lake Charles…..get off on the Nelson Road exit and go south about 2 miles to Country Club road. Turn right and go about 2.5 miles and turn left on Big Lake road. You can buy most supplies needed at Cormier Grocery store on this corner but no live bait. Go south 4.5 miles and just past the LNG plant on the right, turn right on the road and go about a mile to the end of the road where the launch is located.

To get to Big Lake……from Calcasieu Point landing go west about a mile to the intersection of the Calcasieu River and the ICWW. Turn to the left and go a little over a mile and Turner’s Bay is on the left.

Hebert’s Landing is about 10 miles farther down Big Lake road. Take Big Lake road (Hwy 384) down about 7.5 miles farther and turn right on Hwy 1144. Look for sign for Harbor Light Restaurant –follow the restaurant signs because the restaurant is next to launch. Go about a mile and turn right on Big Lake Camp road and go about 1.5 miles. Boat launch/marina is about ¼ mile south of this road (third left as you come to Big Lake). There is no store there.

The Ellender bridge boat launch is about 10.5 miles south of Sulphur, LA on Hwy 27. It is about 3 miles from the north end of Big Lake. Go East from the launch (Intracoastal Waterway) about 2 miles and this will run into the Calcasieu River (Ship Cannel). Turn south in the Ship channel and the north end of Big Lake is about a mile on the left side. This area is called Turners Bay. You can buy bait about ½ mile north of the bridge at Holly Beach Seafood.

Other Boat Launches…….about 4 miles farther south in Hackberry, is Spicers and a couple of others. Spicers boat launch, you can see it from Hwy 27 on the left as you cross a small bridge coming into Hackberry. You can buy supplies at there store and they sell live shrimp….when the season opens in May. Not sure if they have live shrimp during to “Off” season. When you leave Spicers landing stay in the bayou channel [keep to the left]…..there is a little open water on the right, but it is very shallow. This bayou connects to the ship channel. To get to Big Lake…..south end of lake is about 8 miles to the right. If you turn left [North]….go about a mile and turn right to go through the Texaco cut. I am not sure just how deep the “cut” is now, so at low tide be careful. To get to the north end of the Lake, keep going north about 4 more miles.
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There are some more boat launches about 6 miles farther South in Sabine NR.

As a fellow VB fisherman who's home waters are screwed, I do enjoy fishing BL during the interim. I fish out of Hebert's on the east side of the lake. Do not waste your time on strong windy days! This lake gets real rough quickly because of its North to South orientation. North wind blows the water out making it dicey running around the wash-outs, entering and running West Cove and shore areas all around the lake. My advice is get a guide for your first three or four trips. Tell him/her what you're doing is trying to learn BL; they will be more than helpful.
If you look at a whole year of fishing you gonna find that BL is far more consistent than VB in the number of days you can actually catch fish. VB give us about 110 days of good fishing conditions but BL gives at least 300 days. Even in poor conditions you still can get out the wind if from the south. Fishing the weirs w/ bait shrimp will produce reds where your trip is not a total bust.

Good stuff from Reefman. I agree wit all he said. I would add, buy a Hook N Line map of big lake. Sit down with it. Study it before going out. It will give you GPS coordinates of several spots that will be good starting points for you. Good Luck.

x2. That is your best start. Or like someone else said. Go with a guide once or twice. The only really tricky places on low tides are north entrance to west cove, texaco cut, joe's cove, south of rabbit island in west cove. Stay away from these places on a low tide. Other than that on low tide, run about a quarter-half mile from shorelines and you should be ok.

And what use to be super cut islands to that list

For sure! Even after where you turn into the lake. As previously posted once you get in stay off bank. Never had issues on east bank but that area around super cut(first cut to lake) going back into lake will stop you dead in your tracks

cool, thanks for the info guys. I will get a map and start studying. i have the Navionics map on my phone and have been looking around a bit. lucky for me my great grandfather was a civil engineer, I can sit and look at maps for hours.

It will be a week or so before I make a trip. Heard the trout there like pink.

Just look for a black Haynie and potlick it.

Turner's Channel ReefsN30 03 817W93 19 579
Turner's Bay IslandN30 03 360W93 18 370
Commissary PointN29 58 405W93 16 880
Basket ReefN29 54 630W93 14 490
Lambert's ReefN29 51 037W93 15 221
Old JettiesN29 50 664W93 19 585
Reef North of Old JettiesN29 51 015W93 19 445
The WashoutN29 51 480W93 20 525
1st WeirN29 55.560W93 14.456
2nd WeirN29 53.669W93 13.997
3rd Weir (Grand Bayou)N29 51.758W93 14.210
4th Weir (Lamberts Bayou)N29 50.939W93 14.8585th
WeirN29 50.358W93 19.246
Nine-Mile CutN29 52 650W93 20 418
Long PointN29 55 056W93 19 346
Flats S. of Long PointN29 54 305W93 19 300
Cross ReefN29 51 820W93 14 311

Lol... Don't follow OUR lead. Proved that Saturday didn't we friend? Good meeting ya by the way. Y'all ever scratch out any?