Cow Island Sunday?
 

Thinking of taking wife/kids to Cow Island sunday. Looks like the river should be bout 15.5 and rising. I've never been before but I should find it no problem. Will I get over the dam? Gonna be in an 18 foot aluminum. Any fishing tips welcomed. I heard the grass was bad.

Been a long time [25 years] since I went there......but anything over about 14.5 feet you should be good. Tilt engine up, just to be sure.

Once you get into the lake, keep going straight [northwest, I think] until you come to a pipeline that crosses the lake. Try along the pipeline......should be able to find some bream.

It use to be that the north end of the lake would not have as much grass.

When you first get into the lake, the water will probably be very dirty [river water]. As you go farther out into the lake the water should get very clear.

Thanks! I'm off today so I might take a recon trip to feel it out. Is the dam area obvious?

Dam
 

Just looked at the BLR river stage, 14.5. It will be tight for you. You have to consider the current going in. You will coast in but when you leave you'll have to fight the current. The dam is made with sheet pilings backed up with large limestone. You might have to get down and push. Be careful because on the river side of the dam the sheet pilings drop off deep.

Went today.(four day weekends are awesome). Got in no problem but was tight maneuvering before the dam. Beautiful place but I'm sorry to say we scratched.:redface: Tried bass and bream with crickets/worms. Few bait stealer nibbles but that was it. Saw one other boat (only other one we saw) catch a smallish sac-a-lait. Then we tried to find lake warner and wound up in the woods on the wrong cut. Looking at the sattelite maybe it's not possible.
Went down this long straight canal that brought us back to the river above butte larose. Someone built a fine-*** house up there on the left! Its not there on the bing map I'm looking at. Also buzzed by what looked like a fricken blackhawk heli. We had fun though and it beats being at work.

It sounds like you took the Butte LaRose Cutoff.

To get into Lake Warner......The canal is located about mile farther south [south of where the south end of the Butte LaRose Cutoff come out into the Atchafalaya river.] The Lake Warner canal goes off the east bank for about a mile, then makes a left turn to the north before it opens up into the lake.

If you are coming out of Cow Island lake....via the south end of Little Atchafalaya river...... you then turn back upstream and cross over to the east bank of the Atchafalaya river. The Lake Warner cut is about 1.5 mile upsteam. This cut heads in a northeast direction and is a lot smaller than the Butte LaRose Cutoff.

If I remember correctly...... the Atchafalaya river must be 9+ feet to get into the lake or it will be too shallow.

Warner
 

If you ever try an go to Warner when it's around 10' or 11' be real careful in the "ditch" on the way there. A long time ago a guy lost his life by hitting a stump. There are some badass stumps cut flat in that little cut. The motor came back in the boat with em.