Did ya'll forget about this one.
Big Lake Fishing Rules
by
_W_ ยป Thu Oct 07, 2010 12:56 pm
I will write this and hope to step on toes. I also hope JSmoke makes this a sticky on the forum!
General Rules for Anglers on Calcasieu Lake :
This is to inform some that might not know or do not realize what mistakes you might be making on the LAKE.
As the Internet gets bigger our lakes get more packed with fisherman who really do not know much about how to saltwater fish or fishing in the area. So with 25 years of Saltwater fishing on Big Lake I am going to give some Info I hope at least one person will learn from.
1) Our lake is very shallow throughout the estuary with an avg. of 4ft throughout, only the ship channel provides deep water. So keep in mind that a running out board motor will scare fish and spook them!
2) If you see anglers fishing in wide open water please show a little respect & go out of your way to give them at least half mile or more. There is no need to pass close to a group of fisherman on a reef ! With wide open areas of water just take the time to give your fellow angler some room. He does not want you to spook his fish or roll your boat wake on him! As you would not like it either! So respect boats fishing on reefs or in open water areas.
3) Bank burning ! This is a big killer especially on the East side as the highway to the weir is a kill zone! They have over 50 good fishing areas along this bank all times of the year. If you see a boat fishing a few hundred yards off the bank DON'T GO BETWEEN THE BANK AND HIS BOAT!!!! Go wide around toward the middle of the lake as you can have the whole area without driving over fish he or she found! If you start strait off Comm Point and head straight down you will be fine! You do not need to hug the banks all the way down to the weirs! Give a little and it will go a long way. Never pass between two boats fishing either as this will get you a salute or a chase down usually!
4) As stated above our lake avg 4ft of water. YOU DO NOT NEED TO THROW YOUR ANCHOR IN THE WATER! This does not hold any better than just setting it down really slow! If its windy let out more line! Throwing your anchor will give you ZERO success when trout fishing. If your an anchor thrower you're probably wondering why you do not catch fish! BINGO! The Olympic Anchor Toss will not get you any brownie points with the guides or local pros, it will only piss everyone off & scare the fish away.
5) Crowding other anglers! This is a big problem you see on the weekends as one boat my be set up on a reef and catching fish! Then other boats start easing closer and closer until you can smell their breath. This is not cool and really disrespectful! You should give all boats at least three max casting distance unless they invite you over! Remember that is his fish....The angler found them so I believe that three casting distance around his boat is his fish!
6) Leaving with boats fishing: If you're going to leave an area where others are still fishing even if you were the 1st one there. Just troll out and give the other boats the same respect you want while fishing! Do not crank your big motor while close to other boats!
7) BIRDS....BIRDS....BIRDS.....This is the killer on Big lake and No matter how many fights or boat ramming happens, this is always causing a cluster! Look it is real simple math...ONE BOAT PER GROUP OF BIRDS....1st come 1st serve! Unless its real calm then two MAX******** More than two you will kill the bite and don't catch anything but one or two fish if your even that lucky....
Rules of bird fishing.... DO NOT TROLL UP WIND TO FISH A GROUP OF BIRDS>>>YOUR SPOOKING THE FISH....Approach down wind and let the wind push you toward them and adjust as needed
DO NOT TRY TO FISH BIRDS WITH OUT A TROLLING MOTOR...COM ON....You cannot do it and you will not have any success but blow out a group of birds for someone else. If you want to fish birds buy a trolling motor Bottom line!
8) Boat launches...Please DO NOT TAKE THE WHOLE LANDING UP! most you can launch several boats at a time at most launches, so launch your boat to one side or the other! & stay in your lane. No dead middle where you're holding up other anglers who want to fish on time!
If you follow some of these rules you will become a better angler and keep less hands flying up in the air!
Hope this helps!
Posts: 52
Joined: Tue Aug 17, 2010 8:55 am