• Wind, rain and Krappie Kings! - by lakedarbonnelife

    Some folks had a tough time catching fish in the changing conditions here lately. Some didn’t. I even got accused by one loyal reader of “padding” the fishing report, saying they were biting when they really weren’t. People were catching some good fish last week. I got good reports from several reliable sources. I responded to my faithful reader, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink”.

    This week’s fishing report:


    The fish are still biting on Lake D’Arbonne. You have to adjust to the weather, but crappie fishing has been fit for royalty, so it’s no surprise that it has even drawn the attention of the Krappie King, Karl Kalonka. He was on the lake this week filming a TV show along with several area fishermen. KRAPPIE KINGS TV is a 13 episode series shot in High Definition that combines the best of all elements: fishing, instruction, destinations, characters and appetizing culinary techniques. It’s great for this area and our Union Parish Tourist Commission and Union Parish Chamber should be congratulated for helping arrange the trip. It’s also great timing because the show’s FIRST EPISODE featuring Reelfoot Lake in Tennessee starts airing on the World Fishing Network and Sportsman Channel Friday and Saturday. It’s on channels 394 and 395 on Direct TV in Union Parish and our area. Check your local listings for your area.



    Karl Kalonka, Krappie King, meets John Godwin, Duck Commander, meets D’Arbonne SLABS!



    I don’t know who caught the most fish on Lake D’Arbonne this week, but I’d bet I know who came the longest distance! Kalonka and cameraman Jay Hotzak traveled from Bradford, Canada (just outside Toronto) to do the show. While the deeper channels have been the key for months, the flats seem to be holding lots of fish now. I don’t know if it was the shelter from the wind or the crappie bite, but there were 40 boats crowded into Stowe Creek more than one day this week. The lake is up about six inches or more due to the heavy rains last weekend. The rise and the wind have muddied the water in some areas, messing up fishing there for the time being. There’s also a “pollen line” around much the lake’s shore with about six tons of pollen floating on the surface. Not sure what that does to the fish, but I know what it does to my sinuses!


    I’ll start today’s report with Karl’s personal suggestions based on his first few days on Lake D’Arbonne. He reports that each day they went with different fishermen and tried different techniques. They fished spider rigs with success and tried slow trolling. Most of the fish seem to be in 5-8 feet of water and the fish are 3-4 feet deep. They caught fish on hair jigs and soft plastic jigs — pink and white, and also chartreuse. They had some good success on double-rigged live minnows as well. They’ll be in town through early next week and will do some shallow water fishing then.




    I’ll have a lot more on Karl and the Krappie King show next week, so stay tuned — or whatever you do when you are reading the internet. If you have a chance, catch the show this weekend and you’ll get a taste of what the show on D’Arbonne will be like when it airs in the future.


    Here’s a not so good report. The Ouachita River is high and muddy and even some of the best bass and crappie fishermen I talked to are striking out here. Most folks are trying other waters. It will get better.


    Lake Claiborne is producing some good catches of crappie. They seem to be doing better there in the shallows as well, but some fish are still staging in 8-10 feet of water. Bass fishing has been good for small to medium bass. This isn’t a trophy lake, although a few five and six pounders are regularly caught there.



    Tamara Byrd with a Caney trophy.



    If you want a trophy bass, this is Caney Lake time. Several near and over 10 pounds have been caught the past two weeks. One of them featured here, landed by Tamara Byrd of West Monroe. She caught this 10-8 Caney lunker on a Baby Brush Hawg! Big plastics and jigs are the best baits right now, fished slowly. It also won’t be long until the big chinquapins are turning on here. Bream here are best on crickets or small crawfish.


    Black Bayou fishing is good for crappie and bass. Both seem to be keying on the cypress trees, which is no surprise since it seems like 80% of Black Bayou IS cypress trees. Jigs and shiners are working. If you go there, remember the motor restrictions and follow all federal regulations on the refuge.


    Last but not least, crappie are still biting at Poverty Point Reservoir. Some whoppers are being caught and I think some “whoppers” are being told. Fishing isn’t great for numbers, but seriously, they are landing some monsters over there. Bream are just picking up and bass fishing in the shallows is still good.

    If you go out this weekend, be safe. Watch out for the weather and have fun. By the way, the extended weather forecast is calling for a chance of rain late Saturday and a 100% chance of rain Sunday. I’d say there’s at least a 50% chance that may be correct.


    And if you see the TV boat out on the water, enjoy watching, but give them space to do the show. I can’t wait to see it!

    Read more at: http://lakedarbonnelife.com/
    Comments 12 Comments
    1. Billbob's Avatar
      Billbob -
      good info.
    1. NYHellbender's Avatar
      NYHellbender -
      Can't wait - It gonna be fun
    1. specktacklure's Avatar
      specktacklure -
      great post.
    1. royinlox's Avatar
      royinlox -
      gotta get out again!!!!!!!
    1. Slab's Avatar
      Slab -
      Check out the hat he's wearing in the second pic from the top. It's a Crappie.com hat.
    1. Brandon Jennings's Avatar
      Brandon Jennings -
      Just wait till you see the rest of the story! I spent 9 days with theses guys, and had an awesome time. Slabs, Slabs and more Slabs...just wait and see!
    1. CCcrappiejohn's Avatar
      CCcrappiejohn -
      Thanks for sharing.
    1. tnfishing_girl's Avatar
      tnfishing_girl -
      could use a crappie.com shirt......or hat!
    1. Trent's Avatar
      Trent -
      Crappie.com and Krappie Kings plus Godwin the Goat - Wahoo!!!
    1. StrykerTN's Avatar
      StrykerTN -
      Any idea when the episode will air?
    1. lakedarbonnelife's Avatar
      lakedarbonnelife -
      Quote Originally Posted by StrykerTN View Post
      Any idea when the episode will air?
      It will not air until early NEXT spring. They shoot stuff in the spring, then edit and put the shows together for the next spring. Wish it wasn't so long!!!!
    1. StrykerTN's Avatar
      StrykerTN -
      Thanks
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