Thread: D'arbonne 3/19

Originally Posted by SLIP-CORK

If those cookie cutter lakes along the Mississippi are the prettiest in La. then my suggestion would be to get out of the crappie house, hook up that little green tracker, and get out and explore what La. has to offer because it appears you haven't fished that many lakes. Darbonne I'm sure is a thing of beauty just as those oxbows are to some. Heck if I caught a limit out of a mudhole it would look pretty good to me. SLIP

Exploring poverty point as we speak


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Originally Posted by PointMan3

I get tired of fishing same place too often, even if they are biting. Around here, you can hit the peaks of a bunch of different lakes and bayous and rivers and fish different techniques and colors. Yucatan is one of my favorite places to fish and when the river gets right, I will not fish anywhere else. The Ouachita River and especially Darbonne bayou is probably the most scenic river/bayou I fish. Black Bayou Lake is also a gem.

But as far as consistency through all months, Darbonne Lake is the best white perch lake in Louisiana. Both numbers and size there. The recent tournament there with the terrible conditions and the weights that were weighed in was crazy.

I thought that last tourney was crazy too, I just knew they were gonna have a rough time. I was blown away by the big fish they weighed in.

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Originally Posted by Andrews

St. John is the prettiest lake by far in Louisiana


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I'm not all that impressed either way the beauty of a lake, but the beauty of them slabs coming up to the top, and piling up in my livewell definitely gets my attention and my vote!!

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Agree point man. Darbonne has it all and is well protected like at Toledo Bend in that they are protected by the wind that keeps fishing pressure super low. The habitat there is also a huge plus. The shallow flats with all of that structure offer massive areas for all species to spawn and are untouched by fishermen.
Poverty may be a better trophy lake but thay may be nit picking.
The only thing that I don't care for as far as the lake is concerned is the frequent drawdowns.
But what do I know. The lake commission there calls the shots.
I know that the Darbonne spillway gets overwhelmed with the massive watershed that this lake has to handle and scheduled drawdowns were needed to install structures to help with this problem. Maybe the Bonne can get back to normal with better level control. SLIP

Originally Posted by SLIP-CORK

Agree point man. Darbonne has it all and is well protected like at Toledo Bend in that they are protected by the wind that keeps fishing pressure super low. The habitat there is also a huge plus. The shallow flats with all of that structure offer massive areas for all species to spawn and are untouched by fishermen.
Poverty may be a better trophy lake but thay may be nit picking.
The only thing that I don't care for as far as the lake is concerned is the frequent drawdowns.
But what do I know. The lake commission there calls the shots.
I know that the Darbonne spillway gets overwhelmed with the massive watershed that this lake has to handle and scheduled drawdowns were needed to install structures to help with this problem. Maybe the Bonne can get back to normal with better level control. SLIP

Darbonne was built strictly as an impoundment, nothing to do with flood control. The tainter gate is inadequate, everyone knew this. I've lived on darbonne for 25 years and I know the drawdowns will never stop. I love me some darbonne but there are some drawbacks that come with it. It could be #1 on the crappie lake list if it were managed correctly no doubt.

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Your right Brad. The watershed calculation came up a bit short back in 63 and as a result we have a continuing threat of flooding low lying areas around the lake on occasion.
The Bonne is a reservoir and has nothing to do with anything else.
The first time I saw the width of the spillway I wondered how it would handle a substantial rain event upstream. I've heard stories about such events and saw a couple during my time in Ruston. Very dangerous on the back side.
Great lake now and better in the future. SLIP