North Louisiana State Parks: Fishing You Can Bank On
No boat? No worries! Freshwater bank fishing is a sport the entire family can enjoy, especially in Louisiana State Parks.
In north Louisiana, great fishing happens alongside great scenery. Several popular state parks have public fishing piers for catching game fish like bream, crappie, catfish and bass. The experience is different from lake fishing, but there are plenty of fish to be caught — and a family outing on the pier is sure to make memories. Here are five north Louisiana bank-fishing spots you should try:
1. The Lake Bistineau State Park pier near Minden:
A protected cove on the meandering 15,000-acre lake, this park dates back to 1935. Its moss-laden cypress trees provide great cover and a scenic backdrop for bass, bream and red-ear sunfish, catfish, yellow bass.
2. Jimmie Davis State Park on Caney Lake near Chatham:
Each waterfront cabin comes with its own fishing pier. The area offers bank fishing in the richest big bass waters in the state. It isn’t likely you’ll catch a 10-pounder off the bank, but in the spring, you never know.
3. Lake Claiborne State Park in Homer:
This park sports three fishing piers on its 6,400-acre lake. Bass, bream, yellow bass and white perch are common catches here. This park also has some of the most splendid nature areas when the fish aren’t biting.
4. Lake D’Arbonne State Park between Farmerville and Bernice:
You’ll find five of the longest freshwater fishing piers in the state here. They are long enough for plenty of fishermen to have lots of options for fishing. Bream, white perch and catfish are good catches in the spring.
5. Poverty Point Reservoir State Park in Delhi:
This park, known for its white perch, has a fishing pier on one of the newest lakes in the state. Bream and bass can also be caught here. If the pier isn’t enough, you can fish from your own deck if you rent an over-the-water cabin.
For information on fishing derbies, great state parks and fishing piers, visit the Louisiana State Parks website, and read about sac a Lait fishing in North Louisiana.
Kinny Haddox is an avid outdoorsman and writer from West Monroe, Louisiana. He is the publisher of LakeDarbonneLife.com and a feature writer for Louisiana Sportsman magazine.
