North Louisiana Fishing You Can Bank On
No boat? No worries! Freshwater bank fishing is a sport the entire family can enjoy.
In north Louisiana, there is great fishing in some of the most scenic places you can imagine. And often, these spots are available without a boat. Several popular state parks have public fishing piers for catching game fish like bream, crappie, catfish and bass. The experience is different from fishing the hotspots out in the lake, but there are plenty of fish to be caught. And a family outing on the pier is one sure to make memories.
Here are five north Louisiana bank fishing spots you should try:
The pier at the Lake Bistineau State Park, near Minden, is in a protected cove on the meandering 15,000-acre lake, one of the oldest in the state dating 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.
Jimmie Davis State Park on Caney Lake near Chatham doesn’t offer one fishing pier—their waterfront cabins come with their own. 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.
Lake Claiborne State Park at Homer sports three fishing piers on the 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.
You’ll find five of the longest freshwater fishing piers in the state at Lake D’Arbonne State Park between Farmerville and Bernice. They are long enough for plenty of fishermen to have lots of options for fishing. Bream and white perch fishing are good here in the spring along with catfishing.
Poverty Point Reservoir State Park at Delhi has a fishing pier in one of the newest lakes in the state. This spot has a reputation as one of the best white perch lakes. Bream and bass can also be caught here. And if the pier isn’t enough, you can fish from your own deck if you rent one of the over-the-water cabins on the 2,700-acre lake.
For information on fishing derbies and all the features and activities available at or near these great state parks and fishing piers, visit the Louisiana State Parks website.
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.
