Introduction

Hello guys! My name is Earnest and I live in the Shreveport area, Cross Lake is my nearest lake but Grand Bayou, Lake O the Pine and Cypress are all within 40 minutes of my home. My wife just recently allowed me to get a boat and I'm new to fishing :biggrin. I was wondering if anyone could put me on some good places to start my Crappie journey I have some teenage boys and I wanna make sure I can find a good spot to get them hooked on fishing before they get hooked on girls.

Welcome to the forum Bornagain318! Cypress and Black Bayou lakes in Benton are good crappie producing waters, though others on the forum could direct you to specific spots better than I. There is a lot of good information here and great people always ready to help.
Good luck with those boys!

Hi Earnest....welcome to the Louisiana forum of CDC....I am in south Louisiana so I can't help you with info on those lakes.....the good news is, we have lots of guys in your area who can help you out...or, you can go to the search pane in the top right corner of this page and type in the lake name.....that will send you to any past post about that lake....I have seen plenty posts on those lakes....

Good idea about the teenage boys.....this is a family friendly forum so you do not have to be worried about what they may see or hear on here...they can also sign up....

We are planning another get together on Toledo Bend at the end of February.....see the post at the top of this page for details....some folks bring the whole family...

Again, welcome and looking forward to your posts......

Welcome aboard Earnest

Welcome aboard from Oklahoma! Congrats on the new boat!!

Welcome to the board Earnest! This time of year, I'd start on Cypress, out off the ramp on Parks Rd. It's a big 'bow' out there around 20 feet deep or so and a good place for them to stack up in early winter. Just look for the other boats and you'll know the area. Bottom fish with a jig or shiner a crank or two off the bottom. Maybe others have more info, but that's where I'd be if I weren't doing geometry with my son today. :)

see ya!
Scott

Welcome.

Welcome Earnest, your can be earnest with us all you want just don't be frank, haha. Man you're in one of the best areas of the state for fishing. With Cypress and Black Bayou Lake, CAddo, Cross (the dead sea) but not really, 12 Mile Bayou, Bistineau and a few others. We have some good fishermen in that area, you need to make contact with them and any one of them would be glad to help you and the boys find some fish. It will take a while to learn but each trip can be a learning experience and fun. Just remember it's suppose to be fun.
"gene"

Welcome from Texas too Earnest. Think Toledo Bend in February to really get a crappie education on how we enjoy the company of other crappie fishermen.

Welcome to the forum and as the others have said, there are plenty of members that fish those lakes so I'm sure they will jump in here and help you out. We do have a gathering the last weekend in February at Toledo but if you can't wait that long, we are also having one at Larto New Year's weekend! You are welcome to come join us there too.

Welcome from 100 miles to the east. Could help with D'arbonne, but that wouldn't be much help.

Thanks a lot George

Well Rick D'arbonne is on my list of lakes so I'm sure I will need some guidance

Thanks a lot for the reply I will definitely try to make Toledo! Look forward to meeting some of the guys

Thanks Scott I'm going to try Monday morning if the weather holds

Thanks Gene! I have heard Cross Lake called the dead sea many times and wondered why! There is a lot of Cypress tress on it and it looks promising but I guess it just looks that way

Thanks Dwyane I am definitely going to try to make Toledo with my family

Welcome to the site from the Alabama delta

I fish Cypress more than anywhere else since it is close. Plenty of good crappie in Cross Lake, but I have never really found them. Claiborne is another good lake, and the occasional stripper makes for interesting times. Lake of the Pines should kick in pretty soon. Sabine river at Logansport is also good and is another close spot. Going to hit Claiborne next week and may make Cypress tomorrow if rain moves on out.

In my opinion, Cross Lake is a excellent catfish lake, but has so many catfish in it that the crappie & bass populations have suffered over time. It is a water supply lake for Shreveport and they keep the catfish population high to help keep the water cleaner.

Oh thanks Spiderman that would explain things! what is your choice of lake for size and number of crappie catches

Welcome, I'm knew here also and I have meet some fine people on here. I'm also new to white perch fishing. From what I have learned most about this fish is have patients. Good luck

Thanks Keeper good luck to you as well!! Man i got bit by this Crappie bug and I don't I'll ever fish for bass anymore! hope to see you on the water one day

catfish population high to help keep the water cleaner.[/QUOTE]

Popular myth.
Actually, most catfish are not scavengers, most are predators. That's why the crank trollers catch em all the time.

lake o' the pines usually kicks in in mid January pretty good. put in at the dam and look for boats ( wont be hard to find). drop to the bottom and bring it up a couple cranks. I fish it every year with some buddies from the marshal area. we use mostly shiners and sometimes we will double rig shiners, but I have caught several on jugs as well.

Thanks Rozelle good info, I'm going to LOP this weekend and I'll post my catch if I get anything since it will be my first time on the Lake