Black Bayou Lake Monroe

I'm heading down to the Monroe area from Michigan the first week of March, in the past have fished Poverty Point and D'arbonne with mixed results. Black Bayou Lake intrigues me. Any info about water depth, places to avoid, vegetation etc would be appreciated. Will be under the 50hp limit so that won't be a problem. I've read about quality fish coming out of BBL and about thick vegetation. Also, whats the latest on Bussey? Last I heard it was slated to be filled by 2017 but would be a mixed use lake. Any updates? Thanks Jerry

Have never fished that area so I can't help you. Sorry

Jerry, black bayou is just a shallow cypress lake. Deepest water you'll find is maybe 12 or 13 ft. Most of it is in the 5 to 8 range. Water is pretty clear for round here. The predominant fish is the black crappie, very few whites in it. We've done well in the past pitching hair jigs on trees to the right just as you break into the main lake from the boat launch canal.

Far as Bussey goes I emailed Mike Wood who put me in touch with another man, can't remember his name. Anyway he proceeds to tell me how they were gonna finish getting the last of the water from the deep holes and start some dirt work and other projects. All this was supposed to have started last summer. With the way the state is in such a budget crisis yr after yr I wouldn't hold my breath for it to get completed anytime soon and certainly not by 2017.

This is the last pic of Bussey I took. This is May of last yr.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...6b7f552e23.jpg

Thanks for the info. My son lives near Swartz and worked for the state highway department. He recently went partners in a surveying business in Farmerville so he gets some good info from the area. He talked to the crew doing the work on Bussey and they told him they were doing stump removal/cutting and dirtwork as weather and conditions permit. Lets hope they follow through in a timely manner. As far as BBL goes I just talked with my buddy and he's pumped about trying a new body of water. We will be down around Feb 27 and leaving around March 6. I'll post reports From there, Poverty and Darbonne.

I'll second what 20watt said about BBL. It is a very beautiful lake and has some tremendous crappie in it. I used to fish on a regular basis and catch giant crappie. I don't know how big because that was before anyone cared about how much a fish weighed. But I can tell you this, I have caught them so big that they would pull my 14 foot john boat side ways before I could get them turned. If you are dipping jigs around the trees, which is a very good technique by the way, be prepared for a largemouth to try to take your rod away from you. There are some good bass in the lake as well. There is one open area in the lake, but I can't tell you about fishing it. I was always drawn to those cypress trees. LOL. I wish I could fish it again. Good luck.

Wow! You have me ready to pack my gear and head south. The fact that its 10 degrees doesn't hurt either. Here in Michigan we're waiting for the lakes to ice up so we can break out the augers and shantys and catch a few through the ice. Grumpy old men for sure. Appreciate the help

I hear you spartannation, lived there in the mid '80's. A year in St. Saint Marie Canada, another year in Kalkaska, MI, then nine months in Mt. Pleasant, MI. Was transferred there from Texas during the oil industry crash at the time. Was a major culture shock for sure. An extremely pleasant place to live - in the summer time. :)

Black Bayou Lake warms up earlier than most places in the area except for maybe Woolen Lake. You can fish Black Bayou Lake all day and not a bite til the last hour of daylight and they turn on like crazy. Best advice - first week of March, just go. Don't ask for a report, just go. Second bit of advice is to fish in the afternoons. 3rd bit is to be very quiet, the fish spook easy

appreciate to info pointman. Sounds like our timing could be right for a change. What is the vegetation like that time of year? I read that it can get thick at times. We're new to the southern crappie fishing having done it only a handful of times. Would you order jigs/rubber ahead of time or can it be found at the bait shops? Probably go to Acadamy or the shop on 139/80 near the childrens home accross from the highway department complex

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Originally Posted by spartannation

Wow! You have me ready to pack my gear and head south. The fact that its 10 degrees doesn't hurt either. Here in Michigan we're waiting for the lakes to ice up so we can break out the augers and shantys and catch a few through the ice. Grumpy old men for sure. Appreciate the help

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Makes me hurt just thinking about those temps.:Doh:

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Originally Posted by spartannation

appreciate to info pointman. Sounds like our timing could be right for a change. What is the vegetation like that time of year? I read that it can get thick at times. We're new to the southern crappie fishing having done it only a handful of times. Would you order jigs/rubber ahead of time or can it be found at the bait shops? Probably go to Acadamy or the shop on 139/80 near the childrens home accross from the highway department complex

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Hyacinth will be killed back but it's still there. Any jig will work as long as it's a black and chartreuse hair jig Don't give up, stay til dark