The State of Poverty -Part 2

No, this is not a blog about the poor. This is about a small lake in north Louisiana. Poverty Point Reservoir is a 2700 acre lake located north of Delhi, Louisiana. It was constructed in 2005 as a bass lake, but its fertile waters with large populations of shad, have made it one of the best crappie fishing lakes in the state. The number one black crappie and six of the top ten white crappie records have all come from Poverty Point. In 2016 the lake exploded with 3lb crappie. Three of the top ten all were caught within weeks of each other. There was at least 15 fish reported that year that broke that magical 3lb mark. Those kinda of numbers of trophy fish would rival some of the best Mississippi lakes. This has been well publicized throughout the state and the country. It has brought many fishers from all over the country to this small hidden gem. But something has changed since 2016. Those trophy size crappie have seemed to disappear overnight or at least the past three years. Last year, a few trophy crappie were landed, but less than the year before. This year, as of the middle of March, very few 3lb plus fish have been documented. They say crappie are cyclic, which may explain the decline in numbers of large fish. The decline in the numbers and size of the crappie fishing had prompted the wildlife and fisheries to allow commercial fishing for catfish and the many other predator fish that are abundant on the lake. That being said, for some unexplained reason, there were hybrid stripers released in the small impoundment 4 years ago according to the state park officials. This year they are in great numbers. They average between two and three pounds and can grow as large as sixteen pounds. It is unclear to the officials I had spoken to, why they were put into the lake. although one source tells me, it was to bring more fishers for the summer. Only time will tell whether there is a correlation between when they were released and the decline of the size of the crappie. This past week I made my annual journey from south Louisiana to the "land of the giants". It was evident that things had changed from the previous years. The numbers of crappie caught were good with some juvenile fish being caught also. We landed and released over 400 crappie in 10 days of fishing. The numbers of big fish caught were nowhere near the previous years. Many of the local crappie fishers had reported the same. As stated before, it just may be a cyclic event or perhaps the introduction of these hybrids affecting the fishery. The introduction of these hybrids have seem to have affected the white bass populations also. Some of the biggest white bass in the state were caught on Poverty Point in the past. The numbers of hybrids are staggering. If you love catching hard pulling tenacious stripers, then the Point may be the place to go. But for the hard core crappie angler, this is just another nuisance fish that is destroying what was one of the best crappie fisheries in the state. Poverty Point is a beautiful small impoundment that provides some of the best fishing in the state. There are many varieties of fish to be caught. This includes black and white crappie, catfish, bluegill, white bass, largemouth bass, and now hybrid stripers. We landed and released over 30 hybrids between three to five pounds, the biggest being 7.78 pounds. By next year they may weigh up to 10lbs. It is hard to imagine hooking three or more of this fish at a time spider rigging that may weigh 5lbs or better. It could be that the big crappie will show up some time this spring or it maybe it's an off year once again. One thing is for certain, it is a magical fishery for its size. Please practice reasonable catches. Keep what you need and release the rest. Releasing the bigger spawning fish benefits the fishery and just might be the reason you will catch that fish of a lifetime the next time you are on the water. Good luck fishing. Hope to see ya on the water.

Comments

  1. GarrettMarch 22, 2021 at 8:18 PM

    Well said Angler, The Point is truly a great Fishery, and as you stated a Louisiana Gem. Hopefully it will continue to provide and abundance of Great fishing memories for years to come. Tight Lines to ya!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. AffordableMagMay 24, 2022 at 11:13 PM

    Best grease for spinning reels

    ReplyDelete

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