Near Coushatta, John K. Kelly Grand Bayou Reservoir, better known simply as Grand Bayou, reached pool stage in August 1996. Today, the 2,500-acre reservoir averages 9 feet deep, but some holes drop to more than 30 feet deep. Flats and flooded brush dominate the lake's upper end. Near the dam, anglers find deep water and gravel bottoms. Points, drop-offs, docks and shorelines provide the dominant cover. Many anglers drop Carolina rigs around main-lake points or creek channels.

"In the winter, fishing slows down, but we still catch some good fish on Carolina rigs in deep water close to the channels," says local fishing guide Brantley Salter. "On cold winter days, I throw deep-running crankbaits. The lake has a lot of grass beds, some gravel beds and points. It doesn't have a lot of timber. It has one main channel, but it also has several feeder creeks and pockets with flats."

Each year, the state stocks it with Florida bass fingerlings. The lake record stands at about 13 pounds. With a 14- to 17-inch slot-length limit and an eight-fish daily creel limit, anglers may only keep four bass per day longer than 17 inches.

For booking guided fishing trips with Salter, call (318) 382-1312.

For putting big bass in the record book, nothing comes close to Caney Lake, a 5,000-acre impoundment near Chatham in north-central Louisiana. The lake has placed seven bass in the Louisiana Top 10, including the four largest fish. However, the lake hasn't added a top-10 bass to the book since July 1996, when Johnny Harper landed a 15.33-pound bucketmouth.

While the lake still harbors huge fish, anglers need to work harder to find them. With the bottom clear-cut before the lake filled, bass find little cover. In recent years, the lake produced several bass in the 10- to 12-pound range and a few largemouths heavier than 13 pounds. In March 2001 Kenneth Walker landed a 14.39-pound bass.

Five major creeks enter the lake from the northeast and two more from the southwest. These channels form structure that attracts fish. The lake averages about 14 feet deep, but some old borrow pits drop to more than 40 feet deep. A few dredged holes near the dam hold 70 feet of water.

"My favorite time to catch big, heavy bass on Caney Lake is from the end of January through the first week of March," says Tommy Chatham, of Tommy's Tournament Guide Service, who lives in Chatham, the town named for his great-great-grandfather. "In late winter, I fish bulky jigs and work them slowly. I use the biggest Texas-rigged lizards, worms or creature baits I can find. My favorite colors for soft-plastics are June bug, red bug and any dark color. Sometimes, I catch fish on Carolina rigs."

Bass anglers at Caney Lake must release all fish measuring between 15 and 19 inches. They may keep up to eight bass per day, but only two may be longer than 19 inches. To book guided fishing trips with Chatham, call (318) 246-5297 or (318) 245-3280.

While some of the luster faded from Caney, Lake D'Arbonne near Farmerville increased in stature among bass anglers in recent years. In February 2000 Ed Stellner established a new lake record at 15.31 pounds, almost 2 pounds heavier than the previous record of 13.60 pounds.

Impounded in 1964, the 15,000-acre lake in Union and Lincoln parishes averages about 8 feet deep. Several creek arms pull water from a huge drainage system. Little Corney Creek and Little D'Arbonne Bayou create channels that drop to 30 feet deep, but considerable portions of the lake resemble a shallow flooded cypress swamp.

In late winter, rivers in north Louisiana generally run at their lowest point of the year. The Ouachita River runs southward from Arkansas through Monroe. Several oxbow lakes off this stretch of the river can provide excellent winter fishing. Look for deep channels that connect oxbows to the main channel. In the main channel, fish the outside bends.