Here, anglers drop worms and jigs or work the edges with deep-diving crankbaits. "Cypress trees and grass are the dominant cover in the upper lake," Wood said. "In the main lake, anglers find more wide open areas and deeper channels. In the lower lake, bass hang around old snags and logs that fell down. People fish a lot of decaying wood, trees and grass. The channel edges also form dominant structure for holding bass."

Where creeks merge with main channels, bass chase schools of shad in late summer through fall. When schooling bass erupt unexpectedly, anglers toss topwater baits, lipless crankbaits or white spinners into the fray. "In the fall, the lake has a lot of schooling activity," Wood observed. "Schooling bass may pop up anywhere in the lake, but generally, they relate to channels or other structure. Many fish relate to the channel edges in the main lake. Over these channels, anglers fish deep-diving shad-colored crankbaits. Many people also drop Carolina rigs into the channels."

In September, many anglers fish at night. The state has added lights on the state Highway 33 bridge specifically for anglers. Crappie fishermen mostly use the lights, but bass anglers also fish the bridge and nearby lighted docks with black spinnerbaits or worms.

Anglers wishing to make a trip might stay at the D'Arbonne Motel on state Highway 33; they can also launch at ramps along that same road. Others might prefer to stay in a cabin among the piney hills of the 655-acre D'Arbonne State Park. Five fishing piers allow landlocked anglers to fish without boats. For more information, call Wood at (318) 343-4044. For info on the state park, see www.crt.state.la.us/crt/parks/lakedarb/darbonne.htm.

CANE RIVER LAKE
The Red River cuts a swath through northwest and central Louisiana, offering great fishing over much of its path from Shreveport to Simmesport. In the fall, people catch many bass up to 9 pounds along its length and in numerous oxbow lakes off its course.

However, the Red River left a part of itself near Natchitoches. The Red River began changing course in 1825, threatening to leave Natchitoches, the oldest town in the Louisiana Purchase, without any significant water routes. In the mid-19th century, the U.S. Army began clearing the "Great Raft," a massive logjam extending hundreds of miles along the Red River.

Delayed by the Civil War, clearing work resumed in the late 19th century, and the unclogged river changed course. In 1936, engineers built a dam to stabilize the water level in the by-then-landlocked ribbon known as Cane River Lake. Today, this remnant meanders peacefully for 35 miles, part of which passes through downtown Natchitoches.

"Cane River Lake probably has more bass in the 5- to 7-pound range than most of our other lakes," said Ricky Moses, an LDWF district biologist in Pineville. "It's a phenomenal lake in terms of pounds of bass per acre. Some bass tournaments with five-fish stringers take more than 24 pounds to win. Cane River is a very fertile, productive system with a good forage base."

The state introduced Florida bass into the system in the early 1990s to increase the size of trophy bass and control forage. Now, about one-third of all fish in Cane River Lake exhibit some Florida genes.

"Cane River Lake is a phenomenal fishery," Moses said. "It has a lot of bass in the 2- to 7-pound range, with some in the 11-pound range. It has a tremendous forage base with lots of shad. The problem is that fish don't have to work very hard to get full. We've had bass anglers fish a bank and claim there's no fish there. We go behind them with our electrofishing boats, and they can't believe what we find."