The lake's history as an old river channel reveals itself in various ways today; from Natchitoches north, the lake runs shallow, while the southern end remains fairly deep. The lake averages about 11 to 12 feet deep, but some holes drop to more than 25 feet. Usually completely landlocked, it sometimes reconnects with the Red River during floods, which restocks the lake with more fish.

"In the fall of the year, a lot of bass begin moving to deeper water," Moses offered. "Lily pads and boat docks form the dominant cover. In early mornings, anglers catch fish around the lily pads and shorelines with topwater baits. Later in the day, they switch to spinnerbaits and plastics. They also use worms and jigs in deep water. In September and October, bass start bunching up in fallen treetops. Any trees blown down in 12 to 15 feet of water will hold bass."

Many anglers fish the area near Shell Beach Launch halfway up the lake on east bank, south of Natchitoches. Several launches in Natchitoches provide access. Before people can operate boats on Cane River Lake, they must obtain boating safety cards from the Cane River Waterway District by passing an approved boating safety course. For more boating information, call Cane River Boating Safety at (318) 379-2700 or (318) 379-2878.

SALINE LAKE
About 12 miles east of Natchitoches, Saline Lake lies between the legendary bass waters of the Red River and Caney Lake. At 13,500 acres, Black Lake often overshadows this smaller neighbor, but the 8,400 acres of this impounded swamp can still surrender excellent bass catches. "Right now, someone could catch a 10-pound bass in any of our central Louisiana lakes," Moses said. "In the last week of March 2005, we had two bass slightly over 10 pounds and an 11-pound, 14-ounce bass caught at Saline Lake. One bass over 12 pounds came out of Saline Lake about two years ago."

The cypress-studded lake averages about 7 to 8 feet deep. A natural depression supplemented by a dam to regulate water levels, the shallow lake supports abundant grass between the cypress and tupelo gum trees. Most people fish Texas-rigged soft plastics or spinnerbaits around the flooded trees or grasslines.

"Anglers are going to catch a lot of fish," Moses said. "Before we started stocking the lake with Florida bass, people caught a lot of 1 1/2- to 2-pound bass. Starting with 1998, we stocked Saline Lake heavily with Florida bass. They have done very well, because we are starting to see a lot of big bass coming out of the lake. It still has many small bass, but there's no doubt that the 10-pounders are a result of the stockings."

In the shallow, weedy waters, bluegills and crawfish make up the prime forage species. Therefore, any lures with chartreuse, red or gold might work. Buzzbaits run across grasstops could produce exciting action in September. Also, try throwing shallow-running crankbaits in fire tiger, chartreuse and blue or red. Craw worms worked at the base of trees might well entice a bass of a lifetime. For more information about fishing at Cane River or Saline Lake, call Moses at (318) 487-5885.

VERNON LAKE
In western Louisiana, most bass fanatics fish Toledo Bend Reservoir along the Louisiana-Texas state line. The sprawling 186,000-acre lake does produce excellent catches of bass up to 15 pounds. However, just about 20 miles from the Toledo Bend Dam, 4,200-acre Vernon Lake, in Vernon Parish near Leesville, can produce bass exceeding 13 pounds.

"Vernon Lake reminds me of a miniature Toledo Bend with sandy points that drop off into the creek channel," remarked Bobby Reed, a LDWF district fisheries biologist from Lake Charles. "It still has a lot of old hardwood timber that rotted off at the waterline and plenty of vegetation for cover."