“We have some of the best catfish waters in the country,” said Mike Walker, an LDWF biologist in New Iberia. “People can go anywhere in the lower Atchafalaya Basin and catch catfish. In our samples, we routinely collect flatheads and blue catfish in the 40- to 60-pound range in Lake Verret and Lake Palourde. I’ve seen commercial fishermen bring in some 100-pounders. Grassy Lake and Lake Fausse Pointe are all awesome for catfish. The coastal marshes are very good for blue cats, which can tolerate more salinity than other species.”

OTHER OPTIONS
The marshes between the Atchafalaya River and the Mississippi River largely escaped damage from hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. Historically, Lac des Allemands, near Houma, produces incredible catfish action. The Intracoastal Waterway connects Lac des Allemands to Lake Salvador and Lake Cataouatche, feeding the system. David Michel took a 69-pound blue cat from Lac des Allemands in October 1992.

“With the exception of commercial fishing, catfish are an underutilized species in our area,” said LDWF biologist Karl Mapes. “One could expect to catch as many as 50 catfish per day in some areas. Most will be in the 3- to 5-pound range, but people catch some bigger ones.”

The Lake Salvador area doesn’t produce as many cats as it once did. Salt water penetrates up the Barataria estuary, turning the lake into a salty system more suitable for redfish and speckled trout. In some backwaters and canals off the Intracoastal, though, anglers can still find some blue cats.

The Lake Pontchartrain Basin, including the Manchac area and Lake Maurepas, took a severe hit from Hurricane Katrina. The rivers of the Florida parishes also suffered extensive damage, especially Pearl River, but the state restocked many of those waters. The surviving fish in unaffected waters also moved into unoccupied territory.

“The Florida parishes were hit really hard by Katrina, but we’ve put some fish in there,” said Ralph Allemand, an LDWF biologist in Baton Rouge. “Some catfish naturally restocked the area from Lake Maurepas and other areas. Manchac was hit pretty hard, but some fish survived. Catfish came back very quickly -- better than what just restocking would have done. In the summer and fall of 2007, people started to catch some good catfish again near where the Tickfaw River hits Lake Maurepas.”

Rita caused extensive damage to the fisheries of southwestern Louisiana, but the lakes and rivers again produce fish. Anglers may hope to catch cats in the Sabine, Calcasieu or Mermentau rivers or Lake Vernon and Anacoco Lake.

“Lake Vernon and Anacoco Lake are the best catfish lakes in this district,” Reed said. “Hurricane Rita knocked down the population in the coastal rivers, but those populations are starting to come back. I know of at least one 60-pound-plus flathead that came out of Lake Vernon since the storm.”

Fortunately for anglers in southwestern Louisiana, Toledo Bend offers some of the best catfish action in the state, perhaps the country, although very few people fish for them there. Its 186,000 acres stretching along 65 miles of the Louisiana-Texas line, Toledo Bend holds an enormous amount of catfish, including some monsters.