Louisiana fisheries biologists might have an easier time picking the worst crappie lakes in the state than trying to select the best ones, because Louisiana has so few areas that don’t yield some outstanding fishing for the species: So says Bennie Fontenot, chief of inland fisheries for the state of Louisiana.

Pressed to state preferences, Fontenot pointed to the Larto Saline Complex, Toledo Bend, the Atchafalaya Basin and Caney Lake.

In light of those choices, we took a look at Toledo Bend and Larto Saline last month; this month, we review the rest of the best of the Bayou State’s panfish venues.

ATCHAFALAYA BASIN

Fisheries biologist Jody David says that anglers already know that the Atchafalaya Basin south of Interstate 10 contains some of the best crappie fishing in Louisiana. Like most of Louisiana’s fisheries biologists, he believes so strongly in the crappie-fishing potential in his area that he’ll all but fight you to prove that his region produces some of the biggest and the best crappie in all of Louisiana. If you look at the Basin as you drive I-10, you can tell by the amount of structure in the water that this region must be home to large numbers of crappie.

David, who has the scientific information to back up what anglers assume, named the Upper Atchafalaya Basin in the Henderson area, Bayou Benoit, Two O’Clock Bayou, Half Moon Bayou, Bayou Fordoche and Bayou Courtableau as crappie lakes in the region that flood during the spring.

Flooding always seems to produce large numbers of big crappie, and fisheries biologists have learned that flooding directly relates to the crappie spawn. In years in which this section of the state doesn’t flood and new areas aren’t inundated, the crappie don’t get off as good of a spawn as what they achieve in regions of the state that do flood. Since the named lakes flood almost every year, the crappie generally manage a good spawn, making these lakes consistent crappie producers.

“The floods cause both a great spawn and a tremendous crappie production from these lakes,” David said. “If the weather’s warm, and the river’s high, you’ll catch plenty of crappie in these sections of the Atchafalaya Basin. But if the weather’s warm and the river has fallen, you’ll take even more crappie.”

Fisheries biologists in Louisiana consider February and March the prime times for catching large numbers of crappie in this section of the state. Weather and water conditions determine just how good crappie fishing will be in the basin in the early spring.

“Last year, the water didn’t fall out of the basin until late June or July,” David said. “Although there were plenty of crappie caught from February through the spring, the bonanza catches of crappie didn’t occur until late summer. In March, the best you can hope for is a stable water condition. Then you can get back into those flats and catch those big shallow-water spawners. Stable water is good, but falling water is even better for catching crappie in the basin.

Although minnows and jigs both work well, David believes that jig-fishermen catch more crappie in the basin because they can cover the water more quickly and efficiently. “Many people think of the basin as a place primarily where you can catch large numbers of crappie but not necessarily big crappie,” he observed. “However, we had an angler last March who caught a crappie that weighed 3.7 pounds, which was the second-largest black crappie ever taken in the state of Louisiana. This fish was caught on a jig in Henderson Lake, which has about 60 percent black crappie and 40 percent white crappie. You’ll locate plenty of cover and structure in Henderson. Plan to fish it first this month.

“Then I’ll work my way down to Bayou Benoit and Catahoula in the Buffalo Cove area, jig-fishing so I can move around quick and identify the best spots to catch crappie.

David’s favorite color jigs to use early in the spring are pink and white, blue and white, and black and chartreuse. When the river’s high and the water muddy, pink and white and black and chartreuse are his color combinations of choice. When the water is clearer and has fallen, he opts for blue and white jigs. He prefers a 1/16-ounce jighead.