The southwest Louisiana ecosystem, dominated by Calcasieu Lake, Sabine Lake and the marshes in between, produces first-quality fishing for speckled trout like this one caught by Chris Kent. Photo by Chester Moore Jr.

“There are more fish in one acre of Big Lake than there are in most other entire lakes.”

Passionate about the speckled trout fishing on Big Lake, known officially as Calcasieu Lake, my father used this line -- and variations on it -- prodigiously often. As our home virtually straddled the Texas-Louisiana border, Calcasieu was only a half-hour’s drive away, just south of Lake Charles. The days we spent there were some of the most productive of my young angling career.

Over the years I’ve come to believe that Calcasieu, the Cameron and Sabine jetties and the marshes surrounding that ecosystem are second to none on the entire Louisiana coast when it comes to pursuing trophy trout from spring through summer. The key is learning what signs to look for and how to approach these productive ecosystems.

SLICK SURFACE
Among the telltale signs of trout action on the main body of Calcasieu are oily slicks, caused by the feeding of predatory fish, that you can see on the surface. Fish, especially speckled trout, often regurgitate when feeding aggressively. When the prey is something oily -- menhaden, for instance -- this can result in one of the slicks appearing atop the water.

On the main body of Lake Calcasieu, slicks can indicate feeding speckled trout -- but you’ll have to pay strict attention to detail or you’ll be wasting your time. The first obstacle to overcome: crab traps, which are increasingly common the closer you to get to shore. Crabbers bait these traps with menhaden, which is very oily and produces slicks as soon as they put it in the water. Running across the lake and blindly targeting slicks can test an angler’s sanity, as thousands of crab traps are out there, all prone to producing slicks.

The most obvious way to tell if a slick comes from a crab trap or from a feeding speck is to scout for crab traps nearby. If it’s coming directly from a trap, don’t bother fishing there; chances are good that you’re not going to catch anything.

It depends on a fortuitous encounter, granted -- but yet another way to determine the source of a slick is to stumble on one as it actually appears. Emerging slicks are small, and usually round. If you encounter one about the size of a garbage can lid, it probably just formed, and your chances of connecting with fish there are excellent. That’s the ideal condition -- but slicks can be worth trying if they’re well formed and no more than 10 feet across. Nonetheless, by focusing on the smallest, best-formed slicks, anglers can increase their odds of catching speckled trout.

“Emerging slicks can lead to good catches of trout on Calcasieu,” said Capt. Buddy Oakes of the Hackberry Rod and Gun Club. “You just have to be careful not to waste your time fishing the wrong kinds of slicks, which can get tricky.”

Some anglers claim they can tell if a slick is fresh by smelling it. Slick-savvy anglers often compare the odor of a slick generated by a speckled trout to that of fresh mowed grass or watermelon rinds. Once you’re on the slick, target the speckled trout underneath by throwing a soft plastic such as a Bass Assassin with pumpkinseed, glow or chartreuse coloration, or Oake’s locally produced recommendation, the Hackberry Hustler.

Boasting a fair population of oysters, Calcasieu is home to several reefs that hold solid numbers of fish throughout the year. Some of the best are off Commissary Point or off the Cameron Prairie National Wildlife Refuge at Lambert’s Bayou and Grand Bayou.