Bodcau Bayou Fishing Guides

About the Bodcau Bayou

Bodcau Bayou runs south out of the Arkansas line through Webster and Bossier parishes, a slow, timber-lined north Louisiana bayou that gathers itself behind Bayou Bodcau Dam before feeding Red Chute Bayou and, eventually, the Red River. The USGS gauge near Springhill sits on the upper reach above the reservoir pool and reads both stage and discharge, which makes it the most useful single number for judging whether the upper bayou is fishable or blown out after a Piney Woods rain.

The fishery is classic flooded-timber Louisiana. Largemouth bass hold on cypress knees, laydowns and the edges of the buttonbush, and they get shallow early because the water warms fast in this part of the state. Chain pickerel are common and aggressive, bowfin and spotted gar patrol the flats, and the panfish population of bluegill, redear and both crappie species supports most of the local effort from March through May. Channel and flathead catfish work the deeper bends and the outside of every timber point.

Guides who work this water fish it from flat-bottom boats and kayaks rather than big bass rigs, because the standing timber and stump fields in the Bodcau Bayou wildlife management area do not forgive a careless run. The management area covers a large share of the corridor and is state-administered, which keeps public access good and pressure moderate compared with the Red River oxbow lakes an hour to the south. Most productive water sits within a mile or two of a launch.

Read the gauge before committing to a day. Low, stable stage means the timber edges are defined and the fish are predictable; a sharp rise pushes fish into freshly flooded brush and turns the bayou the color of coffee for several days. The best fishing usually comes on a slow fall two or three days after a rise, when the water clears from the top down and bait stacks along the returning edge.

Access

Springhill area launch off Highway 371 — closest access to the USGS gauge and the upper timber reach.
Bodcau Bayou wildlife management area ramps — several improved gravel launches along the corridor, no fee.
Ivan Lake access, Webster Parish — small-boat and kayak launch on an adjoining impoundment.
Highway 2 bridge crossing — bank and kayak access to the upper bayou above the pool.
Bayou Bodcau Dam tailrace area — walk-in bank fishing below the structure when flows are moderate.
Koran and Sarepta landings — mid-corridor access to the lower bayou toward Red Chute.
Loggy Bayou area landings — downstream trailer access where the corridor opens toward the Red River.

Seasons

Spring: the best of the year. Crappie move onto brush and bridge timber in March, bass spawn in the shallow cuts through late March and April, and pickerel feed hard on the warming flats.
Summer: early and late only. Fish shade lines under cypress and buttonbush, work the deeper bends for catfish through midday, and expect low, clear, tannic water.
Fall: a strong second season. Cooling water pulls bass and pickerel back onto the timber edges through October and November, and bowfin become a legitimate target on topwater.
Winter: slow but not dead. Crappie stack in the deepest bends and around bridge pilings, and warm spells in the 60s will move bass shallow again for a day or two at a time.