Bayou Plaquemine Brule Fishing Guides
A slow prairie bayou draining three hundred square miles of Acadia Parish rice country into the Mermentau, with heavy cover, good spring crappie and a bass fishery that rewards anglers who fish wood.
Guides on the Bayou Plaquemine Brule
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About the Bayou Plaquemine Brule
Bayou Plaquemine Brule drains a little over three hundred square miles of the Cajun prairie in Acadia Parish and carries it southwest into the Mermentau River system. This is rice and crawfish country, flat as a table, and the bayou moves through it with very little gradient. The gauge at Esterwood reads stage and velocity rather than a conventional discharge, which tells you most of what you need to know about how this water behaves.
The channel is narrow by Louisiana standards, banked with willow and hackberry, and cluttered with laydowns where the banks have caved. Below Church Point and Crowley it picks up field drainage and widens somewhat. The water is usually stained, often heavily so after the irrigation season begins, and clarity is rarely the thing that decides whether the fishing is good.
Largemouth bass hold in the wood, and in a bayou this small that means fishing accurately rather than covering distance. Crappie are the spring draw and gather around any structure that breaks the current, including bridge pilings and the mouths of drainage canals. Bluegill and redear sunfish are abundant through the warm months, and channel and blue catfish work the deeper bends. Bowfin and spotted gar are common enough that hooking one is routine.
Water levels here are tied as much to agriculture as to rainfall. The rice cycle moves a great deal of water into and out of the prairie, and the bayou can rise or drop without a storm anywhere nearby. Local knowledge about which canals are pumping matters more than a forecast.
Access is through parish roads and bridge crossings rather than developed ramps, and a pirogue, kayak or small flat-bottomed boat covers the water better than anything larger. Crowley is the practical base for anyone coming from outside the area.
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Access
Esterwood - the gauge location and the nearest reference point on the lower bayou.
Crowley - the parish seat and the best base for fuel, food and tackle.
Church Point - an upstream community with bridge access to the bayou.
Estherwood Highway 13 crossing - a usable bank access on the lower reach.
Mermentau River - the receiving water downstream, with larger public ramps.
Lake Arthur - the nearest developed boating water in the basin.
Acadia Parish roads - a grid of farm roads gives bridge access at many points.
Seasons
Spring: the best fishing of the year, with crappie shallow and bass active before the water warms.
Summer: hot, low and stained, with bream and catfish carrying the fishing.
Fall: cooling water and a second bass bite, generally the most comfortable season on the bayou.
Winter: cool and clear by local standards, with crappie schooled in the deeper bends.
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Questions
What species can you catch on the Bayou Plaquemine Brule?
Anglers target Black Crappie, Blue Catfish, Bluegill, Bowfin, Channel Catfish, Largemouth Bass, Redear Sunfish, Spotted Gar, White Crappie on the Bayou Plaquemine Brule in Louisiana.
Where can you access the Bayou Plaquemine Brule?
Esterwood - the gauge location and the nearest reference point on the lower bayou. Crowley - the parish seat and the best base for fuel, food and tackle. Church Point - an upstream community with bridge access to the bayou. Estherwood Highway 13 crossing - a usable bank access on the lower reach. Mermentau River - the receiving water downstream, with larger public ramps. Lake Arthur - the nearest developed boating water in the basin. Acadia Parish roads - a grid of farm roads gives bridge access at many points.
When is the best time to fish the Bayou Plaquemine Brule?
Spring: the best fishing of the year, with crappie shallow and bass active before the water warms. Summer: hot, low and stained, with bream and catfish carrying the fishing. Fall: cooling water and a second bass bite, generally the most comfortable season on the bayou. Winter: cool and clear by local standards, with crappie schooled in the deeper bends.
Where are the fishing regulations for the Bayou Plaquemine Brule?
Regulations change by season and section. Read the current rules on the Louisiana agency site: https://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/page/seasons-and-regulations