Bayou Des Cannes Fishing Guides
A prairie bayou draining a hundred and thirty square miles of Acadia Parish rice country toward the Mermentau, with wooded banks, dependable spring crappie and a bass fishery built entirely on laydowns.
Guides on the Bayou Des Cannes
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About the Bayou Des Cannes
Bayou Des Cannes drains roughly a hundred and thirty square miles of the Cajun prairie above Eunice and carries that water south into the Mermentau River system. The gauge sits near Eunice and reads both discharge and stage, which is more hydrologic information than many bayous in this basin offer, and it is worth checking before a trip because the numbers here move for reasons that have nothing to do with weather.
This is rice and crawfish country and the land is nearly flat, so the bayou has very little gradient to work with. The channel is narrow, deeply cut in places, and lined with willow, hackberry and cypress where the banks have held. Where they have not held, the trees have gone into the water, and those laydowns are the single most important feature on this bayou. Water clarity is usually stained and rarely becomes the deciding factor.
Largemouth bass live in that wood and they are caught by fishing it accurately rather than by covering water. White and black crappie are the spring draw and stack around bridge pilings, culverts and the mouths of the field canals. Bluegill, redear sunfish and warmouth are abundant from April through September, and channel and blue catfish hold the deeper bends. Bowfin and spotted gar are common enough that hooking one is an ordinary event rather than a surprise.
Levels respond to the rice cycle as much as to rainfall. Irrigation pumping moves a great deal of water onto and off the prairie, and the bayou can rise or fall with no storm anywhere in the forecast. Knowing which canals are running matters more here than knowing the weather.
Access is by parish road and bridge crossing rather than developed ramps. A pirogue, kayak or small flat-bottomed boat fishes this water far better than anything larger, and Eunice is the practical base for fuel, food and tackle.
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Access
Eunice - the gauge location and the most practical base for the upper bayou.
Crowley - the parish seat downstream, with lodging, fuel and tackle.
Church Point - an upstream community with bridge access to the bayou.
Highway 13 crossing - a usable bank access between Eunice and Crowley.
Mermentau River - the receiving water downstream, with larger public ramps.
Acadia Parish road grid - farm roads give bridge access at many points along the run.
Lake Arthur - the nearest developed boating water in the same basin.
Seasons
Spring: the best months of the year, with crappie shallow and bass working the wood before the water warms.
Summer: hot, low and heavily stained, with bream and catfish carrying the fishing.
Fall: cooling water and a second bass bite, generally the most comfortable time to be on the bayou.
Winter: cooler and clearer by local standards, with crappie schooled in the deeper bends.
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Questions
What is the current flow on the Bayou Des Cannes?
As of Oct 18, 5:15 pm, the USGS gauge Bayou Des Cannes near Eunice, LA reads 1 cfs. Conditions update every 15 minutes.
What species can you catch on the Bayou Des Cannes?
Anglers target Black Crappie, Blue Catfish, Bluegill, Bowfin, Channel Catfish, Largemouth Bass, Redear Sunfish, Spotted Gar, Warmouth, White Crappie on the Bayou Des Cannes in Louisiana.
Where can you access the Bayou Des Cannes?
Eunice - the gauge location and the most practical base for the upper bayou. Crowley - the parish seat downstream, with lodging, fuel and tackle. Church Point - an upstream community with bridge access to the bayou. Highway 13 crossing - a usable bank access between Eunice and Crowley. Mermentau River - the receiving water downstream, with larger public ramps. Acadia Parish road grid - farm roads give bridge access at many points along the run. Lake Arthur - the nearest developed boating water in the same basin.
When is the best time to fish the Bayou Des Cannes?
Spring: the best months of the year, with crappie shallow and bass working the wood before the water warms. Summer: hot, low and heavily stained, with bream and catfish carrying the fishing. Fall: cooling water and a second bass bite, generally the most comfortable time to be on the bayou. Winter: cooler and clearer by local standards, with crappie schooled in the deeper bends.
Where are the fishing regulations for the Bayou Des Cannes?
Regulations change by season and section. Read the current rules on the Louisiana agency site: https://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/page/seasons-and-regulations