Lake D’Arbonne Fishing Guides and Conditions, Louisiana

About the Lake D’Arbonne

Lake D Arbonne is the fishing lake of north Louisiana, impounded on Bayou D Arbonne near Farmerville. It looks like the Louisiana people picture: cypress trees standing in open water, stained bayou-fed water, and long shallow arms running back into the woods.

Crappie, which anglers here call sac-a-lait, are the main attraction. The standing timber and the brush give them cover throughout the lake, and the fishery is productive enough to support tournaments and a good deal of local guiding. Spring around the spawn is the peak, but the lake produces through most of the year.

Largemouth bass fishing around the cypress knees, the grass and the boat docks is good and considerably less pressured than the crappie fishing. Bream and redear sunfish are abundant and are the best possible reason to bring children. Channel and flathead catfish hold in the deeper bayou channels, and chain pickerel ambush from the grass edges.

Lake D Arbonne State Park sits on the shore with cabins, camping and ramps, which makes this an unusually easy lake to visit for a couple of days without arranging much in advance.

D Arbonne rewards patience with brush more than it rewards running water. The productive crappie fishing here is a matter of working known cover carefully, and anglers who sink and mark their own brush do far better over a season than those who rely on finding somebody else’s.

The gauge below reports pool elevation at the dam. The lake is fed by bayou drainage and colours quickly after rain, so reading the level alongside recent weather tells you whether the arms are fishable or whether you should stay near the main channel.

Access

Lake D Arbonne State Park: ramps, cabins and camping near Farmerville.
Highway 33 and Highway 2 bridges: bank access and crappie structure.
Public ramps around the lake are numerous and generally free.
Upper bayou arms: shallow, timbered water that fishes well in spring.
Dam area near Downsville: the deepest water and the gauge.
Farmerville has services, bait and local guides.
Note: standing cypress and stumps are everywhere away from the channels.

Seasons

Winter: crappie deep on brush and the best catfish of the year.
Spring: the crappie spawn, the peak season and the busiest ramps.
Summer: bream on the beds, bass in the shade of the cypress, early starts.
Fall: cooling water pulls crappie back onto the brush and the bass shallow.