Planning a fishing trip to Caddo Lake Wednesday for the first time..
Louisiana Fishing, Texas Fishing
May 10, 2022 19:29:40 #
Canis
Loc: Texarkana, TX
Any of you fished Caddo? My plan is Bass and Bluegills around the cypress trees but would like a good place to start.
May 10, 2022 21:41:19 #
Canis: My guess is the black bass have finished their spawn, laying of eggs, and even left their nest. If you are fishing from a boat, I would suggest working the points where a creek or stream enters the lake.
Look for places that big bass would hide to ambush smaller fish. In the very early morning use top water lures, later I would use a diving lure or plastic worm, crawfish, or minnow to try and entice a strike. Just Sayin..RJS
Look for places that big bass would hide to ambush smaller fish. In the very early morning use top water lures, later I would use a diving lure or plastic worm, crawfish, or minnow to try and entice a strike. Just Sayin..RJS
May 10, 2022 21:48:22 #
Canis wrote:
Any of you fished Caddo? My plan is Bass and Bluegills around the cypress trees but would like a good place to start.
I haven't fished Caddo in several years, but if it hasn't changed much there is cover everywhere. We stayed at Uncertain and fished from there. You might want to think about guide for starters
May 10, 2022 21:56:28 #
Yes, I second the recommendation of using a guide, for at least one half day. You would spend at least a week, and probably more trying to gain the knowledge he would dispense in just one trip. Just Sayin....RJS
May 10, 2022 23:50:22 #
Canis
Loc: Texarkana, TX
Thanks folks for your response. It looks intimidating seeing all the cypress and cover. I'll check about a guide maybe half a day. I'll keep y'all posted.
May 15, 2022 09:35:25 #
IF you have a garmin Striker fish finder you can download the app to upload a map on your fish finder. I looked at my map, and wow, that is a deep lake in places. Tor Island to the west is Green Brake. One of the first places I would look for fish. West, southwest, east and southeast to the island is flooded timber, my go to place when fishing a new lake.
May 15, 2022 10:12:07 #
Canis
Loc: Texarkana, TX
Thanks Harris for the tip. I've had to postpone my trip for a couple of weeks. I always thought Caddo was a shallow lake. I will look these places up and plan a route accordingly. Thanks again :-)
Canis
Canis
May 15, 2022 10:48:03 #
My map is on 'Active Captain' from Garmin. If you or a friend have a Garmin Striker unit with that on it, you can get the map and use it like I do.
May 15, 2022 13:22:09 #
Canis
Loc: Texarkana, TX
Harris T. Fudpucker wrote:
My map is on 'Active Captain' from Garmin. If you or a friend have a Garmin Striker unit with that on it, you can get the map and use it like I do.
I have Lowrance but a few friends have Garmin, I'll ask them. I found the locations on my Navionics(now owned by Garmin). Looks promising. What is a good boat ramp to use? I'll be coming down from Texarkana, TX.
Thanks
Canis
May 15, 2022 13:33:48 #
May 15, 2022 16:11:22 #
Caddo Lake History
Earliest Inhabitants
People have lived here for about 12,000 years. The earliest inhabitants hunted and gathered in the wetlands, forests and floodplains.
Newcomers and Old Enemies
Spanish explorers first arrived in Texas in 1542. French explorers arrived in 1685. Both groups encountered the Caddo on the Red River in the late 1600s. The Caddo successfully traded and negotiated with the newcomers.
The Caddo began to settle in the area near Caddo Lake around the 1800. They built ceremonial centers and maintained far-reaching trade routes. They hunted game with bows and arrows, fished, and farmed corn, beans and squash.
But conflict arose between the Spanish and French over Caddo territory. American settlement from the east and attacks from neighboring Native tribes led to increased loss of Caddo territory by the middle 1800s.
The United States government forcibly moved the Caddo to Oklahoma in 1859.
Logs and Legends
In 1691, Spanish explorer Domingo Teran de los Ríos encountered an impassible logjam on the Red River. The American Freemen-Custis Expedition was rerouted by the same “Great Raft” of fallen, partially submerged trees blocking the river in 1806.
The Great Raft consisted of uprooted trees piled in the river for over 80 miles. For centuries, spring flooding eroded riverbanks, toppled trees and increased logjams. The raft disrupted river flow and water spilled into Louisiana’s Cypress Valley, forming a lake around 1800.
That lake was named for the Caddoan people. According to one legend, a Caddo chief’s failure to obey the Great Spirit caused an earthquake that created Caddo Lake. Another tells of the formation of the lake and Sha'chahdínnih (Timber Hill), the last known Caddo village here.
Passage Through Caddo Lake
Explosive Solutions
Captain Henry Miller Shreve invented the first boat for removing snags, large trees entrenched in riverbeds. From 1832 to 1839, Shreve supervised the removal of the Great Raft with four snag boats and a crew of 150 men. By 1835, riverboats could navigate the Red River, Caddo Lake and Big Cypress Bayou.
However, floods continued, and new logjams formed. In 1871, the Army Corps of Engineers cleared snags with explosives and dredged the river to prevent future logjams.
Moneymaker Lake
Oil rigs reflecting on the water of Caddo Lake
Oil towers in Caddo Lake, 1914
With the Great Raft partially cleared in 1835, riverboat travel and commerce spurred economic growth in port towns from Jefferson on the Big Cypress Bayou down to New Orleans, LA.
Oil was discovered below Caddo Lake during the 1900s oil boom. The Gulf Refining Corporation dammed the lake to raise the water level to accommodate oil drilling equipment in 1914. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers completed the current dam in Mooringsport, LA, in 1971.
Preserving Caddo Lake
Building a Park
Caddo Lake State Park opened on July 4, 1934.
Lady Bird Johnson’s father, T.J. Taylor, was one of several wealthy donors who gave private land for the park.
Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)
CCC Building Stone Structure
Photo courtesy of National Archives and Records Administration
Imagine yourself with little food, less money and no job during the Great Depression.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in 1933 to provide jobs and job skills for young men to work on conservation projects. The program enrolled men from ages 17 to 25 who qualified for public assistance. They earned clothing, food, medical care and $30 a month; they sent much of the money to their families.
Historic features: CCC Park Structures
During the hot, humid summer of 1933, CCC Company 889 built the first structures, trails and firebreaks in the new park. Company 857 continued working from October 1934 to March 1937, building the park’s permanent structures. They converted 15 U.S. Army barracks and an Army mess hall into the nine rustic log cabins and group recreation hall we use today. Just Sayin...RJS
Earliest Inhabitants
People have lived here for about 12,000 years. The earliest inhabitants hunted and gathered in the wetlands, forests and floodplains.
Newcomers and Old Enemies
Spanish explorers first arrived in Texas in 1542. French explorers arrived in 1685. Both groups encountered the Caddo on the Red River in the late 1600s. The Caddo successfully traded and negotiated with the newcomers.
The Caddo began to settle in the area near Caddo Lake around the 1800. They built ceremonial centers and maintained far-reaching trade routes. They hunted game with bows and arrows, fished, and farmed corn, beans and squash.
But conflict arose between the Spanish and French over Caddo territory. American settlement from the east and attacks from neighboring Native tribes led to increased loss of Caddo territory by the middle 1800s.
The United States government forcibly moved the Caddo to Oklahoma in 1859.
Logs and Legends
In 1691, Spanish explorer Domingo Teran de los Ríos encountered an impassible logjam on the Red River. The American Freemen-Custis Expedition was rerouted by the same “Great Raft” of fallen, partially submerged trees blocking the river in 1806.
The Great Raft consisted of uprooted trees piled in the river for over 80 miles. For centuries, spring flooding eroded riverbanks, toppled trees and increased logjams. The raft disrupted river flow and water spilled into Louisiana’s Cypress Valley, forming a lake around 1800.
That lake was named for the Caddoan people. According to one legend, a Caddo chief’s failure to obey the Great Spirit caused an earthquake that created Caddo Lake. Another tells of the formation of the lake and Sha'chahdínnih (Timber Hill), the last known Caddo village here.
Passage Through Caddo Lake
Explosive Solutions
Captain Henry Miller Shreve invented the first boat for removing snags, large trees entrenched in riverbeds. From 1832 to 1839, Shreve supervised the removal of the Great Raft with four snag boats and a crew of 150 men. By 1835, riverboats could navigate the Red River, Caddo Lake and Big Cypress Bayou.
However, floods continued, and new logjams formed. In 1871, the Army Corps of Engineers cleared snags with explosives and dredged the river to prevent future logjams.
Moneymaker Lake
Oil rigs reflecting on the water of Caddo Lake
Oil towers in Caddo Lake, 1914
With the Great Raft partially cleared in 1835, riverboat travel and commerce spurred economic growth in port towns from Jefferson on the Big Cypress Bayou down to New Orleans, LA.
Oil was discovered below Caddo Lake during the 1900s oil boom. The Gulf Refining Corporation dammed the lake to raise the water level to accommodate oil drilling equipment in 1914. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers completed the current dam in Mooringsport, LA, in 1971.
Preserving Caddo Lake
Building a Park
Caddo Lake State Park opened on July 4, 1934.
Lady Bird Johnson’s father, T.J. Taylor, was one of several wealthy donors who gave private land for the park.
Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)
CCC Building Stone Structure
Photo courtesy of National Archives and Records Administration
Imagine yourself with little food, less money and no job during the Great Depression.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in 1933 to provide jobs and job skills for young men to work on conservation projects. The program enrolled men from ages 17 to 25 who qualified for public assistance. They earned clothing, food, medical care and $30 a month; they sent much of the money to their families.
Historic features: CCC Park Structures
During the hot, humid summer of 1933, CCC Company 889 built the first structures, trails and firebreaks in the new park. Company 857 continued working from October 1934 to March 1937, building the park’s permanent structures. They converted 15 U.S. Army barracks and an Army mess hall into the nine rustic log cabins and group recreation hall we use today. Just Sayin...RJS
May 15, 2022 16:29:58 #
Coming back from The Toledo reservoir on following a map we visited the Caddo Indian mounds and took the little tour of the museum and village. I think Texas A&M oversees it. I really enjoyed it.
May 15, 2022 16:36:01 #
Yes, Texas has a lot of Native Americans living among us. Once we visited the Native American folks who have a settlement just north of Houston. (I believe they were the Alabama Coushatta) As part of their ceremony and entertainment there were a bunch of young (Teenage) girls dancing some kind of Native dance. One came into the audience and grabbed me to be her partner. So I can say I have actually participated in an Native American dance with an Indian girl. She was really good looking! Just Sayin...RJS
May 15, 2022 17:39:54 #
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