Big isn’t always better. And fast is not always more fun. Lake Claiborne, near the small Louisiana town of Homer, is not big; it covers just 6,400 acres. It’s not fast, either. Life in this rural area is slow and laid back. This area is more of a “cabin in the woods” or “RV parked by the water” location where you grill your food by the lake and enjoy the peace and quiet. You’ll find it not overly busy most of the time, except on the weekends in summer when pleasure boaters are often using the open water areas. If that sounds boring, there’s one thing that can change that quickly. The fishing action is fast and furious. Schooling hybrid striped and white bass, lunker largemouths and schools of big crappie turn calm into chaos for folks that love seeing their fishing pole bent double. And if that’s a combination anglers are looking for, this might just be your diamond in the rough.

Fishing Lake Claiborne

There’s no doubt that the main target of anglers here is largemouth bass. Many fish over 10 pounds are caught and regular drawdowns on the lake keep the bass population healthy and active. The lake has also been stocked with Florida largemouth bass, which has improved the overall size of catches here. There are also bluegill sunfish, channel catfish, black crappie, striped and hybrid bass and bream. Largemouth bass fishing is good all year, but the prime time is in the spring when the big fish move shallow to spawn. You can catch them around cypress trees or around brush on the flats with plastic worms, lizards and jigs. As the water warms up, the fish will often suspend over brush tops and at the end of longer docks and piers that surround the shore of the highly populated lake. One thing veteran anglers here recommend is not to give up on boat docks too quickly. Often fish will be stubborn to bite there, but if you present several baits at different angles, you might just get them excited enough to take your offering. And it isn’t unusual to catch several fish off one pier or dock, especially as the water warms. Bass often school in the summer months and can be found in some of the same areas as schooling hybrid stripers. At this time of year, fishing is best with topwaters, usually something shiny and with a bucktail trailer to imitate smaller baitfish. Crappie fishing here is good in the spring as well. The fish usually go into the shallows to spawn and can be caught on minnows, small jigs and spinners such as Road Runner lures. Perhaps the best fishing for crappie, though, is in the winter. The fish seem to gather up in the deeper parts of the channel and once you find them, you can fill up a cooler with the tasty fish. In the winter months you will usually find a number of anglers at the area in front of the dam, where the deepest water on the lake is. There are numerous brush tops that have been placed by fishermen that always hold fish. Good electronics is a must for finding these areas. If you don’t have that, just see what the other anglers are doing. Fish are usually caught suspended 12-15 feet deep in 20-25 feet of water. The water is generally clear here and lighter line and smaller baits usually produce more strikes. Another main key to finding the crappie is the baitfish. If you can locate big balls of shad, the crappie won’t be far away. A word of warning here. Stumps constitute a major navigation hazard in many parts of the lake. The area near the dam is clear, open water and there is a well-marked 400-foot wide boating channel from there up to the northern ends of the lake, but when you veer off of it, you have to stay in well-marked smaller lanes in any of the creek areas.

Visiting Lake Claiborne

There are two free public boat launching facilities available for use at Lake Claiborne. Lake Claiborne State Park has two ramps within the park, one of these ramps is reserved for registered campers only. Two large artificial reefs also hold fish in Lake Claiborne. They are on the south end of the lake and are marked by buoys. The isolated rural area lake is not far from nearby towns Homer, Ruston and Minden. Ruston is the home of Louisiana Tech and has plenty of places to stay, restaurants and activities if you are looking for more action away from the water. You can also find plenty to do at the state park on Claiborne. If you tire of casting at fish, you can even take advantage of two world class disc golf courses in the park. And don’t forget to take advantage of a few slow, easy days on and off the water.