Caney Lake has been the subject of everything from wonderful to woeful since Caney Creek was dammed in 1987, impounding some 5,000 acres to form a pristine clear water lake in the hills and hollows of Jackson Parish.
   
I remember when the willows out in the water were still green; pine islands were dotted around the shallows and humps around the lake. Nice sized but not monstrous bluegills and crappie could be easily caught.

Bass fishing, however, was a different matter; most that were caught appeared thin and malnourished, the result of not enough forage in the lake to sustain a healthy population. That problem was solved quickly and efficiently, however, when threadfin shad were introduced to the lake, the shad spawned and the bass were off and running.  

By the early ‘90s, Caney began turning heads when eye-popping monster bass started showing up at the scales. Between 1992 and 1996, bass in the 15 pound and over range began knocking other smaller fish off the top ten list with at least three of those fish during that period finding themselves sitting atop the pile. Today, seven of the top ten bass earned their living beneath the waters of Caney Lake, including the current state record, a 15.97 pound behemoth caught by Greg Wiggins over 15 years ago.

Then came the hydrilla that quickly began choking the life out of the lake. This exotic plant was bad enough, but the solution that eradicated it was worse. When 12,000 grass carp were released into the lake around 1993, the death knell sounded and within a couple of years, all the hydrilla was gone, but so was the other species of good grass. Caney became a virtual bathtub with bass having no place to hide leaving fishermen scratching their heads as they searched for the roaming bass that were scattered over the lake, looking for any cover they could find.

Fast forward to today. The carp are no longer a factor with virtually all having died off. With the help of the LDWF, good grass is returning and although no other Caney bass will likely dethrone Greg Wiggins’ record fish, the bass fishery is strong and biologists believe that Caney Lake’s bass fishing future is indeed rosy.

As an example, the Jackson Parish Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Commission held its annual one day tournament recently paying anglers for the three heaviest bass caught each hour for seven hours. The 21 bass earning anglers money averaged 5.07 each with three topping six pounds, anchored by overall winner Jason Jordan’s 6.60 pounder. What was significant is the fact that only one of the 21 bass weighed less than four pounds, a 3.60 pounder weighed in the first hour.

Fisheries biologist Ryan Daniel is not surprised at the impressive showing. “We’re getting reports of fish up to 10 pounds being caught fairly regularly, especially during night tournaments,” said Daniel. “Our samples show the bass population improving over the past few years. Not only are there good numbers of bass in our surveys, we’re seeing lots of small bass, which indicates there is good reproduction.”

The LDWF is currently engaged in a program to re-introduce desirable vegetation to the lake. 

“In 2006, we transplanted several varieties of grass to see what might work best. The best showing has been made by eel grass, a long slender shallow-growing grass that has gotten established pretty well in the Clear Branch area. In fact this week,” Daniel continued, “we moved some of those established plants to about 40 other locations and are hopeful this will start grass beds in these other areas.”

Caney Lake may be getting a bit long in the tooth and the heyday of 15 pound bass a fading memory but the Jewel of Jackson Parish is still one of the top-notch bass fishing lakes in Louisiana.