Louisiana crappie fishing is some of the finest in the country. There are plenty of people that will tell you that this type of fishing is perhaps the favorite among many anglers in the region. That is a good thing and well deserved because the fish are populous here and they anglers are destined to enjoy the process of catching them. If you are planning to fish for crappie fish here, in Louisiana, you need to know where to go to find them, what to bring with you and why it is going to feel good to bring them on board.

Toledo Bed in Louisiana has long been known as one of the best places to fish for crappie in Louisiana. This reservoir is approximately 180,000 acres and is about sixty-five miles long. This runs along the Texas Louisiana bordered Sabine River, and has consistently produced great numbers of white and black crappie for your fishing and eating pleasure. Black crappie are the more common of the two, and a team can catch fifty to a hundred one to two pound crappie a day, and some even weigh in at over three pounds here.

It is important to note that anglers with both Texas and Louisiana fishing licenses may fish this lake, but regulations vary depending on which license you have. Both those with Texas and Louisiana licenses may keep up to fifty crappie (both black or white or a combination), but in Texas they must be a minimum of ten inches in length. In Louisiana, nine inches is accepted, and in Texas, from December to February fishermen must keep the first fifty they catch regardless of their respective sizes.

Toledo bend crappie are usually in spawn in April in the coves and shallows, but the spawn holds off as long as June sometimes, depending on weather conditions, especially in the deep Southern end of the reservoir. In early spring, crappie are often found suspended beneath baitfish along edges of the old river channel, especially in the well-known Chicken Coop area.

The Saline-Larto complex is approximately 8,000 acres large. It is just to the east of Toledo Bend. It is a distinctly swampy area, but consistently produces crappie in excess of three pounds, so nobody can argue that it is a fine area in which to catch crappie. Anglers also have tremendous success bagging good size limits of crappie in bayou drops. Other prime sections are Muddy Bayou, Nolan Bayou, Cross Bayou, Open Bayou, and Shad Lake and Powell's Point.

November through February are the best times to fish deeper water for crappie, but the spawn begins in the early Spring and March sees the height of the spawn occur. The spawn signals the beginning of great shallow water fishing for crappie. During this time, fishing around the shorelines is excellent, making it a great time for youngsters to fish the banks.

Lake D'Arbonne, in Union and Lincoln Parishes, is well known as an excellent place in which to fish for crappie, especially in the spring. Most of the crappie average about a pound or a pound and a half at Lake D'Arbonne, but it is easy to catch your limit in record time in this location. This is another swampy area, and fishermen here do well to fish the shallows from the end of February all the way through May, using very small hair or tube jigs and by dangling flies.