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Black Lake Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Sep 4, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Louisiana’s cypress classic: Black Lake’s stump fields grow the crappie that fill corks and the bass that break them off.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Water temp
~84 F est.
Air / High
96 / 96 F
Wind
E 2 mph

Sources: Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
4
September 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

2/5Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Black Lake locks in another hot, bright day: the fish know the drill and so should you. Today brings clear skies, wind E around 2 mph, rising pressure near 1012 hPa and a high of 96. Water sits around 84 F for the season (estimated). With the last quarter, the solunar majors run 5:39 AM-7:39 AM and 5:39 PM-7:39 PM: plan around them and beat the heat.

The plan, species by species

Catfish (blue, channel)Good

Anchor on 20-30 ft baited holes with punch bait or cut shad. They keep biting through the heat when everything else quits.

Largemouth bassFair

Topwater at first light on points and seawalls, then slide out to 12-25 ft brush and points with a Carolina rig, deep crank or drop shot. The bite is dawn, dusk or deep.

White bassFair

Early schooling action over humps; slabs and small spinners under the birds.

CrappieSlow

Straight down on bridge pilings and deep brush at 15-25 ft. Minnows outfish jigs in hot water; move until the graph shows them stacked.

Tomorrow: Similar at 97 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Sep 5, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Water and weather

Live readings.

No live gauge on this water

Conditions here are modeled from weather, season and the nearest stations. Water readings appear when a USGS gauge is available.

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~84 F now

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp96 F
High / Low96 / 75 F
WindE 2-4 mph
Pressure1012.1 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain18% cloud, 17%
Sunrise / Sunset06:49 / 19:32
MoonLast Quarter, 50%
Water temp (seasonal)~84 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunset

Next 7 days

Tap a day for the detailed outlook.

Fri Sep 4 · Overcast, 96/75 F, wind 11 mph, rain 17%

Fair or better. A 11 mph breeze puts a working chop on the banks it hits: fish the wind-blown side.

Species guide

The species that matter on Black Lake: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Largemouth bass illustration

Largemouth bass

Best: spring and fall

The headline act on most American reservoirs. Relates to cover: docks, brush, grass edges and points. Topwater at first light on points and seawalls, then slide out to 12-25 ft brush and points with a Carolina rig, deep crank or drop shot. The bite is dawn, dusk or deep.

Crappie illustration

Crappie

Best: Nov-Mar

Brush piles, bridge pilings and standing timber. The fish fry favorite. Straight down on bridge pilings and deep brush at 15-25 ft. Minnows outfish jigs in hot water; move until the graph shows them stacked.

Catfish (blue, channel) illustration

Catfish (blue, channel)

Good year-round

The most reliable bite on most southern waters. Blues run big; channels fill the cooler. Anchor on 20-30 ft baited holes with punch bait or cut shad. They keep biting through the heat when everything else quits.

White bass illustration

White bass

Best: Mar-May run

River-run spawners and open-water schoolers. Fast limits when you find them. Early schooling action over humps; slabs and small spinners under the birds.

When to come: the Black Lake calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Largemouth bass
Crappie
Catfish (blue, channel)
White bass
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 84 F (estimated, not a reading).

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~84 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Black Lake today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Sep 3

3/5 Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows. Catfish (blue, channel) led the card at good. High of 94 F, wind to 11 mph.

Wed, Sep 2

3/5 Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows. Catfish (blue, channel) led the card at good. High of 88 F, wind to 9 mph.

Tue, Sep 1

3/5 Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows. Catfish (blue, channel) led the card at good. High of 96 F, wind to 11 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used to send you this water's report each week. No spam, ever.

Before you go

License

Louisiana requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

Louisiana license. Crappie 25/day typical statewide, bass under standard limits: check current LDWF rules.

Access

Highway 9 public ramp at Campti, parish launches and commercial fish camps around the lake.

About this water

A ~13,000-acre natural cypress lake on Black Lake Bayou near Campti, Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana.

Fishing Black Lake: the full guide

Natchitoches parish gold

Black Lake spreads shallow, fertile water across roughly 13,000 acres of cypress and tupelo near Campti: one of north Louisiana’s defining natural lakes. It is crappie country first: sac-a-lait in numbers and size that anchor the town of Campti’s identity: with largemouth ambushing every stump line, chinquapin (redear) and bluegill on the flats, and catfish wherever you set a jug. The scenery is the fishing: mossy cypress in every direction.

Sac-a-lait science

Winter and early spring, the crappie stage on the deeper holes and channel edges (8-14 feet): tight-line jigs or shiners straight down in the timber. As water warms past 55, they flood the cypress flats to spawn: a cork, a jig and every likely tree until the school announces itself. Summer scatters fish to the deeper stump fields and shade: early morning trolling with jigs at 6-10 feet rebuilds the pattern.

Bass in the trees

The largemouth game is cover fishing distilled: pitch jigs and creatures to cypress bases and lay-downs, swim spinnerbaits through the stump gaps, and throw frogs across the pads in summer. Fish average solid and run to double digits: hydrilla edges, when present, concentrate the better bites. Water color runs coffee-stained: dark blues, blacks and chartreuse earn their keep.

Campti logistics

Public ramps at the Highway 9 crossing and around Campti serve the lake; local fish camps add launches and the crappie intelligence network. Navigation among the stumps demands respect: follow the marked runs and idle when unsure: lower units die here yearly. Natchitoches, twenty minutes south, makes the historic base with every supply.

Common questions

When is the crappie run?

February-April as fish flood the cypress flats: the cork-and-jig weeks that fill every camp. Winter tight-lining the holes is the sleeper.

Is the boating hazardous?

Stumps everywhere: run marked lanes, idle the flats, and treat glass-calm water as a trap. Locals trim high and go slow.

What colors work in the stained water?

Black-chartreuse jigs for sac-a-lait, dark creature baits for bass: contrast beats realism in coffee water.

Is fishing good at Black Lake right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Nearby waters

Caney Lake33 miToledo Bend Reservoir50 miRed River55 miLake D Arbonne65 miOuachita River67 miCaddo Lake78 mi
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