1st Reported by “The Town Talk.com”: What Valentine Lake lacks in size, it often makes up in the quality of its fishing. Biologists with the Calcasieu Ranger District are hoping the work they’re doing this week makes it even better. The lake near Gardner in Rapides Parish was drawn down several feet so biologists could make several changes to enhance habitat and spawning conditions for fish including bass, bream, perch, crappie and catfish.
The first measure was to expose and eliminate encroaching aquatic vegetation.
“The idea is to dry it out and freeze it,” said fisheries biologist Ted Soileau. “It’s a great year for that because we’ve had a lot of cold weather.”
The vegetation and the layer of muck it created were removed, exposing more of the native, sandy bottom that fish prefer for spawning. Some gravel beds installed over that soil are expected to create even more favorable spawning conditions.
Biologists are also sinking nearly 80 dead trees, donated by businesses after Christmas season, to provide an artificial habitat. The trees were placed under a pier popular for fishing and alongside man-made ridges in shallow water.
In addition to attracting insects and other forms of fish food, the trees provide a place for newly spawned fish to hide from larger, predatory fish.
“It’s just a good refuge for smaller fish to get away from larger fish,” said wildlife biologist Steve Shively.
Biologists also placed several “spawning cavities” for catfish — modified plastic buckets designed to mimic logs or other hollows.
“If you look around here, we don’t have the steep bluffs or trees catfish can use,” Soileau said.
Such efforts take place at lakes regularly. At Valentine, for instance, several plastic artificial fish habitat structures are in place from previous years.
Valentine Lake, though, had not been drawn down in more than 10 years, so this was a unique opportunity for more extensive work.
The lake in Kisatchie National Forest, west of Alexandria, was once a busy recreation spot, but that diminished as activity gradually moved to nearby Kincaid Lake. Valentine still draws campers, and its fishing is top-notch.
A bass caught there in 2010 just missed the state record. Caught by Regina Womack (pictured above) from a kayak, it weighed 15.875 pounds and measured 27 inches long. The state record for a largemouth bass is 15.97 pounds and has stood since 1994. (link to Regina’s big bass story; http://packandpaddle.blogspot.com/2010/05/huge-bass-caught-from-kayak.html)
Valentine Lake is about 13 miles west of Alexandria, off La. Highway 121, which is off La. Highway 28 West.