Quote:
Originally Posted by Reggoh
You can go ALOT of places in the Calcasieu Estuary with a 14' boat...
The Prien Lake area is excellent in a small boat.
You can launch at the Jetties also and be within 5 minutes of safety if weather or a similar emergency arises.
If you watch the weather closely you can usually fish anywhere in the lake depending on where you launch... Hebert's, Calcasieu Point, Prien Lake Park all can be used to access different areas of the lake.
Yes West Cove is good too but if you live in Lake Charles there are better viable options in my opinion.
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I fish the jetties a lot in a 16' V hull aluminum boat. We fished it in a 16' flat bottom jon boat growing up. With the ship traffic, strong tides, and slow rollers from the GoM, it can be a challenge and is definitely not something for the inexperienced boater. The crew also needs to be experienced in keeping the boat balanced and communicating when a wake or a big wave is about to hit. I suppose things would be even a bigger challenge in a 14' jon boat.
The pogey boats were the worst for big wakes, and it may get easier now that the plant is closed, but some of the other ships can throw a big wake if they fail to slow down (as sometimes happens). A 10-15 knot S wind can also combine with a fast outgoing tide to create challenging conditions as far north as the ferry.
Wherever I'm fishing I try and launch the boat close to where I want to fish. Changing conditions can really make the ride back to the ramp slower and less pleasant. In my boat, I keep the max distance from the launch 2-3 miles, and even that has seemed very uncomfortable sometimes during the ride back.