Fishing Mud Lake in St. Mary Parish, Louisiana

• Overview

  Mud Lake lies in St. Mary Parish, Louisiana. The shore lies 3.2 miles out. Roughly 428 acres of surface: treat each bay as a water in its own right. You are looking at roughly 3.4 miles of shoreline, with plenty of water between access points. Franklin is the closest place, 5.9 miles off. It is 42 miles to Lafayette, the nearest city. The nearest edge is a long way off, so local rules apply throughout.

• Where to Fish on Mud Lake

  No depth figure has reached our records, which makes a plummet useful. The tide is the timetable on this water; two hours either side of the change usually fish hardest. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. On Mud Lake a short move beats a long cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warm month here averages 82°F; the cold one sits at 52°F. Heat, not cold, shapes the year here. Shade and hour of day matter more than month. April and May are the settled weeks, with October close behind. The season on Mud Lake follows the weather closely. Fish feed harder before a change in weather than after it.

• Tackle & Baits

  There is no clear statement anywhere on who can fish it. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. No car park, ramp or path is recorded within easy reach of the shore. Parking is often the real limit rather than the bank itself. Rules for boats are stricter than rules for the bank in many places. Mud Bayou sits 4.6 miles off and takes the overflow. The position on Mud Lake is worth confirming on the day.