Lake Size: 25,400 Acres Deepest Depth: 20 ft Latitude: 32.708478 Longitude: -93.917403 Lake Level Above Sea Level: 161 ft (49 m) Counties: Marion County Cities: Karnack Lake Management: Army Corps of Engineers
Information: Caddo was first seen by Native Americans in the 8th century, but substantial development would only begin with invention of the steamboat and US annexation of both Louisiana and Texas in the 19th century. The cities of Port Caddo, Swanson's Landing, and Jefferson in Texas, and Mooringsport in Louisiana, had thriving riverboat ports on the lake. Gradually as the log jams where removed in the lake and the Red River by Captain Henry Miller Shreve and then by the Army Corps of Engineers, the lake changed shape and eventually fell over ten feet, destroying the East Texas ports and their riverboat industry.
Industry once again came to Caddo Lake with the discovery of oil beneath it. The world's first over water oil platform was completed in Caddo Lake in 1911. The Ferry Lake No. 1 was erected by Gulf Refining Company. The well bottomed at 2,185 feet and produced 450 barrels per day.
Oil derricks sprang up throughout the lake, around the turn of the 20th century, further damaging the fragile ecosystem. The oil industry left Caddo for richer fields at Kilgore and other locations in Texas. Texas tried to preserve parts of Caddo in 1934 by establishing a State Park, constructed by the WPA. The establishment of the Longhorn Army Ammunition Plant on the shores of Caddo, in the mid 20th century, polluted large portions of the surrounding wetlands until its closure in the 1990s.
Fishing
Miscellaneous Info
Angling Opportunities
Largemouth bass is the most popular sportfish at Caddo Lake with good numbers of trophy-size bass (over 8 lbs) available. The lake also supports quality crappie, white bass, and sunfish fisheries. Channel, blue, and flathead catfish are present and provide good seasonal fishing opportunities. Chain pickerel, a smaller cousin of the northern pike, is also present and frequently sought by anglers because of its sporting qualities.
Fishing Cover/Structure
Caddo began as a natural lake, but was dammed for flood control in the early 1900s. Native and non-native aquatic vegetation covers approximately 95 percent of the lake's surface area in Texas. Inundated baldcypress trees are scattered throughout this comparatively shallow water body and provide excellent fish habitat. Man-made structures such as fishing piers and duck blinds also provide habitat for cover-seeking species.
Caddo Lake (French: Lac Caddo) is a 25,400 acre (103 km²) lake and wetland located on the border between Texas and Louisiana, in northern Harrison County and southern Marion County in Texas and western Caddo Parish in Louisiana. The lake is named after the Southeastern culture of Native Americans called Caddo or Caddoans, who lived in the area from the 16th century until their expulsion in the 19th century. It is an internationally protected wetland under the RAMSAR treaty and is the largest natural fresh water lake in the South, and the largest Cypress forest in the world. It used to be Texas' only natural lake until it was artificially dammed in the 1900s.
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