Hydrilla headache: Chicot drawdown again under way

Boaters on Chicot Lake will notice lower water levels during the next few months as part of a scheduled drawdown to combat hydrilla in the waterway.
“The problem is worst on the northern end of lake, but boaters will still have access to fishing piers and boat launches in that area,” said Jody David, Biologist Manager with the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Opelousas office. “We will probably stop the drawdown mid-January, but stopping the drawdown is weather related, depending on if the amount of rain goes up and down.”
The lake will not be closed to fishing, and the lake’s water level will be lowered three feet from pool stage. All three boat ramps will remain open, and “End of ramp” signs will be posted at the launches in the next few weeks as the water level drops. Boaters should also be cautious of underwater obstructions.
According to David, who oversees many facets of the lake including water quality testing, fish sampling and the drawdown, there is an area of about 230 acres where the percentage of hydrilla is the highest.
The lake near Ville Platte has been drawn down more than 20 times since 1962 for control of both native submerged vegetation and hydrilla.
Hydrilla, which is at its worst during the spring and summer months, was first spotted in the lake in 1996 and reached the peak of its spread in the mid 2000s.
LDWF uses drawdowns and herbicide to keep the plant in check, and last December 600 grass carp were also released into the lake to help combat the plant.
“The control measures seem to be working in this lake,” David said. “The integrated management plan has been going well, and the hydrilla is not getting out of hand. The lake will always have a little bit of hydrilla, but we will keep it in check. Every spring, we do a vegetative type map, and we are able to tell how well a drawdown worked.”
“It’s the most effective tool in the plan. It draws down the waters off the deeper main channel and (the lack of water) knocks down the hydrilla. It also helps to improve fish spawning habitat.”
Jason Guillory, park manager at Chicot State Park, does not expect the drawdown to have much impact on boat traffic at the lake.
“You can’t really even tell that the water has gone down yet because of all the rain the weekend before (the drawdown began),” Guillory said. “Boater and angler traffic is pretty slow during the week, and I don’t think we’ll see any changes in the weekend traffic either.”
The drawdown has never meant a slowdown in fishing for angler Bryce Fontenot of Ville Platte, who has fished the lake for 30 years.
“I fish there whenever I’m off, which is about 12 days a month,” Fontenot said. “Fishing is good even during the drawdown. Lately the fishing has been slow with the warmer water temperature and the slot limit removal, but I’ve still caught quality fish during the drawdown.”
Chicot formerly was a lake from which anglers could only keep bass between a minimum and maximum length. That restriction has been removed.
“I’ve got no complaints about the drawdown. The hyrdrilla problem is about 90 percent better than it was in the 2000s. Jody (David) is doing a great job managing the lake.”