Sulphur High School Fishing Team members and biologists from the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) Inland Fisheries office in Lake Charles worked together over the summer of 2023 to construct artificial reef structures to be used to supplement freshwater fisheries habitat and give anglers a place to catch and harvest fish across Southwest Louisiana.

Deployment of these structures began October 4 as students from the Sulphur team and biologists placed nine reefs in Bundick Lake, currently in drawdown stage. These artificial reefs were deployed in areas where there were no stumps in an effort to attract bass, crappie and bream, and to provide a safe haven for smaller bait fish species. Another nine reefs were deployed on October 9 in Watermelon and Goos Bays of the Calcasieu River in water from 9 to 15 feet deep. These structures will attract juvenile fish as well as catchable bass and crappie.

“This partnership exemplifies the mutual benefits that are possible by engaging the youth of our state in the management of our aquatic resources,” said Sean Kinney, Inland Fisheries Biologist Manager. “We look forward to working with these talented students in the future.”

If you are interested in finding out more about the artificial reef deployments around the state, please visit the LDWF website and open the Louisiana Outdoor Explorer interactive map. All reefs deployed in the state can be found by clicking on the “Get on the Water” tab and then selecting “Freshwater Artificial Reefs” from the layer list.

To date, LDWF Inland Fisheries Division has deployed 207 artificial reefs in 27 waterbodies around the state to supplement fisheries habitat and give anglers a place to catch and harvest fish. If you are interested in volunteering with the artificial reef program, you can contact your local LDWF office or e-mail the coordinator Sean Kinney at skinney@wlf.la.gov.

GPS Coordinates of Artificial reefs deployed at Bundick Lake on October 4, 2023:

• Bundick-1: 30.731658°, -93.095155°
• Bundick-2: 30.731880°, -93.095329°
• Bundick-3: 30.732294°, -93.096040°
• Bundick-4: 30.731800°, -93.096183°
• Bundick-5: 30.729733°, -93.099300°
• Bundick-6: 30.729517°, -93.099550°
• Bundick-7: 30.740405°, -93.095845°
• Bundick-8: 30.740580°, -93.095789°
• Bundick Dome-1: 30.729450°, -93.099817°

GPS Coordinates of Artificial reefs deployed on the Calcasieu River on October 9, 2023:

• Watermelon Bay-1: 30.291033°, -93.169644°
• Watermelon Bay-2: 30.292653°, -93.169940°
• Watermelon Bay-3: 30.293478°, -93.169476°
• Watermelon Bay-4: 30.294244°, -93.169481°
• Watermelon Bay-5: 30.299397°, -93.173221°
• Watermelon Bay-6: 30.298120°, -93.171779°
• Goos Bay-1: 30.303820°, -93.150120°
• Goos Bay-2: 30.301131°, -93.149024°
• Goos Bay-3: 30.299666°, -93.148437°