Start managing the lake
Published 12:00 am Friday, January 7, 2011
What has been off and on one of the most productive small manmade lakes for fishing and a popular duck hunting spot for many waterfowlers might have a chance to make another comeback starting this year.
Considering the millions of dollars spent over the past decades on Spanish Lake, a body of water shared by Iberia and St. Martin parishes, a $10,000 grant waiting in the wings for repairs to the water control structure pales in comparison but is vitally important. The money will be reimbursed through a boater access grant program.
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Once again the oft-troubled lake needs a management plan to make it a viable attraction to various user groups. That plan needs to start with repairs to the water control structure, according to the state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.
The Iberia Parish Council holds the lake’s future in its hands, as it has several times. IPC members need to give final approval to the grant.
Many people have an interest in the lake. Landowners, fishermen, duck hunters, birders and others watch with interest. It’d be safe to say the lake’s fishing fanbase probably has been the most consistent over the decades, even now when catfish, barfish and trash fish are the dominant species.
There is disappointment, for sure, among bass anglers who have enjoyed heydays at times but experienced first-hand the sharp decline of the bass fishery a few years ago. People who once enjoyed a veritable fishing bonanza, which was the talk of anglers statewide, during sac-a-lait runs during spawning season each spring haven’t seen anything close to it since the mid-2000s, at least.
Each user group would like the lake managed to its particular needs or wants. Those people will have a chance to speak up at a public hearing before any significant action, such as as drawdown, is taken. Like it or not, however, the state agency will have the final say on what happens to the lake.
The Spanish Lake Commission needs to be on top of any decisions related to the lake. For goodness sakes, it’s in our backyard. Let’s get it right once and for all.
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DON SHOOPMAN
SENIOR NEWS EDITOR
