I had a free morning a couple of weeks ago, so Trey and I decided to do some bass fishing before heading to work. Because of it’s location to Lafayette, we hit up Lake Martin.

Lake Martin is a beautiful lake part of the Cypress Island Preserve and is located about 5 minutes from Lafayette city limits, 15 mins from Pack & Paddle. It is a very popular tourist attraction year-round, but especially in the spring when egrets, herons, spoonbills, and other wading birds nest in the rookery. It’s not uncommon to see photographers set-up on the side of the road taking pictures through the trees with their telephoto lenses.

It’s also a favorite location for many of Pack & Paddle’s trips, like the Howl at the Moon evening paddle and the Valentines Day paddle.

Anyway, Trey and I had most of the morning to fish so we met at the main boat launch around 7:30. We got on the water and started exploring. This was my second time paddling the lake, and I think it was Trey’s first.

Lake Martin is also known for the amount of large gators that call it home. We did see a few, but they were mostly smaller guys.

The morning was pretty slow as far as action was concerned for us. Trey had a few hits, and I ended up with one that hit a spinnerbait. I felt pretty happy about it, until I got back to the launch and talked to another yaker who fishes the lake regularly. He had caught about five or six, and his largest was a six pounder. No lie, I had fish envy.

Though the fishing wasn’t great for us, it was nice to get out and fish before heading to work. I am hoping to spend more time bass fishing here in the summer months. There are a few locations in the Atchafalaya basin that I’m itching to hit. But for now, here are a few more shots of Lake Martin!