Grosse Savanne is Open for Bass Fishing Excellence

I’d heard about Grosse Savanne’s bass fishing before I ever visited, notably from people like James Overstreet, who asked bluntly, “Why should I go all the way to Mexico when I can drive four hours down the road to Grosse Savanne and catch 100 bass a day, every day?” I’ve been around the block enough times to know that few things in fishing are ever as promised, but Grosse Savanne lived up to the hype. Not only did Hanna and I land 101 bass on an exceptionally gusty, post-frontal fall day, but we were treated like royalty and enjoyed what was probably the best food I’ve ever had at a fishing lodge. The only question was when we’d be able to book a return trip. 

That’s why it pained me so much to see the news footage of the Lake Charles area getting pounded by multiple storms last year, and to see both the lodge and the employees’ homes suffer through heavy damage. 

Not everything is back to normal quite yet, but as waterfowl season started to wind down I saw more and more pictures of big fat bass. If you’re not keen on traveling abroad right now due to increased COVID-related restrictions, this is the perfect option. Not only can you get there easily by road or by air, but the bass bite every day of the year. Just be sure to act fast because they’re operating at limited capacity. I caught up with Doug Miller, the lodge’s Director of Operations, to get the scoop for those of you who may want to escape the cold and get your thumbs rubbed raw:

HPFC: Your area suffered through some pretty rough weather last year. How did that affect Grosse Savanne.

MILLER: Back at the end of August we got hit with Hurricane Laura, which was a Category Four, almost a five. We were dead center. We had some damage to some of our lodges and all of our infrastructure when we got hit by another hurricane – Delta – which was a Category Three, which compounded our problems. We had a lot of infrastructure damage but the lakes actually survived very well. We didn’t have any issues with any of our fisheries.

HPFC: I’ve seen lots of pictures of your waterfowl season on social media. Have people been out bass fishing and if so how has the December and January bite been?

MILLER: The hurricane actually blew a lot of the vegetation out of the lakes, especially Miller’s Lake, which was covered over with a lot of dollar lilies and big lily pads and water hyacinths. We had 150 to 200 mile per hour winds and a lot of that stuff got blown out, so even though we’re a clean lake in the wintertime it’s extra-clean right now. It’s almost like we hit the reset button back to when we built it. Everything is wide-open again. The fishing has been off the charts here in January. Fifty to 100 fish has certainly been the norm, especially if it’s not after a cold front, but we’ve had a couple of trips where on a six-hour day they’ve caught over 200.

HPFC: During this coldest part of the year, what are the key baits that people are throwing?

MILLER: We’ve been doing really well on the Thunder Cricket, Strike King’s bladed jig. That has been hot as a firecracker here. The Hack Attack Jig has also been pretty good, too.

HPFC: Will that stay consistent over the next month or two, or do additional lures become more productive?

MILLER: Those baits stays pretty consistent year-round, but as fish start to move up on the beds baits like the Strike King Ocho will be real good. And then it won’t be long until they start hitting frogs again if we start warming up by the end of February.

HPFC: I’ve seen all of the great frogging footage from Grosse Savanne with Zona and others. When does that bite tend to get really hot?

MILLER: It’s all weather-dependent, but once those bass start getting on those beds and guarding fry it’ll crank up – so if this weather stays in this warm pattern that we’ve been in I think we may see that by mid-March.

HPFC: What’s a really big fish this time of year?

MILLER: We haven’t really seen a lot of giants yet this year like we did in the first few years. We’re still catching some in the 6-pound range, but we’re catching a lot over 4 pounds. It’s not uncommon to have 20 or 25 fish in one trip right now over 4 pounds.

HPFC: What is the status of your current lodging options?

MILLER: The main lodge that everybody is familiar with had a lot of water damage. We’re in the process of getting all of that repaired and the owners are taking advantage of the opportunity to upgrade some things and give it a little different look. Hopefully we’ll be a little better than we were before the storm. In the meantime we have a small farmhouse that we’ve remodeled. We’re running hunts through there right now and it will transition into fishing season. We can only accommodate four to six people there at a time. We’ve got the same great fishing, the same great outdoor experience, we’re just limited on how many people can spend the night at the moment. We are open to day trips if someone wants to stay in one of the local hotels in Lake Charles and drive down. We can certainly accommodate them. We’re basically operating at full capacity, just not hosting as many people overnight.

HPFC: If people do stay there overnight, has anything changed about the quality of the experience or the food?

MILLER: Same great chef. It’s actually kind of a cool experience. Because it’s a smaller farmhouse you can actually sit at the bar and watch the chef cook. You get to interact with him. Hopefully after the main lodge reopens – and we’re planning on a July reopening – we’re talking about keeping this small satellite lodge open year-round as an alternative for people who want a little more low-key experience.

HPFC: Is there a saltwater bite now making a combo trip possible? If not, when does that start?

MILLER: We were catching a lot of redfish back before Christmas, but then we had some big northerns come in and push a lot of water out of the marsh. But we haven’t had a whole lot of rain, so if weather conditions continue to improve we may see some early saltwater action in the marsh.

HPFC: If someone wants to book, especially for prime dates, what’s the best way to make that happen?

MILLER: Right now, they can call us at the same phone number, which is (337) 598-2357. You can get with Karl Zimmerman, he is still scheduling all of our trips. We’d love to hook you up with something. 

If you have cabin fever – or, frankly, even if you don’t – this is a prime opportunity to get in on one of the best bass fisheries in the world. It’s an easy trip from anywhere in the United States. If you’re not close enough to drive, you can fly to Houston and be there in 2 hours or to Lake Charles, just a short hop away. Just be sure to renew your gym membership in advance because I guarantee you’ll need to loosen your belt a few notches after even a couple of days here.