Calcasieu Lake

Calcasieu Lake
Hurricane debris (2006)
Location	Cameron / Calcasieu parishes, Louisiana, United States
Coordinates	29°54′01″N 93°16′58″W / 29.90028°N 93.28278°WCoordinates: 29°54′01″N 93°16′58″W / 29.90028°N 93.28278°W
Basin countries	United States
Surface area	76.8 mi^2 (199 km^2) [1][2]
Average depth	1 m

Calcasieu Lake is a brackish lake located in southwest Louisiana, United States, located mostly within Cameron Parish. The lake is paralleled on its west shore by Louisiana Highway 27 and is located about 17 miles (27.35 km) south of Lake Charles, Louisiana.

The Lake is also known as Big Lake to the local population. Big Lake is well known amongst Gulf Coast anglers as a destination for large amounts of red drum (redfish) and spotted sea trout (speckled trout) as well as flounder and brown and white shrimp. It is not uncommon for anglers to catch speckled trout at seven lbs. or larger in this estuary.

On June 24, 2007, a rare albino "pink" bottlenose dolphin, Pinky, was spotted by a charter fishing-boat captain based in Lake Charles.

References

1. Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (n.d.) Calcasieu Lake
2. United States Geological Survey notes that the lake is subject to tidal fluctuation, and has given area estimates from 90 mi² in 1963 to 67 mi² in 1970