Boating
Caddo Lake offers visitors unlimited boating opportunities thanks to the many private and publicly owned marinas and boat ramps found around the lake in Louisiana and Texas.
At the Caddo Lake Dam site, the waters of the lake flow over the control structure into Twelve Mile Bayou. There are small boat ramps along the Bayou that many boaters utilize for accessing hunting and fishing areas.
Day Use
The Corps of Engineers operates one recreational facility at Caddo Lake Dam. Fishing is available to the public year-round at the outlet channel and along the dam road. A large parking area is available for visitors. The Caddo Parish Department of Parks and Recreation operates a picnic area that is located nearby at Horace M. Downs Park. It offers several shaded picnic sites with tables and grills. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers does not charge any user fees at Caddo Lake Dam Recreation Area. There are no designated swimming areas at this location.
Fishing
Caddo Lake is a maze of marked and unmarked waterways, cuts, bayous, sloughs, ditches and canals meandering through the beauty of bald cypress trees draped in Spanish moss. The water's surface is abundant with colorful lily pads yielding yellow and white blooms. Anglers can pursue a variety of fish species such as Crappie, Black Bass, White Bass, Yellow Bass, Stripers, Bream and several species of Catfish, not to mention Gar, Drum, Frogs, Turtles, Eels and Snakes! One of the favorite fishing spots on the lake is at the Caddo Lake Dam site. When the water is high, fishermen do well casting into the strong currents that flow from the control structure. Others like to fish in the calmer lake waters located next to the dam. Fishing is available to the public year-round.
Hunting
Hunting is not permitted in this area; however, Soda Lake Wildlife Management Area (WMA) is located about one mile south of the dam site where Twelve Mile Bayou crosses Highway 169. Boaters utilize the bayou to access hunting areas on this WMA.