Lake Pontchartrain Favorability Gauge for April
Lake Pontchartrain is home to a variety of fish. Since it is an estuary, the lake is constantly changing. There are many factors that change the conditions of the lake including hurricanes, rain, and spillway openings. This makes the Lake one of the most challenging destinations to fish in South Louisiana.
Since it's inception in 2012, NorthshoreFishingReport.com has collected thousands of fishing reports from Lake Pontchartrain. Below is a list of all of the fish that anglers pursue in Lake Pontchartrain. All the reports have been researched on NFR and assigned a monthly favorability score.
Since it's inception in 2012, NorthshoreFishingReport.com has collected thousands of fishing reports from Lake Pontchartrain. Below is a list of all of the fish that anglers pursue in Lake Pontchartrain. All the reports have been researched on NFR and assigned a monthly favorability score.
We've gone through the reports dating back from 2012 from the following fishing reports boards on NorthshoreFishingReport.com: Causeway, Slidell Bridges, Lemo's Reef, Pass Manchac, Sunset Point Fishing Pier, Slidell Fishing Pier, and Lake Pontchartrain (other). These reports determine 80% of the weight used in monthly projections. The other 20% of the weight is taken from the Monthly Fishing Forecasts that are written by NFR Members. Each species of fish is given a favorability rating. These ratings are not scientific and should be used as a best estimate of what to expect on any given month.
Speckled Trout April: Good
April is the month when the speckled trout start showing up on the bridges and the reefs in Lake Pontchartrain. The cold fronts are few and far between as we move through April and the temperatures will climb into the 80's making for good speckled trout fishing along the Trestles and Causeway. The trolling bite is slowing down and anglers will have more success by jigging plastics on the bottom. If you decide to make a drag (troll) the Trestles are the best option. Use Rat-L-Traps with a B2 Squid as a trailer and cover a lot of water. Be sure to use different color baits to pick up on a pattern to the bite. If you choose to jig for trout, brightly colored baits such as Matrix Lemonhead work best. April is a good month the target the artificial reefs in Lake Pontchartrain as the baitfish are starting to accumulate and look for refuge in the structure.
Redfish April: Good
The redfish are slowly moving into the Lake. The redfish explosion that we've seen across South Louisiana is reflective with what anglers are catching in the lake. The bridges will have redfish on them but not like the trout are. The refish will be more scattered. Pay attention to the birds as diving seagulls usually signal a ferocious redfish bite. The Northern shoreline of Lake Pontchartrain between Bayou Bonfouca and Bayou Cane. Lures such as Top-Dog's and Mir-o-lure's are best for the flats. Gold spoons are a proven method as well just be careful of hanging up in eel grass along the shoreline.
Check the reports on NFR and you'll find that the best redfish bite comes by fishing the reefs and shell pads such as Lemo's Reef and the shell pad off of Goose Point.
Check the reports on NFR and you'll find that the best redfish bite comes by fishing the reefs and shell pads such as Lemo's Reef and the shell pad off of Goose Point.
Black Drum April: Average
Black Drum can be plentiful in Lake Pontchartrain during the summer months, but in April they will be scattered at best. All reports on NFR show drum being caught along structure whether its the camp pylons along Rat's Nest Road in Slidell or along the bridge pylons. The Causeway and Trestles are options but don't ignore the Twin Spans in April. As always live shrimp or dead shrimp on the bottom work best for black drum. Also the shellpads and artificial reefs in the Lake.
Sheepshead April: Good
As the water temperatures warm up the sheephead bite will improve in Lake Pontchartrain. Sheepshead are structure feeders. Some anglers actually can watch them circling a pylon on the Lake Pontchartrain bridges. They primarily feed on crabs, shrimp, small fish, and barnacles but unfortunately the latter is the only thing left to eat in March. This being the case, the bridges are the best place to catch a sheepshead in April. The Trestles and Causeway are options but another spot that produces great reports is the Twin Spans bridge. NFR doesn't get too many fishing reports from the Twin Spans but when we do it's usually sheepshead that are being reported. Best bait is live shrimp (the smaller the better). Also cracked crab and surprisingly - live crawfish! Using a Carolina Rig works well but keep in mind that the entire pylon from the waters surface to the bottom offers a good chance to catch a sheeshead so a lighter weight is in order to slow down the descending bait.
Flounder April: Below Average
We are starting to see an increase in the total population of flounder across southeast Louisiana but it's not at the levels of fish that we saw before the oil spill in the gulf. March was a bad month for catching flounder in the lake but this month we start to see a few flounder being caught by trollers that drag baits on the bridges. This month it's all about water temperatures. Flounder move to deeper water of over 60 feet during the winter months. Watch for stretches of warmer weather which raises water temperatures into the 70's. A warm April will bring the flounder back into the Lake quicker. The Trestles train bridge is your best bet for catching flounder in April. Dead shrimp on the bottom on a Carolina rig work well but some anglers say that live cochahoe minnows are flounder candy.
Garfish April: Excellent
Garfish reign throughout the summer April is the month that we start seeing these fish along the surface. As the weather warms the bite should improve. Some hot spots along the Northshore are Cypress Bayou off of Bayou Lacombe, Bayou Cane, and Bayou Castine, When targeting garfish it's important to remember to use heavy duty line with a steel leader. Chicken livers, market shrimp, cut fish, and live crawfish are bait options in January.
Croaker April: Below Average
Croaker are a warm water fish and thrive during the summer months in the Lake. The mouth of Bayou Lacombe and Bayou Bonfouca are summer hotspots and there are a few reports of small croaker being caught there in April as well. When fishing for croaker remember to scale down everything. Line, pole, bait and hooks. Market shrimp work good but fall off of the hook quickly as croaker peck away at the bait. Try cutting a small strip of the stomach of your last caught fish. Fresh fish skin holds to the meat very well and stays on the hook longer.
White Trout April: Terrible
The white trout bite typically coincides with the croaker bite in Lake Pontchartrain. Both of these fish are warm weather fish and April isn't a great month to catch white trout. Next month we will see the white trout bite pick up with warmer water temperatures.