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Black Drum in Bulk
 Keith Lusher
Louisiana’s Black Drum has been a staple for fishermen for decades, but here on the Northshore there has been a noticeable increase in the amount of drum being caught this summer. While speckled trout, redfish, and flounder are highly prized in the world of saltwater fishing, drum offer anglers another option to reach a fully stocked freezer full of delicious meat. Don Bastings of Slidell has been specifically targeting these fish and said he’ll be the last guy to turn his nose up on what most anglers call a bycatch. “Oh no! These are what I’m after right here,” Bastings said. The salty 76-year-old has been fishing Lakes Pontchartrain, Borgne and Catherine for over 60 years and said this year he’s seeing more black drum reminiscent to a decade ago. “Before they started opening the spillway I could catch a limit every time I went out,” he said.
Set-up
When targeting drum, Bastings uses market shrimp the majority of the time but if he can get his hands on a few small crabs, that’s his first choice. “I like to take a small crab and crack it in half, then remove the shell,” Bastings said. He threads the crab on to a 3/0 circle hook which is a few inches down from a sliding bullet weight. 
Bastings uses a small split shot on top to the bullet weight. He calls this a Knocker Rig. “When I’m fishing for drum it’s usually around structure. When the fish takes the bait and runs the split shot prevents the fish from running into the structure before I feel the bite,” he said.
Bastings and a friend head back with a load of drum caught out of Lake Catherine
 Nathan Krone is seen here with a black drum caught on market
shrimp.
Hot Spots When targeting drum it’s all about fishing structure and hard bottoms. Pilings, shell pads, and rock dams will produce good numbers in July. Among the top spots to catch black drum are the Bayou Lacombe shell pad locate a mile south of Goose Point, The Twin Span Bridge, and the camps located along the northern shoreline of Lake Catherine. Table Fare When it comes to black drum: the smaller the better for eating. Louisiana’s size limit is 16 inches so between 16 and 24 inches is what you’re looking for. Popular ways to prepare the fish are on the half-shell, blackened, or fried. But another option is to boil the fish in crab boil and to pick the bones out and make stuffed crabs. The meat tastes just like crab meat.  Kerry Terrebonne
Tournament Results
Lock One, aka the pit of misery, was the location of the Bass Assassins this past Sunday. The canal is known for its tough fishing during the summer months and the 20 anglers that showed up to fish, struggled. The forecast called for off-and-on rain which lead to a mild morning at the lock. With the lack of rain the water in the canal was clearer than it's been in a long time. As the morning passed, the rain never came and the wind turned extremely light making it a very hot day. In the end it was Kerry Terrebonne who brought in a 9 lb. 6 oz. limit that earned him first place. Terrebonne also brought in a 6 lb. 1 oz. kicker fish for the win in the big fish division. Rodger Mitchel finished second with a 7 lb. 12 oz. limit. In third place was Timmy Dickens with a 7 lb. 11 oz. limit. The Double Nickel Bass Club fished the East Pearl River. The conditions were windy and wet with a still tide until 9:00 a.m. After that it started to rise. In the end it was Dale Main who figured out the fish and took first place with a 3-fish limit that weighed 7.72 pounds. In second place was CJ Mayeux who weighed in a limit of 7.49 pounds. Joe Frierson took third place with a total of 7.28 pounds. Frierson also caught the big fish of the day; a 3.92-pound bass.
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 Keith Lusher
I created NFR.com in the spring of 2012. Since then it has helped link Northshore fishermen to valuable information and has filled the void of absent information on the web about fishing on the North Shore of Lake Pontchartrain. Northshore Fishing Report has morphed into a brand name and can be found not only on the web, but on radio and newspaper. As NFR grows I will continue to work hard at keeping NFR local focusing on local anglers, reports, seminars, and fishing tournaments in St. Tammany and Tangipahoa Parish. I hope you enjoy the website and If you have any questions please email me at: Keith@NorthshoreFishingReport.com
Look for the Northshore Fishing Report publication every Thursday in The Slidell Independent Weekly Newspaper!
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Mike Gallo joins Keith at the NFR Spring Seminar at the new Bayou Stuf to talk about the big speckled trout he's seeing in the Lake
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