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Crabbing Season Looks Stellar!
 Keith Lusher
It’s no secret that crabbing in Lake Pontchartrain isn’t what it used to be. There are many theories that people offer on the reason why. Whether it’s the oil spill, the spillway openings, or run-off from the housing explosion on the Northshore, the fact is is that this past decade has seen a drastic downswing in the amount of crabs that commercial and recreational fisherman have caught. Terry Hart of Slidell seems to think that things might be changing however with a discovery he made while cat-fishing in Bayou Liberty.
Terry launched his 13 foot Gheenoa and headed north to set his lines. the area is a stretch of bayou that curves and is loaded with beautiful oak trees. After setting his trot-line he checked it the next morning and caught two nice freshwater catfish but Terry noticed a stretch of lines that where missing bait. He baited the lines again and the same thing happened. The next time Terry baited the lines and waited to see if he could figure out what was taking his bait. He waited a few minutes then noticed a line slowly pulling sideway. He paddled over to the line and slowly pulled it in and what was on the other end was unexpected to say the least! “As I started pulling it in it felt like a crab, but this was over 3.5 miles up-river from the lake and didn’t think that crabs came this far north. I was wrong!” said Hart. On the end of his line was indeed a blue crab. 
Terry tried to scoop it up but was the crab let go before the net reached it. Terry says he’s coming back with traps next time!
Combined with the recent reports of crabs being caught in Palm Lake in the northern end of Bayou Bonfouca and crabbing reports from Lake Road, all signs point towards an even better crabbing season than last year. Pontchartrain Bass
 Lauren White, James Hall, Jim Hall
What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of fishing in Lake Pontchartrain? For most folks it’s catching speckled trout or redfish. James Hall of Slidell says there is another option that anglers may have for future years to come. James made a trip with his dad and girlfriend Lauren and started out fishing Alligator Point but the wind was too much to bear. “We had to retreat back into Chef Pass and into Pontchartrain to get out of the south winds,” he says. In the lake James found a drain coming out of the marsh emptying directly into the lake. That’s where the action started but it wasn’t trout or redfish on the other end of the line, it was bass! “We ended up fishing that drain for a while and caught about 20 bass,” he says. They were using Deadly Dudley’s Swim Bait in the Chartreuse color.
Bluegill Bite The perch bite in the rivers and bayou across the Northshore continues with the summer-like heat that has fallen upon southeast Louisiana. Rodney “Pluto” Ray recently made a trip where he caught numerous large bluegill in what he calls a “small slew” near the Jefferson Ave. launch just off of Bayou Liberty Road. “Man I got back there and it was on!”, he says. Ray was using worms under a small cork and says the bite was just off the shoreline. “What I would do is cast up near the shoreline and slowly pull it back. When that cork got into the area of water about 2 feet deep…Boom! They would nail it!” he says. Ray says on his latest trip he caught the biggest perch he’s ever caught in Bayou Liberty; a 10 inch bluegill. 
Rodney Ray's 10-inch bluegill caught in Bayou Liberty
Tournament Results  Bruce Vallelungo
Bass Assassins held its tournament at Lock #1 in Pearl River and it was Bruce Vallelungo who came out on top with a 5-fish bag that weighed 8 lbs 3 oz. Eric Ciko won second place with a limit of bass that weighed 7 lbs. 5 oz. In third was Lashaun Robertson who weighed in a limit of 6 lbs. 5 oz. Jimmy Dorris won the big fish division with a 3 lb. 1 oz. bass.
Pearl River Team Trails held its tournament at the East Pearl River and it was the team of Shane Pope and Joel Lee who took first place with a 5-fish limit that weighed 15.8 lbs. In second place was Nick and Danny Giovingo who brought in a bag of 14.9 lbs. Danny and Nick also won the big fish division with a 4.8 lb. largemouth bass. 3rd place went to Charles Dauzat and Mark Mohr who brought in a tournament limit weighing 11.3 pounds. 
Joel Lee and Shane Pope
Upcoming Tournaments Bass Assassins is holding its next tournament on Sunday, June 5 at Crawford’s Landing. For more information please contact Chris Basey at 985-707-7857. Pearl River Team Trails is holding its next tournament at the East Pearl River on Saturday, June 13. For more information please contact Charles Dauzat at 985-960-6936. |
 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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