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Crews Begin Improvements to East Pearl Launch
 Keith Lusher
If you head down Highway 90 towards Pearlington you may have noticed some activity at the Public Boat Launch on the East Pearl River. It seems the most popular boat launch for bass tournaments on the Pearl River System is getting a face lift.
Bass Tournament angler Joe Picone of Covington has been leading the charge of fishermen who are having to deal with the run-down conditions of numerous boat launches on the Northshore. “I spoke to Mike Cooper and he told me that he would take a look at it and see what they can do,” Picone says. From there, Cooper contacted the Department of Transportation which owns the land to see what improvements could be made. “I was surprised at how fast they were able to get going on this. They’re moving!” says Picone.  A crane adds gravel in the place of large limestone rocks along the shoreline
One of the biggest complaints about the launch is the limited boat parking. The land that runs along the river prevents boats from tying up because of the large limestone and concrete chunks that serve as a bulkhead. Crews have already begun removing the large rocks and replacing them with a mix of sand and gravel that will allow boaters to slide their boats up on the bank.
Future plans for that stretch of shoreline include a wharf with a bulkhead but those plans are dependent on funding from the Wallop Breaux Public Access and boating Facility Act through the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. Another complaint from for bass tournaments in St. Tammany Parish is not having enough space to park vehicles with trailers. That should not be a problem anymore for tournaments at the East Pearl Launch as crews plan to add parking to the north side of the highway nearly doubling the parking space that already exists. Another improvement will be the piers that run along the backdown ramps. Currently, there are timbers that run horizontal to the water creating a nightmare for people that tie their boats up. “Right now you can’t tie your boat and leave the gunwale underneath those timbers. Those beams will tear your boat up!” Joe says. After the improvements are made the horizontal beams will be replaced with vertical timbers that will allow boats to bump up against the wood instead of getting caught underneath the horizontal beams. Boat traffic is a huge factor for the stretch of river that spans the launch. Fortunately there is a No Wake Zone on the Louisiana side of the river that keeps the waves at a reduced level. But Joe says that the Mississippi side is where the problem is. “The Louisiana side has a No Wake Zone so everybody has to slow down in front of the launch. The Mississippi side of the river doesn’t have that so the boats can come plowing through on that side and we get the wakes which beat up the boats at the launch,” Picone says. The issue is being taken up at the next Mississippi Board of Supervisors meeting. 
While there are numerous other launches that need attention on the Northshore, Picone says he’s taking it one at a time and is thankful that the improvements are being made, especially at a time where funding is scarce. “You can’t expect them to do everything and there’s no money being budgeted at this time so I feel fortunate that they’re getting this done right now,” Picone says.
Upcoming Tournaments Bass Assassins held its tournament at Bayou Liberty. 18 angers gathered at the Bayou Liberty Marina on a muggy morning with rain in the forecast. At blast-off most of the anglers headed towards Bayou Bonfouca with only a few heading up into Bayou Liberty. 
Shane Dunnegan, John Cahill, Dustin Touchet, Brandon Craft
At weigh-in Brandon Craft weighed in a 5-fish bag of 7 lbs. 2 oz. for the win. Dustin Touchet finished second with a limit weighing 5 lbs. 15 oz. In third was Shane Dunnegan with 3 fish weighing 5 lbs. 7 oz. John Cahill only ended up with one fish but it was enough to capture the big fish award. John's fish weighed 5 lbs. 3 oz.
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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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Joe Picone joins the NFR Studio by phone to discuss the new improvements to the East Pearl River Boat Launch.
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The Marsh Martian Cory Labostrie joins the NFR Studio by phone to talk "Pushin' for Crabs" in Lake Pontchartrain.
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Dustin Touchet of Magnolia Outdoors joins the NFR Studio by phone to discuss his latest trip to Bayou Cane.
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Keith Lusher and Chris Basey review the past reports on NFR. Also introduce a new drawing for fishing reporters on the site.
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