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Frozen Bite
 Keith Lusher
The fantastic speckled trout bite that we saw before the Arctic blast has died down a bit, which is to be expected with overnight lows in the teens. But anglers are still putting fish in the boat. The Geoghegan Canal continues to produce fish as well as the MRGO Rocks as these two spots contain deep water which may be only a few degrees warmer at the bottom, but it’s enough to attract fish.
Geoghegan’s Canal  Mark Sagerholm
After a two-month hiatus due to kayak repairs, local angler Mark Sagerholm returned to the water with back-to-back successful trips launching to Geoghegans Canal. He launched at Rigolets Marina armed with live minnows instead of his usual live shrimp. On his first trip he started at the Highway 90 Bridge, where he landed a 28-inch channel catfish. But the winds made things difficult. ”The easterly winds and strong outgoing tide made fishing the bridge tough," he said. This prompted a move to the calmer waters of Geohagen's Canal, where he remembered a winter pattern from last year.
"I knew there was a small population of flounder that winters over in these deep holes," Sagerholm said. Using what he calls a “Suspend-O-Rig” which is a 1/0 VMC circle hook tied onto a 2-foot 30# monofilament leader connected to a snap swivel with two small split shots clamped on just beneath the snap-swivel. His first drift produced an 18-inch flounder. "I wasn't taking any chances - I netted that one," he said. The next drift yielded another quality flatfish. The productive day continued with several undersized speckled trout, two redfish, another channel cat, and a 19-inch speck that "slammed the minnow and pulled drag,” said Sagerholm Two weeks later, Sagerholm returned to find similar success, sharing the water with fellow kayak angler Max Parrucco of Slidell. Both anglers managed to put specks and flounder in their boxes. "The best part about both trips was the quality of the fish and there were no trash fish in sight," Sagerholm said. "No hardheads, no gafftops, just quality fish that were ready to bite.” MRGO Rocks and Rigs The winter fishing pattern is holding steady in the MRGO, with anglers finding success on multiple species, including sheepshead, speckled trout, white trout, and drum. Ryan Perilloux of Pontchatoula made two productive trips this month, on both trips, he used live shrimp and launched from Southshore Landing with live shrimp in the live well. On Perilloux’s first trip he found perfect conditions for the crossing of Lake Borgne. "Conditions were as close to perfect as you can get," Perriloux said. After setting up south of the wall, it didn't take long to find the fish. "I caught a 12-inch trout on my second cast, which I took as a good sign," he said. That spot proved so productive that Perriloux stayed put for 2½ hours, sorting through 40 trout to box his limit of 15. The mixed bag also included black drum, white trout, and sheepshead. Before heading in, he made a stop at the Alligator Point rigs where several quality sheepshead were added to the cooler. Encouraged by his success on his first trip, Perriloux returned the same week with his brother-in-law. While conditions were similar, just slightly cooler with more wind, the bite proved more challenging. "We had to work for them," he said. The team moved between the rocks, the flats north of the MRGO near the wall, and into Bayou Bienvenue. They managed to put 28 keepers in the box out of 38 trout caught - a higher keeper ratio than Monday's trip. The highlight of the day came when Perriloux's brother-in-law hooked what they believed to be a snook along the MRGO rocks, an unusual catch for the area. Following the same pattern as Monday, they wrapped up their trip at the Alligator Point rigs, filling the cooler with big sheepshead and blue cats. Tickfaw River Thomas Armstrong and Courtney Randall made an impromptu trip to the Tickfaw River on a cold, overcast January day. “We weren’t going to go fishing, but we passed over the bridge and changed out minds. So we put the boat in and started fishing the main river,” Randall said. The friends started jigging 12 feet down along treetops. “It was slow today, but we ended up with a few fish,” said Armstrong. The team caught 7 sac-a-lait that averaged 11 inches. “We caught them on shiners and jigs on a 1/8-ounce jighead,” Randall said. 
Thomas Armstrong shows off his catch at Boopalus Bar and Grill on the Tickfaw
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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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