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Good Ole’ Fishing Hole
 Keith Lusher
There’s something to be said about confidence in a fishing spot. Chris Basey of Covington recalls a spot where he caught his biggest bass as a youngster. “When I was young, my favorite place to bass fish hands down was the Carr Drive Canal,” Basey said. “I caught so many fish out of that canal and even caught a five-pound bass when I was 16; that fish stood as my biggest bass for a long time.”
 Basey with his big bass caught in the Carr Drive canal
The bass was a little over five pounds and Basey caught it near the mouth of cut that fed into the main canal. Since then, the tournament angler has returned to the spot a few times and has had great success.
On his latest trip Basey launched his boat at Heritage Park and made a run down Bayou Bonfouca. After reaching the lake he hugged the shoreline in Lake Pontchartrain until he reached the the canal. Basey started fishing with the same lure that he caught the bass on as a teen; a Chug-Bug made by Storm. “The water was too cold for a Chug-Bug but I just had to throw it,” Basey said. After coming up empty for a half hour he decided to tie on another lure. One that made it down deeper into the water column. “I put a Keitech swimbait on a jig head with a silver under-spin blade,” Basey said. He began throwing it parallel with the shoreline when he glanced off over the marsh at a flock of birds. 
That’s when Basey’s line came to an abrupt stop. The surprised angler short swung the rod to set the hook and connected. It didn’t take long before he knew what was on the end of his line as the bronze fish broke the surface almost immediately. “It was a huge red!” Basey said. The fish started taking line and the Covington angler knew he was in for a long fight. “I knew I had ten-pound test on so I had to let him run for a while,” he said. Basey fought the fish for five minutes while multitasking. “I knew I couldn’t boat flip him so I needed to get my net somehow,” he said. Basey held the rod up as he moved down to where the net was located. He took the net out of the compartment with one hand and began to try an unfold the collapsible net.
Basey with his biggest redfish caught in the Carr Drive canal
After managing to extend the handle, Basey was able to scoop up the bull red with one hand and after the fish was in the net he put down the rod and used the his other hand to heave the fish onto the bow of the boat. The redfish measured 31 inches and was Basey’s largest redfish he had eve caught. “I’ve had a lot of great memories fishing this spot and now I’ve got another one to add to my collection,” he said.
Rainbow Trout
It’s that time again! The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries has stocked ponds in 17 locations across the state. There are 3 locations within an hours drive of the Northshore that anglers may be interested in. Those locations are Bogue Chitto State Park in Franklinton, Zemurray Park in Hammond, and BREC’s Burbank Park in Baton Rouge. Because the trout can survive in water temperature that re under 75 degrees LDWF is taking advantage of this time of year to stock the state with these fish that are non-native to the Gulf Coast. Anglers are encouraged to keep their catch so that the trout can be harvested before the water temperatures rise. For those unfamiliar with rainbow trout, these fish can be caught on artificial lures. Small spinnerbaits or rooster-tails work best. You can also fish them under a cork as well. Some popular baits are individual kernels of corn, Berkley Power-Bait, and live minnows. 
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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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Vernon Spillman recently moved back home from Pennsylvania. The catfisherman made his first trip to Bayou lacombe to catch speckled trout. He joins the NFR Studio by phone to talk about it.
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