Keith lusher Jr Down south you don’t hear the term “smallie” being referenced all that often, but that’s exactly the term that’s becoming more and more prevalent amongst Lake Pontchartrain anglers these days. No they aren’t referring to a type of bass that’s often caught above the Mason Dixon Line. When you hear the word smallie these days you’ll undoubtedly hear other references such as 5-1 ratio, too short, and wasted shrimp. What started out as a few reports of small speckled trout outnumbering keepers has turned into the norm. The good news is that the lake is chock full of speckled trout! The bad news is that it looks like ole’ lady Lake Pontchartrain has thrown yet another curve ball to the fishermen who stay loyal to her. The NW winds have kept the water murky so far this summer and anglers have another obstacle to overcome. Rick Sauvage has been fishing the Trestles and says the water in the lake is not quite where it needs to be. “The water at the bridge is still "off" colored but fishable,” he says. Rick says they have been catching good numbers of specks, the only problem is most of them are undersized. “We started chunkin' Lemonhead Matrix Shad just north of the north drawbridge, and began to get strikes on almost every cast! Problem was the fish must be too small to get the hook into their mouths. We did manage to boat about 16-18 fish but only kept 7-8,” Rick says. Jeff Kreller fishes the lake weekly and has a bit of an optimistic view on the small trout. “I’m not upset that there's a ton of tiny trout in the lake right now. I hope it's a great sign for big numbers of trout to be in the lake in the future for folks to hook into. Hopefully it’s a great sign of a strong healthy hatch this year. The fact that so many little ones are roaming in so many areas in our beloved lake is very exciting. My theory is that they are checking out the real estate, liking what they're finding, and are sure to return as piggies one day!,” he says.
Spearfishing the Trestles?
Kevin Veillette recently tried his luck at catching speckled trout along the bridge when his fishing trip turned into more of a hunting trip. “We decided to start throwing around the pilings to see what we could pick up. We caught some little trout, but nothing for the ice chest. After a few hours we decided to give the spearfishing a shot. My friend threw on his mask, snorkel, and fins to go take a look at what was down there along the pilings. He went down and came back with a sheephead right away,” Kevin said. After the second fish, Kevin decided that he wanted to get in on the action. “My friend went down again and came up with another sheephead! I then decided - it was either now - or never! I threw on his extra mask, snorkel, fins, and loaded the extra spear gun. I jumped in and couldn't see very far. I was nervous and wasn't sure what to expect. I made a few dives, but could never get down to the bottom where the fish were. By this time my buddy already threw a few more sheephead into the boat. It was getting dark and we decided to call it a day and head back in. It was a lot of fun and plan to go out a little earlier next time so we have more sun light to work with,” Veillette said.
Tournament Results
| Bass Assasins held its Father’s Day tournament on the East Pearl and it was Kyle Hills who bested the field. Kyle brought in an 8 lb. 2 oz. limit of bass to take first place. Jimmy Dorris came in second with a 5-fish bag that weighed 7 lbs. 1 oz. In third was Patrick Engerran who weighed in at 7 lbs. Joe Picone won the big fish division with a 3 lb. 13 oz. largemouth. 
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Kyle Hills and his tournament winning fish
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