Fishing reports from Lake Pontchartrain, Bayou Bonfouca, Tchefuncte River, Bayou Liberty, Rigolets, Pearl River, Bedico Creek, and more!
  • Home
  • Forum
  • Northshore Bass Series
  • Premium Membership
  • Fishing Forecast

Go Big or Go Home!

8/24/2017

 
PictureKeith Lusher
Bass fishing in the southern most stretches of Bayou Lacombe often produces large batches of marsh bass. The only problem is the size of these bass leaves something to be desired. John Zeringue of Denham Springs traveled down to Bayou Lacombe and launched his kayak at the boat launch on Lake Rd. He knew it would be hot so he wanted to get an early start. “I was loaded and on the road for 4:45 a.m. I stopped in at Bayou Adventure for a couple bottles of water and some ice, then down Lake Road to my normal place that I put in,” he says. 

PictureJohn Zeringue with his limit of bass
John started casting towards the shoreline around  Glockner’s Camp with a Texas-rigged worm but didn’t get a bite so he made a move. “I decided to head into the marsh to see what was going on there. Still throwing the Texas rig, I picked up a few small 8” bass and a couple bigger ones that stretched over 11 inches that I kept,” Zeringue says. John then noticed larger bass chasing baitfish across the surface and then he had an idea. “I was fishing the edges of the grass with the Texas rig when I saw some shad come flying out of the water with something chasing them. This happened a couple of times before I caught a glimpse of green and knew the bass were chasing shad. I caught a good look at the size of the shad the bass were chasing so I tied on a lipless crank-bait about the same size as the shad,” John says. The decision proved beneficial as the size of the bass improved until he reached his limit. “I ended up catching 8 more nice bass all between 12.6” and 14”  and ended my day with my limit of 10 bass,” the satisfied kayak angler says. ​

No Tide on Bonfouca
Ponchatoula angler Lawrence Lemoine made two separate trips to Bayou Bonfouca and says he has learned one thing about fishing the bayou with no tide. “It was a grind,” he says. Lawrence says on both days there was no pattern to catching the fish. “We were met with little or no tide both days and had to grind on those lock-jawed fish just to make it a good trip. There was no specific pattern, just  picking and poking and changing baits a lot to pick up a few fish here and there,” Lemoine says. His totals were 15 bass on Saturday and 10 on Sunday but Lawrence says the bite should get better this week” The fish are there and I do believe when this tide starts moving better, the bass bite should be really good,” he says. 


Tchefuncte Sac-a-lait
It’s one of the toughest times to fish for sac-a-lait. The summer heat combined with jet ski’s and swimmers make fishing the Tchefuncte tough. Martin Duvic is a sac-a-lait fisherman and says he knows the conditions on the Tchefuncte are tough but being a year-round crappie angler, “When ya gotta go - ya gotta go!” Martin started fishing the tops of fallen tress in the main river using a black and chartreuse jig and ended up with 10 crappie after a hard mornings work. Duvic says he was a bit surprised at the size of the fish for this time of year. “I had to put the net on a couple of big river slabs to get them in the box,” he adds.
Picture

Pass Manchac Catfish

8/21/2017

 
PictureKeith Lusher
With the summer heat we’re seeing in August, fishing deeper means fishing in cooler water. William Schilling made a trip with his wife to the drawbridge at Pass Manchac and ended up with a box full of catfish by fishing the bottom. “My wife and I had a fun trip fishing at drawbridge for cats. We ended up with 37 good eating size fish. Shrimp and night crawlers were the preferred bait for us,” Schilling says.

PictureJoe France hauls in the first red snapper of the day
Red Snapper Season
Being a advocate for North Shore fishing, I don’t get the chance to venture outside of this area for many fishing trips. Whether it’s making video’s, writing articles, or putting together an informative application on the website, my content comes from fishing the local waters here in St. Tammany Parish. I recently had the opportunity to make a trip that almost seemed foreign as it brought me miles away from my stomping ground. Captain John Coulon of Delta Blue Charters invited my daughter and I to join him aboard the legendary Cougar, a solid blue, 47-ft. steel vessel that played host to generations of past big-fish stories.  The sun was barely over the horizon when the Cougar turned into the Venice Marina harbor and we jumped aboard. We made our way into the Mississippi River and then into the gulf. Along the way I had a chance to pick John’s brain on the ongoing saga of the red snapper regulations that the state has been trying to gain control of from the federal government. John mentioned the tightened regulations enforced by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council for the past two years and how it has changed how his fishing trips are conducted. “After the season closes, it’s hard to go out into federal waters and catch anything but snapper. I’ll bring people out here that want to catch other species of fish but can’t because of the time wasted on reeling in snapper and releasing them,” John says. After we baited our lines and lowered them into the water I understood what he meant. With the current limit being 2 fish per person, we reached our daily limit within no time and was forced to try and catch other types of fish. This proved unsuccessful and after a half hour of catching and releasing red snapper, John decided to make a stop at a rig on the way back to the Venice Marina. We switched over from cut pogies to shrimp and began to catch redfish in the shallow, muddier water. But even being within eyesight of the mouth of the Mississippi, we couldn’t escape the snapper bite as the familiar fish found it’s way into the boat. “We never see snapper this close inshore. I don’t know how far they will push if these regulations aren’t loosened,” he said. John’s not the only one pushing for a more liberal snapper season as the public outcry has been heard by local government.  The “Modern Fish Act” led by Rep. Garrett Graves is being debated the legislature and looks to have the momentum needed to pass and hand over authority to the state.



First Speckled Trout
Chase and Maegan Holmes made a trip with their daughter to the Biloxi Marsh for some speckled trout fishing. After a relatively smooth ride across Lake Bornge the family was on the fish quick using Matrix Shad. “The water was the cleanest I’ve seen in a while and we had 50 speckled trout in about an hour with a few 3 pounders mixed in,” he says. Not only did did catch a box full of speckled trout, it was the first speckled trout their daughter Atleigh had ever caught. “What a great day on the water!” Chase added. 
Picture
Atleigh Holmes is all smiles with her first speckled trout
Bayou Lacombe Crabbing
​
Bayou Lacombe is known for it’s fantastic crabbing opportunities from land but the bite is even better if you can access the bayou with a boat. Kevin Morris of New Orleans made the trip to Bayou Lacombe and says it’s as simple as a bait on a string. “I was using a turkey neck and a line out of the back of my canoe,” he says. Kevin started at the nearest cut before exiting Bayou Lacombe into the lake and says, “I had to move around quite a bit and had to throw back quite a few smaller ones to get them, but I managed about 50 crabs in the cooler.
​

Picture

August Fishing Forecast

8/13/2017

 
PictureKeith Lusher
The August Fishing Forecast has been published at NorthshoreFishingReport.com and leading the list of top rated spots is the Salt Bayou area in Slidell. Todd Oalman gives it a rating of 5/5 and says the W-14 Canal that runs along Highway 433 is where the marsh bass are this month. “Right now the bass are holding to the run-outs and along the weed-lines. The best baits are weedless floating soft plastics,” Oalman says. Todd reminds anglers that it’s the hottest part of the year right now and to try and get an early start to beat the heat. “Make sure to try and get out there as early as possible. As the sun warms up, the bass transition off of the banks. Switch over to a Texas rigged worm in Tequila Sunrise or the Victory Red Shu-Shu Slugs,” Todd says. 


Bayou Lacombe
Mike O’Brien fishes Bayou Lacombe almost every day and gives the bayou a 3/5 rating. He reminds anglers to not let the heat slow you down in August. “The typical high temperatures for this time of year may be slowing the anglers down more than the fish. Steady if not spectacular results can still be expected - Just bring a good hat and plenty of liquids. The best bets for bass have been during th  early morning and late evening hours. A good number of quality fish have been taken on top-water baits like Chug Bugs, frogs, and buzz baits.  As they move away from the shoreline, crank-baits have been effective near the drop-offs,” O’Brien says. Not only are the bass biting in Bayou Lacombe but the perch action is fast and furious. “Bream and goggle-eye are taking small poppers on top early and jigs tight-lined off the banks as the sun gets higher.  Work the grass and pads along the main bayou near any cuts and canals especially when the water is down,” he says. 


High Water
I had a chance to talk with North Shore fishing expert Jeff Bruhl about the affects of the above average rains we’ve seen this summer. Jeff says the high water has defiantly impacted the fishing but right now it’s all about finding baitfish transitioning into deeper water. “Schools of shad are beginning to migrate out of the rivers so the shad patterns are great choices. Crank-baits and white colored spinnerbaits are good choices to start a trip. Top-waters baits like white frogs or poppers fill in the gaps,” Bruhl says. With the rain causing the water to be muddier than normal. Jeff suggests using slow moving dark colored jigs in these adverse conditions.
Saltwater Fishing
August is perhaps the worst month to fish Lake Pontchartrain but anglers do have options to the east. George Seibert fishes Lake Borgne often and gives the area a 3/5 rating. “The fishing in Lake Borne generally slows down due to the extreme heat of the day and the trout having moved to the outside waters. Some trout, redfish, flounder and sheepshead are still being caught.  If you’re going to fish Lake Borne, the eastern half, has a somewhat high salinity.  From Malheureux Point to the Creole Gap - the level is 6 ppt to 15 ppt.  The shoreline of the Biloxi Marsh is also good.  If nothing is happening in the lake, cut through Three Mile into Bay Boudreaux and fish those Islands.  There are plenty of shell reefs and that's were you will find the trout,” Seibert says. George reminds anglers that live shrimp is the ticket this month.

Picture

Subtle Changes

8/3/2017

 
PictureKeith Lusher
It’s human nature for fishermen to sometimes overanalyze things such as what lures we use, what days to fish, and where the fish may be located on that particular day. Figuring out the fish is something we subconsciously try to do whether we’re aware of it or not. There are some days where the fish are biting so good that the little things don’t matter at all. And then there are other  days where it’s a tiny adjustment that we make that makes all the difference in the world. 


Picture
Sunrise on the W-14 Canal. Hwy 433 to the left
On a recent fishing trip to the W-14 Canal in Slidell it was one of these “small adjustments” that turned the trip around. Todd Oalman has been fishing the W-14 Canal all his life and invites me to join him every August. It has become an annual trip for us and I look forward to it even summer. We launched his 14’ flatboat at the the Salt Bayou bridge on Hwy 433.  The sun was barely peeking over the horizon as we made our way up the bayou. “One of the most important things is getting an early start when fishing this area because of the daytime heating,” Todd said to me as we passed camp after camp on our way to our fist spot. 
Picture
Muddy water spills out from a duck pond and mixes with the clean water from the main canal
We arrived at our destination shortly after and started fishing a small tranasse that drained out from a duck pond that was located in the marsh. Todd motored passed the cut and positioned the boat to where the falling tide would move us slowly past the outlet. The water was pouring out of the cut. The water that spilled out of the drain was mixing with the clean, dark water of the main canal. This was exactly what we wanted to see. “Those fish will hug that mixing line and ambush baitfish as they come out of the muddy water and enter into the clean water,” Todd explained. We made numerous casts on our first pass by the cut.
PictureTodd Oalman unhooks a marsh bass caught on a crankbait
 I was using a Shu-Shu Marsh Minnow in the Watermelon Wreck color and Todd was throwing a white REBEL Crankbait but the first pass didn’t produce any fish. Todd repositioned the boat again so the we could target the drain. One this pass Todd caught an 12” bass on the crank bait and we began to get excited. After numerous passes we ended up with 3 bass with an hour of fishing. The it happened. I casted out into the mudline and started retrieving my minnow back while popping it at a high speed of one twitch per second. Distracted by our conversation and the lull in the action, I let the lure sink approximately 10” below the surface. I then saw a flash of green and white underneath the waters surface. I set the hook and reeled in a solid 13” marsh bass. Now we were on to something! I told Todd about the subtle change in presentation and he switched over from his crank bait to the Marsh Minnow and mimicked my retrieve. Out of the corner of my eye I saw him heave back and set the hook on another quality fish. From there on out we finished the day catching bass on almost every cast and it was all due to a subtle change in lure presentation. “I knew the fish were there! Sometimes it’s just a matter of slowing down and dropping that bait down to them that makes all the difference in the world,” Todd said.



Picture

Jack's in the Lake!

7/20/2017

 
PictureKeith Lusher
Summertime usually brings a different way to fish. It also brings in different types of fish that we don’t see throughout the rest of the year.
Zach Kilgore of Slidell was fishing from land and says it was hard not to notice a school of Jack Crevalle moving through the water.  “There was a school of 15-20 of them and they were slamming mullet against the bulkhead, Kilgore says.

   Zach had noticed the frenzy the last time he was fishing there, but this time he was ready. “I threw a 6” Frenzy Mullet at them and the fight was on!” Zach says. After a 30-minute fight, Zack had landed the monstrous fish and says they’re making themselves right at home with all the bait-fish in the area. “They’re all over the place busting up mullet near any bulkhead within proximity of the Twin Spans.  I’ve seen them from Lakeshore to Eden Isles,” Zach says.
Picture
PictureZach Kilgore with Eden Isles Jack










PictureKasey and Allie Lusher boxing their bass
Lake Road Bass
With the kids out of school, there’s no better time than right now to get hem hooked on fishing. I took my three daughters, Kasey, Alli, and Maddie for a quick and easy trip on Lake Road in Lacombe. Armed with a few live shrimp from Bayou Adventure, we found a nice open spot to park on the side of the road by the third bridge. The water was falling hard and my oldest noticed. “This is good! Moving water is good,” Kasey said. She’s been fishing with me since she was a baby so she has picked up on comments I’ve made in the past. As the girls started baiting their hooks it didn’t take long for the chaos to start. I heard my youngest mumble “I think I got something,” as if she was unsure. I knew as soon as I turned around she would be reeling one in. I was right. Maddie reeled in the first fish of the day and sent the other two into a panic to not be the last one to catch a fish. The pattern was simple. A #2 hook on the end of the line and a live shrimp. I find that the less interference with weights and corks, the better when fishing with children. The kids simply casted out and let the shrimp do all of the work. We spent two hours catching bass after bass and ended up with a nice mess of fish for a fish fry later on that day. While it seems like it just got here. The days of summer will be gone before you know it. If you are looking to take your kids fishing this month, it doesn’t get any easier than Lake Rd. in Lacombe.

Picture
Maddie, Kasey, and Alli Lusher are all smiles after a hard mornings work catching bass on Lake Road
Picture
<<Previous
Forward>>

    ​
    Picture

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture


 Local reports written for Northshore Fishermen by Northshore Fishermen