Not many fishermen can say they feel joy when losing a speckled trout at the boat but that’s just what Zack Liberto on Mandeville felt when he lost one on his last trip to the Lake Pontchartrain shoreline near Bayou Cane. Liberto says they started out catching redfish and the trip was similar to all the others this summer - Lots of redfish without any trout. “We headed out to the Lake at around 5:00 pm. and began fishing from Goose Point back to Cane Bayou. We were throwing redfish spinner-baits and it took about an hour but we finally figured them out. We caught our limit of 10 reds - most of which being in the 18-19 inch range and perfect eating size,” he says. Then Zack says what he thought was another redfish turned out to be a sight for sore eyes. “We kept fishing the marsh for a little while then it happened. I threw my Shrimp Creole Matrix shad on a grass flat and was kind of burning it off a drop-off and it got slammed! I reared back initially thinking it was a red but was surprised to see some violent head shaking and water splashing. Then what was probably a 15 -16 inch trout spit the hook about 10 ft. from the boat! I couldn't even be upset but just optimistic that they at least had one decent trout back there,” Liberto said. Before it was all said and done Zack and his friend ended the day with two limits of redfish and more importantly 4 keeper trout -  a definite sign that things are about to pick up in Lake Pontchartrain. Captain Mike Gallo of Angling Adventures of Louisiana says “I think we will enjoy good speck fishing in the fall in the Lake Pontchartrain area.  In the spring we caught many undersize specks along with keeper size specks. These smaller specks are now reaching legal size.   The speckled trout will spawn into September and we will then see a migration of specks into the local area.  These trout will be looking to replace lost mass and add mass to sustain them through the lean winter months,” Gallo says. Mike says to target a certain time in September if you want to get the jump on this fall’s trout bite. “I think the last full moon in September will be the switch you are looking for.  There are good numbers of small specks already in the area now,” he says.

The 2014 Louisiana Second Amendment Weekend Sales Tax Holiday takes place Friday, September 5, through Sunday, September 7.  Consumers who purchase firearms, ammunition and hunting supplies in the state of Louisiana will be exempt from state and local sales tax during this period of time. 

Every year about this time we all experience it.  The smothering August heat takes a toll on our mettle as fishermen. With the recent high pressure system that has enveloped Southeast Louisiana, Mother Nature has handed Lake Pontchartrain anglers one last slap in the face on top of all the other’s dished out this summer. Temperatures in the upper 90’s have all but shut the door on any hope of catching trout this season.  But we’ve been down this road before and if last year is any prognosticator of what we should expect this year. Speckled trout anglers are in for a pleasant surprise.

Last August we saw salinity readings at the mouth of Bayou Lacombe at 1.5 PPT. (parts per thousand). That’s comparable to the latest readings that were taken by the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation. From last year’s August 18th reading of 1.5 PPT to the next reading on September 1st we saw the salinity levels spike to 5.0 PPT. By the time October came and the temperatures dropped speckled trout anglers had all but forgotten the horrid summer they had previously endured. 

Get ready to forget about this summer because all signs are pointing in the right direction for speckled trout anglers to once again go from cursing Lady P to praising her. George Seibert of Fish Meister Charters (504-452-4156) says September is the month it should happen “I expect the trout to make their move in September to come back in from outside Lake Pontchartrain. They have to spawn and we usually see them move in around that time. How far inland they move is anybody’s guess. The salinity will dictate that,” Seibert says. If you can recall, it was September of last year that anglers were catching trout as far upriver as the Bayou Liberty Bridge at St. Genevieve Church. This was the result of a week of steady southeasterly winds that forced saltier water into the bayous along the Lake Pontchartrain shoreline. George says he expects the same thing to happen this September. “Sooner or later we have to get some southeast winds coming through here. Not too long ago there was a week when we got some of those southeasterly winds and we saw the salinity levels in Lake Borgne shoot up significantly so it doesn’t take long,” Seibert says. Anglers are already reporting baitfish everywhere, and shrimp boats dotting the horizon in Lake Borgne is surely a sign that Lake Pontchartrain is set to explode in September!

They say the best way to tell the future is to look at the past. It’s no secret that last summer was miserable for Lake Ponchartrain anglers. Add to it the unseasonably cold winter that all but slammed the door on a good fall fishing season last year and your left with and indicator of what’s to come in the next few months. Much like last summer, we have seen the beloved east winds that bring Lake Ponchartrain to life, give way to the wicked winds of the west. These winds block the much needed salt water from intruding in from the Rigolets. Meteorologist Bob Breck of Fox 8 says that the same feature that is causing the change in summer wind direction is at the same time bringing us colder winters. “Basically, we have seen a return of a Great Lakes/East Coast upper trough, a pattern that was established during the winter.  This depresses the usual Bermuda High that builds in (giving us SE winds) and pushes it farther down over the Gulf producing WSW winds across the northern Gulf,” Breck says.  It may seem early to be thinking about fall fishing but if things shape up the way they are forecasted, we should see an early fall giving way to an even earlier winter. “If we see another deepening of the East coast trough in another 2-3 weeks, I would not be surprised to see a REAL front between September 1st-19th and the hard cold coming early December,” Bob says. Jeff Kreller is an avid kayak fisherman that patrols the lake weekly and has been catching flounder, a definite sign that fall may be closer than we think. “I saw many good signs in the area and found plenty of action. I feel confident that it's only a matter of time before the switch is flipped,” Kreller says. On Jeff’s last trip he ended up with 3 flounder and says that all the ingredients is there for a spectacular fall. “The water looked really nice with a dark green tint and visibility over 2 feet. Make no mistake, our Northshore Pontchartrain shorelines are shaping up very nicely for a great fall run. I'm going to go ahead and jinx myself now by stating that there's an inside voice telling me this Fall will be as good or better than 2011's and 12's when I was blessed with some of my best catch days ever on the Lake,” he says.

It’s human nature for one to try and figure out a pattern when fishing. Tides, winds, water temperature, and water depth are just some of the factors that go into catching fish on any particular day. Leo Moore of Covington recently made a trip to Salt Bayou with a friend and quickly found out that rain factored into the equation of figuring out the bass. “We got a really early start, launched in the dark and starting rolling down the bayou as the sun came up. We got to the first spot with very little daylight, first cast with a Shu-Shu - a bump and a miss! Second cast - bump and a miss! Then my friend in the front of the boat lands one on a Shu-Shu. About that time the rain started. Drizzling for the first 10 minutes or so, then the skies opened up. From about 6:45 till almost 8:00 it was a sideways, torrential downpour!” says Moore. After the rains slacked up the team switched over to top-water frogs and Leo says that was a good move. “I kept hearing that slurping sound from under the hyacinth so I decided to tie on a frog. BAM! That was the ticket!  I landed two before my friend could change his lure. That was the first time I ever fished a frog and what a blast!  Cast into the thick hyacinth, walk it across the thick algae and BAM! Water explodes! We only came home with seven bass but it was fun catching them on frogs,” Leo said.

It’s quite common to hear of anglers salvaging their fishing trips by making a drastic move to another location. That’s exactly what Zack Liberto of Mandeville did when fishing for bass in the Tchefuncte River on his last outing. “We hit the Rice Field Canal expecting to tear up the bass on the falling tide but was quickly disappointed when all we could manage was one keeper by 8:00 am,” Liberto said. As Zack and his friend felt the sun beating down upon them they decided to make a drastic change and head out into the Lake for some salt water action. 

“Between the slick calm wind and rising sun we decided to make a move. We ran about a mile out of the Tchefuncte and to the right along the shoreline with all the downed cypress and marsh,” Zack said. They were quickly assured that the decision they made was the right one when they located a school of redfish along the cypress trees. “We found a stretch of bank on the shoreline around some cypress that was holding some grouped up redfish and it was game on! We started throwing spinner baits and limited out in about 30 minutes,” Said Zack. Liberto says the action was so intense that there wasn’t a time when they didn’t have a fish on the line. “Every single fish we caught was a double hook up! Once one of us would hook up, the other would just toss in right behind the hooked fish and catch another one!” He says. The water along the shoreline north of the Tchefuncte River is crystal clear right now and jam-packed with redfish.  Zack says it’s a great “plan B” option for bass fishermen who aren’t having any success in the river right now. 

When you think of sac-au-lait fishing what first comes to mind? If you guessed cold weather, you’d be right! But that’s not to say that they don’t bite during the summer also. Lacombe resident John Farley has been catching sac-au-lait on Bayou Lacombe in the same spots that he focuses on in the winter. “I have been trying to figure out the summertime sac-au-lait and actually have had success,” John says. On his last trip he ended up with a mess of fish caught all between the Trace bridge and Cypress bayou. John says his favorite sac-au-lait bait is a Bobby Garland jig on a 1/16 oz. jig head.

It’s no secret that Lake Pontchartrain is home to many species of fish including sharks but reports of these sharks biting people are unheard of in the Lake. 7-year old Trent Trenacosta of Lakeview was swimming with his family just off of Lakeview Harbor when he was bumped from behind by something underneath him, then then felt a sharp pain in his left heel. The boy started screaming and was rescued by his parents and rushed to get him medical care. Mitchell Chevalier, who tags sharks for the University of New Orleans and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, states that is common for many sharks to be in the lake during certain times of the year as the area is a shark nursery.  Although larger sharks would typically be gone this time of year, he is confident that the injury was caused by a bull shark.  Based on the bite marks, he estimates the shark to be around 5 feet. Doctors say Trent won’t be able to walk on his foot for a while but should make a full recovery.

With the tail end of summer approaching and the speckled trout bite all but non-existent, Nick Moore has focused his attention on catfish these days. The Sunset Point Pier in Mandeville has been producing quality freshwater catfish during the night time hours. Nick says all you need is fresh shrimp and time if you want to put some meat in the fridge. In addition to the blue cats being hauled over the wooden planks of the pier, anglers are catching sail-cats which are overlooked by most fishermen. 

“I believe most people pass on these fish because they are coated with slime. We simply wipe them down with a rag, clean them, and soaked the fillets in ice water for a while. When we are ready to fry them we coat the fillets with mustard,” Nick says. Sail-cats are referred to locally as gaftop catfish and are known for their ferocious fight when hooked. Nick says heavy braided line is a must when fishing at the pier these days. “I don’t have one of those big offshore rod-n- reels that you typically see at the end of the pier, but I’m sure glad I did have 30 lb. and 80 lb. EZ braid on my reels because I needed it to keep those beasts out of pilings. I'm telling you those sailcats are fun to catch. One minute you’re day dreaming about the Saints upcoming season and the next you notice your pole bent over like you snagged an orca!” Moore says.

These days there are two distinctive hotspots for bass fishing on the Northshore. The often overlooked Salt Bayou in Slidell is churning out big numbers of bass these days and anglers are quickly finding themselves with early limits of bass. The hot bait for this area has been Shu-Shu Shad rigged weightless. Anglers are having success early in the morning when the bass are active.

If its size you’re after, the Pearl has always been known for producing big bass and these are the days when a lunker becomes a real possibility for those who fish the river. Lawrence Lemoine recently made a trip and says the fishing was slow until he hooked onto a big boy. I threw everything I had and with six solid keepers decided to go back to my favorite lures so I started throwing lizards in one of my favorite colors - pumpkin firetail. On my third cast I got a solid hit and set the hook! I saw a big green flash at the side of the boat and that instant I knew it was a good fish!” Lemoine said. Lawrence says that it was an extra challenge catching the beast on 12 lb. test but his son managed to lip the 4.8 lb. bass at the side of the boat and bring it in.  

The iconic boat launch and bait shop on Harbor View Rd in Eden Isles has closed. The boat launch that has be the hub of Lake Pontchartrain fishing is scheduled to relocate but owner Chas Champagne says he has no definite plans. “I've been discussing with several other possible marinas that we might move to. I don't know exactly what we're going to do, but we're not next to the Dock at Eden Isles anymore,” says Champagne.  Since opening in 2008, the bait shop and launch has benefited tremendously from the great fishing along the bridges in Slidell but the past two years the fishing has been poor due to the lowering salinity levels. Chas says for now he will concentrate on marketing his lures. “As soon as we confirm a new location, we we’ll let everyone know. Until then, we’ll continue to give you even more information on fishing around the lake using Matrix Shads and our newest Vortex Shad,” He says.