Keith Lusher This summer we saw an influx in undersized redfish in Lakes Pontchartrain and Borgne. The same is still true during the fall as anglers are seeing large amounts of rat reds being hauled in over the gunwale only to be returned to the water until they reach 16”. Justin Norman made a trip to the Rigolet’s after his son played in a local youth football championship game. "We launched around 2:30 pm after the 6 and 7 year-old football championship. We loaded the boat with 4 boys my wife and 85 live shrimp,” Justin says. The 85 live shrimp came in handy as the boys caught fish on almost every cast. We made a few stops and nailed the rat reds everywhere we stopped,” Norman says. While the family caught numerous redfish, Justin says they were unable to put any speckled trout in the boat. All-in-all he says the day was a success. “The boys had a blast and no one was pierced or fell in the water. I am wondering where the specks where though,” he adds.
William Norman, Rodney Clark and Justin Chatman are all smiles catching redfish along the shoreline
Eden Isles
Roger Sissac is used to catching speckled trout around this time in the canals that weave through Eden Isles in Slidell. However, with the unexplainable lack of trout in the area he turned his attention to green trout. He started his day throwing Shu-Shu Slugs in the Victory Red color. He rigged the slug on a double rig. Roger uses a tandem rig for two reasons, “I prefer the tandem trig because you can cast further, which means you cover more water, your odds are increased, and the best part is you catch doubles sometimes,” Sissac says. The day started out slow for Roger but he says with a little perseverance, he was able to find a solid bite. “I kept moving around until I finally caught the first one, then another, an another, an another until I hit my limit,” he says. The limit of largemouth bass rendered Rogers day successful, but the angler says he wishes the trout would return. “I sure hope the specks come back in the lake with the fronts,” he adds.
A hard earned limit of bass caught in the Eden Isles Canals
Biloxi Marsh
With the scattered speckled trout bite that anglers have been experiencing, Buddy Hereford made a trip to Biloxi Marsh with his friend Wayne who he refers to as simply “Trouthead.” The friends were hoping for an easy day of fishing with one centralized spot to catch specks. They headed to their first stop but had a little company along the way. “We made our way down a foggy, crowded Bayou Loutre until we broke out ahead of the pack and Wayne opened it up until we reached our first spot in Mack’s Pass,” Buddy says. They both picked up numerous undersized specks with 2 keepers at the first spot. They used Matrix Lemonhead under a cork. The team then decide to make a run to Crooked Bayou making a few stops in Lake Eugene as well, only to pick up a few at each spot. The quest for a consistent bite continued as the tiring duo made stops at Bob’s Lake and numerous cuts and lagoons before heading back to Bayou Loutre. “We were bowing and stretching to get the knots out of our backs towards the end of the trip,” Hereford jokes. They ended up putting #49 and #50 in the icebox in Cutoff Lagoon at 2:30. Buddy says the best spot was a tide line that they found in Bob’s Lake.
With the scattered speckled trout bite that anglers have been experiencing, Buddy Hereford made a trip to Biloxi Marsh with his friend Wayne who he refers to as simply “Trouthead.” The friends were hoping for an easy day of fishing with one centralized spot to catch specks. They headed to their first stop but had a little company along the way. “We made our way down a foggy, crowded Bayou Loutre until we broke out ahead of the pack and Wayne opened it up until we reached our first spot in Mack’s Pass,” Buddy says. They both picked up numerous undersized specks with 2 keepers at the first spot. They used Matrix Lemonhead under a cork. The team then decide to make a run to Crooked Bayou making a few stops in Lake Eugene as well, only to pick up a few at each spot. The quest for a consistent bite continued as the tiring duo made stops at Bob’s Lake and numerous cuts and lagoons before heading back to Bayou Loutre. “We were bowing and stretching to get the knots out of our backs towards the end of the trip,” Hereford jokes. They ended up putting #49 and #50 in the icebox in Cutoff Lagoon at 2:30. Buddy says the best spot was a tide line that they found in Bob’s Lake.
