Keith Lusher For Lake Pontchartrain fisherman, the northern shoreline of Lake Pontchartrain goes ignored for the majority of the year. Sure, there’s the occasional lone wolf chasing redfish during the summer months, but for the most part, the shoreline between the mouth of Bayou Bonfouca and the mouth of Bayou Cane is a stretch of marsh that rarely appears in the background of photos taken with people holding fish. And then there’s the month of October. Like clockwork the trout show up and the boats can be seen lined up just as thick as the crab trap floats that dot the lake. But this year things appear to be running behind. That speckled trout bite that anglers usually count on toward the end of September didn't happen. “It looks as if things are about a month behind from where we were last year, says Forrest Green of Lacombe. Mr. Green has lived in Lacombe all his life and says he was never worried about the trout not showing up. “Fish have tails. They’re not going to do the same thing year after year. They don’t see what you write in your calendar stick to that schedule,” he jokes. I made my annual fishing trip with the jovial Mr. Green and although it was about a month behind when we usually make our speckled trout quest, it was just as good of a trip as ever.
Mr. Green launches a trout into the boat We met at Bayou Adventure in Lacombe and headed down to the launch at the end of Lake Road. Mr. Green backed the boat down into the water and by 6:30 we were cruising out of Bayou Lacombe and along the eastern shoreline. Our first stop was along stretch of marsh almost to the mouth of Bayou Bonfouca. After a few casts without any results I started to doubt the spot, but with the sudden tilt of the boat and a “fish on” those doubts quickly eroded. Mr. Green swung the first fish into the boat, a 14” speckled trout that sent a wave of excitement not only through me, but the line of boats that peppered the shoreline. As the sun slowly rose over the camps along Carr Drive in the distance, we put trout into the boat. The bite wasn’t fast, but none the less, it was consistent. We slowly worked our way back towards Flat Point and it finally happened. For those of you who fish the shoreline during the fall season, you know exactly what I’m talking about. Shrimp started popping out of the water franticly trying to escape the underwater predators. Mr. Green casted over to the action and set the hook on a fish and I watched as his pole bowed over. I could tell he had a solid fish but my initial thought was that it was a redfish. Then it surfaced and the head shaking let me know that this was no redfish. This was a big yellow mouth. As I caught the fish vicariously through Mr. Green, something jerked my attention back to my cast. It was that unmistakable thump of a Lake Pontchartrain speckled trout. I swung the pole back and as fast, the fish pulled it back down toward the water and I was reeling in another 3 lb. shoreline speck and just as soon as Greenie plopped his trout onto the bow of the boat, I had mine flopping right along side. That school of big fish came through fast and the bite didn't last long but we managed 5 or 6 within 5 minutes. As the excitement wore off and the bite slowed, Mr. Green launched into his Lake Pontchartrain speckled trout spiel. “There’s nothing - I mean nothing, like catching big beautiful Lake Pontchartrain speckled trout in the fall! This is living, he shouted. We worked our way west towards Bayou Lacombe and ended the day with 25 quality speckled trout all caught on plastics. Mr. green adds that it’s only going to get better. Green “I think these fish are going to work further west before before the cold fronts, before those big North Western’s start rolling through,” Green says.
Ending the day in Bayou Lacombe with a box of beautiful shoreline specks
