Keith Lusher Jr With 210 of the 350 bays opened on the Bonnet Carre’ Spillway, all attention has now been turned to the closing. The Army Corps of Engineers forecasts that 210 bays will remain open until the river starts to fall. They estimate that 210 bays will remain open until the first week of February. So far, there have been no reports of the invasive Asian Carp anywhere in Lake Pontchartrain or it’s tributaries.
Blake's box of speared fish Bow Fishing Blake
With the freshwater slowly intruding into Lake Pontchartrain, added to the plummeting temperatures, anglers are having a tough go at finding fish anywhere in the lake. Blake Terrell of Bedico, decided to switch things up a bit and head down to Hopedale, where he launched his boat at the Breton Sound Marina just after dark. After a quick ride to his favorite spot in the marsh, Blake noticed that the cold weather had actually cleaned things up a bit. “When I got to the location, I noticed that water clarity was excellent and vegetation had started to die down due to the recent cold fronts,Terrell says. After a little searching, Blake found what he was looking for. “I trolled through the cuts and passes and found about as many sheepshead and garfish as you'd like to shoot,” he says. It didn’t take him long to fill his box with fish before heading back. “I loaded up on sheepshead and a few reds before heading back to the dock for 11:00 p.m. I got back to the house at around 12:30 p.m. and filleted them sheepshead and redfish until about 1:00 a.m.” Blake says. With the cold, clear water and the abundance of sheepshead, Blake says that he wasn’t the only one that had the same idea. “It looked like I wasn't the only one with that idea. I saw several other boats prowling the same area,” he says.
Mr. Nice Guy
Ask anybody that knows Buddy Hereford and they’ll tell you that he is the nicest guy in the world. And if anyone has any doubts about Buddy’s genuine spirit to help out, his latest good deed should sway them over to the unanimous title of Mr. Nice Guy. “My wife hosted another church ladies lunch and due to work trucks parked up and down the street, she seemed concerned with the parking availability for her friends. So being the nice guy that I am, I volunteered to move my truck and boat,” He says. Buddy knew of a perfect place to park his truck for the day. “I headed to the Rigolets around 11a.m. and found a nice parking spot at the free launch at Fort Pike,” Hereford says. After launching his boat, he headed over to Geoghegen’s Canal, Buddy started fishing but found it tough going. “I started drifting the lagoon and after three drifts in different locations without a bite, I moved to the dead end but still didn’t have any luck,” he says. Buddy says the water at the Rigolets was predictable for this time of year. “The water in the Rigolets had the river grey color but off the main pass the water was fairly decent,” he says. Buddy moved to the ICW where he had better luck. “I headed out to the ICW and tried a few drains in the canal and in the ponds and cuts connecting the ponds. I managed a few specks and a flounder. Then I headed back to the Fort via the Blind Rigolets, St. Catherine Pass and Counterfeit Bayou and got a couple more specks in the box,” Hereford says. Buddy ended the day with 5 speckled trout 12”-14” and 1 14” flounder, but more importantly, he freed up an extra parking space on his street for the day.
With the freshwater slowly intruding into Lake Pontchartrain, added to the plummeting temperatures, anglers are having a tough go at finding fish anywhere in the lake. Blake Terrell of Bedico, decided to switch things up a bit and head down to Hopedale, where he launched his boat at the Breton Sound Marina just after dark. After a quick ride to his favorite spot in the marsh, Blake noticed that the cold weather had actually cleaned things up a bit. “When I got to the location, I noticed that water clarity was excellent and vegetation had started to die down due to the recent cold fronts,Terrell says. After a little searching, Blake found what he was looking for. “I trolled through the cuts and passes and found about as many sheepshead and garfish as you'd like to shoot,” he says. It didn’t take him long to fill his box with fish before heading back. “I loaded up on sheepshead and a few reds before heading back to the dock for 11:00 p.m. I got back to the house at around 12:30 p.m. and filleted them sheepshead and redfish until about 1:00 a.m.” Blake says. With the cold, clear water and the abundance of sheepshead, Blake says that he wasn’t the only one that had the same idea. “It looked like I wasn't the only one with that idea. I saw several other boats prowling the same area,” he says.
Mr. Nice Guy
Ask anybody that knows Buddy Hereford and they’ll tell you that he is the nicest guy in the world. And if anyone has any doubts about Buddy’s genuine spirit to help out, his latest good deed should sway them over to the unanimous title of Mr. Nice Guy. “My wife hosted another church ladies lunch and due to work trucks parked up and down the street, she seemed concerned with the parking availability for her friends. So being the nice guy that I am, I volunteered to move my truck and boat,” He says. Buddy knew of a perfect place to park his truck for the day. “I headed to the Rigolets around 11a.m. and found a nice parking spot at the free launch at Fort Pike,” Hereford says. After launching his boat, he headed over to Geoghegen’s Canal, Buddy started fishing but found it tough going. “I started drifting the lagoon and after three drifts in different locations without a bite, I moved to the dead end but still didn’t have any luck,” he says. Buddy says the water at the Rigolets was predictable for this time of year. “The water in the Rigolets had the river grey color but off the main pass the water was fairly decent,” he says. Buddy moved to the ICW where he had better luck. “I headed out to the ICW and tried a few drains in the canal and in the ponds and cuts connecting the ponds. I managed a few specks and a flounder. Then I headed back to the Fort via the Blind Rigolets, St. Catherine Pass and Counterfeit Bayou and got a couple more specks in the box,” Hereford says. Buddy ended the day with 5 speckled trout 12”-14” and 1 14” flounder, but more importantly, he freed up an extra parking space on his street for the day.
Hydracoast Map January 11 - January 17 Lake Pontchartrain Salinity
The much anticipated update to the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation’s Hydracoast Map is out and the news is good! Salinity readings for the span from January 11 - January 17 show levels for the majority of the Causeway at 2.3 PPT or better. The predominately north winds have helped in pushing the fresh water from the Mississippi River along the South Shore of the Lake. Reports from the Trestles in Slidell show healthy levels of 3.7 PPT - 2.8 PPT which are right on target for this time of year.
The much anticipated update to the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation’s Hydracoast Map is out and the news is good! Salinity readings for the span from January 11 - January 17 show levels for the majority of the Causeway at 2.3 PPT or better. The predominately north winds have helped in pushing the fresh water from the Mississippi River along the South Shore of the Lake. Reports from the Trestles in Slidell show healthy levels of 3.7 PPT - 2.8 PPT which are right on target for this time of year.
