Keith Lusher For 17-year-old Trenton Pittman, catching big bass is something he’s become accustom to. Being the son of professional bass angler Jason Pittman, Trenton has learned that it’s the big fish that win tournaments. But what he caught on the Tchefuncte River in the latest Liars & Lunkers Bass Tournament, admittedly caught him by surprise. “It was the biggest bass I have ever caught in a tournament,” Trenton says.
When I first set the hook, it was so heavy that I thought it was a choupique! The father and son team was fishing the Tchefuncte River all day and had 15 minutes left of fishing before they headed in to the launch for the weigh-in. That’s when Trenton says it happened. “I was flipping a Mister Twister Po'cit Craw to the base of trees when I felt a thump on the end of my line and watched my line start moving away from the tree. When I first set the hook, it was so heavy that I thought it was a choupique!” he says. It wasn’t until the fish made it’s first jump that Trenton realized what he had. “When the fish jumped I realized it was a bass! We usually boat-flip the fish that we catch while flipping, but when I saw that it was a bass, I yelled for the net! As Dad netted the fish, I was in awe at how big it was,” he says. The fish helped there total tremendously and Trenton and his father went on to win 1st place in the tournament with a 5-fish tournament limit that weighed 14.95 lbs.
Trestles
Sam Coco Jr. lives in Oak Harbor and is used to speckled trout fishing from land near his home, but when he got an invite to fish from a friends boat, he didn’t hesitate to accept the offer. “For someone who fishes from the bank, an invite to fish in a boat is an easy decision,” Sam says. The friends launched at the old Dockside and headed to the Trestles to try trolling for specks. “As soon as the first line was in the water BAM! About a 14 inch speck!” he says. Sam was using a silver and black Rat-L-Trap with a soft plastic trailer and says the fish hit the trailer. The team caught fish at a slow steady pace but Sam says when the tide changed the bites picked up.“The tide was falling when we got there but started slowing and then changed to incoming. This heated things up and the bites became more frequent,” he says. The team ended the day with a dozen trout that measured 12”-18” in length. “All in all, it wasn’t a bad first trip trolling the trestles. Thanks to my neighbor Greg for invite,” Sam says.
Bayou Lacombe
With the recent rainfall and and record breaking river stages for most rivers on the North Shore, Covington resident Jack Tucker was leary of fishing Bayou Lacombe. “The Lake Road launch was too deep so I went up to Main Street launch and had to wade in almost knee deep water to get from truck to boat dock,” he says. On top of the high water, Jack says the weather that day was less than ideal. “The wind picked up to 20 mph and started misting so I decided to hit some canals that I've never fished before,” Tucker says. Switching between a Humdinger Spinnerbait and a Cane Thumper swimbait, Jack was able to pick up several goggle-eye but no bass. After switching over to a different rig, the action picked up even more. “I switched to a black and chartreuse jig under a cork and put a serious hurting on the google-eye in cypress bayou and again in the canal by Lake Road with the camps,” he says. Jack ended the day with a mess of goggle-eye and headed home to clean and fry them up.
2016 Northshore Bass Series
The Northshore Bass Series is cranking up for the 2016 season and another tournament angler has signed a sponsor. Dixie Trolling Motors and Outfitters of Mandeville will be sponsoring tournament angler Will Henry for the 2016 NBS Season. Will Currently sits atop the power ranking at the #1 spot. If any local businesses are interested in sponsoring a local tournament angler for the upcoming NBS Season please contact Keith at 985-373-5974 for more information.
Trestles
Sam Coco Jr. lives in Oak Harbor and is used to speckled trout fishing from land near his home, but when he got an invite to fish from a friends boat, he didn’t hesitate to accept the offer. “For someone who fishes from the bank, an invite to fish in a boat is an easy decision,” Sam says. The friends launched at the old Dockside and headed to the Trestles to try trolling for specks. “As soon as the first line was in the water BAM! About a 14 inch speck!” he says. Sam was using a silver and black Rat-L-Trap with a soft plastic trailer and says the fish hit the trailer. The team caught fish at a slow steady pace but Sam says when the tide changed the bites picked up.“The tide was falling when we got there but started slowing and then changed to incoming. This heated things up and the bites became more frequent,” he says. The team ended the day with a dozen trout that measured 12”-18” in length. “All in all, it wasn’t a bad first trip trolling the trestles. Thanks to my neighbor Greg for invite,” Sam says.
Bayou Lacombe
With the recent rainfall and and record breaking river stages for most rivers on the North Shore, Covington resident Jack Tucker was leary of fishing Bayou Lacombe. “The Lake Road launch was too deep so I went up to Main Street launch and had to wade in almost knee deep water to get from truck to boat dock,” he says. On top of the high water, Jack says the weather that day was less than ideal. “The wind picked up to 20 mph and started misting so I decided to hit some canals that I've never fished before,” Tucker says. Switching between a Humdinger Spinnerbait and a Cane Thumper swimbait, Jack was able to pick up several goggle-eye but no bass. After switching over to a different rig, the action picked up even more. “I switched to a black and chartreuse jig under a cork and put a serious hurting on the google-eye in cypress bayou and again in the canal by Lake Road with the camps,” he says. Jack ended the day with a mess of goggle-eye and headed home to clean and fry them up.
2016 Northshore Bass Series
The Northshore Bass Series is cranking up for the 2016 season and another tournament angler has signed a sponsor. Dixie Trolling Motors and Outfitters of Mandeville will be sponsoring tournament angler Will Henry for the 2016 NBS Season. Will Currently sits atop the power ranking at the #1 spot. If any local businesses are interested in sponsoring a local tournament angler for the upcoming NBS Season please contact Keith at 985-373-5974 for more information.
