Summer is on our doorstep but the Trestles in Slidell is showing no signs of slowing down as far as speckled trout production is concerned. When the water temperatures are between 72-75 degrees, speckled trout show up at the Trestles like clockwork. With water temperatures pushing 85 degrees, the end of putting limits of trout in the boat may be nearing. Jerry Fazio of Slidell is still managing to catch good numbers and on his last trip says the key is to move early and often. “I fished both sides of the bridge and moved every 15 minutes if I didn’t have any bites,” he says. The Trestle veteran started fishing 2:00 in the afternoon and says the winds were blowing from 5-10 mph and the tide was incoming. “I started at firebreak #2 and fished both sides of the bridge. I fished all the way to last firebreak on north side”, Jerry says. Fazio had 5 trout on his first pass then found cleaner water. I moved mid lake where the water was better and the fish were hungry and picked up the rest of 17 there,” he says. Fazio says he caught all his fish using Matrix Shad in the Lemonhead color.
Bayou Lacombe Bull Shark
90 degree temperatures and bullsharks in Lake Pontchartrain seem to go hand in hand. Covington resident Bo McCool did more than just spot one, he had a closeup experience with the unwelcomed visitor. Bo was fishing from a wharf and had his feet hanging over near the water. “Something moved to my left and I looked over there and I heard something and looked down and there's this bull shark at my feet so I picked my feet up and screamed like a little girl. I’m not gonna lie! It scared the crap out of me,” says McCool. The Lake Pontchartain Telemetry Study that the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, tracks a total of 93 bullsharks. When the water temperature is over 68 degrees, the sharks enter the lake. The same holds true in the winter. The warm water loving fish exit the lake when the temps dip below 68 degrees.
Pearl River Training
John Guillot has been fishing on the Pearl River near the Wastehouse and says the sac-a-lait bite hasn’t been as good as previous trips in that area. “The water is off color but more stained than dirty. The upper backwaters has enough oil floating on the surface to solve any fossil fuel shortage,” he says. One reason for the disturbed water may be the heavily trafficked water due to increased military training. John says he’s noticed a pattern when the training occurs. “When they train heavily, it seems to push all the fish off the banks and structure, scattering them out. There’s lots of bait everywhere but nothing feeding. I stopped one of the gun boats to ask how long they would be training and the impression they gave me is that they will be out there for quite some time,” John says. While the sac-a-lait bite isn’t quite up to par, John says there’s no lack of perch or goggle-eye. “Bream of all flavors are smoking Berkley Gulf Alive baits on beetle spins but there’s no size to them. Casting from the entrance of the bayous to the back produced a hit almost every cast,” Guillot says.
Bayou Lacombe Bull Shark
90 degree temperatures and bullsharks in Lake Pontchartrain seem to go hand in hand. Covington resident Bo McCool did more than just spot one, he had a closeup experience with the unwelcomed visitor. Bo was fishing from a wharf and had his feet hanging over near the water. “Something moved to my left and I looked over there and I heard something and looked down and there's this bull shark at my feet so I picked my feet up and screamed like a little girl. I’m not gonna lie! It scared the crap out of me,” says McCool. The Lake Pontchartain Telemetry Study that the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, tracks a total of 93 bullsharks. When the water temperature is over 68 degrees, the sharks enter the lake. The same holds true in the winter. The warm water loving fish exit the lake when the temps dip below 68 degrees.
Pearl River Training
John Guillot has been fishing on the Pearl River near the Wastehouse and says the sac-a-lait bite hasn’t been as good as previous trips in that area. “The water is off color but more stained than dirty. The upper backwaters has enough oil floating on the surface to solve any fossil fuel shortage,” he says. One reason for the disturbed water may be the heavily trafficked water due to increased military training. John says he’s noticed a pattern when the training occurs. “When they train heavily, it seems to push all the fish off the banks and structure, scattering them out. There’s lots of bait everywhere but nothing feeding. I stopped one of the gun boats to ask how long they would be training and the impression they gave me is that they will be out there for quite some time,” John says. While the sac-a-lait bite isn’t quite up to par, John says there’s no lack of perch or goggle-eye. “Bream of all flavors are smoking Berkley Gulf Alive baits on beetle spins but there’s no size to them. Casting from the entrance of the bayous to the back produced a hit almost every cast,” Guillot says.