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Personal Best on Bayou Lacombe
 Keith Lusher
In the world of fishing, patience is a valuable virtue to possess; however, more than often it has to be learned through past experiences. Jim Bates and his grandson, Austin Dabdoub, may have inadvertently come across one of those experiences on their most recent fishing trip. The team launched at the boat launch on Main St. in Lacombe and headed south for a little saltwater fishing. The team was in Austin’s 14-foot skiff which put them at the mercy of Lake Pontchartrain’s volatility. Fortunately for the two, when they arrived at the lake it was smooth so they made a run west to Goose Point. “I had my big saltwater poles and my saltwater tackle box ready to do some exploring,” Bates said. The team was using Vudu Shrimp under a cork and started catching fish right away; the only problem was it wasn’t the right kind. “Hardheads and ladyfish cast after cast,” he said. The team moved back to the mouth of Bayou Lacombe and fished south. “We headed south and worked the bank and coves from Bayou Lacombe all the way to Carr Drive but all we caught was hardheads,” Bates said. “We reeled in enough hardheads to fill the boat up.” The day wasn’t quite panning out like Bates expected and the team almost called it quits after talking to some other anglers out on the water. “We met up with two other boats and they were having the same results as us - Zilch,” he said.
 Austin Dabdoub with his "PB" caught on Bayou Lacombe
Bates cranked up the engine and headed back to Bayou Lacombe. Thinking their day couldn’t get any worse, Jim decided to let his grandson fish the shoreline as he worked his way back to the boat launch. “Austin had a very large gator grab his cork and crack it wide open,” Bates said. “I removed the broken cork and left the Vudu Shrimp tied on his line.” Austin kept fishing and as the boat neared the launch he made a long cast near a patch of lily pads. Austin felt his line tighten so he set the hook and that’s when the battle began. “When it was about 20 feet from the boat that bass went airborne,” Bates said. “We were speechless!"
The 12-year-old continued to reel in the bass as he shouted “PB! PB!” (Personal best). Jim didn’t have a net so he reached over the side of the boat into the water and grabbed the fish with both hands. “I was shaking as soon as soon as Paw Paw pulled it out of the water,” said Austin. After weighing the fish it turned out to indeed be Austin’s personal best; a 3 lb. 11 oz. bass. “The lesson learned today was - it ain’t over till it’s over! We could have called it a day since we didn’t have any fresh water baits but he persisted until the end and BAM! A new personal best!” said Bates Popping Cork Perfection
In the world of fishing tackle, popping corks have come a long way since 1956. What happened in 1956 you ask? That’s when the patent for something called the “Jack and Jill Cork” was first granted to inventor Jack Devoti of Texas. The purpose of the cork, according to Devoti, was to allow live bait to move around freely in the water and to mimic the sound feeding fish make on the waters surface.  Jack Devoti submitted this description of his "Jack and Jill Cork" to the
US Patent and Trademark Office in cork 1956
Kenny Kreeger Jr of Slidell is thankful for Devoti’s invention and can remember back when he first started fishing with popping corks. “I first started fishing with corks when I was 7 years old. My dad worked at the original Irish Bayou food store where the casino is now. I used to go to work with him sometimes and fish around the camp that was across the street. I remember my first fish caught under a cork; I saw the cork go under and landed my first bass,” Kreeger said. Since then, Kreeger has chopped, shaved, and glued together quite a few homemade prototypes to arrive at what he calls his “Undertaker Cork.” Kreeger’s main goal was trying to get the cork to emit a mixture of sounds. One being the splash that the cork makes when popped; The other being the clicking sound that a shrimp makes underwater. “The space between the cork and the bottom components are important. When popped everything works together to produce the right amount of clack,” he said.
On his latest trip, Kreeger was fishing Goeghegan’s Canal with a variety of soft plastics under his 3-inch cupped popper. When popped the cork throws a splash of water forward which imitates feeding fish. “We worked some of our favorite plastics in the marsh with that cork and the bass action was non-stop. Pop, pop, and under it went,” he said. Kreeger and a friend caught 20 bass in just under 2 hours but more importantly he learned that the best performing lure was the exact lure that he designed the cork for - artificial shrimp. “By far we caught the most fish on the Mojo Shrimp” Kreeger said. “The cork worked exactly how I planned!” The cork fishing fanatic has since sold hundreds of his corks to recreational anglers and charter captains on the Northshore and is happy to see others finding success with his home made corks.
 A garfish is weighed as onlookers gather at Island Marina
T-Joe's Rodeo Raises Record Amount for Charity
The third annual T-Joe’s Fishing Invitational is in the books and according to tournament operator Mike Maggio of Slidell, “It was a hug success!” The fishing tournament that was held at Island Marina of Lake Catherine was started in 2020 and is the result of the devotion Maggio’s father, Joseph Maggio, had to St. Jude’s. Joseph died in 2019 and is a big reason for the direction of the tournament. “My dad was a big St. Jude contributor and being that he died of cancer we thought it would be a good idea to donate the money we collected to the hospital,” he said. Until then, the Maggio family had been gathering for a family tournament that served as a family reunion, but after seeing how many people were fishing the event, Maggio and his family decided to move forward with growing the event. “The first one we held at my brothers house on Cowan Bayou off of the East Pearl River,” Maggio said. We had 80 people show up to fish that tournament and we raised 2,500 dollars,” he said. In 2021 the tournament saw 130 people fish with 6,000 dollars raised. “After that tournament we decided to find a different venue because it was getting too big for my brothers house,” Maggio said. The family reached out to David and Angie Stewart of Island Marina of Lake Catherine who were more than happy to hold the event at their marina. When it was all said and done, the 2022 event saw 180 adults register and raised over 11, 000 dollars to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. “It’s hard to believe our little tournament has raised over 20,000 dollars in three years,” he said. “Just to know this money is going to help all the families that have been affected makes all the difference in the world.” |
 Keith Lusher
I created NFR.com in the spring of 2012. Since then it has helped link Northshore fishermen to valuable information and has filled the void of absent information on the web about fishing on the North Shore of Lake Pontchartrain. Northshore Fishing Report has morphed into a brand name and can be found not only on the web, but on radio and newspaper. As NFR grows I will continue to work hard at keeping NFR local focusing on local anglers, reports, seminars, and fishing tournaments in St. Tammany and Tangipahoa Parish. I hope you enjoy the website and If you have any questions please email me at: Keith@NorthshoreFishingReport.com
Look for the Northshore Fishing Report publication every Thursday in The Slidell Independent Weekly Newspaper!
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Andy Jones of Wicked Charters joins Keith at the NFR Spring Seminar to talk about his latest fishing trips to Lake Pontchartrain.
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