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Spring Specks in Bayou Lacombe
 Keith Lusher
With the warmer temperatures blanketing the Northshore things are beginning to change this month. The bass and sac-a-lait are moving into the shallows providing anglers with an opportunity to start catching fish at a faster pace than over the winter. Nick Williams of Ponchatoula hasn’t been fishing in a while and wanted to get back on the water as soon as possible with the springtime transition happening. “That’s what a job does to you! When your working you can’t fish,” he joked. Nick and his father, Percy, launched at the end of Lake Rd. in Lacombe and headed out to the lake to try for bass in the canals along the shoreline. “I have been seeing a lot of reports of the water being dirty but the water was clean,” Nick said.
 Percy Williams with his forst trout of the morning
They were throwing various plastics on a 1/4 oz. jig head when Nick put the first fish in the boat; a 13 inch bass. After a few casts Percy set the hook and started battling what he thought was another bass. As the fish approached the boat the silver flash was unmistakable. Percy attempted to flip him into the boat but it came off of the hook and dropped back into the water. “That was about a 14-inch trout he had,” Nick said. The sight of speckled trout got the father-son team excited and they started casting to the same spot he hooked the trout; a point with the water flowing around it. About five minutes later Percy hooked another one and this time Nick grabbed the net and was able to boat the fish. It was a 15-inch speckled trout. Percy was using Matrix Shad in the Holy Joley color on a 1/4 oz jighead. The team continued fishing until the tide stopped and was able to catch 5 bass and 6 speckled trout. “We got a late start but it was worth going,” Nick said. “We lost a couple reeling them in but we will get them next time.”
A healthy sprintime mixture of bass and specks caught in Bayou Lacombe
Flounder Overfished Says LWFC The Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission adopted a Notice of Intent to set an annual closed season for the recreational and commercial harvest of Southern Flounder from Oct. 15 through Nov. 30. Modifications in this rule create one statewide closed season for Southern Flounder for both the recreational and commercial sectors. 
The Commission said this closed season is necessary to attempt to recover the stock of Southern Flounder, which is overfished based on results from the most recent flounder stock assessment. The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries staff briefed the LWFC on management options necessary to recover the stock. Those options require a minimum of a 50% reduction in mature female Southern Flounder harvest. The LWFC chose to move forward with an annual closed season in the fall to allow mature female flounder to escape inshore waters and move offshore to spawn. The closed season is projected to help the stock recover to a healthy biomass target by 2028.
Interested persons may submit comments relative to the proposed rule to Jason Adriance, Fisheries Division, Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, P.O. Box 98000, Baton Rouge, LA 70898-9000 or via email to jadriance@wlf.la.gov prior to noon on May 2, 2022. 
Tournament Results
The Bass Assassins held their tournament at the East Pearl River. It was a windy morning as 29 angels blasted off from the Hwy. 90 boat launch. When the day was done there was 13 limits caught with eight weighing over ten pounds. John Andrews took first place with a 12 lb. 5 oz. limit. In second was Branden Lossett with a limit weighing 12 lbs. 2 oz. Third place went to Scott Mitchell for his 11 lbs. 14 oz. limit. Jay Breland finished in fourth with a 11 lb. 13 oz. limit. The big fish of the day was a 4 lbs. 8 oz. lunker brought in by Chris Stuart. The Double Nickel Bass Club in which 18 anglers showed up. It was a windy, damp day on the East Pearl River with a threat of rain. In the end it was Guy Stegall who came out on top with a 3-fish tournament stringer that weighed 9.05 pounds. Stegall also caught the big bass of a day: a 4.25-pound lunker. In second place was Rob Roberts with a limit of 7.35 pounds. Jerry Bullock took third place with a 3-fish bag weighing 7.09 pounds. Liar’s and Lunkers held their tournament at the East Pearl River. The team of Caleb Beaudette and Trevor Truax came in first place with a huge 19.29-pound bag. Second place went to Rustin Beaudette and Cristian Beaudette with 17.26 pounds. Rustin and Cristian also had big bass with a 5.84 pound lunker. Third place was Scott Mitchell and John Andrews with 14 pounds. Fourth place went to Steve Hadley and Dwain Crumby with 13.01 pounds. Taking fifth place and the last cash prize was Chris Moran and Michael Crapanzano with 12.01 pounds. |
 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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Carl Schmidt of Abita Springs joins the NFR Studio by phone to talk about his numerous trips to Bayou Lacombe where he ran catfish lines and caught trout and bass near the mouth of the bayou.
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