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Bayouless Trout
 Keith Lusher
The Northshore presents anglers with numerous options for catching speckled trout in the fall. In the past, a few of those options was Bayou Bonfouca, Bayou Lacombe, Bayou Castine, and even as far west at the Tchefuncte River. But for the past few years speckled trout anglers that fish the bayous of Lake Pontchartrain have noticed that the trout bite have been relegated to the shoreline. Forrest Green of Lacombe has been fishing for trout in Lake Pontchartrain all his life and brings up an interesting theory as to why we see the majority of the trout along the shoreline and not in the bayous.
 Forrest Green points out the patches of eel grass along the northern shoreline of the Lake
“It’s all about the grass. Five years ago when we were catching them in the bayous the grass was thick in there and the bait was thick as well. Now that the grass is growing healthy along the shoreline, the bait is thick in the shoreline grass so the fish follow the bait,” says Green. The Lacombe native says that you can go as far back as Katrina to see where the changes occurred. “Katrina knocked that shoreline inland about 100 ft. and when all the bait was getting pushed to the shoreline there was no vegetation for them to use as cover. So they had no choice but to get in those bayous where the grass was,” Green says.
 Eel Grass located just off of Goose point
Justin Webb of Mandeville can attest to the change in the migration of the trout, but says all you have to do is follow the boats are to see where the fish are. “There’s an armada fishing both sides of Bayou Lacombe along the shoreline,” he says. Webb fished the shoreline as far west as Fontainebleau State Park and actually caught 2 specks that measure 14” at the mouth of Bayou Cane. Webb says the lake has rebounded nicely and speaks of the water clarity “The water along the shoreline is super clear. I could see the bottom four feet down.”
Tchefuncte Sac-au-lait Ray Miller and Mike Manzella made a trip to the Tchefuncte River targeting sac-au-lait. The friends were tight-lining jigs straight down when Ray felt a thump on his line. “Something thumped it just like a sac. I set the hook and it didn’t move. I thought I was stuck on a log but then it made a run and I just held on!” Miller says. What Ray had on the other end of his line was a 150 lb. garfish. Miller tried to fight the fish but his jig pole was no mach for the beast. “He broke the pole right in half!” Ray says. After that the team managed to put a few crappie in the boat with Mike catching a 15” slab. They ended the day around 11:00 a.m. after it started raining. 
Mike Manzella with his 15" Tchefuncte Slab
Upcoming Tournaments
Pearl River Teams Trails is holding its next tournament at the East Pearl River on November 9. For more information please contact Charles Duazat at 985-960-6936. The next Liars and Lunkers tournament will be held on October 27 at the East Pearl River. For more information please contact Chad Hartzog at 985-502-3217. |
Look for the Northshore Fishing Report publication every Thursday in The Slidell Independent Weekly Newspaper!
 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
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Lake Pontchartrain has come a long way since summer. The water has improved, the batfish and shrimp have moved west as well as the speckled trout! Check out the latest video "October Speckled Trout Run in Lake Pontchartrain." Forrest Green and Keith Lusher head out of Bayou Lacombe into the Lake in search of specks and reds!
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