Lake Pontchartrain Favorability Gauge for December
Lake Pontchartrain is home to a variety of fish. Since it is an estuary, the lake is constantly changing. There are many factors that change the conditions of the lake including hurricanes, rain, and spillway openings. This makes the Lake one of the most challenging destinations to fish in South Louisiana.
Since it's inception in 2012, NorthshoreFishingReport.com has collected thousands of fishing reports from Lake Pontchartrain. Below is a list of all of the fish that anglers pursue in Lake Pontchartrain. All the reports have been researched on NFR and assigned a monthly favorability score.
Since it's inception in 2012, NorthshoreFishingReport.com has collected thousands of fishing reports from Lake Pontchartrain. Below is a list of all of the fish that anglers pursue in Lake Pontchartrain. All the reports have been researched on NFR and assigned a monthly favorability score.
We've gone through the reports dating back from 2012 from the following fishing reports boards on NorthshoreFishingReport.com: Causeway, Slidell Bridges, Lemo's Reef, Pass Manchac, Sunset Point Fishing Pier, Slidell Fishing Pier, and Lake Pontchartrain (other). These reports determine 80% of the weight used in monthly projections. The other 20% of the weight is taken from the Monthly Fishing Forecasts that are written by NFR Members. Each species of fish is given a favorability rating. These ratings are not scientific and should be used as a best estimate of what to expect on any given month.
Speckled Trout: Below Average
November was the final month with a decent speckled trout bite in Lake Pontchartrain. By now we've seen the trout move into the lake and along the Northern shoreline of the lake and back out to the Rigolets and Biloxi Marsh. December fishing reports on NFR show the last bastion of hope for fishing Lake Pontchartrain for speckled trout is the Trestles Train Bridge in Slidell. Matrix Shad in Pink Champagne on a 3/8 oz. jighead is the popular baits this month as it will be harder to find live shrimp in the local bait shops. Firebreak 173 is going to be the main place where boats gather to fish but don't let it dictate where you fish. Start by trolling one side of the bridge fishing fast. Jig the pylons and when you pick up a few trout, make a note of where you are in contrast to the bridge. Loop back around and hit the same spot again. Trestle fishing is often about grinding it out and putting together a limit slowly. The trolling bite usually gets better with the colder water temperatures. As trout are less plentiful at the Trestles, coving more water tends to produce better results that jigging. It's important to pay attention to water temperatures in December as speckled trout get awfully hard to catch when water temperatures dip below 55.
Redfish December: Average
Catching redfish in Lake Pontchartrain in December can be tough. The lack of baitfish in the water and colder water temperatures send these fish into deep water canals and the cuts along the northern shoreline. In December, redfish will constantly be on the move to keep their metabolisms high. They will typically be residing in the deeper channels and basins throughout the morning and evenings for more stable water temperatures. Because of the lack of baitfish, redfish will be feeding on crabs and other crustaceans along the bottom. .Jigging the bottom with plastic or even market shrimp will work but live shrimp is always best but anglers will have a hard time finding live shrimp so cocahoes will be your go-to live bait this month. While deeper water is the name of the game in December, redfish can also be found in the shallows along the shoreline. Target the flats where the sun is able to heat up the water faster than other areas. lures such as Top-Dog's and Mir-o-lure's are best for the flats. Gold spoons are a proven method as well just be careful of hanging up in eel grass along the shoreline.
Black Drum December: Average
While anglers don't generally target drum, they won't hesitate to add them to the ice box when they come across them. Often if you find one, there's a school of them at the same spot. Black Drum are plentiful in Lake Pontchartrain during the fall months but these fish will have moved out to deeper saltier water to spawn in February so December will be you last month to catch them. Most of the reports on NFR have two things in common. They were fishing on the bottom and with market shrimp. Hotspots include the Trestles, the first cut along the eastern shoreline of Bayou Lacombe near the lake, and the shellpad 2 miles off of Green Point. Carolina rig is your best bet when fishing for Drum. Just a reminder when catching black drum for table fare - typically drum that measure over 25" contain worms in them. These worms aren't harmful but most fisherman stay away from keeping the larger fish due to there presence.
Sheepshead December: Good
Last month (November) was the second best month to target sheepshead in Lake Pontchartrain. December still provides the opportunity to catch them. Most anglers associate catching sheepshead with structure like bridge pylons and shell bottoms. Fortunately Lake Pontchartrain has plenty to offer in terms of those specific structures. Sheepshead are structure feeders. Some anglers actually can watch them circling a pylon on the Lake Pontchartrain bridges. They primarily on crabs, shrimp, barnacles and small fish. Their teeth look human, these are used for scraping structure for food. Some of the best places to target Sheepshead in Lake Pontchartrain in December is the Trestles and Causeway. Another spot that produces great reports is the Twin Spans bridge. NFR doesn't get too many fishing reports from the Twin Spans but when we do it's usually sheepshead that are being reported. Best bait is live shrimp (the smaller the better). Also cracked crab and surprisingly - live crawfish! Using a Carolina Rig works well but keep in mind that the entire pylon from the waters surface to the bottom offers a good chance to catch a sheeshead so a lighter weight is in order to slow down the descending bait. A chumming tip for fishing the bridges is to pull up to a pylon and scrape the barnacles with a push-pole or paddle. The bits of barnacle and other organisms will slowly sink attracting small baitfish and creating a frenzy the sheepshead can't resist.
Flounder December: Bad
Last month we saw the flounder moving out of Lake Pontchartrain to deeper water for their spawn. In December we find a drastic decline in flounder reports on NFR. Some still can be caught at the Trestles but it will be a challenge. Live bait such as cacohoes on the bottom work best.
When fishing for flounder it's important to remember to slow things down. Sometimes dragging the lure along the bottom works best.
When fishing for flounder it's important to remember to slow things down. Sometimes dragging the lure along the bottom works best.
Garfish December: Average
Garfish reign throughout the summer but when the water starts cooling the bite slows down so December should see a decline in garfish. Alligator Gar are prevalent all over the south and Lake Pontchartrain is home to some of the largest gar in the United States. It's not uncommon to catch Alligator Gar in the Lake that measure over 10 ft. Lake Pontchartrain is home to the Mandeville Garfish Rodeo in which anglers can utilize numerous methods of catching garfish. One way is to run "jug lines" or "noodles". This is a method of tying the lines to individual floats and letting setting it out in the water. When the jug float starts to move you know you hav something on the other end. Another method is rod and reel. Anglers use heavy braid line with a steel leader before the hook. Gar have sharp teeth so the steel leader is necessary to avoid breaking the line. Garfish aren't picky eaters. Popular baits are cut mullet, chicken fat, livers, or market bait. Most reports on NFR for Garfish come from the area along the Northern shoreline from Bayou Cane to Bayou Lacombe but Manchac is another great place to catch garfish.
Croaker December: Terrible
As the weather gets colder, the croaker move out to deeper water. December is a month in a long string of months that croaker will be difficult to catch in the Lake. Croaker are part of the drum family. Their mouths are turned down and are used to suction food from the bottom of the lake or bayou. By far the best way to target these fish is a drop shot rig with dead shrimp. Some anglers like to cut up slivers of croaker meat and use that on the hook. Croaker are notorious for "pecking" bait off of the hook so using cut fish works better as far as your bait staying on the hook. It's better to fish for these fish with a lightweight rod and monofilament line under 10 lbs. Feeling the bite is very important so a tight line is in order.
White Trout December: Terrible
The white trout bite typically coincides with the croaker bite in Lake Pontchartrain. Both of these fish are warm weather fish and December is one of the worst months to fish for white trout in Lake Pontchartrain. This month the white trout have moved out of the lake to spawn in saltier water. White trout are closely related to the speckled trout but don't grow as big as speckled trout. A good sized white trout in Lake Pontchartrain measures anywhere from 10" - 12". The meat tastes just as good as speckled trout but will turn out mushy of not put directly on ice when caught. Anglers who target white trout have the best results when they fish on the bottom using dead shrimp.