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Dragonflies and Dreams
 Keith Lusher
Jim Bates and his wife DeeDee have always dreamed of owning land. Originally from Chalmette, the married couple worked hard all their life and was finally able to purchase some property which is now a tree farm in Franklinton. Along with the farm came a small pond which has quite a history. “The pond is probably one-third of an acre but about ten feet deep in the middle. We stocked it 15 years ago and harvested catfish and Huge hybrid blue gill until a family of otters cleaned it out about eight years,” Bates said. The Bates’ returned to visit the pond along with their Grandson Austin who was hoping that the pond had recuperated from the otter invasion. Not long after arriving for a spring retreat to the farm, DeeDee and Austin ventured down to the pond to try their luck and were pleasantly surprised to find it stocked full of healthy large bluegill. 
Dee Dee Bates and Austin Dabdoub
The Grandson and Grandmother were able to catch over 100 bluegill in the shallows. “He and my bride caught big bream several different ways today. A tiny spinnerbait, a 1/32 oz jig under a cork, and even some Colby Jack cheese that came from his sandwich. They caught them on just about everything,” Bates said. All the fish were released to make new bluegill. “We released all of the fish because most were about to bust from being so full of eggs,” Bates said. With the small pond showing new life Bates and his Grandson plan on stocking it slowly with sac-a-lait that they catch this summer from the bayou.
Austin Dabdoub and Jim Bates
Their recent visit to the farm only adds to the memories that they’ve made already through the years. “It was another great time at our farm which we named "Dragon Flies & Dreams.” Dragonflies, because my wife loves dragonflies which the farm has no shortage of. Dreams, because we’ve always dreamed of having a few acres of land of our own when we didn't have a pot to spit 45 years ago. As the bream move into the shallows Bates said the full moon in April mixed with temperatures in the 80s will be key to sending the bream into full spawn mode.
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 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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Ron Hindman of Slidell joins the NFR Studio to talk about his 11-pound trophy bass he caught in the West Pearl River
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