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Finessing Fishing on Bayou Lacombe
 Keith Lusher
With the recent Arctic Blast that blew through Southeast Louisiana, bass fishermen who choose to get out on the water may have to adjust their technique to suit the colder temperatures. Corey LaBostrie of Lacombe has and it’s paying dividends on Bayou Lacombe. “These water temperatures are in the upper 40s so it’s definitely a Ned Rig kind of day,” LaBostrie said. On his last trip, he launched his boat at the end of Main Street in Lacombe and headed south. He fished the main canal along the drop-offs and started catching bass, the only problem was they were small. “The first 10 bass I caught I was only able to keep one,” he said.
LaBostrie uses a 4-inch Z-Man Finesse Worm on a Ned Lock hook
LaBostrie was using a 1/6 oz. Ned Lock jig head made by Z-Man. “I like these Ned Lock hooks because they are a lot tougher. I can hold a redfish…I can hold a big catfish…and I can hold a big bass without it stripping out,” he said. LaBostrie was using a 4-inch Z-Man Finesse Worm in the Junebug color. “This is what catches the majority of my bass around this time of year,” he said. I just jig it slow and they were picking it up. I like this Ned Rig set-up with the exposed hook because sometimes you won’t even feel the bite so it’s easier to hook them,” he said.
 LaBostrie caught this bass in Bayou Lacombe near a canal intersection
LaBostrie was slowly raising his rod working the bait on the bottom but said sometimes you don’t even need to move the bait. “That jig head will stand straight up making that worm stand up as well. I like to think of it as just standing on the bottom waving at those bass,” he joked. As he made his way south on the bayou, the size of the fish improved and LaBostrie was able to bring home a 10-fish limit of what he refers to as “Groceries”. Ohhh yeah…there were a few that made the grocery list today,” he said. When fishing Bayou Lacombe in January it’s important to fish both sides of the bayou. “They’ll do that. They’ll stack up on one side near the sloughs that come out of the marsh so be sure to jump to the other side of the bayou if it gets slow,” he said.
New LDWF Secretary Named
The turnstile that is the secretary position at the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries is in motion once again with the announcement by Governor-elect Jeff Landry that Madison Sheahan will fill the position. Sheahan most recently served as director of South Dakota’s Republican Party and she has only worked on legislation relating to wildlife, agriculture, and natural resources in the past. In addition to her lack of experience, Sheahan is only 26 years old which has the sportsmen across the state doubting her ability to lead the department out of its past corruption led by former secretaries Jack Montoucet, Chalie Melancon, and Robert Barnham. Don Flemming of Slidell is an avid saltwater fisherman who is disappointed with the department as a whole and is worried about what he’s seeing with not only the LDWF, but all Wildlife and Fisheries across the country. “These departments are funded by taxpayer money! These people work for us and they have consistently worked to take away our rights,” he said. “The Department of Wildlife and Fisheries is not the same as P.E.T.A. It’s not their job to arbitrarily limit the amount of fish and game that we can bring home after a day on the water or in the woods.” On the surface, Sheahan appears to be an outdoor enthusiast who hunts and has even mentioned taking a look at the black bear population which is starting to get out of hand for deer hunters because of their protected status. For now, sportsmen will have to adopt a wait-and-see attitude. Hopefully, we won’t be seeing another “LDWF Reduces Limit On” story in the headlines this year. 
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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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