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Getting Back to Normal
 Keith Lusher
October is a special month for anglers on the Northshore. It’s the month that we normally see our first cool front. It’s also the month when we normally see the highest salinity in the lake. But for those saltwater anglers who enjoy catching speckled trout, this year has been the opposite of normal. Numerous questions remain as Lake Pontchartrain tries to correct itself and get back to normal.
Forrest Green of Lacombe has been fishing for speckled trout in Bayou Lacombe all his life and says he’s not worried about the lake returning to what it was before the lengthy opening of the spillway. “The Lake has a way of straightening things out. I’ve seen this time after time. Everybody gets all bent out of shape and then before you know it. Everything is back to normal and we’re catching fish again,” says Green.  Green says that the shoreline is loaded with grass patches right now
I made my annual fishing trip with Mr. Green in hopes that there was truth to his statement. We launched at Lake Road in Lacombe and were heading down Bayou Lacombe before sunrise. Normally we would head east and fish the northern shoreline but suddenly Mr. Green took a right and headed towards Goose Point. “Those trout have been moving west and I just want to see how far they’ve moved,” he told me. As we approached the shoreline Mr. Green flipped the trolling motor down about 30 yards away from the shoreline. I grabbed my rod rigged with a pink plastic shad made by Speck Drum on a 1/4 oz. jig head. Mr. Green shook his head and suggested a 1/8 oz. to avoid getting hung up in the eel grass. “That grass is really thick on the bottom and you need to keep that bait just above it,” he said. I heeded his warning and started to cast towards the shoreline. The bait was so thick that I could feel my line running across the mullet as I reeled in my lure back to the boat. After numerous empty hook-sets, I was able to connect with a fish that made a run horizontal to the shoreline. After a quick run that took a little line out I reeled him in and swung our first keeper fish into the boat. It was a 18” redfish. After a few more casts with nothing to show, Mr. Green cranked up the motor and we headed east towards Flatpoint. There were already 3 boats in the vicinity so we took that as a good sign. Much like the first spot, the baitfish was everywhere and it didn’t take long for Forrest to put the first speck in the boat. It was barely a keeper but a good sign. We picked up close to 10 keepers in that one area. It was a grass patch and the mullet seemed to hold to it and so did the trout.
After that spot died out we let the wind pushed us down the shoreline towards Bayou Lacombe. It was slow, but we steadily were putting trout in the boat. 
Forest Green slings a speckled trout into the boat as bait explodes in the background
 Green starts to dance after catching 2 specks in a row
We soon discovered a pattern to catching fish. We noticed when we were casting into schools of mullet we were catching trout. This pattern proved itself one time after another until we were only casting into bait. “It’s a bit of an unusual pattern, it all starts with the grass patches. When we came across those patches of grass it seems like those mullet are holding in there and the trout were in there as well camouflaging themselves with the larger mullet,” Green says.”
Sometimes the bait wasn’t noticeable on the surface but we still could feel the mullet scraping across our lines. We ended the day back at Bayou Lacombe with a box of fish but more importantly, proof that the Lake has made a tremendous recovery and looks to get even better. As the cool fronts continue to pass through the area, the speckled trout bite should continue to heat up. “This is just the beginning. Those cold fronts are coming and these fish are moving west as we speak”, says Green. Tournament Results Bass Assassins held its tournament at Lock #1 in Pearl River. 14 anglers gathered to fish the event. The forecast was for a cool front to pass through during the day which would have made fishing better, but the front stalled out leaving anglers with a windy, sunny day. The fishing was not as good and the weights reflected it as only 4 limits were caught. Jimmy Dorris managed to put together a 5-fish limit that weighed 6 lbs. 11 oz. giving him the win. This is the third Bass Assassins event in a row that Dorris finished in first place. In second was Desmond Champion with 4 fish that totaled 6 lbs. 5 oz. Desmond also won the big fish award for the day with a 3 lb. fish. Eric Ciko took third place with a 6 lbs. 4 oz. limit of bass. 
Jimmy Dorris
Upcoming Tournaments Liars and Lunkers is holding its next tournament at the East Pearl River on October 27. For more information please contact Chad Hartzog at 985-502-3217 Bass Assassins is holding its next tournament at Crawford’s Landing on October 20. For more information please contact Chris Basey at 985-707-7857 |
Northshore Fishing Report in Print!
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 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. Support for NFR is crucial to its growth and I'm always looking for sponsors whether it be for web, radio, or newspaper. 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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