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Incredible Recovery!
 Keith Lusher
To say that saltwater fishing on the Northshore has improved since July would be an understatement. For a while it was looking as if the Lake Pontchartrain and Borgne fisheries would be dealing with numerous months of recovery to get back to what it normally produces. With the help of some strong southeast winds as of late, the area is seeing a tremendous resurgence in everything from shrimp to shark! Captain Andy Jones of Wicked Charters in Mandeville says he’s been so busy with trips that he hasn’t had time to remember how bad it was over the summer. “We’ve been fishing everywhere from Half Moon all the way to the Causeway! Things seem to be cleaning up really nice!” Jones says. In addition to the increase in speckled trout and flounder being caught this month, Andy says he’s noticing that his clients are catching a wider variety of fish between Lake Borgne and Catherine. “I’m going to start calling our trip ‘aquarium trips’ - we’re catching a little bit of everything! The last two trips we caught 10 different species on one trip and 9 different species on the other,” he says. Jones says it’s exciting to set the hook on something and not knowing what’s on the other end. With the upcoming cold fronts coming Andy says that the transition of trout should move towards the bayous along the Northshore. “The typically progression is from the Lakeshore Estates, Trestles, and the Carr Drive area to Bayou Bonfouca and Lacombe,” Jones says. Another positive sign for saltwater anglers is the return of the flounder. For over 5 years the flounder catches have been minimal but this year we are starting to see numerous flounder being caught on each trip. “We’ve already caught flounder at the Causeway so the flounder look as if they are back,” Jones adds.
 Rafael Santos catches a flounder at the Causeway
Tournament Results Pearl River Team Trails held its tournament at the East Pearl River. 16 teams showed up for the event in which anglers dealt with an incoming tide all day. First place went to the team of Jay Breland and Timmy Dickens with a total weight of 11.0 lbs. Breland and Dickens also won the big bass division with a fish weighing 3.6 lbs. Second place went to the team of Joel Lee and Shane Pope with 9.13 lbs. Brock Fallon and Corey Inscoe won third place with a bag that weighed 9.4 lbs.  Jimmy Dorris
A group of 19 anglers gathered at the Menetre Launch in Covington for the last Tchefuncte River tournament of the year. They were greeted with a pleasant change in the air. Instead of a hot muggy morning it was quite nice. The word at the weigh-in was that in the southern end of the river the fish were plentiful but small. At the end of the day anglers weighed in and small bass was the story of the day with all the fishermen weighing in bags under 10 lbs. Jimmy Dorris was able to put together the heaviest bag. Dorris’ 9 lb. 12 oz. was enough to claim the victory. The Slidell angler has won two Bass Assassins tournaments in a row after winning the Bayou Liberty tournament last month. Right behind Jimmy in second was Will Henry. Will brought in a 9 lb. 8 oz. limit which was anchored with a 3 lbs. 11 oz. kicker fish. Will's kicker was big enough to be big fish of the day. Following in third was Timmy Dickens with a 8 lb. 13 oz. limit. Reese Bennett won the Little Wanglers Division with 1 fish weighing 1 lb. 10 oz.
Upcoming Tournaments The next Liar's and Lunker's tournament will be on September 29th at the East Pearl River. For more information please contact Chad Hartzog at 985-502-3217. The We Heart Veterans Annual Fishing Rodeo will be held on October 5 at The Dock in Slidell. There will be a saltwater, freshwater, and kayak division. Weigh-in will be from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. For more information please visit weheartveterans.org. Bass Assassins is holding its next tournament at Lock #1 in Pearl River. For more information please contact Chris Basey at 985-707-7857. Pearl River Team Trails is holding its next tournament on Saturday, October 12 at the East Pearl River. For more information please contact Charles Dauzat at 985-960-6936. |
 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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Shannon Bordelon of talks about the recent news of Bayou Adventure becoming the official kayak outfitter for Bayou Cane.
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