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Lake Catherine and Pearl River Produces LOWA Fish of the Year Awards for Local Anglers
 Keith Lusher
Two well-deserving Louisiana anglers were presented with the Louisiana Outdoor Writers Association’s Fish of the Year Awards for 2019 at the LOWA annual convention in Morgan City. Each year LOWA honors the anglers voted by the LOWA Fish Records Committee to have had the most significant catch in the previous year in both Rod & Reel and Fly Fishing Divisions.
 Drew Dubuc with his #6 LA State Record
In March, Drew Dubuc caught a 33.90 lb. stripped bass off of a dock along the shoreline of Lake Catherine. That fish placed 6th in the state record books for striped bass in the Rod and Reel Division. The story behind the 8-year old’s catch is what makes it so special. After hooking the fish and reeling it up to the dock, Drew set the pole on the dock and ran inside his families camp to get help from his father. After returning to the pier, the fish was still on the line and the father and son team was able to net it and lift it out of the water.
 Charles Miller is all smiles with 2 white bass caught in the Pearl River
In the Fly Fishing Division, Charles Miller of New Orleans took home the award for Fish of the Year. Miller was be presented the award for his feat of landing a 3.98 lb. White Bass caught in the Pearl River. The fish currently qualifies for a new state record. Charles fishes the Pearl River from a kayak and says on the day he caught this fish he was duck hunting. “I didn’t see a bird in the sky that morning so I decided to go try and catch a few fish in the river,” Miller says.
 Mike's Anise Scented corn kernel worked on this perch
Oil of Anise
Mike O’Brien has been doing a lot more perch fishing since he’s moved to his new home just off of Bayou Lacombe. He’s been fishing from his dock using kernels of corn from the can. “I rig up a couple of poles with sliding corks and bait the hooks with canned corn. That has been working well, but like all fisherman I wanted to find a way to enhance the bait,” says Mike. O’Brien watched a few YouTube videos where fisherman were dying the corn to change the color. Then he saw one that gave him an idea. “What caught my attention was the scents that people were adding,” O’Brien says. The curious angler started with Garlic and Anise Oil. He soaked one can of corn in a ziplock bag of garlic and the other in a bag separate bag of Anise Oil. He then used both under a cork fishing from his dock. “Both of the scents definitely improved the bite but I’ll give the edge to Anise on initial results,” he says. Anise is a popular scent added to artificial lures. It’s also used in foods that we eat such as Italian sausage and baked breads. The oil actually originates from a seed. The seed is grounded much like sunflower seeds and peanuts to extract the oil. In addition to catching perch, the corn seems to be attracting catfish as well. “I caught plenty catfish patrolling the edge of the grass line that ends 3 ft. from the bank. I’m rigging the hook about 18" from the bobber, relax in the lawn chair for a minute or two, then set the hook! I haven’t caught any giants but plenty of good table fair and steady action,” says Mike.  Paul Paille with his tournament winning catch on the Tchefuncte
Tournament Results 24 anglers and one little tangler (kid’s division) gathered to fish the Bass Assassins tournament on Tchefuncte River. Anglers were greeted with fairly high water and an incoming tide. Despite the tough conditions the mood was good as anglers told old fish stories before blast-off. As the sun started to come up over the horizon anglers were already out floating around the launch waiting for their boat number to be called. At blast-off everyone spread out along the river to their first spots. At the weigh-in the story was mixed. 15 anglers out of 25 weighed in fish and a lot of those bags were one fish bags. Paul Paille took home the first place prize for his 11 lbs. 13 oz. limit. Paul also had the big fish of the day with his 5 lbs. 8 oz. kicker. In second was Jay Breland. Jay brought in a limit weighing 8 lbs. 14 oz. Third place went to Jason Pittman for his 7 lbs. 12 oz. limit. Rounding up the top 4 was Matt Jones with a limit weighing 7 lbs. 5 oz. In the little tanglers division we have Reese Bennett taking home the win with one fish weighing 1 lbs. 11 oz. |
 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 newpaper. 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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Keith interviews Chuck Miller on his #1 Louisiana Sate Record White Bass caught on a fly rod in the Pearl River
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Robert Perilloux joins the studio by phone to talk about his trip to the Tulane Rig in Lake Borgne where he caught drums and reds
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Chad Hartzog of Liar's and Lunkers Bass Tournament joins the NFR Studio by phone to talk about the upcoming Kids Fishing Tournament at Lock #1
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Keith interview Peter Bertucci about his recent bass fishing trip on the Tchefuncte River where he found bass busing on shad 30' off of the shoreline
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