South Louisianan’s are never at a loss when it comes to attaching nick names. So it’s no surprise when one of the most elaborate, technically engineered, flood protection structures built in the history of this great state was tagged with a simplistic, yet iconic name- “The Great Wall of Chalmette.” Add to it the fact that the area holds speckled trout and you have yourself one bonafide fishing destination.

I had the pleasure of fishing this amazing feat of architecture with Luke O’Neal and Devin Ricks. The team has been fishing this area for a few weeks and has been consistently putting quality fish in the boat. I left my house in Abita at 4:30 and was shocked to see how quickly I arrived to the launch. What I had planned on taking over and hour turned into a 45 minute ride. After a quick boat ride down the Intracoastal Waterway we arrived at our destination.  As we idled up to the mammoth wall I glanced down at the sonar and pointed out to Luke the water temperature of 65 degrees. To which he replied “Perfect”.  With the fog rising off of the water and the sun peering over the marshy horizon, I knew we were in store for a good day. Luke threw the trolling motor down and before the boat trusted forward Devin and I had bounced our 3/8 oz. jig-heads off the concrete and into the water. As we both worked our lures on the bottom Luke Joined in and with a swing and a miss, the excitement escalated amongst us. There we stood, three anglers on edge just waiting for that first fish to signal the start of the frenzy. The boat rocked softly and with the slight creek from his drag Devin announced “there he is!” 

A few casts later Luke swung, the hook stuck, and within 5 minutes we had two fish and more importantly, proof that the specks were here!  We trolled that wall up and down for the better half of the morning monotonously picking up speckled trout as we slowly figured out the strike pattern. 

“When the specks hit the lure on the rise it’s hard to get a good hook-set because you can’t load up on them. Your pole is up at ten o’clock and you can’t rear back any more. What I’ve been trying to do is keep my rod lower to the water, that way I have better leverage when I set the hook,” Ricks said. That technique seemed to work and by the better half of the morning we had a full box of big, beautiful, speckled trout. O’Neal says the wall is where the big fish are. “Every once in a while we will venture off into Bayou Beinvinue and the marsh but we always seem to catch the bigger trout in the deep water along the wall,” he says. Luke also reminds anglers that the fish are now in transition so you will have to work for them.  “Right now the water temperature starts out in the early 60’s in the mornings then it hits the upper 60’s during the day so it’s got the trout in transition mode. Some are deep and some are shallow. We found out today that the deeper ones seem to be the bigger trout and most of our smaller fish were shallow,” O’Neal said.

Tournament Results                      

River Champs held their tournament on the Tchefuncte River and it was Scott Andrews who came out on top with a stringer weighing 7.48 lbs. Scott also won the big fish award with a largemouth that came in at 2.68 lbs. In second was Paul Paille who total was 6.63 lbs. Darren Welch and Shawn Hartman’s 2.32 lbs. was good enough to tie for third place.

Liars and Lunkers held their tournament at Lock One and it was the team of Tommy Cooper and Clay Zeringue that led the way with 7.44 lbs. They also took big bass honors with a 1.73 lb. largemouth. Second place went to Tim Polk and Mark Creel with 2.67 lbs. In third place were Korey Inscoe and Tim Bennett with 1.57 pounds.

The St. Tammany Bass Club held its tournament on Bayou Lacombe and only two anglers were able to bring in fish.  James Clairion managed to weigh a 5-fish stringer totaling 5.49 lbs. In second was Kevin Williams with 4 fish that weighed in at 3.63 lbs.



Upcoming Tournaments

The next Liars and Lunkers tournament will be December 14th at Lock One. For more information please call Chad at 985-502-3217.

After a mild October, the first stern cold front of fall has pushed through dropping water temperatures into the upper 60’s in the rivers and bayous across the Northshore. Now is the time for anglers to take advantage of some outstanding fall fishing that November has to offer.  Mixed boxes of speckled trout and bass have been the theme for October and that will continue into this month as long as the shrimp stick around to keep the battle lines blurred. Mandeville resident Will Henry recently made a trip to Bayou Liberty where he not only caught a limit of bass but also found some specks mixed in with the action. Henry launched out of the Bayou Liberty Marina at daylight and started looking for batfish. “As I idled under the bridge there was no sign of bait on the surface and just a few disturbances on the Lowrance so I turned around and started down river. Finally, I found the shad near some run-offs. I caught a few rat reds, and a 15 incher, then a 19" trout,” Will said. After a few smaller trout, Will says the bass moved in and he quickly found himself with a limit.

Chris Daniel and Jimmy Brown recently made a trip to Bayou Liberty but decided to try fishing from the bank. “I decided to go over to the Bayou Liberty Marina Boat Launch and try fishing from the bank near an area where I caught several specks on a trip in my Father-in-law's boat last Week. That turned out to be a wise choice. Jimmy and I proceeded to put 16 – 12 to 14 inch specks in the box in the next three hours and threw back about a half dozen undersized ones,” Daniel says. The team was using live shrimp under a cork and says “We tried getting them to bite on a DOA artificial under a cork but wasn't getting much - Just a couple of nibbles with none taking it hard enough to set the hook,” he said. 


Bayou Bonfouca

Ponchatoula resident Lawrence Lemoine made a trip to Bayou Bonfouca with his son and says the action on the water was intense. “We got to our first spot and while we were waiting for first light we could hear fish crashing bait.  As the light began to filter from the east, we could hear more and more fish crashing and when we were able to see we saw that the bass were wreaking havoc on shrimp with multiple fish chasing each one. It was hard to maintain focus on one target when there were so many targets to cast too!” Lemoine said. The father-son duo had their 2-man limit by 8 am and Lawrence says there’s a ton of bait in the bayou.  “I saw more shad this weekend than I've seen in a while - schools after schools!  Bass should be nice and fat next month with the bait they are eating now,” he says.  Lemoine recommends switching over to a lighter line because of the water clarity in the bayou right now. “The water is so clear you can see in spots six to eight feet down. I could watch the fish follow my lure and never hit the bait with the heavier line. We could see some really big bass but couldn't get them to bite for nothing. We then switched to smaller fluorocarbon and the hook- ups went way up.

 As the day went on the team started working their way back toward the launch and ended up picking up 18 specks with 9 of them being keepers.
 

 

 

Tournament Results

Bass Assassins held its final tournament of the year at Crawfords landing and it was Jason Pittman who came out on top with a 5-fish bag that weighed 12 lbs. 7 oz. Jimmy Dorris won second place with a limit of fish weighing  11.9 lbs. Jimmy also caught a 14.4 lb. bass which earned him the big fish award. In third was Morgan Schutte with a limit that weighed 10.10 lbs.

River Champs held their tournament on the Tchefuncte River and it was the team of Scott Andrews and Ricky Benitez who came out on top with a limit weighing 7.79 lbs. In second was Darren Welch who weighed in a total of 6.11 lbs. Shawn Hartman won third with a total of 5.52 lbs.

 

Upcoming Tournaments

Florida Parishes Bass Anglers will be holding their next tournament in Manchac on November 9th. Launch and weigh-in will be at the public launch below the I-55 bridge. For info on membership please contact Kevin Williams at 985-502-6146.

What is arguably one of the best months to fish on the Northshore, October has presented anglers with a multitude of absolutely beautiful days to fish. The National Weather Service provides a monthly summary for each month and October of 2014 is shaping up to be one for the record books.  In October we have seen only 3 days in which it has rained here on the Northshore, giving anglers a vast area of clean water to fish. Add to an average of 75 degrees and 6.6 MPH winds and you have what is shaping up to be our best month of fishing this year.

Biloxi Marsh
Anglers who are willing to make the run across Lake Borgne are reaping the rewards this month. Buddy Hereford and his wife Sue, recently made a trip into the marsh and says that he knew right away they were going to catch fish by the shrimp in the water. “The shrimp were jumping for their lives out there. As soon as the bait hit the water the cork disappeared!” he said. Hereford has been fishing this area all month and says the specks are definitely getting bigger. “Sue made a nice throw to a point and after a couple of pops of the cork BAM - drag puller on! I heard her yell ‘Nice red!’ but when it got close to the boat the red turned into a speck! After a great landing net job a 20” speck was flopping around the floor. The fish were a little bit bigger this week so fewer throwbacks made the box look better in a hurry,” Buddy said. Buddy and Sue ended the day by 2:00 with a 50 speckled trout.


Bayou Lacombe
Lacombe resident Dennis Smith made a fishing trip to Bayou Lacombe and quickly figured out what the bass wanted. I started off throwing a Chug Bug but there were no takers, so I switched to a Rapala Minnow and hooked up on my first cast!” Smith said. Dennis ended the day with 30 bass and says the water on Bayou Lacombe is beautiful right now. “The best part about today was that I saw half the strikes - the water was crystal clear!” he said.


Shorline Reds
Redfishing has been off the charts this fall and Daniel Sissac and his father have figured out what to look for when targeting the bronze beasts. “We trolled the shoreline in morning until we found the first school of bait. We made around thirty casts without a bump. I said ‘I think I may know what is wrong,’ and pulled up the trolling motor. We ran the shoreline until we found a school of mullet,” Sissac said. Daniels decision to follow the schools of mullet was a good one. “We made a cast into the school, and I got a red almost immediately. My dad was working his lure and I saw the mullets part. Then my dad's rod bent over - we had a double! We caught a few more out this school then ran to find another. We had to do some running, but we finished with seven reds and one trout,” Daniel said.

 

 

Tournament Results
Kevin Williams and Todd Stein won the Florida Parishes Bass Anglers Tournament on the East Pearl. The duo brought in a 5-fish limit that weighed 10.25 lbs. The team also won the big bass award with a beautiful 3.40 lb. largemouth. In second place were Morgan Schutte and Clay Zeringue who brought in an 8.39 lb. bag. The father and son team of Jason and Trenton Pittman took third place with a weight of 7.95 lbs. 

Bass Assassins held their tournament on Bayou Lacombe and it was Jimmy Dorris who brought in a 5-fish limit weighing 8.13 lbs. to take first place. Dorris also won the big fish division with a bass that tip the scales at 4.12 lbs. Jared Norris won second place with a limit that weighed 6.10 lbs. Zack Zimmerman placed third with 4 fish that weighed 4 lbs.

 

Upcoming Tournaments

Florida Parishes Bass Anglers is having their next tournament in Manchac on November 9th. Weigh-in will be at the public launch beneath the I-55 Bridge. For information on becoming a member please contact Kevin Williams at 985-502-6146.

Bass Assassins will be holding their last tournament of the year at Crawford’s Landing on November 2nd. For more information please call Chris Basey at 985-707-7857.

The next Liars and Lunkers tournament will be November 2nd on the Lock One Canal. For more information please call Chad Hartzog at 985-502-3217.

The Lake Pontchartrain Northshore Open Fishing Rodeo will take place on November 1st and 2nd at The Pontchartrain Yacht Club in Mandeville Harbor. For more information please contact Vaughan Sollberger [email protected] or Kaia Williams at [email protected].

To most fishermen, flounder are considered a bonus fish.  Not many anglers set out to catch them but when they do, it’s considered lagniappe.  John Zeringue made a trip out to Bayou Liberty and it was those “bonus fish” that actually made the trip worthwhile.  John and his father launched at the Bayou Liberty Marina and it didn’t take long for them to put their first doormat in the boat. “As we were idling out, the depth finder started pinging fish right in the first curve. With plenty of surface activity I decided to shut the motor down and start fishing.

 I first picked up a Zara Puppy and worked it top-water for a few casts then decided to switch over a Victory Red Shu-Shu on a 1/8 oz. Trokar jig head. Three casts in I felt steady pressure on my line that wouldn't let go so I decided to give it a quick jerk. I was either going to pull the bait out of whatever it was in down there or set the hook on a fish. Well it turned out to be the latter. After a short fight I put a good 3 lb. flounder in the boat,” John said. Next the team put a speckled trout in the boat but then John says he hooked the big fish of the day. “I made a cast with a Vortex Shad across a little grass point and was greeted with a heavy thud on the line and then solid pressure as the fish started swimming away from me with my bait in his mouth. I set the hook and the fight was on! It was a short fight, but it ended with me netting a nice 4 lb. flounder,” John said. They ended the day with mess of flounder and John says the big flounder produced more than enough meat by itself. “The big one netted me 4 nice big fillets. I think I got just as much meat off of that flounder as I would have with a few barely legal specks,” he said.

 

Artificial Reef Trust Fund

Anglers across southeast Louisiana will have the option to for or against Amendment 8 in the upcoming election on November 4th.  The proposed constitutional amendment on the November 4th ballot would give special protection to money for a long-running state program that turns decommissioned oil rigs into artificial reefs. David Cresson is the executive director of Coastal Conservation Association of Louisiana and says that it’s important for fisherman to vote yes on Amendment 8 to prevent money in the Artificial Reef Trust Fund from being diverted to other areas of the state budget. “We are losing habitat at an alarming rate so the protection of this fund would help us to maintain some of that habitat or even build new habitat as we do with these new inshore reefs we’ve been building. It’s very customary for people to look at the list of amendments on the ballot and vote no down the list. We would ask that you take special time to take a look at Amendment 8 and vote yes on it,” David says. Cresson also makes a point to stress that this is not a new tax. “This is not tax dollars. We are not asking the tax paying public to create another fund. These are dollars that come from oil and gas companies through a special arrangement with the state where instead of removing rigs from the water they are able to leave them out in the water, put them in permitted reefing spots, then take half the savings they realize from not having to bring them back to land and give that money to the state, “he says.


Tournament Results

It was the team of Blaine Williams and Steve Abney that took first place in the Pearl River Team Trails Tournament on the Pearl River. Williams and Abney managed to bring in a limit of bass weighing 11.10 lbs. In second was Tony Cooper with a 5-fish bag that weighed 11.6 lbs. Cooper also won the big fish award with a lunker that weighed 3.8 lbs. Brett Sellers and Jason Pourciau took third with a total of 10.11 lbs.

Jimmy Dorris won the Bass Assassins Tournament on Bayou Lacombe with a 5-fish limit weighing in at 8.13 lbs. Dorris also managed to win the big fish division with a bruiser that weighed 4.12 lbs. Jared Norris won second place with a total of 6.10 lbs. Zach Zimmerman brought in 4 fish that weighed 4 lbs. even and won third place.


Upcoming Tournaments

The Second Annual UP21 Fishing Rodeo will be held on Saturday, November 1st at Bayou Adventure Bait Shop in Lacombe. For more information please call Cole Landry at 985-778-7788.

The next Liars and Lunkers tournament will be November 2nd on the Lock One Canal. For more information please call Chad Hartzog at (985) 502-3217.

The final Bass Assassins Tournament will be November 2nd at Crawfords Landing.  If you have any questions please call Chris Basey at 985-707-7857.

Every year around this time we see something strange happen in the world of speckled trout fishing on the Northshore. One tributary mostly known for bass fishing gets inundated with speckled trout. If you recall, last year we saw schools of speckled trout in Bayou Liberty as far upriver as St. Genevieve Church. This was brought on by a healthy dose of southeast winds that piled the water up into the bayous for a solid month. It seems history has repeated itself this year as anglers are seeing those same winds push the saltier lake water into these predominantly freshwater tributaries.  Last year it was Bayou Liberty. This year it’s Bayou Bonfouca!  Denham Springs resident Ronald Pierre has been mauling the bass in the Bayou and wanted to put his son Peyton on some fish. The team launched out of Heritage Park and almost immediately started putting bass in the boat.” We hit one of the areas where I found fish on my last trip and they were still stacked up under shad schools. On one of his first casts Payton hooked up with a small keeper. While Payton battled his fish I snuck in a cast with a jerk bait and we quickly doubled up. The action was fast and furious for the first hour or so in the morning.  As we looked up from battling fish we noticed that the whole area was teaming with schooling bass that were breaking baitfish. There must have been 100 bass or more breaking the surface at once!” Pierre said. Ronald says the fish were so thick that there were bass trying to take the lure from the fish they were reeling in. “I made a long cast for him and gave him the cranking rod. He started cranking then the rod doubled over. I thought for sure he had another good fish but when the fish surfaced we saw two heads! 

Payton started yelling "I got two of them!" he battled the duo to the boat and I helped hoist them over the rail. We high fived and celebrated his first double on one lure. It was awesome to see my son do that and hear him talk about it all day,” Ronald said. The father and son team picked up over 25 bass in the first hour of their trip. Then Ronald received a text a neighbor who was in another boat. “My neighbor texted me and told me that they had found some specks to the north in Bonfouca near Heritage Park. I couldn’t believe that the specks were that far north so I went to investigate. As I pulled up to them they were doubled up with keeper specks. They told me that they were working on a solid limit of specks using jerk baits. I motored across to the pumping station and notice fish on my sonar unit. I dropped the trolling motor and notice fish bunched up in the deep hole near the station. I grabbed the drop shot rod with my last few Berkley Gulp Shrimp and I dropped it down to the fish on my sonar,” Pierre said. On his first cast Ronald reeled in a keeper speck and soon the team was putting speckled trout into the boat instead of green trout. Ronald says that the key to locating the trout was to find the well-defined drop-offs  and hard bottoms. “Those hard bottoms hold heat so the shad relate to those areas to stay warmer and the specks use that opportunity to feed on them,” He says.

 

Tournament Results

In a tough tournament day on the Tangipahoa River Kevin Williams was the only angler able reach his 5-fish limit in the St. Tammany Bass Clubs latest tournament. Williams’ limit weighed 8.81 oz. and he won first place. He also won the big fish award with a 3.45 kicker.  In second was Derrick Paternostro with 4 fish weighing in at 4.13 lbs. In third was Paul Paille who manages 2 fish for a total of 3.13 lbs. 

Bass Assassins held their tournament on the East Pearl and it was Jimmy Dorris who took home first place with the only limit of the day. Jimmy’s five fish weighed in at 6.1 lbs. In second was Gene Perrilloux who brought in 3 fish that weighed 5.10 oz. in third was Patrick Engerran who weighed in 4 fish at 4.12 lbs. Joe Picone won the big fish award with a beautiful 3.15 lb. largemouth.

Bobby Newberry won the River Champs tournament on the Tchefuncte with a 5-fish limit weighing in at 11.20 lbs. In second was Kyle Hills with 8.15 lbs. Scott Andrews took home third a total of 8.02 lbs.

 

Upcoming Tournaments

Bass Assassins is holding their next tournament October, 19th on Bayou Lacombe. For more information please contact Chris Basey at 985-707-7857. 

River Champs is holding there next tournament on Sunday, October 12 on the Tchefuncte River. For more information please call Scott Andrews at 540-450-9556.

Florida Parishes Bass Club is holding their next event on the East Pearl River on October 19th. For more information please contact Kevin Williams at 985 502-6146.

The Second Annual UP21 Fishing Rodeo will be held on Saturday, November 1st at Bayou Adventure Bait Shop in Lacombe. For more information please call Cole Landry at 985-778-7788.