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Slammin' Sam Who Fishes From Land
 Keith Lusher
There are numerous species of fish that come to mind when we think of someone who fishes from the bank. Catfish, perch, and sometimes even bass. But when it comes to speckled trout, few fisherman can manage to put together a nice box of fish or even catch one for that matter when fishing without a boat.
Sam Coco Jr. lives in the Oak Harbor Subdivision in Slidell and fishes the neighborhood canals daily. He says this past summer was the worst he’s seen in the canals that wind through the neighborhood. “I can’t remember another time when I’ve seen such bad fishing around here,” he said. Fast forward to the current month where Sam says “This month so far is the best November I’ve had since fishing here.” The drastic change in assessments can be accredited to the phenomenal resurgence of Lake Pontchartrain this fall.  Sam is all smiles after his best day in November ever!
On his latest fishing trip Sam says he was in no hurry to get to the water due to the frigid temperatures that blanketed the area. “The day started out very cold and windy with a wind chill on Northshore of about 20 degrees. So I caught up on some work around the house and ran a few errands,” says Sam. After finishing his errands he made his way to a nearby canal close to his house and started to cast. He was using a Matrix Shad in the Ultraviolet color on a 3/8 oz. jig head. After 20 minutes Sam was close to giving up when BAM! “A speck slammed the lure - and I do mean slammed! There was nothing timid about this strike!” he says. He started reeling in the fish and within seconds had his first fish of the day flopping in the grass - a 17” speckled trout.
Sam hurried and casted out again and felt a similar bite but missed it. “My 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th casts produced 2 more specks and 2 more misses. I kept casting and alternated misses with catches until I had 8 specks laying on the ground and 1 flounder,” Coco says. The bite died as quick as is started so Sam moved to another spot in the canal and picked up 2 more trout that measured 16” and 17”. Sam ended the afternoon with 10 trout and 1 flounder. Sam says he’ll be back out again for as long as the fish stay in the canals in Oak Harbor. “I don't know how long it's going to last but I'm going to ride this pony as long as it’s here!” he jokes. 
 a 2-man limit of bass out of Bayou Bonfouca
Bonfouca Bassin’ Daniel and his father Roger, made an afternoon fishing trip to Bayou Bonfouca. The team left at 2:30 and only had a few hours of daylight to fish. They motored down the bayou and found a small cut with water pouring out. As they casted, Daniel was perplexed as to why they weren’t catching anything. The day before the bass were there and He felt sure that a repeat was in order. “We didn’t even get a single bite!” Daniel says. The father-son team made a move to another cut that was close enough to using the trolling motor to get to. Daniel was throwing a plastic worm and started catching bass on nearly every cast. Roger, however struggled and after Daniel put a few bass into the boat he decided to switch things up. “After ‘someone’ made a small tweak in his lure selection, we were both catching fish!” Daniel jokes. The next two hours they worked the shoreline with plastic worms and finished by dark with a limit of bass. Daniel recommends targeting submerged grass along the shoreline in the main bayou. “The one thing that is the key to finding the fish is the grass. It seems that most of the bass were either in the grass or just outside of it,” he says. With the colder temperatures Sissac says to let the worm sink down near the grass. He describes is technique - “I usually throw to the bank and work the worm from the shoreline to the outside of the grassline. Once it gets just past it, I let it sink and sit for a couple seconds. If I don’t get a hit, I reel it quickly back to the boat and repeat.” Tournament Results Pearl River Team Trails held its tournament at the East Pearl River and 11 boats showed up to compete. The team of Dwain Crumby and Steve Hadley finished in first place with a 5-fish bag that weighed 9.12 lbs. The Crumby and Hadley also won the big bass division with a 3.9 lb largemouth bass. Second place went to Jesse Drame and Albert Dobson with who brought in a bag wishing 8.2 lbs. John Pichou fished solo and placed third with 7.10 lbs. of fish. 
Dwain Crumby and Steve Hadley
Upcoming Tournaments Liar's & Lunker’s is holding its next tournament at the East Pearl River on November 24. For more information please contact Chad Hartzog at 985-502-3217. The Double Nickel Bass Classic will be held at the East Pearl River on November 29. The tournament is open to all anglers over 55 years of age. $20 entry fee. For more information please contact Joe Picone at 985-630-4170. Pearl River Team Trails is holding it’s next tournament at the East Pearl River on Saturday, December 14. 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 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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The speckled trout bite at the train bridge aka the Trestles is hot right now. Captain Andy Jones of Wicked Charters joins the NFR Studio to talk about the recent temperature swings and the speckled trout bite at the Trestles and Lakeshore Estates. The NFR Studio is an exclusive feature of NFR Premium. Sign up today!
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