What a great month to be a fisherman on the Northshore of Lake Pontchartrain. Speckled trout are schooling up and punishing the shrimp from leaving their cozy confides of the marsh. The redfish bite that dominated the summer fishing season continues to remain strong. Reports of 50+ white trout trips are becoming more prevalent with each passing day. The flounder run is in full swing. Reports of anglers catching sac-au-lait are starting to surface. Limits of bass are being taken up-river in all the major Lake Pontchartrain tributaries. Did I mention highs in the 60’s and 70’s? November is clearly one of the best times to get out on the water so take advantage of the great fishing that the Northshore has to offer this month.
Alan Geunard and Buddy Hereford had plenty of success on the Trestles
Flounder
What is primarily a good speckled trout area this time of year; the trestles have been producing good numbers of flounder this month. Captain Kris Robert has been doing considerably well targeting flounder along the bridge this month. “The flounder are starting to show up on the bridges pretty good right now. We’ve been doing good mid-lake to the north end of the bridge. These are some really beautiful flounder too, those in the 2 ½ to three pound range. I made two drifts on the bridge the other day and we picked up five flounder and they were all big so things are looking good,” Kris said. Matrix Shad in the Avocado color has been the ticket lately. Kris says it’s always a good idea to tip the hook with market shrimp for added scent for a longer bite.
George Seifert and his Lake P doormat
Silver Perch?
What looks like a croaker at first glance is actually a silver perch
Lake Pontchartrain is known for its wide variety of fish caught by anglers every year but there may be one type of fish that you have never noticed before. Slidell angler Alan Guenard recently made a trip out to the East Pearl to do some trout fishing and noticed a certain fish that caught his eye. While in the midst of catching speckled trout and white trout he caught what is known as a silver perch. “They look almost just like a white trout but the mouth is a little smaller and they don’t have any teeth like a white trout does,” Alan said. The fish are more common than you think around the marshes of South Louisiana and fisherman often mistake them for white trout, but these fish can be distinguished by the yellow coloration around their fins. Although silver perch are delicious when fried, anglers might find it hard to keep a fish that tops out at 9 inches.
Causeway
Speckled trout are starting to show up under the Causeway Bridge but anglers are finding it tough to put double-digit tallies in their box this month. The size of these fish all but makes up for the numbers however. Anglers are reporting some of the biggest average catches that they have ever seen in the lake with the average fish measuring 18 inches. If you get out to the causeway keep in mind that the bite has been almost unnoticeable lately so live bait may be a safer bet for those who don’t particularly like too much of a challenge. Your best bet when using plastics is Matrix Shad in Magneto on a 3/8 or ¼ oz. jig head depending on the wind and tide movement. For those of you who target flounder, the Causeway has been producing big doormats along the concrete. Troll the bridge and be sure to cover a lot of water. Fish in-between the concrete poles and up against them to find where the active bite is. When you catch one, hunker down and fish that same spot. These trout are grouped up this time of year and that first fish may be the first of many under the bridge.
Sac-au-lait
John Farley's Bayou Lacombe slabs
Instead of fighting the onslaught of boats heading out of the mouth of Bayou Lacombe to chase trout, John Farley takes a different approach when fishing the bayou. He targets Sac-au-lait farther up-river on Bayou Lacombe. John says typically it’s still a little early for them so it’s a good sign that he is starting to catch them already. “Sac-au-lait fishing is looking good this year. I made two trips and caught 7 fish the first time and followed it up with 21 fish the following trip,” Farley said. The deep water on Bayou Lacombe has always been synonymous with Sac-au-lait fishing, but like other rivers on the Northshore, Sac-au-lait numbers have greatly suffered since Katrina. Things seem to be getting better every year however. This year might be the first that we see numbers like we saw before the big storm. John says evenings have been better for him with the bite improving as the sun goes down. He recommends using a Bobby Garland Mo' Glo in Ghastly Minnow color on a 1/16 oz. jig head.
