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Surprise at the Rig!
 Keith Lusher
Rob Gibbs of Slidell has been fishing the Lake Borgne area for the past 30 years. On his most recent trip he decided try and find some redfish. He launched at Chef Pass with 50 live shrimp and made his way to what he calls a dependable spot in Lake Borgne. “For the past couple of years the rocks along the shoreline in Lake Borgne has been pretty dependable for putting a limit of redfish in the box,” Gibbs says. But after a half hour of fishing the rocks Rob’s ice box was empty.
 Rob's fish cleaning station maxed out with catfish
He decided to make a run to Bayou Bienvenue. Rob tried artificial and live shrimp but couldn’t manage a bite in the bayou so he made his way to the Wall. The deep water in the MRGO is a popular destination for trout around this time because of the warmer water temperatures on the bottom. “I fished deep with shrimp, I fished deep with plastic, and I just couldn’t get a bite,” Gibbs says. As Rob fished he noticed boats running back and forth. He knew they were having a hard time locating fish so he decided make a run as well. “After having no luck at all I thought to myself ‘I’m going to run out to that rig and if for no other reason just to see what the water quality looks like out there,” Rob says. The rig was off of Alligator Point and when Rob pulled up he says the water was flat calm and the fog was lifting. “I was just going to throw the spot-lock on and cast out and grab a beer - pretty much just sit a drink a beer,” the unsuspecting angler says. Rob casted out near the rig and before he could grab a beer he felt a thump on his line. “As soon as that line hit the bottom I felt that bump, bump, bump on my line and thought ‘you gotta be kidding me!” Rob laughs. He set the hook and reeled it in. “I thought it may have been a redfish but it’s not pulling hard enough, it might be a trout but it’s not acting like a trout, and when it broke the water I thought it was a gaff-top,” Gibbs says. After getting the fish into the boat Rob quickly identified the fish as a freshwater catfish. “At least he eats!” Rob jokes. He put the fish into the icebox, put on another shrimp on his drop-shot rig, and casted out. After the weight hit the bottom Rob says another fish hit. He reeled it in with the same results. Rob says he stayed in that one spot and caught 25 catfish ranging from 1.5 lbs. to 3 lbs. “As fast as I put a shrimp on and threw out - I had another fish on! It got to the point where I broke the barb off of my hook because taking the fish off the hook was slowing me down,” says Gibbs. After running out of shrimp the bite stopped and Rob could barely get the lid closed on his 70 qt. ice chest. After returning home Rob cleaned the catfish and bagged the majority of the fillets for the freezer but fried a few for the family that night. “That had to be one of the best tasting fried fish I ever tasted,” says Rob. 
Wildlife Refuge Fee Proposal The proposal to charge visitors a fee for daily usage to numerous Wildlife Refuges across Southeast Louisiana including Bayou Sauvage, Big Branch Marsh, and Bogue Chitto Wildlife Refuges will be open to public comment beginning December 9, 2019 – January 9, 2020. The proposal would make fee changes effective September 1, 2020. All of the collected fees will be used to maintain and promote visitor amenities on 9 Southeast Louisiana Refuges. The US Fish and Wildlife (Service) at the Southeast Louisiana National Wildlife Refuges Complex (SELA) is accepting comments on the proposed fee structure for the initiation of refuge user fees. SELA is interested in hearing from the public affected by the changes proposed and is requesting public written comments. Comments should be submitted to: Project Leader Southeast Louisiana National Wildlife Refuges Complex, 61389 Hwy 434 Lacombe, LA 70445. All relevant comments and additional information will be reviewed and considered before a final decision is made on the implementation of the proposed fee structure and permit processing. All comments and recommendations, including names and addresses, will become part of the public administrative record. |
 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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