Mild December
With the mild temperatures we’ve seen in December, there’s no reason to expect the great speckled trout bite at the Trestles to end anytime soon. Nick Williams of Ponchatoula made a trip to the Trestles with his father and the team lunched at the end of Lake Road in Lacombe. Nick was using a smoke colored 3.5-inch swim bait Nauti by Nature Bait Company while his father Percy was throwing Matrix Shad in the Holy Joley color. They ended up with 11 trout and one redfish.
Anglers who fish the 5-mile bridge can attest to a particular style of fishing that requires casting along the pilings until a fish is caught then fishing that spot intensely. Williams said this day was no different. “They were all caught along a 100-yard stretch of the bridge,” Williams said.” The highlight of the day was when he set the hook on a large trout. “That thing hit like a tank,” he said. Williams reeled it to the boat and hesitated to flip him in without a net but decided to go for it. The fish went over the gunwale and landed on the floor of the boat. “That was the biggest trout I’ve ever caught out there,” said Williams. The fish measure 20 inches.
Lake Catherine Marsh
Keith Benton of Livingston wanted to take advantage of the hot speckled trout bite at the Trestles but the tide was so strong it made it hard to fish the bottom. Benton and a friend only caught a few trout when the team decided to make a run to the marsh in the southern section of Lake Catherine. That’s where the action picked up. The friends were able to put together a mixed box of 36 trout, 10 bass, 7 sheepshead, and 2 blue cats. They used a mixture of live shrimp and Matrix Shad in the Magneto color.
LDWF Spotted Seatrout Study
The ongoing study of the decline in speckled trout numbers in South Louisiana will continue since the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission voted to delay a decision on spotted seatrout management changes until October 2022.
The adopted motion directed LDWF staff to present updated spotted seatrout data at the February commission meeting, and then at quarterly intervals after that. The motion further encouraged stakeholder groups to provide any information or data they feel is relevant at those public meetings. The current 12-inch minimum total length and 25 fish daily bag limit will remain in place.
Tournament Results
Liar’s and Lunkers fished the East Pearl River in the fourth of five winter series tournaments. There were plenty of bass brought to the scales with 15 of the 17 teams bringing in a five bass limit. In the end it was the team of James Harris and Chad Hartzog who took the win with 14.44 pounds. They also had the days biggest bass which weighed 4 pounds. Second place went to Timmy Dickens and Jay Breland with 12.47 pounds. Finishing a close third was Jim Waller and Peyton Waller with 12.45 pounds. The weights have gone up in the last few weeks since the river system has stabilized.
The Double Nickel Bass Club held their event at the East Pearl River. High pressure and blue bird skies greeted 18 anglers that showed up to fish on this day. The tough conditions were a challenge, but most anglers came in with a 3-man limit. Jerry Bullock ended up in first place with a limit of fish weighing 9.79 pounds. In second place was Ralph Dunn who brought in a 7.73-pound bag. James Harris placed third with 7.44 pounds. Harris also won the big bass division with a 4.56-pound bass.
Upcoming
Tournaments
The Double Nickel Bass Club is holding their next tournament at the East Pearl River on Tuesday, December 14. For more information, please contact Joe Picone at 985-630-4170.
PRTT is holding their next tournament at the East Pearl River on December 11. For more information, please contact Charles Duazat at 985-960-6936.
Liar’s and Lunkers is holding their next tournament at the East Pearl River on December 26. For more information, please contact Chad Hartzog at 985-502-3217.
(Keith Lusher Jr. writes a weekly column. For more info, visit NorthshoreFishingReport.com.Contact Keith at keith@northshorefishingreport.com.)