Season Closure for Fall Flounder
The fall flounder run on the Northshore is going to look a little different this year. How different? Very different! Like non-existent. For the first time in history Southern Flounder will be off limits according to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. For some anglers the news comes as no surprise as flounder catches have dwindled in the past few years.
According to LDWF the season closure is necessary to attempt to recover the stock of Southern Flounder, which is overfished based on results from their most recent flounder stock assessment. While most anglers agree that there’s a definite problem when it comes to the flounder population, many aren’t so quick to go along with the departments categorization as the problem coming from overfishing. Chip Clement of Loranger is one angler who doesn’t blame the problem on overfishing.
“I personally don’t think it’s being overfished. I think the decline in flounder in southeast Louisiana is a direct result of the Deep Water Horizon oil spill,” Clement said. “At the time of the oil spill I was catching 2 to 8 every trip, but after the spill I couldn’t find a flounder anywhere and that was before the record spillway openings.”
The closed season will last six weeks stretching from October 15 to November 30, 2022 and will last until 2028. The closure covers all sectors and all gear types including any flounder caught as a bycatch in any other fishery.
“The annual closed season in the fall will allow mature female flounder to escape inshore waters and move offshore to spawn. This closed season is projected to create a 50% reduction of harvested mature female Southern Flounder. The closed season is an attempt to help the stock recover to a healthy biomass target by 2028,” said Rene LeBreton of LDWF.
Tournament Results
The Tchefuncte River was the site of the last Bass Assassins tournament. With all the rain in the afternoons folks were concerned with the river conditions; surprisingly the river was low and only slightly stained at the Menetre Park Boat Lunch in Covington. Down river in Madisonville, it was near clear. This provided the 15 anglers who came out to fish with some great fishing. Timmy Dickens and Karry Terrebonne both weighed in an 8-pound bag; however, Terrebonne’s big fish was larger than Dickens’ giving him first place and Dickens second. In third place was Chris Basey with a 7 lb. 7 oz. limit. Jodie Holden won the big fish division with a 4 lb. 12 oz. chunk.
The Double Nickel Bass club fished the East Pear River. At blast-off most anglers headed north instead of heading south to the marsh. There wasn’t much water moving and the fish seemed to be buried up, possibly from the fish feeding during the full moon. In the end it was a group of disappointed anglers who weighed in. Ralph Dunn beat out the other 15 anglers in the end with a 3-fish limit weighing 8.67 pounds. Joe Frierson took second place with a limit that weighed 7.05 pounds. In third place was CJ Pichon with a limit weighing 6.45 pounds. Pichon also caught the big fish of the day: at 4.35 pounds.
Upcoming Tournaments
The Bayou Lacombe Big Bass Tournament is holding their next event on Friday, July 22. Biggest bass wins. $10 per person entry fee. Blast-off is at 5 p.m. at the Main St. Launch in Lacombe.
The next Bass Assassins will be held at Bayou Lacombe on August 7. If you have any questions, you can email bassassassinsla@gmail.com or call Chris Basey at 985-707-7857.
The Double Nickel Bass Club is holding their next tournament at the East Pearl River on Tuesday, July 26. For more information, please contact Joe Picone at 985-630-4170.
Pearl River Team Trails is holding their next tournament at the East Pearl River on August 13. For more information, please contact Charles Dauzat at 985-960-3260.
Florida Parishes Bass Anglers are holding their next tournament on the East Pearl River on August 14.
Liars and Lunkers is holding their classic tournament on July 31 at Lock One. This is a tournament for all the anglers that fished at least three of the five Spring/Summer Series tournaments. Anglers can fish either side of the lock and we will fish until noon. Food and drinks will be served at weigh-in. For more information or to confirm if you have qualified, 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.)