The September Fishing Forecast has been released at NorthshoreFishingReport.com and among the top spots to fish on the Northshore are Salt Bayou, Bayou Bonfouca, and Bayou Lacombe. While those spots are routine September producers, there were a few surprise areas that look to produce fish more fish than they have in past Septembers.
Salt Bayou
Todd Olaman fishes Salt Bayou often and said, “With a quiet hurricane season so far, the Salt Bayou area is producing good catches of speckled trout, redfish, flounder, drum and white trout.” Another option for anglers is the wharfs along the shoreline that have lighting. These lights along the lakeshore have been producing nice catches of trout both specks and whites. The usual artificial baits are producing but live bait is the ticket in September. “Fish live shrimp Carolina-rigged or free line pogies for best results when the conditions are right,” Oalman said.
Marsh bass are a viable option as soft plastics continue to produce good stringers of quality bass. Oalman reminds anglers to be careful as hunting season cranks up! “The teal hunters will be out mid to late September so be careful motoring in the marsh. Let those guys enjoy the hunt this month,” he said.
Bayou Bonfouca
As the temperatures start dropping, Bayou Bonfouca will heat up in September. Daniel Sissac of Pearl River has been fishing the bayou and said, “The fishing gets more exciting on Bonfouca this month.” In September it’s all about change as the bass will move to shallower water, the shrimp will move out of the marsh, and the speckled trout will start to invade from the lake. When fishing for bass, Sissac recommends concentrating on the grass-line. “A soft plastic, such as a worm or fluke, thrown to the bank and reeled quickly over the grass-line will produce some top-water explosions,” he said. For speckled trout, Sissac recommends targeting the mouth of Bayou Bonfouca as it empties into the lake. “The speckled trout bite in September coincides with the shrimp moving out of the marsh,” Sissac said. “D.O.A. and Vudu Shrimp make excellent choices to throw.”
Bayou Lacombe
Speckled trout and September go hand in hand when it comes to fishing Bayou Lacombe. Mike O’Brien of Lacombe said it’s all about the shoreline in September as the speckled trout will pummel any baitfish or shrimp found along the bank. The bite will excel as the cool fronts start coming in. “As the water starts to cool later this month the trout should move in and feed more aggressively,” he said. O’Brien recommends plastics on the bottom wherever there are patches of eel grass. “Bump Fluke-style baits along the bottom until you find the fish,” O’Brien said.
Causeway
In the past few years, it seems as if the Causeway bridge had been nonexistent as far as producing speckled trout. Don Thomson of Mandeville has been fishing the bridge for years and thinks the worst is behind us. “I’m excited to see what this month has in store,” he said. As long as that spillway stays closed, I think the speckled trout will return.” Thompson had a productive spring at the 24-mile bridge using soft plastics such as Matrix Shad in the Lemonhead color and said he expects the specks to start showing up at the end of September. “I may regret this, but I truly believe that late September and October is going to be lights out at the Causeway,’ he said.
Tournament Results
The first Liars and Lunker’s Fall / Winter Series tournament of 2022 was held at Crawford’s Landing in Slidell. To say that conditions were tough would be an understatement. The West Pearl River was at 15 feet and rising on the Pearl River gauge with the temperature being in the 90’s. The river, which was high and muddy, didn’t give up many limits of bass. Of the 14 teams that participated, only seven weighed in limits. The winning team of Rustin Beaudette and Trevor Truax weighed in a 8.67-pound limit which included a 2.86 pounder that won the big bass division. Second place went to John Pucheu and Roger Mitchell with 8.56 pounds. Third place went to Charles Dauzat and Mark Mohr with 7.87 pounds.
The Double Nickel Bass Club gathered on the banks of the East Pearl River to compete on a sunny morning. The river was high and muddy with a rising tide which made it tough for the 21 anglers who fished. In the end it was Ronnie Roth who came out on top with a 3-fish stringer weighing 5.64 pounds. Roth also brought in the big fish of the day: a 3.07-pound bass. CJ Pichon took second place with a 3-fish limit weighing 5.24 pounds. In third place was Bob Perry who’s 3 fish weighed 4.10 pounds.
Upcoming
Tournaments
The Double Nickel Bass Club is holding their next tournament at the East Pearl River on Tuesday, September 13. For more information, please contact Joe Picone at 985-630-4170.
The Bayou Lacombe Big Bass Tournament is holding their next event on Friday, September 9. Biggest bass wins. $10 per person entry fee. Blast-off is at 5 p.m. at the Main St. Launch in
Lacombe.
Pearl River Team Trails is holding their next tournament at the East Pearl River on September 10. For more information, please contact Charles Dauzat at 985-960-3260.
Florida Parishes bass anglers will be holding their next tournament at the Tangipahoa River at Lee’s Landing on September 11. For more information, please call 225-278-5849.
The next Liars and Lunker’s tournament will be held at Crawford’s Landing on September 25. 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.)