Doubled Up Under the Lights
With overnight lows in the upper 60s, the camps are an option for anglers looking to catch speckled trout and white trout. Corey LaBostrie of Lacombe recently made a trip with his father Al, and friend Charlie Nettle, to a camp in the Rigolets.
The wharf was lined with lights making it an attractant to baitfish which were skipping across the surface even before LaBostrie was able to make his first cast. “There was so much action out there under those lights I couldn’t wait to get my bait in the water,” He said.
LaBostrie knew it was going to be a good night when he was retrieving his first cast. Four fish hit his lure at different times. The fourth fish to hit his lure was a white trout. The Lacombe angler was using a double rig with a Triple-Tail plastic shad made by Speck Drum Baits.
On the top hook, he threaded on a Gold Member shad, and on the bottom, he used an Arctic Blue shad. On LaBostrie’s second cast he was reeling in and felt a thump. “After I felt the first fish jump on I let that line dance and that’s when a second one jumped on,” he said. The action was so fast that LaBostrie set his pole down with his line in the water and the rod was pulled into the water. Luckily Nettle was able to cast out and snag LaBostrie’s pole. “When he pulled that pole up I was shocked to see two fish on the other end,” he said.
The friends steadily caught fish from 9 p.m. to midnight. There were several times when the anglers were catching fish at the same time. The friends ended up with an ice chest filled with speckled trout and white trout.
Salty Bayou Lacombe
With the recent lack of rainfall, anglers have been struggling to catch sac-a-lait in Bayou Lacombe because of the saltwater that has worked its way up the bayou. Jim Bates of Lacombe has been fishing in the bayou at least once a week and recently made a trip to see if the saltwater in the bayou had diminished.
He launched at Main St. and tried as far north as the Hwy 190 bridge but couldn’t find anything on LiveScope. “I looked all the way up to the bridge and then checked out Cypress Bayou. I checked several lay-downs in the bayou and the sunken sailboat which usually holds fish but all I caught were blue cats and several small bass,” Bates said.
The Lacombe angler finally made a stop under the Trace Bridge where he was able to locate a few sac-a-lait however they were very shallow because of the heavier saltwater on the bottom. The reason saltwater is heavier than freshwater is because saltwater contains dissolved salt which increases the density of the water, making it heavier than fresh water.
With the recent drought that has built up throughout the summer the rivers and bayous on the Northshore are dealing with saltwater intrusion that looks to continue as dry conditions are forecasted throughout October.
Tournament Results
The Double Nickel Bass Club fished the East Pearl River. It was a comfortable morning for the 29 boats that fished the event. There was a light breeze with a slight outgoing tide. At blast-off, the boats scattered north, south, and west. At the weigh-in it was obvious that there were tons of 11″-12″ fish caught.
Jerry Bullock found the biggest fish and weighed in a 3-fish tournament limit of 6.382 pounds. Bullocks biggest fish was a 3.153-pound bass which took big bass honors. In second place was Joe Frierson with a 3-fish bag that weighed 6.305 pounds. Guy Steigall took third place with 5.875 pounds.
The Bass Assassins fished Bayou Lacombe and 12 anglers showed up to compete. There was a slight chill in the air and the morning was very comfortable with light winds and mild temperatures. In the end, Troy Ladner came out on top with a 4-fish bag that weighed 12.35 pounds. Ladner also caught the big fish of the day: a 3.76-pound bass. In second place was Lacombe native John Seghers who weighed in 5 fish totaling 6.61 pounds. John Cahill came in this place with 3 fish that weighed 4.25 pounds.
Upcoming Tournaments
Pearl River Team Trails is holding its next tournament at Crawford’s Landing on Oct 14. For more information, please contact Charles Dauzat at 985-960-3260.
The Double Nickel Bass Club is holding its next tournament at the East Pearl River on Tuesday, Oct 3. For more information, please contact Dwain Crumby at 985-502-6006.
The next Bass Assassins will be held at Foggy Waters Marina on Bayou Liberty Oct. 1. There is a 7-dollar launch fee at this launch. If you have any questions you can email bassassassinsla@gmail.com or call Chris Basey at 985-707-7857.
(Keith Lusher Jr. writes a weekly column. For more info, visit NorthshoreFishingReport.com. Contact Keith at keith@northshorefishingreport.com.)