Target grasslines along the shores of Lake Pontchartrain and Lake Catherine
Fishing technology, and the latest new-fangled rods, reels, hooks and electronics, seems to constantly change in the angling industry.
But one thing that remains pretty consistent is the areas fish reside in — it seems like the fish hold in the same locations each year.
One place that isn’t true, however, is Lake Pontchartrain. The fish have seemingly made a change on where they are in October, according to Capt. Kris Robert.
“In years past, October used to be a great month with the World Series trout,” he said. “Lately, our winters have been a lot less (cold). In previous years, we would start getting those fronts in early October that would push those fish on the bridges.
“Now, it’s in November before we find those fish on the bridges,” he said.
So, what do you do in October?
Robert focuses mostly on the shorelines in Lake Catherine and Lake Pontchartrain that have grass on the edges.
“If you get right up on the shoreline, you’ll see the shoreline, and then you’ll see a grassline,” he said. “Those fish will be right on the backside of the grass, so when you make that cast, you don’t want to be exactly on the shoreline because you’re going to be up in the grass.”
Robert drifts the shorelines throwing popping corks with Matrix Shad underneath them. He prefers a 24-inch piece of heavy, 30-pound monofilament for his leader.
“When you pop that cork a couple of times, it brings the bait up in the water column, and you want that line to fall as slowly as possible to keep it in the strike zone, so when that fish sees it, he has ample opportunity to strike it,” he said.
There are many shorelines with grass on them, but finding another key ingredient will make Robert stop at a certain one.
“Once those shrimp start skipping across the water, you definitely want to concentrate in that area,” he said. “You don’t have to see 50 shrimp skipping; you just need to see three or four shrimp, and if you see that, those fish are there.”
