CCA Louisiana to build new reef in southwestern Lake Pontchartrain

Construction on Matherne’s Reef to begin Monday, Oct. 16

Anglers in southwestern Lake Pontchartrain will soon have a new fishing destination, thanks to a reef being built in the St. John Parish portion of the lake by Coastal Conservation Association-Louisiana.

The reef will be named the“Vincent Matherne Reef” in honor of the late Vincent Matherne, a founding member of CCA’s River Parishes Chapter and a life-long outdoorsman and conservation leader, according to a press release from CCA.

The new reef, which will begin being constructed this Monday, Oct. 16, will be located in the southwestern-most portion of Lake Pontchartrain close to where I-10 and I-55 merge, and will be made from approximately 4,000 tons of limestone on the 10-acre site.

Its proximity to Frenier Landing will make it accessible to anglers using a variety of vessels, the release states.

This will be the sixth reef of its kind built by CCA in Lake Pontchartrain in recent years.  The first two Lake Pontchartrain reefs — the South Shore Reef and the Kim and Dudley Vandenborre Reefs — were constructed using recycled materials from the I-10 Twin Spans damaged in Hurricane Katrina.

The St. Tammany Fishing Pier Reef, built in the spring of 2013, was the third by CCA and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries using the same recycled materials.

The Laketown Reef was constructed from 2,000 tons of crushed limestone in 2014 adjacent to the Williams Boulevard Fishing Pier, and the West End Reef was built in 2016 using a combination of limestone and crushed concrete.