Anglers who fish along the Mandeville Lakefront can catch both saltwater and freshwater fish
When it comes to overlooked fishing spots, the Mandeville Lakefront stands as a hidden gem among some of the Northshore’s more popular options. While most visitors flock to this scenic stretch for recreation — bike riding, evening strolls, or tossing Frisbees — few realize they’re passing by prime fishing territory.
The Lakefront, which was primarily designed as a community gathering place, has developed a second identity as a productive fishing destination that local anglers have begun to take advantage of. Those willing to look beyond first impressions discover these waters hold surprising potential, proving once again that Louisiana’s fishing opportunities extend far beyond the obvious locations.
Mandeville harbor
Hayes Rivault lives 5 minutes away from the Lakefront in Mandeville and has been fishing the area for over 15 years. When asked about all the spots to catch fish by the lakeshore, Rivault began running down the list.
“Prestressed canals, Fontainebleau, Sunset Point, the wave breaks, Bayou Castine,” he said.
But Rivault’s favorite spot to fish is Mandeville harbor on Jackson Avenue. The harbor boasts a deep channel guarded by long concrete wave breaks and features a fishing pavilion along the bulkhead. The pavilion is located on the edge of the boat launch parking lot.
Rivault has always been able to catch speckled trout at certain times of the year in the channel, but his best trip came this past fall when he launched his boat and made a run all the way to Bayou Lacombe, which is 15 miles east. Rivault’s plan was to start at the mouth of Bayou Lacombe and work his way back to the harbor, fishing the shoreline.
“We fished all over the marsh and didn’t even get a bite,” he said.
The team called it quits at around 10 a.m. and began idling into the harbor. As they were nearing the bulkhead near the fishing pavilion, Rivault’s brother-in-law started messing around.
“Reid tossed his jighead out right in front of the pavilion, and BAM — I turn around, and he’s flipping a 15-inch trout in the boat,” Rivault said.
The team quickly put down the trolling motor and spot-locked it. In one hour, they managed to go from an empty ice chest to a loaded one by catching a 4-man limit of 60 speckled trout.
“People were coming in from fishing all over the lake that morning and stopped to fish once they saw us catching,” Rivault said. “At one point, there were four boats and 4-5 people casting from the bank and the pavilion.”
Rivault said it was quite the scene as everyone was catching trout.
The seawall
As summer sets in, sharks and jacks become more plentiful in Lake Pontchartrain. And while Rivault considers them trash fish, he always makes time this month to engage in a few battles with these bruisers. On his latest trip, he was fishing with his friend, Kevin Russo. They wanted to beat the heat so they got an early start and were fishing by 6:15 a.m.
The friends were using steel leaders with cut mullet on their hooks. Rivault admits he wasn’t expecting much, but his reservation turned to excitement when he saw his rod bending.
“It only took 20 minutes before some small taps turned into a bowed rod,” Rivault said.
His rod was resting against the concrete wall that divides the land from the water when the fish hit.
“I don’t recommend doing that, as I almost lost my rod,” he said.
Rivault thought it was a large catfish at first but then spotted something that gave the shark away.
“I saw a breached fin in the water just beyond the breakwater jetties,” he said.
After a 5-minute fight, Rivault reeled the 4-foot shark in close enough for his friend to reach over and net. As Rivault landed the shark, a crowd gathered.
“I’m unhooking the shark and answering the generic questions from people who were passing by,” he said. “Then I hear ‘Hey — you know you’re about to lose your other rod?’ My rod was slowly getting pulled over the seawall by another shark as I was holding the one I landed just moments before.”
Rivault admits that it’s all in fun but said the Lakefront is a great option to bring the kids to let them experience catching a big fish.
“They are thick out there!” he said. “I highly recommend getting out there with the kids this summer.”
Ravine aux Coquilles
While the lake provides plenty of saltwater options, there are also plenty of spots where anglers can catch bass.
Oliver Hotard of Covington has been fishing the Lakefront for a few years and has a routine that he engages in when fishing in the area. The 13-year-old has a 7-foot cast net that he uses to catch live bait.
“I like to walk the seawall and scan the water for activity,” he said. “Most of the time, it’s mullet that break the surface, and I’ll cast on top of them.”
When Hotard spots mullet away from the seawall, he simply walks out on the concrete wave-breaks that extend out from the seawall. Hotard rigs the mullet on a Carolina rig and casts as far as possible. He has caught redfish and speckled trout on occasion but most of his trips turn to bass.
When bass fishing, he uses a 3-inch NLBN Paddle Tail Swimbait and starts at a narrow canal surrounded on both sides by a concrete wall. It’s called Ravine aux Coquilles, which translates to “shell ravine.” This small natural bayou is identified in the earliest maps of Mandeville, long before the development of the city. The bayou forks into two separate canals, which stretch to Monroe Street.
Hotard begins at the lake and works his way to Lakeshore Drive and into the woods where the bayou narrows.
Prestressed canals
Another fantastic bass option is located near Sunset Point in Mandeville. It’s called “the Prestressed Canals.” The name comes from the Prestressed Concrete Products Company, which was incorporated in January 1957, a year after the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway was built and opened for business. The concrete for the bridge was made on-site and floated out on barges to the bridge where workers would lift the pieces into place with a crane.
There are two canals that feed into one, which connects to the lake. These canals are lined with concrete walls, making them easy to fish from. In addition to the great bass fishing, the deep canals also hold plenty of blue catfish.
On Hotard’s latest trip, he rigged two poles with chicken livers on a Carolina rig.
“I cast out into the middle of the canal and loosen the drag so if a fish bites it can take the line without pulling the pole into the water,” he said.
After setting the poles up, he began walking the concrete wall that borders the canal. Hotard was making horizontal casts along the shoreline when a 2.5-pound bass gulped down his NLBN Paddle Tail. The sandy-haired youngster reared back and set the hook. Since he was standing on the concrete wall that stood 6 feet above the water, he knew he would have to get down to the bass because it was too big to pull up.
“I worked him over to where the wall ended and jumped down on the bank by the water,” he said.
With one hand pulled back with the rod, he reached out with his other hand and lipped the fish, lifting it up out of the water. After a quick picture, Hotard released the bass.
As summer sets in, fishing along the Mandeville Lakefront will only improve. Early mornings and late evenings will be your best bet. Whether you’re casting from the pavilion, the seawall, or the concrete wave breaks, the Lakefront offers anglers a quick option to catch both saltwater and freshwater fish — just make sure you hold on to your pole.
