Before the Great Storm That Shall Not Be Named, Highway 11 was known as the lunker producer in eastern Lake Pontchartrain.
That’s no longer the case, and Capt. Kris Robert thinks he knows why.
“Basically, what happened when the storm came, it knocked a lot of rocks off this track,” he said. “It created an artificial reef down there.”
During the course of the trip, Robert snagged a rock, and it was clear the man knew what he was talking about. The rock, which otherwise matched the ones on the surface of the train bridge adjacent to the tracks, was covered with new life.
“You see the oysters growing on it and all the barnacles?” Robert pointed out. “There are probably millions of them that run along here. And basically, these fish are just attracted to that artificial reef.
“That’s what’s making the Trestles better than Highway 11 and the Twin Spans at this time.”