This bridge is like a 24-mile artificial reef that’s holding loads of big redfish right now
The Lake Pontchartrain Causeway has a long history of producing speckled trout in the spring and fall. Not only does the bridge produce numbers, anglers who fish the 24-mile reef know that there’s always a chance to land a trophy trout. But it’s not trophy trout that George Patterson of Folsom is after — it’s trophy redfish!
Patterson was born and raised on the Northshore of Lake Pontchartrain. He grew up off of Lake Road in Lacombe and has been fishing the lake for over 50 years. Patterson said this summer he has been wearing out the redfish under the Causeway Bridge.
“This is the best I’ve seen the redfish bite in quite some time,” he said.
Patterson has been averaging a limit of redfish AFTER sorting through all the bull reds he catches.
Patterson’s pattern
Those familiar with fishing the Causeway Bridge know that there always seems to be a pattern when fishing the concrete pilings. Most use a trolling motor on the outside of the bridge casting underneath. But Patterson jigs the bridge a little differently. He positions his 24-foot Fishmaster underneath the bridge directly in between the 40-foot gap between each set of pilings. Then he casts north and south, in between the 6-foot gaps in between the pilings.
The 62-year-old said the closer you can get to pilings, the better.
“Those redfish are circling the round concrete pilings looking for food,” he said. “Most of my fish come when my lure is close to the piling.”
While his pattern yields redfish, there is one problem that Patterson has encountered.
“When a big bull red jumps on, I have to horse him out of the pilings quick or he’ll break me off when the line rubs against the barnacles on the concrete,” he said.
One of the great things about fishing under the Causeway is being protected from the sun. Patterson said the sun helps gather the reds.
“For whatever reason, those reds are always in the shade,” he said.
Like most places, a good tidal range helps with the bite at the Causeway. Patterson uses the Tchefuncte River gauge to get an idea of what the tides will be doing.
“Dependent on the tide range, and where I’m located on the bridge, I find that the tide will come a bit early on an incoming tide and a little later during an outgoing tide,” he said.
Bridge setup
When targeting redfish, Patterson uses a 6-foot, 10-inch stiff, medium-fast rod paired with a Shimano Calcutta 200B reel. And while the rod and reel isn’t very important, the line that he uses is.
“I used to be able to get away with using 20-pound braid, but now that these fish are getting bigger, I’ve had to up my game and use 50-pound braid because I can’t afford to let too much line out when fighting the fish,” he said.
When working the bait on the bottom, Patterson recommends keeping it as close to the bottom as possible.
“I jig the bait making it hop 6 to 12 inches off bottom — waiting between each motion to ensure the bait makes contact with the bottom,” he said.
When Patterson sets the hook and the redfish is in between the pilings, time is of the utmost importance.
“I can’t afford to let the fish run when he’s inside the pilings,” he said. “I have to haul him towards me fast! I can’t allow it to pop the line by rubbing the line on those barnacles on the bridge leg.”
After exhausting a set of pilings, Patterson moves down to another set of bridge legs.
When it comes to bait, Patterson never chooses artificial over live bait. He uses a ½-ounce long shank jighead and threads on a 3-inch Berkley Gulp Shrimp.
“White, New Penny, Natural and Molten are all colors that work for me,” he said.
Causeway lagniappe
With the new redfish regulations in effect, anglers aren’t able to keep any redfish over 27 inches. Patterson said the bridge has other options this month if you don’t feel like tangling with big redfish.
“The majority of the fish are bull reds, but on an average day under the bridge you can expect a few keeper reds for the box,” he said.
Patterson has also been catching black drum, blue cats and croaker.
For those who have fished the Causeway in the past, the return of croaker to the bridge is another signal that the Causeway is back from being almost non-existent as an option only a few years ago due to numerous spillway openings. Currently, the salinity in Lake Pontchartrain is at 3.5 PPT, which is the highest observed in over seven years.
Patterson said there’s plenty of time to get out and take advantage of the stout redfish bite at the bridge.
“This bite should continue until October and maybe even November depending on how cold it gets,” he said.
