Featured
Fall trout bite starting to heat up along Lake Pontchartrain bridges
Chas Champagne said the trout bite on eastern Lake Pontchartrain could be picking up as cooler weather settles in. […]
Lake Pontchartrain
Inshore Fishing
New line a hit with tinkering guide
When it comes to fishing, Capt. Mike Gallo is kind of a mad scientist. He’s constantly scheming and searching for better ways to do things that have become routine for most anglers.[…]
News Breaker
Good days very near at Lake Pontchartrain bridges
The first cool front of the autumn of 2018 has finally blown through. If you’re a deer hunter, that means your neck just swelled up, and you’re walking around the house rubbing the top of your head against door frames.[…]
Fishing Hotspots
Trout tough – but still doable
If you asked avid Louisiana trout anglers what their favorite month for targeting specks was, you’d be hard-pressed to find a single one that said September. However, that doesn’t mean trout can’t be caught — and after a long hot summer, one of the best places to catch during the transition is Bayous Liberty and Lacombe.[…]
Inshore Fishing
This is brute fishing
“This isn’t finesse fishing,” chuckled Jeb loudly. “We want to get them in.”[…]
Inshore Fishing
Back in the day
Jeb and Tina Ard weren’t always catch-and-release, fish-for-fun anglers. Early in their marriage, the couple, both 43, fished for food. Especially for Jeb, fishing meant eating.[…]
Features
Made in the shade
“I like fish that pull hard, ones that fight. I’m fishin’ for fun,” twanged Jeb Ard in a patented country accent. “If I want to eat fish, we go to a catfish buffet.”[…]
Sidebars
How to rig a drop-shot
Perhaps the most popular way to rig a live shrimp for fishing the bottom is a Carolina rig. It’s been a staple setup for years, and there are still many people who use it today.[…]
Sidebars
Other options for specks
The Lake Pontchartrain Trestles isn’t the only place Capt. John Falterman fishes in June for speckled trout. On calm days, he likes to run out to some of the near-shore rigs, particularly if he’s struggling at the Trestles that day.[…]
Sidebars
Want reds? Head here
One of the most underrated areas in the Lake Pontchartrain Basin is Lake Catherine. Lake Pontchartrain and Lake Borgne receive a lot more pressure throughout the year, but Lake Catherine produces a lot of redfish this time of year, according to Capt. John Falterman.[…]
Features
Get the drop on Trestles specks
The legendary Trestles train bridge on Lake Pontchartrain is loaded with fish — and fishermen — every spring. When the speckled trout bite is super hot and winds are calm, the 5-mile-long bridge often has a boat on almost every piling.[…]
Inshore Fishing
The ol’ croaker hole
Catching a bunch of croakers and frying them up whole is a childhood memory many locals still cherish. Today, it’s pretty much gone because trout and redfish get all the attention.[…]
Inshore Fishing
Proper deep-water anchoring techniques
Not getting a proper anchor set is one of the most frustrating parts of fishing in deep water, both for those attempting to anchor, as well as others in the surrounding boats who are disturbed by it. […]
Inshore Fishing
Can you keep bull sharks?
While many people, in Andy Jones’ experience, fish for alligator gar and bull sharks for the excitement that comes with catching hard-fighting fish with mouths full of big teeth, both species are indeed edible and in fact, delicious.[…]
Inshore Fishing
What’s to use for alligator gar bait?
Striped mullet, that’s what.
This isn’t a finesse, artificial lure fishery. Gar and sharks are big, pug-ugly brutes that are looking for mouthfuls of meat.[…]
Inshore Fishing
Step-by-step: How to clean an alligator gar
Alligator gar are encased with an almost impervious layer of scales made of true bone. Here are 8 steps for how to clean them.[…]