The speckled trout fishing in the Lake Pontchartrain area was at its best in November. Fishing in the lake at the trestles, the Pearl River, Rigolets, MRGO, ICW, and Lake Catherine will be great in December as well. I have been taking customers fishing from the Pearl River to the great wall of Chalmette, and areas in-between. Catching limits and near limits of speckled trout. We had several days in November that we returned with over 100 trout. Each time from a different area. Live shrimp from Rigolets Marina on a drop shot was deadly the first part of the month. We had days when you could not get a bite on artificial bait, but if you tossed out the shrimp, it was fish on. Toward the end of the month, artificial baits such as ghost minnows or H&H sparkle beetles in chartreuse or avocado on a 3/8oz jighead started catching as much as live shrimp. Fishing for speckled trout at the trestles has been hit or miss, due to the abundance of shrimp still in the area. Once the shrimp completely move out, the trestles will be more consistent. I’m usually starting at the trestle though since it is only 2 miles from the dock. If we go 15 minutes without a bite, we’re moving to the next best area. If we arrive at the trestle and the boats are starting to stack up at the bridge, I won’t give it a minute. I’d rather keep moving and find an area with plenty of fish and no other boats. Since the water temp is well under 65 degrees now, the bass are beginning to grow eggs and group for the spawn. Catching numbers of them is easy right now and will be until sometime in February when the water temp gets back to 65 degrees. Just a few days ago I had a customer on the front of the boat catch 20 bass in a short time, while his friend was on the back of the boat catching speckled trout every cast. Catching redfish around Lake Pontchartrain will get even better when the water temp drops into the low 50’s. The redfish will then be on the mudflats on sunny days looking for an easy meal. With a healthy population of speckled trout, hungry bass, and redfish, this is a good time for our fishery. December fishing in New Orleans will be a great time to be on the water. If you’d like to do some catching, give me a call.
