Thanksgiving Week at The Wall
According to local bait shops and marinas, Thanksgiving week is the #1 week to fish in South Louisiana. And with the colder temperatures and the speckled trout moving to deeper water, there’s one spot that routinely garners a crowd during the week of Thanksgiving — The Great Wall of Chalmette.
Jacob Dean has been fishing Lake Borgne and the surrounding marshes for quite some time but admittedly has never fished the iconic trout fishing destination.
On his latest fishing trip, he decided to venture down the ICW to fish the structure that is on most trout anglers top-5 list of places to catch specks in the winter.
He started his day at 6 a.m. with 25 live shrimp and when he arrived at the wall, he quickly learned how important it is to arrive early. “There were a lot of boats lined up on the wall and down the rocks. I found a spot between a couple of boats and decided to try my luck there,” the Mandeville angler said.
Dean started with a live shrimp on a drop-shot rig and on his first cast caught a 13” speckled trout. The action slowed afterwards so he then decided to switch over to a 1/4 oz. jig-head with live shrimp. Dean said that was the ticket! “They wanted the bait on the bottom and moving slowly. The bite was very soft. Not much more than a light pressure as if it was caught on something. When I felt that I just eased back on the rod and set the hook,” Dean said.
For the next 25 minutes Jacob caught 7 more trout before he ran out of shrimp. “It was almost time for me to head back so I decided to try a hard bait but the only one I could find on the boat was a chrome Rat-L-Trap. I caught two more on the Rat-L-Trap and lost a third before I had to head back,” he says. Dean ended the day with 10 trout but more importantly, a much-needed speckled trout fishing destination to add to his wintertime list.
Big Fish in the Biloxi Marsh
Ross Harmon made a trip across Lake Borgne to the Biloxi Marsh to try and catch some big sheepshead and redfish. He wanted to put his friend, who just moved back to Louisiana, onto some big fish.
The friends were using live shrimp on a Carolina rig and found plenty of action. “We found them in water in the 12’- 20′ depths associated with sharp corners, intersections, and drains,” he said. They were using 17 lb. leaders, but Harmon said it wasn’t enough as some of the fish were breaking their lines. “We definitely needed some heavier leader line because we broke off almost as much as we caught. They were some real freight trains!” Harmon said. The big fish even tested the hooks themselves. “Twice the sheepshead bit the 1/0 hooks flat, pinching the point to the shank,” he said. Ross warns others about the low water that has recently plagued the area. “If you take the Baker’s Canal Route to the South side of the Rocks, beware in Half Moon Bay. It’s really low. I have a little aluminum boat and skip over it like a stone, but one wrong turn had me mudding,” Harmon said.
Tournament Results
The Bass Assassins wrapped up the 2022 season on the Tchefuncte river this past Sunday. The seven anglers that showed up to do battle were faced with tough conditions. Post frontal with a lot of rain falling the day before. The river was high and not too muddy; however the fishing was still tough.
Chris Basey brought in two fish that totaled 4 lbs. 6 oz. to claim first place. Basey also won the big fish pot with a bass that weighed 3 lbs. 3 oz. Jodie Holden took second place with 3 fish that totaled 4 lbs. 3 oz.
It was a tough day for the 22 boats who showed up to fish the Double Nickel Bass Tournament at the East Pearl River. The water was exceptionally high with a stiff wind blowing out of the north. At least half of the field did not catch a single fish. In the end it was Rob Roberts who managed 2 fish for the win. Robert’s bag weighed 7.49 pounds and was anchored by the bog fish of the day; a 6.12-pound fish. In second place was Ralph Dunn who brought in a bag weighing 6.44 pounds. Dunn also won second place in the big bass division with a 3.13-pound bass. Jerry Bullock took third place with two bass that weighed 4.31 pounds.
Upcoming Tournaments
The Double Nickel Bass Club is holding their next tournament at the East Pearl River on Tuesday, Dec 1. For more information, please contact Dwain Crumby at 985-502-6006.
Pearl River Team Trails is holding their next tournament at Crawford’s Landing on Dec. 10. For more information, please contact Charles Dauzat at 985-960-3260.
The next Liars and Lunker’s tournament will be on November 27 at Crawford’s Landing. For more information, please contact Chad Hartzog at 985-502-3217.
(Keith Lusher Jr. writes a weekly column. For more info, visit NorthshoreFishingReport.com.Contact Keith at keith@northshorefishingreport.com.)
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