In Search of Backyard Trout

  Every year around the beginning of fall the speckled trout start their transition back into Lake Pontchartrain, and every year I am anxiously awaiting their move to the extreme west.  At least far enough west for me to be able to check my daughter out of school early, hit the water, and come home with a bag full of vittles.
About 3 weeks ago the trout started showing up in the Lacombe area, and while they are there, they aren't piled up yet.  This past week, the bait fish started making appearances on the Mandeville lake front, and the Jacks have been exploding off the banks of the sea wall.  So at this point, the trout have made it into the Rigolets, into Lacombe, and now into Mandeville, the next stop on the trout train should be the Causeway and then the Tchefuncte.  If we continue to get some east winds blowing the salt water west, and some north winds keeping the north side of the lake clean, it shouldn't be long before my after work "honey holes" start paying off.
So, this weekend I decided to call a few friends and go test the waters inside and around the Tchefuncte River.  This area is only 8 miles from my house, and less than 4 miles from my daughters school, so you can imagine why I get excited around this time of year.  Friday I grabbed my girls off the bus and headed to the lake front to check the water clarity and to see if I could taste any hint of salt near the launch, and of course to let my girls climb dirt hills and have rock throwing contest.  Unfortunately the water tasted like it just came out the tap, but that doesn't always matter, its not like my taste buds are a scientific salinity tester, the trip was planned, the wind was right, and my hopes were high.
As 5 a.m. rolls around, Craig shows up at my house and we head south.  We are met at the launch by Mike, also known as Ole Yeller, or lately you might as well call him James bond, because he's been missing in action for nearly a year now.   We unload and start beating the banks and drop offs of the Tchefuncte River while keeping our headlights pointing toward Lake Pontchartrain.  As we are working top waters of every sort, and jigs of many colors and weights in the darkness, I finally get hooked up.  Not really a hook up, I thought I had some grass hung on my Skitterwalk that turned out to be the runt of runts in the largemouth bass world.  A few minutes later, Craig lands another bass in the pound range, and at this point, I knew it was time to move into the lake.  After all, we are in search of speckled trout, not green trout.
As we make it into the lake, the sun begins to fill the sky with an awesome show, the wind is calm, the air is cool, and the water is in the mid 70's.  Fish or not, this was going to be an awesome day.  We made our way off the shore line, on the shore line, around sunken cypress tree stumps, and petrified blow downs where everywhere.  It was a place that would make your skin crawl if you were running an outboard motor, especially being the water clarity was in the 4-6 foot range and you could see every shell and twig lining the lakes floor.  I can't remember the last time I saw the lake this clear in September.
I was finally blessed with a blowup, that I mistook for a giant spec, on my top water, and when the beast finally showed, it was a healthy 32'' red.  Even though we hadn't been there long, this fish definitely revived the group and we all got refocused on the task at hand.

The day continued slow, but thankfully we were all able to land fish, bull reds, rat reds, and bass, but no trout.  The good thing is that the conditions are getting right.  It's just a waiting game right now, but when the specs show up, you can bet I will be there.
Specs around the Tchefuncte can be finicky, they will show up in groves and in good weight numbers, but then as quickly as they show up, they will disappear, and they won't be back again until next year.
I couldn't have asked for a better crew to spend time on the water with for my first fall outing, great sunrise, cool weather, we all landed fish, and we all shared a few laughs throughout the morning.  And on top of it all, we were loaded up and back at the trucks for 9 a.m. and headed home to spend time with families.  So if you're looking for weights and numbers on the North shore, get ready, because timing is everything, and that time is getting closer every day.

Until Next Time,
Stay Safe & Catch1