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Search Gulf Coast Fisherman's Web Site Past articles, specific places or fish, etc.	Lake Borgne to Pontchartrain Redfishing Under the Gaze of "Old One Eye" by John Felsher	CURRENT MOON lunar phases
	Copper-colored water stretching across several acres churned as if disrupted by a storm, but no such weather phenomenon touched the lake at this time. This "storm" came from ravenous redfish moving through "the Middle Grounds" of Lake Pontchartrain devouring mullets, pogies, shrimp and anything else they could gulp. "Redfishing in the fall is phenomenal around the Rigolets and Lake Pontchartrain," explained Greg Schlumbrecht with To Fish Charters (985-960-1709, www.tofishcharters.com) in Slidell, La. "I've seen schools of bull reds turn the lake orange. When they come through like that, they'll eat anything that moves. We normally find them because of all the baitfish jumping out of the water or the birds diving. It's crazy. Sometimes, we might fight one redfish for 45 minutes and catch them until our arms turn into noodles." Situated north of New Orleans, Lake Pontchartrain covers 483,390 acres. Roughly 41 miles long by 24 miles wide, "da lake" averages 10 to 14 feet deep, but some dredged channels drop to more than 40 feet deep. Pontchartrain connects to Lake Borgne, really a 162,505-acre bay off the Gulf of Mexico, through two deep, narrow passes.
In 1699, Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville, founder of the French Louisiana Colony, ventured into Lake Borgne, named for the French word for "one-eyed." He discovered the two passes and named one the Rigolets. "Rigolets" comes from the French word "rigole" meaning "trench" or "gutter." Thinking he found a major river instead of just another marshy pass, Iberville dubbed the other pass "Chief Liar," or Chef Menteur in French. He named the lake connected to the passes after Louis Phélypeaux, the influential French Minister of the Marine, better known to history as Comte de Pontchartrain. From late August to about mid-November, monster redfish in the Gulf of Mexico head closer to shore to spawn in various passes. They lay their eggs on an incoming tide so currents carry the developing fish into the marshes. Juvenile redfish grow in the marshes for three to six years before heading offshore, but not all of them go back to the Gulf. "No all redfish move out into the Gulf," explained Mike Gallo of Angling Adventures of Louisiana (877-4AAOFLA, www.aaofla.com). "I think they move out into open water, like Lake Pontchartrain and Lake Borgne. I've caught big bull redfish one after another in inshore waters of the Rigolets in early summer. One year, I caught about 60 in three days along the shoreline of the Rigolets. Some people catch bull reds by trolling along the bridges in the spring." In the fall, migrating redfish in the 20- to 40-pound class supplement the local population as bulls move through Lake Borgne into Chef Pass and the Rigolets before entering Lake Pontchartrain. Anglers often see them terrorizing baitfish in the Middle Grounds of Lake Pontchartrain. This includes the area between the Rigolets and the Chef and Interstate 10. For reds feeding on the surface, throw very large topwater plugs. "When the bull reds come into Lake Pontchartrain, we ride around looking for big seagulls and pelicans diving," said Kenny Kreeger of Lake Pontchartrain Charters (985-643-2944, www.lakepontchartraincharters.com.) "When we see big gulls and pelicans diving, that's the place to fish. The schools move quite fast. I run my boat into them wide open, grab a rod and cast. After we land the fish, we start looking for the birds again. They might be half-a mile away. Then, we do it again." With little other cover on the generally featureless lake bottom, the bridges spanning the lake can provide good cover. During a strong tide, fish the backside of pilings that create slack pockets in the water flow. Redfish use these pockets to ambush passing baitfish driven by the tides. Drop a live shrimp on a Carolina rig or a drop-shot rig just upstream from the pocket and let the tide carry it into the eddy. Also called the Twin Bridges, Interstate 10 crosses Lake Pontchartrain from Slidell on the north shore to the Irish Bayou area on the south shoreline. The bridges first opened in 1965, but Hurricane Katrina severely damaged it in 2005. One new span opened in 2009 and the second one opened in 2010. Generally parallel to I-10, the U.S. Highway 11 bridge dates to 1928. A nearby railroad trestle dates back to 1884. At the center of the lake, the Causeway spans 24 miles across the widest part of Lake Pontchartrain between Mandeville and New Orleans. Old railroad bridges also cross Chef Pass and the Rigolets near where it enters Lake Borgne. A new span of U.S. 90 opened in 2008 and crosses the Rigolets near where it hits Lake Pontchartrain. A U.S. Highway 90 bridge dating back to 1930 still crosses the Chef. "The Rigolets can produce a lot of good fish," Gallo explained. "The old railroad bridge over the Rigolets is always productive. Since the Rigolets is such a confined area, the tide can really run through there. People have to pick times when the water is not moving too fast. The tide change from incoming to outgoing or during neap when there's small tidal movement is a good time to fish the Rigolets." Rocks between Irish Bayou and the Chef can also attract big reds. The bayous and marshes between Irish Bayou and the Textron Canal can hold good fish. As weather turns cold, many redfish drop into the deeper manmade canals. "When I need to go looking for redfish, I normally hit the dead-end canals off Lake Pontchartrain like Geoghegan Canal or the waterfront subdivisions like Venetian Isles, Lakeshore Estates and Eden Isles," Schlumbrecht advised. "Most of these canals run about 10 feet deep, but ledges come out from the shoreline. I fish the ledges with a 3/8-ounce blue moon Deadly Dudley. The reds are usually right at the drop, not in the shallow part or in the deep water." The marshes along the Intracoastal Waterway between the Rigolets and the Chef and those around Lake St. Catherine can produce good action on smaller redfish. However, some holes in deep passes hold big bulls. Unknown Pass and associated waters link Lake Borgne to Lake St. Catherine. Big bulls sometimes cruise the Lake Borgne shoreline between the Rigolets and the Chef. Many people fish the shorelines with live shrimp under a popping cork or free line live baitfish over deep holes. "All the passes that bring water to and from Lake Pontchartrain can be highly productive," Gallo advised. "In the fall, when the shrimp migrate out of Lake Pontchartrain into Lake Borgne and on to the Gulf of Mexico, the mouths of the passes and their tributaries make great ambush points. Bob's Bayou and the Bayou Platte area have many ponds full of redfish." In the other direction between the Rigolets and the Mississippi state line, the Pearl River delta feeds a fertile marsh loaded with redfish. Pearl River flows out of central Mississippi, forming part of the Louisiana-Mississippi state line. North of Slidell, the river divides into West Pearl and East Pearl. West Pearl carries the bulk of the flow through southeast Louisiana wetlands while East Pearl continues down the state line. The two main rivers further subdivide into numerous other interconnected streams, creating a rich, wetland labyrinth. Near Slidell, West Pearl splits into West Pass and East Pass. West Pass flows into the Rigolets itself. East Pass flows into Little Lake, a shallow estuary separated from Lake Borgne by an island. East Pearl flows into Lake Borgne on the state line. Fed by the nourishing flow of the Pearl River system, this delta marsh creates a mini-version of the redfish heaven found near the mouth of the Mississippi River below Venice, La. Some better places in the Pearl River delta include Lower Black Bayou, Upper Black Bayou and Johnson Pass, but any small tributaries draining into the main channels can produce good action. Not as affected by severe weather, these marshes and ponds can offer anglers excellent places to look for redfish when churning storms render the large lakes impossible to fish. "In the Pearl River delta, a lot of anglers catch redfish with bass lures," Schlumbrecht said. "All the little sloughs that flow out of the marsh into the main river channels are phenomenal for redfish in the fall. That area is full of baitfish. Fish the marsh on a falling tide. Redfish wait at the mouths of sloughs looking to gobble up anything that comes out of the marsh." Like bass, and often in the company of bass, redfish hide in the grasses bordering the major river channels. While the main channels may drop into deep water, a shelf usually extends 10 to 20 yards out from the shoreline. Weeds grow on these shelves, making outstanding ambush places for redfish - and largemouth bass depending upon the salinity. Run spinnerbaits, buzzbaits or buzzing frogs across the top of submerged weeds. In the deep river channel holes or next to channel drops, fish live finger mullets or cut bait on a Carolina rig. Whether chasing bull reds in open water or tempting slot spot-tails with bass tackle in the marshes, the lakes and wetlands between Slidell and New Orleans provide anglers nearly unlimited fishing opportunities. From launches in St. Tammany Parish on the northern shore of Lake Pontchartrain, along U.S. 90 and in eastern Orleans Parish, anglers can begin fishing numerous honey holes in minutes. Top: Capt. Mike Gallo - Angling Adventures Lower: Capt. Kenny Kreeger - Lake Pontchartrain Charters - Category 5 Outdoors [ Articles | Home ]