Fishin' Game Report: Trout on the Lake Catherine Points!
Frank Davis / Fishing Expert

As Capt. Kenny Kreeger and I backed the boat down the ramp at Rigolets Marina at 6:30 this morning, Meteorologist Laura Buchtel was telling everybody listening to WWL Radio that the weather front which was going to bring us lots of rain, possibly hail, maybe even some severe thunderstorms, and gusty winds was almost a Hammond.

“Alright, Laura!” Kenny talked aloud to the truck radio from behind his boat’s center console. C’mon, Frank! We got an 8-minute boat ride to the mouth of Lake Catherine and we can sneak in about an hour of really good trout fishing before the weather that Laura is referring to sneaks up on us. Park the truck and let’s go!”

He didn’t have to tell me twice. In two pops of a white shrimp’s tail I was stepping off the dock and onto the deck of Kenny’s bay boat. And within the next 30 seconds or so we were putt-putting out of the canal and heading across Rigolets Pass, our live well half-filled with what was probably going to be the last of the white bait shrimp of the season. I hopped atop the bench seat behind the console as Kenny got the boat up on the step.

“Frankie, you’re going to have your show in the can today long before the nasty weather gets to us,” he boasted, “because I’m taking you to the spot where I’ve been workin’ ‘em over now for days on end. The trout are holding on these points for some reason or another and out of every 10 you catch you’ll be able to keep at least 7, which is not a bad percentage of catch-able, keep-able fish.

By the time Kreeger finished is preparatory comments, we were cruising to a stop at the foremost point of the Lake Pontchartrain-Lake Catherine junction. I wasted no time tying on a mini-chugging cork, 18 inches of shock leader, a 1/8 ounce, round, unpainted, lead head jig, and a lively live shrimp. The cast that followed was practically automated, putting my floating offering about 20 yards off the grassline.

“You’re under!” Kreeger yelled to me.

“Already?” I asked.

“It’s not gonna take very long,” he responded. “I’m telling you, Frank, I’ve been on these fish here almost every day of the week and the bites come fast. . .and non-stop!”

In the next 25 minutes, as we hauled one trout after the other over the gunwale, Kreeger explained that the fish seem to be suspended at the multitude of points that jut out into Lake Catherine, right where the two lakes meet. Routinely, they’ve been holding right at 20 to 25 inches deep and feeding best in the early morning and late evening time periods. As mentioned previously, live shrimp has been the entrée on their preferred diet for the past three weeks, but since the bait shrimp season is fast coming to a close fishermen will have to make the transition to artificials that most closely resemble live shrimp—the clear or the smoke-glitter split-tail beetle. Between those and the old stand-by Speculizer, not a whole lot of fishing action should be lost.

“Oh—and I wouldn’t rule out live Cocahoe minnows” Kreeger added. “Even though they’re understandably confused now, these fish know we’re supposed to be in winter and on a winter pattern, so shrimp are supposed to go away and Cocahoes—plus shad, pogies, and finger mullet—are supposed to be taking their place in the food chain.

“In other words, whatever it takes to catch ‘em is what it’s gonna take to catch ‘em! ”

Right about then the first couple of raindrops landed on my forearms.

“Reel ‘em in!” Kreeger shouted. “Laura’s front is only minutes away from giving us a wet butt! Let’s thank the Lord for small favors, let’s get back to the marina, and let’s put the boat back on the trailer before things get wet and windy here.”

And that’s what we did, y’all! It was 7:45 am when we coasted back up to the backdown at Rigolets Marina. It had been just a little over an hour and there were now 29 really nice trout in the ice chest.

If you’d like to fish some of those Lake Catherine trout spots with Capt. Kreeger, all you have to do is call him at either 985-643-2944 or 985-960-3068. He’ll continue to charter all winter long. And based on what we did today, he’ll probably catch trout all winter long, too.

Have a very Merry Christmas. See you again right before New Years!

Frank Davis