Lak P Troll vs. Lake P Trout

TEAM JO-JO:

Met up with a very old friend and HVAC industry legend — Bob Veitinger with Carrier. Bob and I go way back, decades deep into the world of chillers, coils, compressors, and air flow calculations. But today wasn’t about units and ductwork — it was all about rods, reels, and Silverwonders.

Bob was my first mate for the day, and he had one thing on his mind: experiencing the Lake P troll technique firsthand. No better place to showcase it than along the iconic 5-mile reef known as the trestles, a favorite haunt of the late and great Big Bud (aka Eastofmrgo’s, R.I.P.) — a true master of the Lake Pontchartrain game and one of the finest to ever chase fish under those pilings.

We launched the Bay Flat Jr, Yamaha Nightmare Machine humming like a well-oiled Carrier compressor. The lake looked promising — calm enough for a steady troll, with just a light chop and that slight breeze that tells you it's either gonna be a banner day... or one heck of a lesson.

As we eased along the trestles, I walked Bob through the art of the troll — boat angle, speed control, line length, and most importantly, how to feel your rig bouncing right in the strike zone. I reminded him of the golden rule: “If you're not playing Russian roulette with the pilings, you're probably not where the fish are.” And sure enough, after a few bumps and hangs, Bob’s rod bowed over and the drag started singing — his first Silverwonder of the day!

From there, we got into a rhythm — sharing old HVAC war stories between bites, laughing about jobs gone sideways, and just soaking up the magic of fishing with an old friend on familiar waters.

It was a day that reminded me: friendships built on job sites and sales calls can turn into lifelong bonds, especially when you throw in a few fish, some brackish air, and the spirit of Team Jo-Jo.

SIGNS:                            

·         Me no fish at card game, me more like shark, up .95 of “C” note

·         Me had a problem with me balance , me was bouncing off walls trying to walk around and stay up-right, went to doctor gave me some pills been taken them but still a little dizzy .

§  On water no problem, fish on who dizzy!

·         Got home around midnight, went to bed around 1 AM, up at 6 am for 7 am meet up,. Big Bob does not like getting up early.

·         Up at 6 am, prepped Bay Flat Jr for trip

·         No wildlife  sightings

·         Big Bob was waiting for me, backed Bay Flat Jr down

·         3 pulls Yamaha Nightmare Machine fried right up

·         Off to trestles to start our fun day of fishing.

CONDITIONS:

·          Perfect

·         Wind, S. 4-5, S.S.E. 9-10 mph

·         Water status / conditions: Little ripples, slight chops

·         Sky, sunny & clear

·         Temp, mild, warm, hot!!!!!!

·         Water level, down 12-14”

·         Water Temp ,  73.8 F

·         Salinity,  4.5

·         Specific Conductance 7190 

·         Pressure,  30.09 R

·         Water clarity on a scale of 1-7, 6 plus

·         Mississippi gauge: 14.66 ‘

·         Caernarvon Outfall: 601 ft3/s

·         Tide, falling all morning

·         Peak tide, 08:41  L  .26’

·         Peak tide,  23:24 H .89’

·         Major Feed Time: 07:36 / 19:54

·         Minor feed time:   02:38 / 13:35

·         Tidal Coefficient:   49

·         No Loons

·         Lots of bait in water

·         Fish Activity

·          Average Aactivity  e

·         Boats out and about,  30-25

·      ONEOFTHEPACK’S REPERTOIRE OF TECHNIQUES / STRATEGIES      

·         Be safe.

·         Have fun.

·         This is me daily therapy for ALL me aliments.

·         Put some run time on the Bay Flat Jrr and the Yamaha Nightmare Machine

·         Gather Intel for future trips, and to share with fisherperson, (on Facebook) to help assist them in their choice of areas to fish, lures to use and presentation of same to the elusive Silverwonders.

·         Catch what catch can.

·         Learn what learn can.

·         See fi BIG girls still around

·         Try trolling trestles

·         Bring some fish for Big Bob 7 his friends

·         Find a spot  # with the seven fundamentals / criteria of catching:

1 WIND AT YOUR BACK: (Not a factor, kept us cool this morning)

2 MOVING WATER: (Had plenty falling it be, good feeling about water movement)

3 WATER CALRITY: (6 plus, looking really good it be)

4 HOLDING FISH:  (FB-2 to FB-5)

5 PATIENCES: (In honey hole at 7:20, 7:20:35 had a Flounder in boat, action steady all day)

6 SKILL: (Lake P Troll technique / presentation)

7 LUCKS: (Being able to make trip come through for Big Bob & Oneofthepack)

·      Oneofthepack’s repertoire of Techniques / presentations:

·         Anchor up cast & retrieve slowly along the bottom, with a twitch every now and then, tight lining…………………………………DID NOT TRY

·         Drift with the wind cast & retrieve (DWWC&R)……………DID NOT TRY

·         Oak River Troll (ORT)……………….Did not try. 

·         Reverse Oak River Troll (RORT) ………..DID NOT TRY

·         Oak River Skim (ORS) ……………DID NOT TRY

·         Cork ……..DID NOT TRY

·         Lake P Troll (LPT)…………….All fish caught with this technique!!!

·         Drop shot: Did not try.

·         Dead bait……None

·         Live bait………………None

·      Oneofthepack ‘S repertOIRE of LURE DU JOUR:

·         3” H&H Purple Beetle, matched up with H&H ¼ oz. round white head with gold hook……………Did not try

·         3” Chartreuse Glow Beetle, matched up with H&H ¼ oz. round white head w/gold hook………….Did not try

·         Matrix Shad Lemon Drop, matched up with H&H ¼ oz. round white head w/gold hook……………Did not try.

·         Matrix Shad Lemon Drop, matched up with H&H 3/8 oz. round white head w/gold hook……………DID NOT TRY

·         Matrix Shad Lemon Drop, matched up with H&H 1/2 oz. round white head w/gold hook……………DID NOT TRY

·         Salt Strong Power Prawn (added 10-25-24) matched up with: Did not use:

§  1/16 oz:.

§  1/8 ox:

§  ¼ oz. jig head :  

§  3/8 oz. jig head :    

§  Tandem Rig:           

·         Matrix Shad Lemon Drop, matched up with 3/4 oz. round lead head w/ 2 trailers, ……All  fish caught with this lure / rig.

·         Tandem rig, ¼ oz. round H&H jig head with gold hook, matched up with Matrix Shad Lemon Drop …..Did not try.

AREAS / SPOTS / NUMBERS ON THE MAP FISHED:

Lake P FB-2 to FB-5 westside

OUR REWARDS:

·         Lived too fish another day.

·         (21) Silverwonders, 11 Miniwonders

·         (1) NMR missed ta boat, Big Bob still learning how to flip them in boat

·         (2) NMR hung me up on bottom trash. Lost both along with trolling rig

·         (1) NMR tried the same game re hang up on trash, but me worked to catch him and get him the box.

·         (2) railroad rocks

·         (1) BIG live clam

·         (8) hang ups lost 5 rigs, getting to be expensive at that

·         (1) old fishing rig with wire leader

·         Lunch with Big Bob at Southside, best bites we had all day, thanks for lunch Big Bob

·         Being on the water with one of the best fisherpersons me know that be Big Bob

·         Lessons learned:

§  Silverwonders along trestles; FB-2 to FB-5 west side

§  Big girls where scats

§  The nursery was open today for business, we educate many on what to don’t bit on.

§  Fisherpersons like Lake P had many boats on water

·         Best fishing trip of my life, until the next one.

FISHERPERSON OF THE DAY:

Big Bob did a bang-up job for his first time ever doing Lake P Troll, lead the divisions in clam, railroad rocks, that other person lines that they lost and found, lost big NMR at boat, caught a few flounders, and even managed to land some Silverwonders, Flounder. Got extra points for buying lunch,, but all this was to know avail, he fell a little short for honors today. But me know next time it will be different as he will be practicing his Lake P Troll technique on his area that he be fish.

Oneofthepack was just Oneofthepack, me was all over the flounders & Silverwonders, me take honors today.

SUGGESTIONS:

Gus is just out of Lake P Troll components; suggest you get over there and buy what you need before all be gone.

PONDER OF THE DAY:

"You must lose a lure to catch a Silverwonder."

Q&A:

Any questions for Team Jo-Jo Fishing Curriculum Session????????????????????

TEAM JO-JO’S future stratagem:

Back at them in AM Big Rudy & Oneofthepack will be trying our luck with the Lake P Troll technique.

Good Fishing

Team Jo-Jo & Oneofthepack

釣り先生

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