Lake P west wind challenge

Stanley Fink
12 hours ago
6 min read

TEAM JO-JO:

🌅 Team Jo-Jo Recon Mission – Lake P Trestles, July 9, 2025

Today’s journey brought Big Rudy & Oneofthepack to familiar waters – Lake Pontchartrain and the Trestle – driven by the growing curiosity about whether the BIG (NMR) Silverwonders are still hanging around the bridge.

The plan was hatched earlier this week while assisting Big Alex get his boat to the mechanic. With our curiosity peaked and weather/tide lining up right, we locked in the trip:

🕔 Rendezvous: 5:00 AM at The Pointe🚤 Vessel: Bay Flat Jr🎣 Tactic: The Lake P Troll – a slow, steady troll from the north drawbridge out to mile marker 175, then back and forth along the stretch.

Our mission was simple but focused:

· Scan for signs of the NMR Silverwonders

· Assess water clarity and bait activity.

· Document any Loons, shrimp pop, or current lines.

· And of course, put a bend in the rods if the Silverwonders are feeling frisky.

SIGNS:

· Productive Tuesday re: Big Alex’s boat to mechanic

· Up at 4 AM for meet up set 5 AM at The Pointe

· Stopped for some go juice.

· Big Rudy right on time

· Backed the Bay Flat Jr down the launch into water.

· Yamaha Nightmare Machine took one pull to get her started.

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

CONDITIONS:

· Perfect

· Wind, W.S.W. 12-14 mph.

· Water status / conditions: Heavy chop w/ 2–3-foot rollers

· Sky, Sunny & clear had a few clouds.

· Temp, mild, warm, hot.

· Water level, down 4-6”

· Water Temp , 87.3 F

· Salinity, 1.7

· Specific Conductance 3220

· Pressure, 30.13 R

· Water clarity on a scale of 1-7, 4 +

· Mississippi gauge: 10.32’

· Caernarvon Outfall: 759 ft3/s

· The tide, Falling, started to come in.

· Peak tide, 00:49 L .30’

· Peak tide, 14:32 H .69’

· Major Feed Time: 06:10 – 18:37

· Minor feed time: 04:06 / 19:07

· Tidal Coefficient: sixty-seven

· Fish Activity

· High Activity

· Boats out and about, (9) We only ones trolling

· 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 Jr 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 if the (NMR) girls wanted to come out and play dodge the Lake P Troll rigs.

· Challenge winds mother nature gave us.

· Bring home fish for petite Yana.

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

1 WIND AT YOUR BACK: (This criterion was our challenge for the day, not just the west wind, but all the dirty water it blew our way.)

2 MOVING WATER: (Falling, slack then started to come in, perfect it be)

3 WATER CALRITY: (A 4 plus, clean, clear, but very sandy looking, you could see lures down 10-12” below surface, but like looking through a jar with sand in it.)

4 HOLDING FISH: (They where spotted all along trestles, never did hit a school to troll through, did have one double hook up, could not find todays pattern of how they are feeding.)

5 PATIENCES: (Needed plenty, terribly slow bites, but we be learning all day which made it interesting outing.)

6 SKILL: (Lake P Troll technique)

7 LUCKS: (Survive the winds of mother nature to fish another day)

· 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 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:.

§ One-eighth 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 this rig / lure/s.

· 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 trolled south of draw bridge out to 3^rd FB pass mile marker 174, back and forth.

OUR REWARDS:

· Lived too fish another day.

· (6) NMR Silverwonders

o (2) Missed reeling in

o (2) Missed strikes

o (1) double came in got both in boat

· (3) Flounders

o (1) Missed at boat, could not get he over gunnel so tried to flip her in pulled hook out of its mouth

· (1) Big female crab, she did not want to leave me trolling rig alone, she lost a claw for her actions.

· (Carolina rig, thought e had a fish, but it was the line running through me rig.

· (6) Hang ups, lost (2) Lake P Troll rigs

· Got me snickers bar.

· Being on the water with the best fisherperson m know to be Big Rudy,

· Lessons learned:

§ NMR’s have left bridge & trestles.

§ Fisherpersons have left the trestles, word out action over with

§ Bites have slowed down plenty.

§ Water clarity a four plus, very sandy looking,

§ West wind worst wind:

· We like trolling on the west side of trestles.

· You lose some protection / interference of wind from having to blow through trestles first, east when does give you some protection from wind. You get the full force of the wind on you.

· West wind:

§ Blows Bay Flat Jr towards trestles, must compensate sate for that.

§ West wind with falling tide pushes boats to trestles must really compensate for that.

§ Brings dirty water in from west & spillway.

§ Brings in too much fresh water.

§ Brings in duckweed type grass & Lillys.

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

FISHERPERSON OF THE DAY:

We both struggled today, but we happily took what mother nature afforded us. Me had a double hook up got both in Bay Flat Sr, had me flounder action, and think me edged Big Rudy out today, with Big Rudy you need to take the honors when they come, because they don’t come often.

SUGGESTIONS:

Not convinced Silverwonders left the trestles, just could be west wind impacting bites, along with to much fresh water. Suggest you keep giving the area a try, they still have a few stragglers for the taking.

PONDER OF THE DAY:

"All the romance of Silverwonder / trout fishing exists in the mind of the angler and is in no way shared by the fish."

Q&A:

What is you opinion of fishing in the west wind??????

TEAM JO-JO’S future stratagem:

We had planned a trip for today down to Delacroix but had to cancel out do to other projects that came up. Plan “B” was to hook up with Big Ron, (aka Troutmaster) to make a road trip run to Buckee’s and hen on to Golden Carrol to get sone fried chicken, but that plan fell through today too, Big Ron reneged.

Now we are setting for a trip to Delacroix Friday AM, Big Rudy & Oneofthepack heading out AM.

Good Fishing

Team Jo-Jo & Oneofthepack

釣り先生

Please subscribe to our video channels

Check out Louisiana Fish Tails on u-tube for action of past & future trips, you will not be disappointed, and please subscribe to video and give it a thumbs up.

https://y