Capt. J.Y. Constance of Hackberry Rod and Gun Club, seen here with an 8-pound, 3-ounce speckled trout. Photo by John Felsher

When it comes to double-digit speckled trout, three Louisiana lakes at opposite ends of the state stand out. Each estuary has potential to produce a fish besting the 12.38-pounder Leon Mattes landed in May 1950 to set the Louisiana speckled trout standard.

LAKE PONTCHARTRAIN
Many believe that Mattes caught his lunker in Lake Pontchartrain on the northern boundary of New Orleans. However, as urban runoff and shell dredging muddied the lake, few people considered the lake a major trout fishery in the 1970s and '80s. Shell dredging ended in 1989, and water quality gradually improved. Sea grass sprouted again in many areas, and good fishing returned.

In February 1999, Kenny Kreeger landed an 11.99-pound speckled trout, currently No. 2 in the state. In April 2002, Dudley Vandenborre landed a 10.50-pound speck from Lake Pontchartrain. His fish ranks eighth on the state record list.

"The day before I caught the big one, I caught a 31-inch fish, but it only weighed 9.5 pounds," Vandenborre said. "It was bigger than anything else we caught that day and we caught a lot of 6-pounders. On any day in Lake Pontchartrain, any bite could be the new state record."

In September 1999, Jason Troullier landed an 11.24-pound trout from the nearby Rigolets. His fish currently ranks third in the state Top 10. The Rigolets (from the French for "trench") and another deep pass, Chef Menteur ("chief liar") connect Pontchartrain with Lake Borgne. Borgne, really an open bay to the Gulf of Mexico, allows salty water to flow through the Rigolets and the Chef into Pontchartrain. Many work the U.S. 90 bridges or the old railroad trestles that cross these passes.

In Pontchartrain itself, anglers troll crankbaits or plastics parallel to the 24-mile-long Causeway. Other bridges, the twin Interstate 10 spans, the old U.S. 11 bridge and the ancient, barnacle-encrusted railroad trestle cross the lake from north to south, linking New Orleans with Slidell. Some flip heavy jigs next to pilings, like bass anglers working standing flooded timber, or slowly bounce baits off the bottom under the bridges.

For booking trips in the Lake Pontchartrain area, call Vandenborre at (985) 847-1924 or Capt. Dee Geoghegan of Geoghegan Fishing Guide Service in Slidell at 1-888-773-2536. (Continued)

CALCASIEU LAKE
Each year, Calcasieu Lake, south of Lake Charles, produces many trout in the 6- to 9-pound range, with several breaking the 10-pound mark. On May 21, 2000, Stuart Roy caught and released a trout 32 inches long with a 17-inch girth. Roy released the giant fish without officially weighing it, but a marine biologist estimated that the trout probably weighed about 13 pounds.

On May 10, 2002, Timothy Mahoney landed the official Calcasieu record, an 11-pound, 2.5-ounce speck with a length of 30.125 inches and a girth of 16 7/8 inches. Mahoney's fish currently ranks fourth in the state record book. It shares the Top 10 with two other Calcasieu trout holding down Nos. 5 and 7.

The lake also produced the state-record trout caught on fly tackle. In December 1996, Capt. Jeff Poe of Big Lake Guide Service landed a 9.31-pounder to set that standard. Each year, people catch potential Top 10 fish, but they never bother to enter them in the books.

Calcasieu Lake measures roughly 12 miles by nine miles and averages about 6 feet deep. During the summer, many trout find comfort in the 40-foot deep waters of the adjacent Calcasieu Ship Channel or head to the deeper waters of the Gulf of Mexico. This 40-mile long channel connects the port of Lake Charles with the Gulf of Mexico.

The ship channel clips the northwest edge of Calcasieu Lake at Turner's Bay. At the southwest end of the lake, the Washout and Nine Mile Cut connect the lake to the channel. Nearby Long Point typically produces good catches. Other honeyholes include Commissary Point, Basket Reef, West Cove or old rock jetties along the southern shoreline.