Rudy & Oneofthepack Louisiana Lake Pontchartrain battle, trout vs. Team Jo-Jo's Lake P Troll rig

Team Jo-Jo: ________________________________________ Big Rudy and Oneofthepack had a trip locked in for Friday. Everything was lined up. Gear staged. Plan set. Confidence high. Then at about 3:30 AM, the unexpected hit — I started feeling under the weather. Not the kind of “shake it off” feeling either. The kind that makes a Captain stop and says, this isn’t right. So, I texted Big Rudy: “You up? I’m not feeling too good. Need to cancel out.” No hesitation on his end. He shot back: “No problem.” Then, true Team Jo-Jo fashion, he picked up the phone and called to check on me. That’s not just a fishing partner — that’s brotherhood. You don’t push it when your body says no. Safety first. The Silverwonders will always be there another day. ________________________________________ Quick Recovery Mode Engaged By the grace of good rest and a stubborn will, the system rebooted fast. Strength returned. Energy climbed back up. The urge to fish came roaring back. So once again, the planning board lit up. Monday 2-16-26 — Redemption Run. The destination: Lake Pontchartrain The mission: Troll the trestles. The dance partner: Silverwonders (and any other species bold enough to join the party). ________________________________________ Tactical Setup We’ll be deploying Team Jo-Jo’s proven Lake P Troll Rig, engineered for shadow lines, current seams, and suspended bait. Aboard the faithful Bay Flat Jr, powered by the legendary Yamaha Nightmare Machine, ready to hum that early-morning tune across open water. The plan is simple but deadly: • Work the trestles with precision • Dial in speed and depth • Watch the electronics like hawks! • Execute the patented 2-Step Dance Step One — Smooth troll pass along structure. Step Two — Circle back when the thump hits and make it count. When the Silverwonders are sliding those bridge lines, it turns into a chess match… and we’ve played this board before. ________________________________________ From a 3:30 AM abort mission… To a Monday sunrise redemption on Lake P… That’s how seasoned watermen operate. Now we wait for first light — and that unmistakable tap that says the dance has begun. 🏆 OUR REWARDS First and foremost: • Lived to fish another day. After the 3:30 AM on Friday, just making this run felt like a victory. ________________________________________ 🎣 The Catch Tally • (11) NMR Silverwonders ▪ Big Rudy & Oneofthepack both doubled up at one point — I lost mine reeling in (operator error 😄) ▪ Big Rudy landed a true Lake P double — a Silverwonder on one squid… and a bait net on the other squid. Now that’s multitasking. • (1) Redwarrior • (6) Flatwonders • (1) Big Blue Catfish – pulling like he paid taxes in that lake. • (1) 4-foot-plus garfish – prehistoric, mean, and not invited. • (1) Big Lake Pontchartrain male crab – told Big Rudy, “That’s an $8 crab right there!” Should’ve brought butter. ________________________________________ 🎣 Structure Donations & Recoveries Lake P trestles demanded tribute: • (1) Bait net • (4) Rocks • (3) Existing lines/lures already attached to structure • (17) Hang-ups total Breakdown of the damage: ▪ (8) Lost complete Team Jo-Jo whole rigs ▪ (3) Lost squid rigs only ▪ (6) Recovered rigs intact Let’s just say… we got plenty of re-rigging practice. ________________________________________ 📚 Lessons Learned ▪ Slow Silverwonder dance type day.** Not a slam fest. More like a slow two-step. Patience required. ▪ Loons. Loons. Loons. Loons. They were everywhere. With that many birds working, we expected a Silverwonder beatdown. But not once did we see a loon come up with a fish. That should’ve told us something early. ▪ Big girls — MIA. We searched. They did not RSVP. ▪ Water clarity concern after storm the day before. Turned out better than expected. A little off, but a solid 5+ on a 1–7 scale. Very fishable it be. ▪ Speckled Trout (aka Silverwonders) are still holding between FB 2 through 5 along the west side of the trestles. ▪ Not much action south of the drawbridge out to Mile Marker 174. ▪ Pre-made squid trailers = Game changer. With the number of hang-ups we had, having those pre-rigged made reloading fast and efficient. And reload we did. Over and over. ▪ Added some more species that the Lake P Troll squid rig can catch: • Gar Fish • Crab • Catfish • Redwarrior ________________________________________ Was it easy? No. Was it clean? Not exactly. Was it work? Absolutely. But that’s Lake P. From stormy water concerns… To hang-ups and hardware sacrifices… To grinding out 11 NMR Silverwonders… Best fishing trip of my life… until the next one. 🎣🔥 Good Fishing, Team Jo-Jo & Oneofthepack 釣り先生 ________________________________________ Please subscribe to our video channels Check out Louisiana Fish Tails on YouTube for action of past & future trips. You will not be disappointed — and please subscribe and give us a thumbs up!