The Northshore of Lake Pontchartrain has been home to Ron Hindman of Slidell since 1979. And since then, his biggest Largemouth bass has been a 6.5-pounder caught in the East Pearl River.
However, Hindman managed to catch a trophy bass of 11.376 pounds fishing in the West Pearl River during a local jelly jar club tournament.
The Double Nickel Bass Club is an organization for anglers 55 years or older.
Meetings are held on Tuesdays at the East Pearl River launch on Highway 190, locally known as “The Green Bridge.”
Despite not expecting to catch such a big Largemouth bass, Hindman started his morning like any other.
“I have a flatboat, so I usually pull on the side and let the bass boats go past, then I follow behind,” the 65-year-old said.
He ran through Miller’s Ditch into the West Pearl, which was awfully muddy, he said, but Hindman knew he could find cleaner water coming out of a few drains in the swamp.
Using a 14-ounce white and lime green spinnerbait, he caught two throwback bass. He continued fishing the drains and found a drain where his boat could fit.
“The water looked nice back there,” he said. “It was stained but clear enough to fish.”
A 4.1-pound Largemouth bass was landed by Hindman after he whipped his spinnerbait deeper into the cut. After that, Hindman’s luck dried up.
As Hindman worked his way out of the cut, he found another trenasse with lots of structure down the main river.
“I decided to switch over to a jig because this is the time those bass start feeding on crawfish,” he said.
Hindman pitched a black and blue jig with a craw trailer into the cut using a 7-foot medium-heavy rod with 40-pound Power Pro braid. He waited for it to sink before bumping it.
“When I reeled in, the line went tight so I thought I was hung up on a stump,” Hindman said. “I reared back to try and pull it loose and when I did the stump took off!”
After making a hard run to the left, the fish turned to the right and made another run.
“The way it was pulling, I thought I had a catfish,” Hindman said.
Hindman knew it was something special when the fish jumped about 10 feet away.
“I saw that big mouth come out of that water and everything went into slow motion,” he said.
The fish had worn out, so Hindman was able to keep it sideways on the surface as he pulled it to the boat. With one hand he reached down and grabbed the fish.
“I couldn’t believe how heavy this thing was,” he said.
He managed to make it back to the weigh-in with the fish in good health after popping the hook out of its mouth and placing it in his 18-inch livewell.
When Hindman arrived at the dock for the weigh-in, a group of anglers were anxiously waiting for him on the dock.
“I only told one guy that I had a big one and somehow that got back to everyone,” he said.
He wanted to make sure the fish returned to the river as soon as possible. After pulling the fish out of the bag and hanging it on the scale, the screen flashed 11.376 pounds.
After a few pictures, he returned it to the river where it swam rapidly away.
“I’m so thankful to be able to catch a fish like this,” he said. “I feel blessed.”
A Slidell angler has fished Toledo Bend, Lake Seminole, Sam Rayburn, Lake Fork in search of trophy bass, but never imagined he would catch one in his own backyard.
Sources: LouisianaSportsman
