By Staff
waterhead.com
October 12, 2011

Lake Pontchartrain has been a favorite spot of Louisiana waterheads for as long as there have been people around to enjoy it. It is one of the largest inland bodies of saltwater in the United States, second only to Utah's Great Salt Lake. The lake is not actually a lake at all, but an estuary. Unlike a proper lake, Pontchartrain is directly connected to the open sea. This connection accounts for its high salinity, especially in its southern waters.

Formation and History

This fabled Louisiana location was formed approximately 4,000 years ago by the Mississippi River, which once fed Lake Pontchartrain from the north and is linked to it today by the man-made Inner Harbor Navigation Canal (or, as it is commonly called, the Industrial Canal). Native Americans, members of the Choctaw people, settled the area surrounding the lake around 3,500 years ago. They called the lake by the name "Okwata," which translates in English to "wide water."

When Louisiana was settled by the French in the late 17th century, the lake was renamed Pontchartrain, after Louis Phélypeaux, comte de Pontchartrain, a politician serving in the government of King Louis XIV.

Northshore and Southshore

Because of its great size, the characteristics of Lake Pontchartrain vary depending on which part of the lake is being described. The northern and southern shores are the sites of communities with their own distinctive characters.

The northern shore of the lake, known as Northshore, is home to a collection of small, affluent cities, including Abita Springs, Covington, and Mandeville. The city of Mandeville is notable for being connected to New Orleans, which sits across the lake, by the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, the second-largest bridge over water in the world.

The southern, or Southshore region is defined by its association with the city of New Orleans. Pontchartrain forms the northernmost boundary of New Orleans, and the lake has been a defining element of that city's life and culture. The lake, and the famous and infamous levees built along its southern shore, has been the subject of countless songs produced from the inimitable New Orleans blues and jazz scene.

The character of the lake itself differs from north to south, as well. Fed freshwater from a half dozen rivers, its north waters have a relatively low salinity. Its southern shores, however, hold water with almost half the salinity of the seawater found in the nearby Gulf of Mexico, to which Lake Pontchartrain is directly connected by the Rigolets strait.

So Much to Offer Waterheads

Pontchartrain is the premiere water recreation spot in Louisiana, indeed in the entire south-central United States. Whether a waterhead fancies sailing, swimming, fishing, or some other form of water recreation, he is likely to find it on the shores or waters of Lake Pontchartrain.

The lake has been a favorite of boaters for centuries. In 1849 the Southern Yacht Club, today the third-oldest club of its kind in the United States, was founded in New Orleans. Reorganized following the Civil War, the club resumed holding its famous regattas, built itself a lavish clubhouse on the waters of the lake, and began holding boating races.

The club's most famous regatta, the Race to the Coast, was first held in 1850, and resumed in 1878 when the club reorganized after a seventeen year hiatus. The Race to the Coast begins on the shores of Lake Pontchartrain at New Orleans and stretches across to Gulfport, Mississippi.

The Southern Yacht Club is not the only place a waterhead might enjoy what the lake has to offer. The shores of Pontchartrain, north and south, are home to state and federal parks that allow public access to the waters. Sailing and other forms of boating are common on its wide, clear, sea-like waters. So is swimming.

Conservation groups have put much effort toward improving the water quality of the lake in recent years. The practical result of their hard work is that the lake is safe for swimming. According to the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation, the best spots to take a swim are the south shore's Pontchartrain Beach, and the north shore's Fontainebleau State Park.

Fishing in Lake Pontchartrain

The same conservation and restoration efforts which have made Lake Pontchartrain a better, safer place to swim have also made it a much more attractive spot for recreational fishing. Though some fish populations are still low, and catch-and-release fishing is encouraged for all, the lake has become one of the favorite places for anglers from around the country to come and indulge in their chosen hobby.

One of the main reasons behind the stunning rehabilitation of the lake as a fishing site is the construction and deployment of artificial reefs.

Lake Pontchartrain is a soft-bottomed lake, which makes it difficult for many types of small invertebrate organisms to live and thrive. These tiny animals form the bottom link of the lake's food chain. Without them, the larger species of sport fish cannot survive in very large numbers.  The reefs provide the hard surfaces these small invertebrates need for their habitat.

The artificial reefs of Pontchartrain are mounds of crushed limestone or concrete. These reef balls, as they are called, have been deployed throughout the floor of the lake since 2001. Artificial reefs have in the north and the south. The result has been not only improved habitat for small invertebrates and young fish, but also changes in the current of the lake that have encouraged feeding among the larger fish sought by anglers. Fishing in Lake Pontchartrain has never been better!

A Waterhead's Dream

Whether the lake is approached through one of the small communities or state parks to the north, such as Fontainebleau, or from the great city of New Orleans to the south, or one of the many points in between, Pontchartrain is truly one of the singular destinations in the United States for lovers of the water. Whether a swimmer, a boater, or a fisherman, there is something in, on, or near Lake Pontchartrain to please any waterhead.