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Swimming in Lake Ponchartrain
Posted on 6/14/21 at 6:02 pm
Posted on 6/14/21 at 6:02 pm
What is the consensus of swimming in Lake Ponchartrain? I'm talking anchoring off shore and not at one of the beaches. With it being so shallow I'm surprised I don't see more people doing it. Water quality issues or Bull Shark fear?
10
Posted on 6/14/21 at 6:50 pm to RougeDawg
As long as there isn’t an algal bloom it is fine; swim, tube, have at it. Chances of bull shark attack are probably much less than getting run over by some idiot jet-ski / cigarette-boat driver in more crowded waterways (e.g., False River, Amite, etc.)
Posted on 6/14/21 at 7:35 pm to RougeDawg
Anchoring out in the lake and swimming is fine the bull sharks are normally around the shorelines and river mouths. I've never had a problem swimming with them around and rarely see them. But I'd avoid them near shore.
Pontchartrain Basin Foundation publishes water quality and salinity maps monthly and a few others see link below. Use their download button to get best map resolution. Most recent is for mid May.
Pontchartrain Basin Foundation Maps
Pontchartrain Basin Foundation publishes water quality and salinity maps monthly and a few others see link below. Use their download button to get best map resolution. Most recent is for mid May.
Pontchartrain Basin Foundation Maps
Posted on 6/14/21 at 9:15 pm to RougeDawg
Caught many baby bull sharks in the lake. Where there is babies there are mommas. Odds are you are fine though
Posted on 6/14/21 at 9:20 pm to RougeDawg
NO triathlon group swims in it twice a week. I swam in it many times when training for the NO half ironman.
Posted on 6/14/21 at 10:33 pm to RougeDawg
As a youth, my cousins and I would spend many hours a week swimming in the lake with no issues other than the occasional slip and fall on the seawall steps with all the algae making them slick.
The only problem any of us had was one of my cousins was fair skinned and he'd burn after 1 hour in the sun while the rest of us could be out in the sun all day long and just get darker skinned and lighter haired.
The only problem any of us had was one of my cousins was fair skinned and he'd burn after 1 hour in the sun while the rest of us could be out in the sun all day long and just get darker skinned and lighter haired.
Posted on 6/15/21 at 6:27 am to gumbo2176
We would swim off the sea wall and at the Beach back in the 60’s.
Posted on 6/15/21 at 6:47 am to LSUCouyon
quote:
We would swim off the sea wall and at the Beach back in the 60’s.
Yep, that was also my time frame. Born in 52 and spent a LOT of summer days along Lakeshore Drive swimming in the lake.
I even worked at Pontchartrain Beach Amusement Park for a summer back then on the Midway in the game booths.
Posted on 6/15/21 at 7:03 am to Cubera
quote:uh the fecal coliform count is a bigger danger than anything else.
As long as there isn’t an algal bloom it is fine; swim, tube, have at i
Posted on 6/15/21 at 7:04 am to LSUCouyon
quote:learned how to swim there in early 70s
We would swim off the sea wall and at the Beach back in the 60’s.
Posted on 6/15/21 at 7:17 am to RougeDawg
We swim in the lake all the time. I live on the water off of the lake and swim behind the house every weekend. We also take the boat out and will anchor in the lake and spend the day. No issues.
Posted on 6/15/21 at 8:20 am to RougeDawg
We used to jump off the shack off the Mandeville Lakefront all the time before Katrina destroyed it. Fun times.
Posted on 6/15/21 at 9:37 am to RougeDawg
I’ve been swimming all over the lake since I was a little kid. I’ve never heard of anyone getting bit by a bull shark. Walking off the seawall you should be more concerned about broken bottles or submerged debris than a shark. The giant algae bloom in the 90s didn’t stop us from wakeboarding/kneeboarding (that was probably dumb 
).
The bottom of the lake has changed a lot over the years. Before Katrina, the bottom was a gooey silt with lots of clams. Now it’s packed down hard and no silt. It’s like walking on a parking lot.
). The bottom of the lake has changed a lot over the years. Before Katrina, the bottom was a gooey silt with lots of clams. Now it’s packed down hard and no silt. It’s like walking on a parking lot.
Posted on 6/15/21 at 9:43 am to RougeDawg
Sounds like you need a time machine to go back to the 60s and 70s based on the advice you're getting.
Posted on 6/15/21 at 12:07 pm to VanRIch
quote:
We used to jump off the shack off the Mandeville
Growing up in Kenya, we used to swim out, climb the power lines and jump off.
Always some crazy mufugger had to climb higher than everyone else.
Good times...
Posted on 6/15/21 at 12:15 pm to RougeDawg
Safer than False River!
Posted on 6/15/21 at 12:34 pm to oldskule
Did something happen on False River lately?
Posted on 6/15/21 at 1:34 pm to PutTheWomacOnEm01
quote:
Sounds like you need a time machine to go back to the 60s and 70s based on the advice you're getting.
Hell, I'll take the condition of the lake today over the 60's all day long. Back then there was extensive shell dredging that kept the lake way more dirty than it is today.
It was very common to see dredging operations going on from the seawall where folks were swimming.
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