Louisiana Sportsman

April 27, 2026

Early spring is a great time for catching speckled trout on topwater lures. The explosions are violent and heart-pounding.

Spring provides some great kayak fishing

April 13, 2023 Chris Holmes

Mild days and hungry fish make a great combination for kayak fishing. Early spring is a great time for catching speckled trout and redfish.[…]

Working a chatterbait in shallow, heavy brush produced this green football for Steve Neece. This early March fish was packed with eggs and was quickly released after a quick photo.

Launch the kayak!

March 19, 2023 Chris Holmes

The time is now for kayak bass fishing in Louisiana. Largemouth bass generally spawn in Louisiana from January through March.[…]

This white trout fell for a jighead and plastic tail combo tight-lined slowly on a mild winter day.

Be choosy with your fishing ’yak attacks this time of the year

February 19, 2023 Chris Holmes

If you play your cards right, February can provide some good weather days and fantastic fishing for kayak anglers.[…]

Kayak anglers mill about on a cold January morning preparing for the start of the Bayou Coast Kayak Fishing Club’s annual Minimalist Challenge. This unique event requires all anglers to fish with a small, identical selection of lures provided by the tournament.

Sign-up for a kayak tournament

January 26, 2023 Chris Holmes

Fresh or salt, there are tournaments to fit every kayak angler’s fishing style, and they are sure to make you a better fisherman.[…]

When it comes to kayak fishing accessories, anglers should consider gear made to withstand the harsh elements encountered by being in an open vessel, close to the water. Any gear exposed to salt water should be thoroughly washed and dried after each trip.

Kayak anglers’ Christmas wish list

December 11, 2022 Chris Holmes

Ask Santa for some of these items to make your kayak angling experience safer, more comfortable and successful.[…]

This big cat pulled the noodle all over the canal with it going underwater several times. Chasing down the noodles in a kayak is exciting and a whole lot of fun.

Kayak noodles

November 28, 2022 Chris Holmes

Using your kayak to set out a dozen or more baited pool noodles (or jugs), is a fun and exciting way to catch catfish.[…]

Redfish concentrate in the marsh during the fall. They feed voraciously and are fairly easy to catch with live bait or artificial lures. Kayaks make great platforms to get back into these shallow areas where most powerboats cannot go.

No better time for kayak redfish

October 17, 2022 Chris Holmes

If you are a kayak angler, the time is now to head to the shallow marshes across coastal Louisiana for excellent redfish action.[…]

Bass in open water are often feeding on schools of baitfish. Flukes make great baits in these conditions and can be fished throughout the water column. Tandem rigging them can be extremely effective.

September bass are no fluke

September 8, 2022 Chris Holmes

Although deadly year-round, fluke-style baits really excel this time of year. Kayaks are also perfectly suited for this style of fishing.[…]

A sea of kayak anglers dispersing onto Camanida Pass for the start of Ride the Bull, the World’s Largest Kayak Fishing Tournament held in Grand Isle.

Ride the Bull is back

August 5, 2022 Chris Holmes

After a two-year forced hiatus, CCA’s Ride the Bull kayak fishing tournament returns to Grand Isle on August 26 and 27, 2022.[…]

It is a rare site to see Janie and Chris Murphey fishing side-by-side. Their competitive nature regularly has each fishing their own style and area, but remaining within sight of or at least phone contact with each other for safety. If there is a fish on this point, it is a pretty sure bet that one of these two determined kayak anglers will catch it.

Chris and Janie Murphey are leaving a wake in the kayak world

July 7, 2022 Chris Holmes

Janie and Chris Murphey are making their mark on kayak fishing with both regularly making appearances in the winners’ circle.[…]

Killer combination: Live shrimp, kayaks and speckled trout

June 10, 2022 Chris Holmes

Carrying shrimp in a kayak takes a little planning to keep them alive and kicking throughout the day’s speckled trout fishing.[…]

Robyn Bordelon caught this nice bass in Bayou St. John near the bridge on Filmore Avenue. This great urban fishery sits in the heart of New Orleans and provides a welcome respite from city life.

Urban kayak oasis

May 10, 2022 Chris Holmes

With no motorboat traffic, Bayou St. John is a great, safe place for new and experienced kayak anglers alike.[…]

A bucket of live cocahoes was the ticket to building this stringer of nice speckled trout. Fished under a cork or on the bottom, they are almost guaranteed to produce a strike.

The other live bait

April 16, 2022 Chris Holmes

One way for inshore kayak fishermen to up their odds in April is to fish with the other live bait — cocahoe minnows.[…]

Grandaddy of the Kayak

March 18, 2022 Chris Holmes

Mike LaFleur of Baton Rouge went from fishing school to schooling fishermen. At 80 years old, he remains an avid kayak fly fisherman.[…]

Using jug lines tied off to a tree, Steven Savoy caught several big catfish out of the kayak.

Kayaks and catfish?

February 13, 2022 Chris Holmes

Kayak anglers are realizing that kayaks are quite suited for catfishing. Catfish can be caught in almost any freshwater river, lake or pond.[…]

Sheepshead are hard fighters, delicious, and can be easily caught around docks, pilings and rock piles using a simple bottom rig and piece of dead shrimp.

January kayak fishing jackpot

January 27, 2022 Chris Holmes

Sheepshead are hard fighters, delicious, and can be caught around docks, pilings and rock piles using a simple bottom rig and dead shrimp.[…]