Columns
Was the 2013 deer season one of the best ever?
The LDWF Big Game Harvest Survey that will be mailed out shortly should provide an answer — but from what this hunter saw, it was a great season![…]
Columns
Bass Fishing
Bully those bass!
In the movie “A Christmas Story,” Scut Farkus is the neighborhood bully who torments Ralphie Parker and his friends. Until one day when something in Ralphie snaps, and he attacks his antagonist in a most ferocious manner.[…]
Ask Captain Paul
Pinpointing Wreck Bay
Dear Capt. Paul:
Where is Wreck Bay out of Point a la Hache? What are the coordinates for the bay? I can’t seem to find it on my map.[…]
Columns
Hey, ray, what you say?
At least that is what some shrimpers say they hear. The animal that they have nicknamed “choo-choo” for the whoofing sound that it makes after it hits the deck of a shrimp boat is known by scientists as a cownose ray, Rhinoptera bonasus. […]
Columns
Catch-and-release hurting bass fishing
Old dogs can learn new tricks. Proof of that came in January when the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries’ Mike Wood announced that slot limits should be dropped on six lakes that have been part of the state’s quality-lakes system for more than 20 years.[…]
Columns
A real matchstriker, finally
One of the greatest shots I ever made was with a bolt-action .22 Magnum. […]
Columns
Facts behind the fiction
In November I traveled to Colorado with a couple of friends for an elk hunt. Two of us are retired wildlife enforcement agents and one is still on the job with a few years to go before “graduating.”[…]
Apex Predator
Vehicle breakdowns couldn’t stop Apex Predator’s holiday hot streak
With the slow deer season I had endured, I was eagerly anticipating my winter hunting vacation.[…]
Columns
More than just photos
A couple of months ago, here in Happy Trails, I discussed whether or not the use of trail cameras actually diminishes or takes something away from some people’s overall hunting experience.[…]
Columns
David and Goliath
One of the lures of kayak fishing is the ability to launch in remote places and fish areas generally not accessible to powerboats.[…]
Columns
Lunker Frog
There is a soft-plastic frog so lifelike in detail that the legs possess a kicking motion no self-respecting bass can resist, a soft-plastic frog that captures the confidence of bass anglers everywhere and also reigns supreme as the ICAST Best Soft Lure of 2013.[…]
Columns
2013 ends but the deer season continues
A new year brings new challenges, but there is still a month left of deer hunting if you have not killed a deer yet.[…]
Columns
The rainbow phenomena
Winter is the time of year to witness one of nature’s more unusual spectacles here in Louisiana — the Sundog.[…]
Ask Captain Paul
Plot your course
Yes, now is the time to really plot your hunting area with your GPS.[…]
Columns
The case of the slippery eel
Nothing could be worse for a freshwater natural-bait fisherman. Something obviously huge had grabbed the worm or crawfish on his hook and was fighting furiously. He could almost imagine the broad head of a big catfish emerging from the water.[…]
Columns
Sometimes nature is just fickle
Three short years ago, a little lake snuggled into the crescent of the Mississippi River southwest of New Orleans rose to world prominence when Kevin VanDam boated 20 fish worth 69 pounds, 11 ounces to win the Bassmaster Classic by a stunning 10 pounds.[…]