Bass Fishing
Seeing red
Louisiana’s Red River used to be a mud hole.
Or at least, something close to it. […]
Features
Crappie/Bream
Jigging up Old River slabs
Determining when to fish Old River isn’t guesswork. Dave Pizzolato watches river gages, specifically the Mississippi River station at Baton Rouge.[…]
Bass Fishing
Busting Delta marsh bass
With morning glories blooming across the canal, Capt. Cody Obiol was pushing away from the dock as I waited for his boss, Capt. Ryan Lambert to launch his Skeeter bay boat. Obiol was after bull reds that morning, but he knew my mission involved something much different, so his gracious salutation stoked my optimism.[…]
Features
The ‘other’ snapper
Mangroves may not get all the publicity their rosy relatives receive, but you can catch 10 per day year-round. Here’s how one Buras guide fills the box.[…]
Features
Hot trout tips
The dog days of summer have arrived, and that means staying on the water for 12 hours to limit out on speckled trout is about as much fun as hitting your thumb with a hammer. Twice.[…]
Bass Fishing
An unlikely ‘spot’ spot
Finding three Bassmaster Elite Series pros working a hot bite less than a rod length from one another is a rarity, if not the prelude to a heated interaction.[…]
Bass Fishing
The ‘frog’ days of summer
For most folks, it’s almost too hot outside to go fishing. You’ve really got to want it to go chasing largemouth bass this time of year. […]
Features
Dog days specks
Mother Nature typically cranks up the furnace on high this month, enveloping the state in a sticky, humid sauna that practically leaves anglers begging for the first cool fronts of fall.[…]
Features
Transformer trout
The sun was just throwing amber light over the horizon when my bone-colored Badonk-a-donk disappeared in a toilet flush.
And my grumbling over the 3 a.m. alarm disappeared like fog in a stiff wind.[…]
Bass Fishing
Shallow-minded tactics
Nature is dynamic; and like a well-composed symphony, its performance comprises multiple complementary elements that rise and fall at the conductor’s direction. […]
Crappie/Bream
Pop a ‘top’
It’s prime time to target Ouachita River crappie in the tops. Here’s how one noted angler catches his share of summertime slabs hunkered down in the brush.[…]
Crappie/Bream
High noon at Crackerhead
“There’s a good one,” he said, glancing over his right shoulder. “And there’s a good one,” he said, throwing an eye over his left shoulder. “That’s a good one, too,” he nodded at another one.[…]
Bass Fishing
Schools of thought
The siren song of schooling bass has lured many an unsuspecting angler to spend the rest of his days wondering what the heck just happened.[…]
Bass Fishing
The Record Keeper
The hits were explosive — water and pieces of vegetation flew wildly.
Or maybe it was Lyle Johnson’s violent reaction to the hits. He doesn’t like ‘em to get away, and he fusses at himself for every missed fis[…]
Features
Made in the shade
“I like fish that pull hard, ones that fight. I’m fishin’ for fun,” twanged Jeb Ard in a patented country accent. “If I want to eat fish, we go to a catfish buffet.”[…]
Features
High heat trout tactics
Sunscreen, wide-brim hats, those little handheld fans that blow a cool mist on your face … yeah, speckled trout will never benefit from such high-heat indulgences.[…]