Louisiana Sportsman

Rockets to Ribbits

April 24, 2005 Marty Cannon

It was a steamy summer afternoon, and we were fishing in Mama’s Pond in the western Atchafalaya Basin. The water was just high enough to back into the trees and bushes along the shoreline.

My partners and I were throwing chartreuse buzz baits into the cover as far as we could, and we got a few good strikes on top. Still, in some spots, we could see about 8 more feet of good-looking water that we couldn’t touch with those buzz baits. That was 8 feet of fish-holding water that we couldn’t access, and it deeply annoyed us.

We all fiddled with some of the lures in our tackle boxes, and the three of us probably all gave a frog or a rat bait a brief look. It was weedless and maybe suitable for the situation, but that kind of lure is more of a novelty isn’t it? It catches fishermen, right, not bass?

That was our thinking, and it probably cost us dearly.
[…]

Perfecting Patterns

April 24, 2005 Chris Ginn

Roland Martin is given credit for having coined the phrase “pattern fishing” during the 1970s. He was one of the first anglers in the country to understand that replicating the exact set of water conditions like depth, cover, structure, temperature, clarity and current prevalent when he got a bite would lead to many more bites.[…]

ReAction frog sounds like a buzz bait.

April 24, 2005 Don Shoopman

The guru of soft-plastic lure manufacturing always figured he probably had another hit on his hands with the Ribbit.[…]

Paradise Parks

March 24, 2005 Andy Crawford

Louisiana’s state parks offer outstanding bass fishing in the spring and throughout the year. Here’s Louisiana Sportsman’s top-five picks, and tips on how to fill the livewell.[…]

HoneyBuzz attracts bass like bees

March 24, 2005 Don Shoopman

When Dave Trantham finished compiling a checklist from other bass anglers on what they wanted in a buzz bait, he started designing one that has created quite a buzz from coast to coast.[…]

Featherweight Bass

March 24, 2005 Andy Crawford

The water temperatures were just about right, hovering between 54 and 58 degrees.[…]

Crawfish Class

March 24, 2005 Chris Ginn

While learning the biology of crawfish might turn off those of us who enjoy them surrounded by potatoes, corn and garlic, the opposite is true for those who want to catch more bass with them.[…]

Jerk in a Jam

February 23, 2005 Glynn Harris

Occasionally, you awaken to one of those special mornings when you have a compelling urge to hook up the boat and head for the lake. It’s a day when everything just feels right. Your confidence level is elevated because you sense that today, it’s going to happen.

I recall one of those mornings a couple of springs ago. An early-spring front had blown through three days prior, chasing the bass from the shallows.[…]

Houses of the Holy

February 23, 2005 Chris Ginn

The Holy Grail of bass fishing can be found in North Louisiana. Didn’t know there was a Holy Grail of bass fishing, much less that it could be found in your own back yard?[…]

Black Magic

February 23, 2005 Charles W. Frank

You step off the LAB aircraft after a 4 1/2-hour flight from Miami to Manaus, and are surrounded with fishermen — the long the short and the tall, all wearing hats that proclaim their quarry. They’re here for tucunare’— the fabulous peacock bass of the Amazon basin.[…]