Louisiana Sportsman

Fishing rafts are never out of sight on Old River.

Old River rafts and raft courtesy

September 15, 2018 Jerald Horst

Rafts is the local term for well, rafts — essentially floating platforms that people fish from. […]

Old River offers excellent sac-a-lait fishing, as well as bream fishing, and Padra and Gene often “combo fish” for them.

The Old River bream cycle

September 15, 2018 Jerald Horst

“Bream fishing in Old River is good from spring through October,” advised Padra Francois. “And the fishing is good. When people think of bream in Old River, they think of fish nearly a pound in weight.[…]

Whether you call them white perch, crappie or sac-a-lait, that’s a nice fish Jeff Collins is about to put on ice.

No bull about Boeuf River crappie

September 3, 2018 Kinny Haddox

The Boeuf River’s name comes from the French, and means beef or bull. The Bouef won’t win any beauty contests or make it on many peoples’ Top 10 lists, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a great place to fish — and that’s no bull. […]

Shimano Curado DC Baitcasting reels

September 1, 2018 Patrick Bonin

The DC stands for Digital Control, and quite honestly it’s one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen. I got the chance to fish with one this spring at Grosse Savanne Lodge during a Shimano media presentation, and it certainly didn’t disappoint.[…]

Bull bream beatdown

September 1, 2018 Jerald Horst

It was September.

It was hot, and it was late in the day.[…]

A plastic boat and plastic lures make a good combination for catching a mess of panfish. Reliving childhood memories, Robyn Bordelon shows off a hefty basket of hand-sized fish just like she caught when she was a child.

Plastics for panfish

August 18, 2018 Chris Holmes

Many kayak anglers dream of catching giant fish from their small plastic boats. However, going in the completely opposite direction can be even more fun. Imagine catching scores of tiny, delicious fish — using nothing more than worms and a cane pole, or lightweight spinning gear.[…]

Pizzolato nets every fish — no exceptions.

A crappie hot dog

August 15, 2018 Jerald Horst

Very few people can tell you the exact day they got serious about fishing, especially one with 70 years tucked under his belt.[…]

The tapered end of a wooden chopstick makes a perfect cork peg for Dave Pizzolato because it floats.

Tip of the day

August 15, 2018 Jerald Horst

Dave Pizzolato discards the plastic pegs that come with his corks and replaces them with the tapered tips of wooden chopsticks. “If the peg comes out, plastic sinks but wood floats,” he grinned.[…]

Pizzolato exclusively uses Salter’s Jiggin’ Poles. Note how close he has taken his boat to the pilings he is jigging.

Pizzolato’s Top 7 tips for Old River

August 15, 2018 Jerald Horst

1) Learn to tight-line. Using a cork doesn’t allow fishing to be done deep enough to fish the 12 to 14 feet needed on the most important fish-holding structure — piers and pilings in front of camps.[…]

Rio Grande chichlids are an invasive species that has spread throughout the southeast. They are beautiful and tasty little creatures, but they compete with native fishes and therefore, by law, cannot be returned to the water alive after being caught.

Be on the lookout for Rios

August 15, 2018 Chris Holmes

Rio Grande cichlids are an invasive species that has spread throughout the metropolitan New Orleans area. Found in fresh and brackish areas, they are becoming a more common catch by anglers fishing for bream and sunfish. Rios are more aggressive at defending their territory, and the concern is they could possibly totally displace native bream. […]

New gear reviews

August 15, 2018 Chris Holmes

Reel Steady Rod Stabilizer

Designed to add stability to heavy offshore fishing rods, the Reel Steady is a great addition for kayak anglers who need all the help they can get. Be it snapper or tarpon, fighting these bruisers from the seated position of a kayak makes handling heavy rods even more difficult.[…]

Kaleb Kellum hoists a feisty bream while his dad, James, looks on. A simple cane pole and a box of worms are all that;s necessary for a great day of catching some hard-fighting panfish.

August’s Best Bets

August 15, 2018 Chris Holmes

Saltwater

Where: Grand Isle: Caminada Pass, Barataria Pass and Elmer’s Island beach

What: Bull reds and jack crevalle in the passes, and trout on the beach[…]

Jay Stone with Duck Commander landed this crappie by fishing some of the many flooded Coke-bottle size stumps on the Ouachita River.

Louisiana crappie fishing getting national attention

August 15, 2018 Chris Ginn

Having fished crappie tournaments all over the nation, Ronnie Capps has seen more energy for the professional side of crappie fishing the last couple of years than he has ever seen in his entire 30-year fishing career.[…]

Slick tops and spiders for Ouachita crappie

August 13, 2018 Kinny Haddox

This time of the year, fishing has slowed down quite a bit, but it isn’t the fish — it’s the fishermen. You’ll find crappie fishing the Ouachita River.[…]

Longear sunfish are aggressive feeders to the delight of many youngsters.

So what’s a sunperch?

August 4, 2018 Jerald Horst

Louisiana’s bream fishermen have a pile of fish to choose from. Tops on the list are bluegills and redear sunfish (also called lake runners or chinquapin). And fat-bellied goggle-eyes are always in the mix somewhere. In a lot of places, you can throw in some green sunfish (slick perch) or red-spotted sunfish (stumpknockers). […]

Jigging up Old River slabs

August 1, 2018 Jerald Horst

Determining when to fish Old River isn’t guesswork. Dave Pizzolato watches river gages, specifically the Mississippi River station at Baton Rouge.[…]