Louisiana Sportsman

Slip corks are the best tools for working live shrimp over fish-holding trash in Timbalier Bay because it’s easy to cast the rigs no matter what depth you need to be fishing.

Why sliding corks are best

July 15, 2018 Andy Crawford

After the early morning topwater action dies out, it’s pretty much a sure bet Capt. Tommy Pellegrin will turn to live shrimp.[…]

Birds just haven’t shown up this year, so you’ll likely not find any trout drifting the bays. Instead, find oilfield locations and satellite rigs, and work shrimp over the junk on the bottom.

The bay is all about structure

July 15, 2018 Andy Crawford

If conditions rule out fishing the beaches — or if the bite just isn’t on — plenty of action awaits in Timbalier Bay.[…]

When Bobby Phillips gears up for Ouachita River crappie, you can bet these lures will be on deck.

With tackle stores full of a thousand sizes, shapes, styles and colors of crappie jigs and fishing equipment, you could spend days or weeks just trying to figure out what to fish with. Or you could just let Bobby Phillips tell you his favorite go-to gear, and copy this veteran guide’s success.[…]

Bobby Phillips cruises the river system, searching for tops that might hold crappie.

The Ouachita’s long and winding path

July 15, 2018 Kinny Haddox

There are more than 90 miles of Ouachita River between the Arkansas line and the Columbia Lock and Dam in Northeast Louisiana. The river lakes, bayous and cuts off the river are too numerous to mention. But the nice thing is that good access is available up and down the river, and prime fishing isn’t far away. […]

LiveTarget’s Scaled Sardine Twitchbait

July 15, 2018 Don Shoopman

A veteran saltwater fishing guide out of Sarasota, Florida, has an artificial bait that looks so much like the real thing, it’s irresistible to speckled trout, redfish and snook in the shallow waters he fishes along the coast.[…]

The weekends-only recreational red snapper season reopened today and will run until the allocation is reached. Through July 1, anglers had landed about 46 percent of the 743,000-pound allocation, according to LA Creel and the LDWF.

LDWF: Snapper landing estimates through July 1; weekend-only season reopens

July 13, 2018 From News Reports

Through July 1, Louisiana’s recreational anglers had landed about 344,000 pounds — or 46 percent — of the state’s 743,000-pound allocation, according to catch estimates from LA Creel and the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.[…]

Get out early, find redfish waking through grass flats and put gold spoons in the water to catch line-stretching bulls, according to Capt. Austin Plaisance.

Spoon-feed Delacroix’s summer reds

July 12, 2018 Andy Crawford

The sun was just above the horizon, peaking from behind building thunderheads, when Capt. Austin Plaisance brought his Blazer Bay off plane. Redfish scattered across the grassy flat, pushing submarine wakes.[…]

The U.S. House on Wednesday passed a bipartisan bill - H.R. 200 - that addresses the challenges faced by recreational anglers in the current federal fisheries management system.

U.S. House passes Magnuson-Stevens reauthorization bill

July 12, 2018 From News Reports

The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday passed H.R. 200, a bipartisan bill including the Modern Fish Act — legislation which addresses the challenges faced by recreational anglers in the current federal fisheries management system and seeks to balance management between the commercial and recreational sectors.[…]

Instead of letting the crabs come to him, Josh Chauvin hunts them down during one of his recent 'sight-crabbing' trips.

Apex Predator goes ‘sight-crabbing’ for monster blues

July 11, 2018 Josh Chauvin

I vaguely saw a quick fleck of blue in the moss 2 feet below the surface of the clear marsh water. Unsure of what actually was beneath the ripples, I tossed my jighead hooked with catfish skin next to the grass pile. It laid on the mud bottom for two seconds, when a huge claw suddenly flashed out of the green growth.[…]

Marsh Man Masson vid: Cranking up crabs with incredible underwater footage

July 10, 2018 Todd Masson

Lots of parties in South Louisiana, of course, include some type of boiled seafood. Being a native of the best region on the planet, I wanted to celebrate the anniversary of our nation’s birth with some red, white and blue crabs.[…]