Crappie/Bream
King of the ‘Hill’
On Lake D’Arbonne, February means crappie action is just about to kick in. And that means local angler Rick Hill is ready to mop up.[…]
Fishing
Bass Fishing
G. Loomis E6X
Lightweight, strong, and sensitive. That’s the recipe for a fishing rod that bass anglers strive to find, and it can be elusive, especially when you add affordability into the mix. Or at least it used to be. But the G. Loomis E6X changes that. […]
Bass Fishing
Bistineau bigmouths
“We fished this very spot,” murmured 59-year-old Rickey Lee. “I can’t remember names and faces, but I can remember where I caught a fish.”[…]
Crappie/Bream
High five
Details on a handful of the hottest crappie-producing spots in Louisiana — and tips for you to catch some slabs.[…]
Contents
Cover: February 2018
We toured the state to find out where successful Louisiana crappie anglers hit their honey holes.[…]
Features
Cold water consistency
Buck Perry, the father of structure fishing, always advised that fish would either be shallow, deep or somewhere in-between.[…]
Bass Fishing
Drop by design — The ins and outs of dropshotting for bass
It’s the go-to rig for finessing finicky fish, nudging the cold-weary and lightly probing a variety of hard-cover scenarios from docks to laydowns, to bridges.[…]
Bass Fishing
Lunker mentality
Fishing the Toledo Bend spawn means different things to different folks; and not only because of bait and spot preferences. Those factors certainly matter, but so does the calendar.[…]
Field Notes
Make Gulp “jerky” for longer lasting lures
Berkley Gulp products have certainly earned a spot in my tackle box.[…]
Inshore Fishing
Marsh Man Masson vid: Strengths, weaknesses of 3 main fishing-line types
Go into a tackle shop, and you’ll see rows and rows of fishing line in various strengths and diameters. Because of that, figuring out what is right for specific situations can be overwhelming.[…]
Bass Fishing
Three patterns to catch False River bass
False River in Pointe Coupee Parish was once one of the premier fisheries in the state, part of the Quality Lakes system stocked with Florida-strain bass. And then in the late 1990s, things just fell apart — siltation and water clarity suffered, and the fishery became a shade of its former glory.[…]
Bass Fishing
Basin low, bass gearing up for spawn
Muddy water greeted me and Bassmaster Elite Series angler Cliff Crochet on Friday (Jan. 26) as we turned off the Intracoastal Waterway and headed deep into the Atchafalaya Basin — and water levels were at rock bottom.[…]
Inshore Fishing
Inshore insights: When does an angler become great at fishing?
Here in Louisiana we have really good inshore fishing.[…]
Inshore Fishing
Marsh Man Masson vid: 8 best baits for speckled trout right now
Winter is an underrated season for catching speckled trout, with many anglers pining for the warmer waters and more-aggressive fish of spring and summer. But I love the season, and I’ve got eight lures that I always use this time of year.[…]
Inshore Fishing
Marsh Man Masson vid: This lure overcame brutal conditions
Some days fish will hit anything. An angler could literally pierce a cut rag on a jighead, and lure a strike from a ravenous speckled trout or redfish. Other days, however, it seems like every element is working against anyone who has the audacity to put a boat on the water. On those outings, it’s crucial for anglers to pinpoint a lure the fish just can’t resist.[…]
Columns
Lost & found
I don’t recall exactly who said it, but a famous outdoorsman once quipped that he had never actually been lost — but there had been times when he hadn’t known where he was for a few days. […]