Contents
Cover: February 2017
This month marks the height of crappie fishing, and the Crappie Psychic knows how to stack your ice chest with slabs.[…]
Fishing
Crappie/Bream
Cold Caney crappie — Tips to catch Caney Lake’s slabs
Caney Lake grass beds return and foster hordes of big black crappie. And angler Jeff Glover tells you how to catch your share.[…]
Contents
Plastic blast — How two trout masters fish soft-plastic baits
The quest for the perfect speckled trout fishing lure never seems to end. In the early 1970s, when I broke into the fishery, it was dominated by lead-headed shad rigs, Mr. Champ spoons, Bingos, Plugging Shorty Shrimp, and MirrOlures. […]
Bass Fishing
Carolina on his mind — How to Carolina-rig Toldeo Bend
The sky was still black when Dusty Anders pulled up to Toledo Town & Tackle, the pit stop/tackle store on the corner of Highways 6 and 191 near Toledo Bend Reservoir.[…]
News Breaker
State record blackfin tuna caught out of Venice
Capt. Joey Davis knew something was up last Friday when one of his clients was battling a blackfin tuna 18 miles out of Venice’s Pass a Loutre.[…]
Freshwater Fishing
Two Avoyelles Parish men busted for allegedly gill-netting crappie
Enforcement agents with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries cited two Avoyelles Parish men for taking gamefish illegally after they allegedly witnessed them offloading fish caught in gill nets in an area of Old River near Vick, according to a news release.[…]
Inshore Fishing
Roadside reds
It only happens when the weather gets really cold, like in the lower 30s, which doesn’t happen very often down here in southeastern Louisiana.[…]
Bass Fishing
Bring on the bass
This is the month anyone who has bass-fishing experience on Toledo Bend has been waiting for through several months of a so-so fall and winter.[…]
Inshore Fishing
Hot Water Canal goes cold
For Chalmette area wintertime speckled trout and redfish anglers, the Hot Water Canal was about as close as you could get to a sure thing.[…]
Fishing
Marine electronics for your wrist
An electronic watch can be as smart as Einstein and still be useless to fishermen if it isn’t waterproof.[…]
Fishing
Obama’s last minute order phases out lead fishing tackle and ammo on public lands
On the day before President Barack Obama left office, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued an edict to phase out lead fishing tackle and ammunition from hundreds of thousands of acres of land under its management. […]
Bass Fishing
LiveTarget’s Swimbait Series looks just like live bait
LiveTarget’s eagerly anticipated new Swimbait Series has recently arrived in sporting goods stores and tackle shops, and they’re perfect to target bass gearing up for the spawn.[…]
Field Notes
Layer up for winter fishing trips
If you’re planning a wintertime fishing trip, it’s best to pay close attention to the weather forecast and dress accordingly.[…]
Freshwater Fishing
The Bistineau jig
Fish with this jig to get Lake Bistineau’s crappie to dance for you.[…]
News Breaker
A back-up option that’s actually better in the cold
One of the many challenges of being a fishing guide is the pressure of putting clients on fish day in and day out, no matter the weather.[…]
Inshore Fishing
PVC pipe keeps anchor accessible and ready
Capt. Nick Poe isn’t necessarily a fan of the look of his dad’s PVC pipe anchor caddy system that’s a fixture on many of the boats at Big Lake Guide Service, but he can’t really argue with its effectiveness.[…]