Bass Fishing
District Diamonds
If the drought defined the late 1990s, it looks like a dramatic recovery in the state’s bass fisheries will be the defining factor of the early 2000s.[…]
Fishing
Bass Fishing
Crawfish Boil for Bass
Louisiana waters are some of the most diverse in all of North America. The entire southeastern U.S. ecosystem has been heralded for its diversity of life, even to the point of being called an “evolutionary laboratory.” Thousands of fish, insects, amphibians, vegetation and mammalian species rely on it and call it home.[…]
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Behind the Scenes
Recent years have seen a marked increase in the number of local fishing and hunting television shows, so much so that those who keep up with the genre are left to wonder who won’t have their own outdoor show.[…]
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Bayou Black’s Bass Buster
Sometimes conventional fishing methods put bass in the boat this time of year in the marsh around Bayou Black. Sometimes it takes unconventional tactics to accomplish that purpose.[…]
Ask Captain Paul
Where are Pontchartrain’s reefs?
Dear Capt. Paul:
Can you give me the GPS coordinates for the artificial reef balls that were placed in Lake Ponchartrain?[…]
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Cover: February 2004
Last month the president delivered his State of the Union address; this month, Louisiana Sportsman reports on something much more important to local anglers: the state of the Atchafalaya Basin.[…]
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Winter Hope
February is generally considered one of the toughest months for inshore saltwater fishing in Louisiana. Although fall and early winter speckled trout fishing can be fantastic, trout seem to go dormant in the depths of winter.[…]
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Ultralight for Ultra-action
Sometimes less is more, or maybe smaller is better. Many “serious” fishermen may overlook ultralight baits, but their tiny package should not be ignored because they tend to induce big-time action when the bite seems to virtually shut down. […]
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Stick ‘Em Up!
To the non-angler, the term stickbait is non-sensical.Maybe there could be such a thing as a shrimpbait or a minnowbait or a cricketbait, but a stickbait? A bait that looks like a stick?[…]
Bass Fishing
State of the Basin
Brent Bonadona remembers the halcyon days before Hurricane Andrew, when fishing in the Atchafalaya Basin was incredible.[…]
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Same As It Ever Was
What must it have been like to fish for bass in Louisiana’s fresh and brackish marshes a hundred years ago, when the Mississippi River regularly cut crevasses and spilled its nutrient-rich load into the already fertile wetlands?[…]
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Pop…Pop…Sploosh!
Allow me to get this disclaimer out of the way very quickly:[…]
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Two-Faced Venice
It was a typical winter day in South Louisiana. Forecasters called for 20-mph-plus winds as another front pushed through the state.[…]
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Peculiar Port Sulphur
The sun was barely up when Capt. Nash Roberts IV cut the engine and let the big 24-foot Bay Stealth glide to a standstill.[…]
Fishing
How to make a 12-volt first-aid kit
Sooner or later every boater flips a switch, presses a button or turns a key and nothing happens. A motor doesn’t turn, a light doesn’t illuminate or an LCD screen remains blank.[…]
Columns
Crappie, specks have much in common
Patrick McManus, author and long-time columnist for Outdoor Life and Field & Stream magazines, once observed that the two best times to fish are “when it’s rainin’ and when it ain’t.”[…]