Columns
Where have all the bullets gone?
If by now you haven’t experienced the frustrating bullet shortage or voiced a loud complaint about it, it’s a fair bet you don’t shoot for a hobby — or shoot at all.[…]
August 2013
Fishing
How to get the best cartography on your chart plotter’s screen
Back when the earliest digital maps for freshwater lakes began to appear on chart plotter screens, I was struck by how different they were.[…]
Columns
Do your homework
Well, here we are in August, the last month of summer. Even though it is still an oven outdoors, we are already thinking about hunting season and making plans to enjoy those glorious fall days.[…]
Columns
Planting tree plots
There is an old saying that, “the best time to plant trees in a tree plot is 20 years ago, but the next best time is today.”[…]
Columns
Reds in the weeds
The heat of summer is in full swing, and many of the shallow marsh ponds are choked with submerged aquatic vegetation. The grass is so thick that it prevents powerboats from accessing these areas, and this is great news for kayak fishermen.[…]
Freshwater Fishing
Chinquapin prefer cold worms over crickets
Most folks that load their boats for a bream-fishing trip toss a tube of crickets in, hoping the top doesn’t come off.[…]
Freshwater Fishing
The life of a bull bream
For some unknown reason, big male bluegills are called “bulls.” Why is hard to figure out. Females aren’t called “cows,” and young bluegills aren’t called “calves.”[…]
Freshwater Fishing
Grass and point edges key to finding chinquapin
Finding something as small as a chinquapin in the middle of a big reservoir like Grand Bayou is kind of like looking for a — well, you know.[…]
Inshore Fishing
Category 5’s Suicide Croaker
With a lifelike body and paddle tail, Category 5 Suicide Croakers are deadly on redfish and speckled trout. The baits are known for lively action when used as a swim bait, jerk bait or attached to a spinnerbait.[…]
Freshwater Fishing
Find bank fishing spots with satellite imagery
Although Aaron Langlois and Joseph Bordelon showed me one of their favorite bank-fishing spots from a boat, there’s no doubt they are drawn to the simplicity of being land-locked anglers.[…]
Inshore Fishing
Egret Bait jigheads
Egret Bait’s wedge-shaped jigheads are excellent for Vermilion Bay waters, where the bottom can range from shell reefs to soft mud with scattered debris and stump structure.[…]
Freshwater Fishing
Catfish bait should ‘match the hatch’
There doesn’t seem to be anything all that special about catfish bait. I mean, find something that stinks and put it on a hook, and the catfish will find it.[…]
Inshore Fishing
Sabine Lake regulations differ between Texas, Louisiana
Road access to Sabine Lake in Louisiana is via Highway 82 approximately three miles west of Johnson Bayou.[…]
Freshwater Fishing
Bank fishing essentials
Bank fishing might not be as equipment intensive as fishing from a boat, but Prairieville angler Aaron Langlois said bringing the right gear makes the experience a lot more pleasant.[…]
Inshore Fishing
Best tackle
Capt. Kent Carlson uses medium action 7 ½- foot Waterloo rods coupled with Daiwa reels. He attached his lures to 12- to 15-pound Izorline copolymer XXX.[…]
Inshore Fishing
Rigging and presenting live bait
Once you have your live bait and have kept it alive all the way to your fishing area, you will have to rig and present your bait properly to be successful.[…]