Louisiana Sportsman

Crankbait color matters

July 15, 2015 Jeff Bruhl

If an angler wants to match the hatch, size matters when selecting a lure. But so does color.[…]

On the coast, most of the action for speckled trout will come in the surf or in the larger lakes and bays. Start with poppers — such as Skipping Bugs — at first light. Around midmorning, switch to sinking flies. In the surf, that would be either a Deep Clouser or weighted Seaducer pattern. Let the fly sink for 10 seconds; then strip. Inland, that would be a clouser or weighted shrimp pattern about 30 inches under a VOSI.[…]

Take a finesse-oriented Senko, add a bullet weight to the nose to give bass a different look.

Other heavy finesse bass-fishing tactics

July 15, 2015 David A. Brown

Drop-shots aren’t the only finesse rigs that can be beefed up to provide bass a bite-enducing curve ball. Here are some other options:[…]

How to peel a blue crab

July 15, 2015 Jerald Horst

As wonderful as blue crabs are to eat, there is no doubt that their meat is tough to get out of the shell. Follow these steps to culinary heaven.[…]

Breakaway drop-shot weights allow you to fish this finesse rig in heavy cover with less risk of losing the entire rig.

How to get bottom rigs unhooked when bass fishing

July 15, 2015 David A. Brown

If the heavy finesse strategy has a hang-up, then we’ve punned our way into the explanation — hang-ups, snags, entanglements.[…]

Louisiana crabbing regulations

July 15, 2015 Jerald Horst

Recreational crabbing requirements are minimal, both license- and gear-wise. But, according to Sgt. Mike Garrity of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Enforcement Division, some licenses are required and there are some rules to the game.[…]

Island people

July 15, 2015 Jerald Horst

When Barbara and Les Picard call themselves “island people,” they don’t mean to imply that they are natives of Grand Isle. It means they love all islands, whether in the Caribbean, the Mediterranean, or the Gulf of Mexico.[…]

Bank-fishing checklist:

July 15, 2015 Kinny Haddox

Bank fishing is like anything else: You can make it simple or you can make it complicated.[…]

The Empire jetties have been producing trout like these for Capt. Lloyd Landry for decades.

Old-school jetty trout-fishing tactic

July 15, 2015 John McQueen

It’s no secret that jetties attract speckled trout, which hide in the rocks and feed on bait washing by. Here’s how you can find fishing spots on the rocks.[…]

Bank-fishing fit for a king

July 15, 2015 Kinny Haddox

In some cases, bank-fishing can make you king.[…]

Trout trailers

July 14, 2015 Don Shoopman

Success, as usual in the artificial lure manufacturing business — or anything else, for that matter — begats success.[…]

Summertime fun

July 12, 2015 David Moreland

While fishing is good this month, there is much to do in the fields and woods to get ready for the fall season.[…]

Hit ’em with your best shot

July 10, 2015 Catch Cormier

All fishermen are liars, but fly fishermen embellish with style.[…]

Position format is important

July 6, 2015 Captain Paul Titus

Dear Capt. Paul,

I have some coordinates directly from a buddy’s GPS, but they are not bringing me to the same location as his GPS? Is there more than one way to measure/input coordinates? What are we missing here? Why won’t they work?[…]