Freshwater Fishing
Gearing up for Mississippi River catfishing
When I climbed into the cab of Jim Danley’s pickup truck to go fishing, I happened to glance into the truck’s bed and spied his fishing rods.[…]
Northeast LA
Freshwater Fishing
The pipeliner tight-liner
I thought that I was going to do a human interest story about an all-American country boy-type of youngster who just happened to catch the fish of a lifetime.[…]
Hunting
D’Arbonne NWR’s squirrel-hunting do’s and don’ts
You don’t normally begin reading an article about hunting a specific area with a suggestion of something not to do. Consider this one of those times.[…]
Hunting
D’Arbonne National Wildlife Refuge offers great fishing, too
How many places are there where you can put the boat in the bayou, motor up to a flooded hardwood flat and kill ducks in the morning, and then stop and catch crappie and bass on your way back to the truck?[…]
Contents
Mississippi Monsters — Top fishing tips for Mississippi River catfish
It looked like a sea monster when it first came up.
The wide, slate-gray body did a rolling churn when it surfaced in the turbid Mississippi River water.[…]
Contents
Hiding in plain sight — D’Arbonne NWR is an overlooked hunting jewel
John Hanks waded the shallow, flooded hardwood bottom off Point Road, hopeful of a successful morning duck hunt. He wasn’t disappointed.[…]
Freshwater Fishing
Bank-fishing checklist:
Bank fishing is like anything else: You can make it simple or you can make it complicated.[…]
Freshwater Fishing
Bank-fishing fit for a king
In some cases, bank-fishing can make you king.[…]
Contents
Bank busters — Where to bank-fish in Northeast Louisiana
Years ago, news editor Jimmy Hatten would sit across from me in the Monroe News Star office. When things slowed, we turned to talk fishing. Jimmy and his wife loved to fish every Sunday afternoon.[…]
Bass Fishing
The biggest and best Lake D’Arbonne bass
While 8-pounders like David Harrell likes to catch are enough to send most of us to the local tackle store to show off, those fish are just about half the size of the official record on D’Arbonne.[…]
Bass Fishing
Best lures for Lake D’Arbonne bass
David Harrell has an “everyman” approach to fishing for big bass. He doesn’t have any big secret weapon or perfectly matched tackle and bait combo.[…]
Bass Fishing
Test of time and patience — How to catch summertime bass at Lake D’Arbonne
Before David Harrell even carried the big bass to the scales that Saturday, he had an inkling about what his friends were going to say.[…]
Sidebars
Finding hunting areas
Peyton McKinnie and Nathan Pilgreen said the most-accessible turkey hunting habitat in Union Parish is on hunting leases and open to club members only.[…]
Sidebars
Union Long Spurs walk the talk
The love of turkey hunting and the desire to make it better drives Nathan Pilgreen and Peyton McKinnie to be active in the Union Long Spurs, the local affiliate of the National Turkey Federation.[…]
Sidebars
It’s all about the call
It should be no surprise to anyone who knows Peyton McKinnie that he still has the first turkey call he ever owned, a Cedar Hill Little Scratch that has been made since 1982.[…]
Sidebars
Top turkey gear
Besides calls, the list of turkey hunting gear used by Peyton McKinnie and NathanPilgreen is pretty simple.[…]