Fishing
Tippets
September is a month of transition as water temperatures begin to drop. Slowly at first due to radiative cooling, and moreso as cool fronts invade the state. Cooler water invigorates the fish. […]
Statewide LA
Sidebars
Teal gear this Hunter won’t leave home without
When Hunter Simmons heads to the teal blind, he usually has his Browning Maxus 12-gauge over his shoulder.[…]
Bass Fishing
Frog fishing tackle
FLW pro Todd Castledine trusts his frogging to a 7-foot, 3-inch Falcon Cara swimbait rod with an 8:1 Lew’s Super Duty reel carrying 65-pound braided line. This outfit, he said, affords him the elements essential to effective frogging.[…]
Bass Fishing
Best topwater frogs for different applications
Everyone has their favorite frog, but putting aside the debates over brand and color patterns, we can break down the basic shape/style options based on their applicability.[…]
Hunting
Coastal Wildlife Management Areas
A combination of Mother Nature and state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries technicians and biologists has left coastal Wildlife Management Areas in fair to good condition for hunters before the 2017-18 seasons.[…]
Inshore Fishing
Tarpon from a ‘yak
I got to Orlando for ICAST a few days early this year and was able to go and play in my own kind of Disney World: You know it’s going to be a great day out of Cocoa Beach when you’re greeted by flat seas and an Atlantic sunrise. […]
Hog Hunting
Prepping a hog for the butcher
If you’ve ever field-dressed a deer, you’ll have a rough estimation of how to do a hog, but there are a few differences in quartering a pig.[…]
Crappie/Bream
Top 7 tips for catching slabs in brush
Pro angler Terry Blankenship lends his expertise for catching late-summer crappie around deep cover with his top 7 tips for success.[…]
News Breaker
Teal numbers in LDWF’s September survey rocket to 373,000
Last week’s stretch of unseasonably cool temperatures was a pleasant surprise — and it looks like it helped usher in big numbers of blue-winged teal into Louisiana in time for today’s season opener.[…]
News Breaker
Teal hunters give opening weekend mixed reviews
For the first time in years, Louisiana’s teal season opened on a Friday — and with one early cool front under our belts and the highest September aerial survey in the books since 2008 — expectations were high for a banner start.[…]
Columns
September’s best kayaking bets
The goal of this new feature is to provide the best available information for monthly hotspots for kayak-friendly fresh and saltwater areas across the region. Due to the lag time from information to print, weather conditions can change the bite so check in regularly with LouisianaSportsman.com for the latest updates.[…]
Columns
Slim Jimmys
Before there was a Cooyon Croaker, Kaplan-based Cajun Lures probably was best known for the little soft plastic that slayed sac-a-lait here, there and everywhere.[…]
Cobia
Cobia 101: Tips to hook up with lemonfish
Call them whatever you want — lemon ish, cobia or ling — but their firm white meat is delicious, and right now is prime time to catch them off the Louisiana coast.[…]
Columns
Deer harvest, number of hunters in decline
Many years ago, in the mid-70s, there was an article in a popular hunting magazine that was titled “The Thundering Herd.” Basically it was about exploding deer numbers in most of the states in the southeast.[…]
Deer Hunting
Full 2017-18 Rut Report in October’s Louisiana Sportsman
As September rolls around, many deer hunters have already begun getting their leases in order: Scheduling work weekends, cleaning up shooting lanes, prepping stands, tending to food plots and filling up feeders to make sure they’re ready to go.[…]
Hurricane Coverage
LDWF agents deployed to Florida in aftermath of Hurricane Irma
Enforcement agents with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries headed to Florida on Sunday to assist with security and search and rescue efforts there in the wake of Hurricane Irma.[…]