Another helping of Blue Runners, please
March 2010
No, I don’t mean those wonderful Louisiana canned red beans. I am talking about the fish, Caranx Crysos, a.k.a. hardtails. Blue runners are a member of the jack family, Carangidae, which includes 28 species in North American Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico waters.
Don’t eat the bait!
February 2010
The herring family is a big one. Called Clupeidae by biologists, it holds 28 members in North America. Fourteen are found in Atlantic Ocean waters, including the Gulf of Mexico, five in Pacific waters, one in both the Atlantic and the Pacific, six migrate between freshwater and Atlantic ocean waters, and only two, the gizzard shad and the threadfin shad, are freshwater species. Both are common in Louisiana.
Behold the humble hardhead
January 2010
Think of what life must be like for a hardhead catfish — despised by all, loved by none. The contempt is universal. A commercial shrimper once told me that he wished he could drain the ocean, take a stick and kill all of them.
A fish so ugly it’s beautiful
December 2009
The words “I didn’t think that anything so ugly could ever win an award” really caught my attention.
Florida bass are different creatures
November 2009
Largemouth bass are the most popular freshwater recreational fish in America, in spite of the changing face of the fishery. Gone are the days of a bass fisherman being pictured as a grandfather in a rowboat with a grandson or contemplative pipe-puffing angler patiently casting a clunky wooden topwater plug with his old knuckle-buster.
Bring a mullet home for dinner
October 2009
Well, actually this tasty little fish is not really a mullet, but you would never believe it if you listened to South Louisianans. Usually, they call it a channel mullet, ground mullet or black mullet. Every once in a while, a fisherman with an air of sophistication will call it a whiting.
Wahoo are the Ferraris of the Gulf
September 2009
Sleek, fast and glamorous, wahoo are the Formula One race cars of the fish world. Scientists know them as Acanthocybium solandri. The genus name is derived from the Greek words for “thorn” and “a tunna,” so it is essentially described as a “thorny tuna.”
Blues are La.’s freshwater big-game fish
July 2009
Seldom do anglers associate “freshwater” and “big-game fish” together. But Louisiana, with the continent’s largest rivers, large and small lakes and reservoirs, vast freshwater marshes and seemingly endless miles of small rivers, bayous and streams, is home to several species of large freshwater fish.
Fishing right side of platform important
June 2009
What passes for another red snapper season is upon us again, and fishermen will be zeroing in on offshore oil and gas platforms to add their two red snapper to the rest of their reef-fish catch.
La. stone crabs are a summertime treat
May 2009
Marsh fishermen are well aware that Louisiana has lots of crabs. They seem to be everywhere in fresh, brackish and salt marshes, and end up being guests of honor at countless seafood boils in coastal Louisiana.
Size limits for crappie not always good
April 2009
Hotspots come and go in fisheries management. Several things drive management controversy. One is that fishermen are very passionate about their pursuit, and like with other things that arouse passions, a lot of folks adopt the position of being an expert on what they love so much.
Deepwater weirdo is a delicacy
March 2009
What Louisiana saltwater fish is colored like a rainbow, lives in tunnels, can weigh more than 30 pounds and tastes like lobster?
Deepwater weirdo is a delicacy
March 2009
What Louisiana saltwater fish is colored like a rainbow, lives in tunnels, can weigh more than 30 pounds and tastes like lobster?
Ask Captain Paul
Creature Feature
