Inshore Fishing
Beat low tide ranges with bottlenecks and windblown banks
Low tidal ranges can be the death knell for saltwater anglers. Simply put, when the water’s not moving, the fish aren’t biting.[…]
Month: November 2012
Inshore Fishing
High-tech trolling motor a space-age anchor
John Falterman Jr. considers his Minn Kota i-Pilot trolling motor instrumental in his approach to saltwater fishing nowadays, and the feature that he has found most helpful is it’s Spot Lock system.[…]
Inshore Fishing
Hollow Who Dat Spoon three baits in one
The Who Dat chant at Saints games rings a little hollow this year, but for Capt. John Falterman Jr. and other Louisiana anglers throwing the Bomber Who Dat Spoon, they don’t mind a hollow Who Dat.[…]
Contents
Stick, Move and Communicate — Catch more redfish on tough fishing days
As a soldier in a field-artillery unit based in Baumholder, Germany, three words drilled into my government-issue brain were shoot, move and communicate.[…]
Sidebars
Five tactical considerations
Wood ducks differ and share some characteristics of other species ducks. Several things should be considered when targeting wood ducks:[…]
Sidebars
Three ducks in the bag
From the season being totally closed in the early part of the 20th century to a limit of two birds in 1962, after 20 years where hunters could harvest just one, in the 2008-09 duck season the daily bag limit for wood ducks went to three.[…]
Contents
Scout’s Promise —Tips for hunting Atchafalaya Basin wood ducks
Long before daylight, Cole Romero laid flat on his back along the floor of the boat, the back of his head resting on a gear bag positioned on the front deck like a pillow.[…]
Contents
Dr. Pontchartrain — Learn from one of Lake Pontchartrain’s legends of fishing
Dr. Bob Weiss knew where some keeper trout were holding. He knew he could yank up his anchor, start his motor and high-tail it to feeding speckled trout at the L&N Bridge in the Rigolets.[…]
Inshore Fishing
Best baits
Pike said he mostly fishes Bomber mud minnows in glow/chartreuse, electric chicken, all chartreuse or purple/chartreuse, but any color with a chartreuse tail will be effective.[…]
Contents
Pike’s Picks —Best fishing locations for Delacroix
“One fish. Two fish. Red fish. Blue fish. Black fish. Blue fish. Old fish. New fish. This one has a little star. This one has a little car. Say! What a lot of fish there are.” Dr. Seuss[…]
Sidebars
Hurricane effect means more ducks this season
The 2012-13 duck season should be great, even though Hurricane Isaac blasted Southeast Louisiana’s habitat.[…]
Contents
Catahoula PWRs — Historical look at hunting wild Louisiana hogs
I grew up in Winn Parish and learned how to hunt while chasing squirrels in Dugdemona swamp. Whether alone or with family members, I always kept a sharp eye out for the free-ranging hogs that roamed the woods.[…]
Bass Fishing
Go identical to trigger more bass strikes
You would be hard pressed to find a spinnerbait at your local tackle shop that featured two blades of the same size. The front one is usually smaller than the rear one because it helps the blades work in harmony with each other.[…]
Bass Fishing
Outside the Box — Tips for better spinnerbaits
Few bass anglers give much thought about what spinnerbait they tie on the ends of their lines. Want proof? Take a look at what’s lying on the front decks of bass boats all across the Bayou State.
Odds are you’ll find 75 percent have tied on 3/8-ounce chartreuse-and-white spinnerbaits with tandem Colorado/willow-blade combinations.
The other 25 percent? According to West Monroe’s Kenny Covington, they’ll have tied on a 3/8-ounce chartreuse-and-white double-willow spinnerbait.
“But none of them know why they’re throwing either one,” Covington said. “They may know that bass are slamming spinnerbaits right now because they’re up shallow feeding on shad, but they don’t know why they have those particular kinds of spinnerbaits tied on.”[…]
Deer Hunting
Indian Bayou Area offers more deer-hunting opportunities
Directly across the Atchafalaya River on its western bank in St. Landry and St. Martin parishes, another 28,500 acres of mixed swamps and hardwood bottomlands provide even more public access to deer hunting.[…]
Deer Hunting
Sherburne WMA deer recover from 2011 flooding
In May 2011, historic flooding once again swamped the Atchafalaya Basin when the Morganza Spillway was opened.[…]