Field Notes

Top 3 surf-fishing mistakes

Plenty of speck anglers are very content to stay dry and comfortable in their boats to catch yellowmouths — but for those who really want to dive in and have more of a ‘hand-to-hand combat experience,’ nothing beats getting down and dirty with trout in the surf.[…]

Columns

‘Kid’-yaking: Create memories on the water

There’s no better way to introduce kids to fishing than with a kayak.

The solitude and close quarters allow for easy instruction and great conversation, with almost endless teaching opportunities. On quiet paddles, a wide variety of wildlife may be seen — as well as several different species of fish caught.[…]

Sidebars

Want reds? Head here

One of the most underrated areas in the Lake Pontchartrain Basin is Lake Catherine. Lake Pontchartrain and Lake Borgne receive a lot more pressure throughout the year, but Lake Catherine produces a lot of redfish this time of year, according to Capt. John Falterman.[…]

Catfish

How to make your own catfishing bottles

Jeremy Gremillion and Ray Ramagos both make their catfishing bottles from emptied, metal, 30-pound R-22 refrigerant bottles. Gremillion gets his from friends who do residential cooling work. Ramagos noted that they can also be purchased from scrap yard dealers.[…]

Inshore Fishing

New gear reviews

Invented years ago by the late Doug Hannon, “The Bass Professor,” Microwave fishing guides are a unique line-control system for spinning rods that reduces the line coiling effect, thereby increasing casting accuracy and distance. The initial stripper guide is where the magic happens. A cone shaped guide-within-a-guide knocks down the line coils that naturally come from casting a spinning reel.[…]

Inshore Fishing

Just buy it

It’s tax refund time, and many anglers are thinking about buying their first kayak. If your budget allows, certainly consider purchasing a brand new kayak. Kayak fishing has continued to increase in popularity, and so have the prices for new kayaks.[…]

Crappie/Bream

Adjusting on the fly is key

Earlier this year, Nick Young and father Jock beat 100 of the best crappie fishing teams in the South to claim the Crappie Masters Louisiana State Championship on Lake D’Arbonne with two seven-fish limits weighing 24.4 pounds.[…]

Sidebars

Other options for specks

The Lake Pontchartrain Trestles isn’t the only place Capt. John Falterman fishes in June for speckled trout. On calm days, he likes to run out to some of the near-shore rigs, particularly if he’s struggling at the Trestles that day.[…]

Bass Fishing

Fish catchin’ stuff

This is tough fishing.

In the blink of an eye, an angler has to see the sweet spot in a pocket around structure, shoot a lure into it and immediately begin his retrieve, all while the current is trying to spin the boat one way or another and hustle it down river.[…]

Sidebars

Tip of the day

Jeff and Nick Poe recommend using electric trolling motors as sparingly as possible. In fact, neither of them use one much because they believe it spooks the fish. […]