Features from April 2018
During a recent hunt in the Homochitto hardwoods of Franklin County, my hunting partner Shane McCullough and I weren’t having any luck luring in a tom. We heard several on the limb, but they were quickly joined by hens and went silent.
We all live for the days when you leave the launch and birds are diving everywhere — and trout seem to fly over the gunnel right into the ice chest.
It was a massacre. Fish blood, poop, and slime covered the deck of the boat and the interior of the ice chest.
Lake Martin is for the birds. Or so some say — mostly folks with expensive binoculars and life lists of birds they have spotted.
Stuart Baum loves turning the last calendar page from March to April.
As Jeff Bruhl left the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain and went down Interstate12, the sky spit droplets on his truck’s windshield. And as he pulled up to the East Pearl River launch, things even got a little gloomier: His trailer tires were the only ones touching the gravel parking lot.
Caleb Sumrall and Marcus Curry left the launch full of confidence. After a winter that saw horrifically cold temperatures, the water in the Atchafalaya Basin was hitting the 70s.
To everything (turn, turn, turn). There is a season (turn, turn, turn), And a time to every purpose, under heaven.
This winter has been miserable, with frigid temperatures putting speckled trout all along the coast into lethargic moods.
There are plenty of ways to call in a gobbler — but these proven tactics to kill will help you seal the deal.
Columns - April 2018
- The Pearl River Wildlife Management Area is located between the Pearl River at the Louisiana-Mississippi state boundary, and the West Pearl river from the east end of the Rigolets by the Mississippi Sound to a point where I-59 crosses its boundary.
- Dusty Anders of Deville was excited when he called an outdoor writer in early February.
- I had something else in mind originally for this column, but the recent happenings regarding the finding of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in a Mississippi deer is more important than anything else.
- As common as gaspergou are in Louisiana and the United States, few people realize how unique this freshwater species really is. Virtually any waters that connect with the Mississippi, Pearl and Mobile river systems and all the Great Lakes except Lake Superior are home to the species — 27 states.
- Louisiana’s 2018 spring gobbler season will begin on April 7 in all three turkey hunting areas.
- The delay of the 2018 turkey season until April 7 has no doubt been an agonizing wait for members of the Tenth Legion, but now this elite group of hunters are in action.
- Dr. Bob Weiss is still at it, speckled trout fishing four or five times a week and cooking most days. Here are his recipes for Treasure Island Trout and Trout Amandine.
- Bass fishing as a professional sport conjures up images of sparkly boats with huge motors, and anglers standing on a stage showing off tournament fish that will soon be released.
- Modern technology has made it easier than ever to be a successful archer. Tools such as compound bows with high let-offs, electronic rangefinders, magnified fiber-optic bow sights, fall-away arrow rests and many other advances have changed our sport forever.
- One common question I get from newbies is, “Where and how do I fly fish for rainbow trout?”
Outdoor Updates - April 2018
- In the span of about 30 minutes on a dreary, drizzly morning last Monday on Caney Lake, Hunter Freeman and Corey Harris experienced a bite so epic most bass anglers’ wildest dreams probably wouldn’t even come close to what actually happened out on the water.
- Troy Borill has been a man on a mission for about the last five years or so, actively hunting predators in Acadia Parish that impact deer and their habitat like wild hogs, coyotes and bobcats.
- Fishing a Louisiana Media Bass singles tournament on Lake Claiborne, things didn’t exactly start out so well for Chris Clement.
- The Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission on Thursday approved a declaration of emergency to cease supplemental deer feeding in East Carroll, Madison and Tensas parishes effective Monday, March 5.
- For the first time in 18 years, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries is proposing restructuring hunting and fishing license fees — a move that could generate $10.4 million in annual revenue for the agency if the state Legislature approves the plan during its regular session slated to begin March 12.
- After last summer’s extended federal season, harvest numbers Gulf-wide indicate red snapper were overfished by 212 percent — even though Louisiana anglers actually brought less fish to the docks than the state’s historical quota.
Field Notes - April 2018
- Capt. Theophile Bourgeois has spent his career learning what makes trout tick, and he lives for that magical time of year when the big girls come out to play.
- GPS mapping has come a long way from the old line drawings of the older systems. But it seems every system has its weaknesses — one being the area covered by detailed maps.
- Baitcasters are an excellent tool for inshore anglers, offering capabilities not found in spinning reels.
- We all want to have fun when we go fishing — not play mechanic out on the water.
- River water started pouring through the Bonnet Carré Spillway Thursday morning, and that rightly has inshore anglers concerned for the spring speckled trout run in Lake Pontchartrain.
- The Mississippi River swelled in March, causing the opening of the Bonnet Carre’ Spillway and sending dirty water throughout the marshes surrounding Plaquemines Parish.
Hot Spots - April 2018
- Laffite isn’t generally known for lunker trout, but Capt. Theophile Bourgeois said last spring began with some 3- to 5-pounders making their way up the system.
- Finding a stable body of water — one that isn’t on a hard rise or already unfishably high — can be a priority for bass anglers in one of the prime fishing months of the year.
- The colder-than-usual weather this winter came in a short, concentrated burst of frigid, bone-chilling cold that shocked man and beast and fowl and fish — all of which are unaccustomed to such temperatures.
- The high Mississippi River began sending tons of sediment out into the waters surrounding Buras in March — particularly on the west side, where trout will move to Grand Isle and Barataria Bay.
- Curtis Simpson has one piece of advice for any bass angler wanting to catch a big largemouth or a big stringer this month — head to the banks at Caney Lake in Jackson Parish.
- Capt. Nick Rando (504-281-8287) says the trout are still transitioning toward outside waters, so this months tactic is to intercept them mid-way.
- Earlier in the year, crappie on Lake D’Arbonne moved from the 30-foot channels to the 12- to 15-foot flats, then into the shallows to spawn. To catch fish after the spawn, you just need to follow the fish right back out.
- If you don’t like fishing around crowds, you’re probably not alone — but it can sometimes actually help anglers. The fish on the Lake Pontchartrain Trestles bridge receive a ton of boat pressure, but that can concentrate the fish, according to Capt. Justin Bowles.
- Capt. Calvin Duvalle (504-957-4549) said he’ll focus his efforts this month in the Bay Eloi area, but mostly at the MRGO rocks.
- Capt. Lane Zimmer said understanding redfish patterns this time of year can help you pinpoint general location where you’re likely to find fish.
- Well, just when you say one thing probably will happen, Mother Nature proves you wrong.
- April is a prime time to catch speckled trout, redfish and flounder on Calcasieu Lake.