Features from November 2019
- Here’s a parish-by-parish look at state-record book bucks that shows a hunter needs to hunt north of US 190 if he wants to see his name in print.
- Duck hunting season is almost upon us here in Louisiana. Weed out common hunting mistakes so you’ll be ready when it opens again.
- Shorter days and sliding water temperatures tell bass it’s belly packing time and a great many will move up from summer depths.
- As fall progresses, crappie head from their shallower, fall spots toward the deeper water. Here’s how a Louisiana crappie pro follows them.
- Managing your deer herd can make hunting a pleasure or a chore. Learn how to achieve your goals and enjoy your time in the woods.
- Morehouse Parish guide Johnny Wink shares his almost 50 years of duck-hunting know-how to help hunters kill more ducks this season.
- How does LDWF know how many ducks will be in-state for hunting season? Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at how the numbers get crunched.
- Be patient and courteous, and don’t barge in on other fishermen or duck hunters, even if the action promises to be great.
- Using ideas from successful hunters can play out in your favor when it comes time to put the crosshairs on that trophy whitetail buck.
Columns - November 2019
- Its unique range-finding feature makes the Garmin Xero A1i sight a top-drawer sight for any hunter's bow. Here's the reason why.
- The author explains how he's taken black fox squirrels along the Mississippi River and surrounding bottomland hardwoods with a bow.
- Point your kayak towards the rock dam on the MRGO in Hopedale. It has easy access and consistently provides great fishing opportunities.
- Reading sign is as old as hunting. Sign is simply the evidence that game animals and birds leave on the landscape that shows they’ve been around.
- Crappie Psychic’s Petit Minnows are 2 ½-inch, soft-plastic minnow-style baits that are perfect for crappie and speckled trout.
- Examining the sink rate and sink profile of some popular Paul Brown lures and decide if time of year turns this bait from ordinary to extraordinary.
Outdoor Updates - November 2019
- While deer can tolerate high water, animals can become stressed over time. When flooding is severe like it was this past season, it pays to be cautious.
- Hayden Theriot was on a work weekend in Tensas parish clearing land for a box stand when he saw a particularly large snake on a lane of fresh cut grass.
- Ulysse “Bootsie” Toups Jr. caught 24 flounder in three days fishing along Highway 1 near Grand Isle. Toups said reports indicate the flounder are all over.
- Ben Raley and his 11.08-pound Caney Lake lunker from this past Saturday.
- Commercial alligator trapping and alligator farming is being heavily affected due to a highly contested ban on alligator skins in California.
- The 2019-20 Natural deer urine regulations says it’s legal to use products from manufacturers involved with the ATA program.
- On Oct. 1, Rachel Pepper killed this Webster Parish buck. It had 9 points with an inside spread of 18 ¼ inches and main beams 22 inches.
Field Notes - November 2019
- When Nick LeBrun wants to catch bass in November on Caddo Lake, Toledo Bend and other prime bass-fishing destinations, he goes to the good ol’ “box worm.”
- Capt. Todd Seither transports less expensive fuel from his home up in St. Rose to gas up his 24-foot Skeeter down at Cajun Fishing Adventures in Buras.
- New Iberia tournament angler Caleb Sumrall’s shares his advice on how to boat loads of bass from the waters west of the Atchafalaya River.
- A little TLC can bring older duck decoys back to life, so when you need to greet those northern red-legged greenheads they are all ready for the show.
- When bass pro Caleb Sumrall of New Iberia heads home to the Atchafalaya Basin in November, the first bait he ties on is a Kajun Boss spinnerbait.
- The artificial lures Cliff Crochet wants in his hand in November are the Santone Got 5 spinnerbait and the Bill Lewis Rat-L-Trap.
- Lively discussions about decoy spread strategies have probably gone on since wood carvers starting crafting lifelike dekes in the 1800s.
- Here are some steps to take that have helped Louisiana duck hunters work ahead of hunts to prevent headaches in the blind.
- A Treeshaker flipping jig is the preferred bait Tyler Carriere fishes with for bass in November in and around the Atchafalaya Basin.
Hot Spots - November 2019
- If it’s November at Toledo Bend, you’ll see smiles on a lot of faces, as bass anglers enjoy one of the better months of bass fishing there.
- According to bass pro and lake regular Homer Humphreys, Lake Bistineau is good for bass fishing right now and he doesn’t see that changing anytime soon.
- Bill McCarty pointed bass anglers to the Bayou Black area, specifically Bayou Penchant and Bayou Coppersaw, for some red-hot bassing this month.
- According to guide Tony Fuqua, Saline-Larto will be the No. 1 crappie lake in the state, and one of the tops in the country, this fall into next year.
- Lake Salvador should be holding some fat sac-a-lait, while in Lake Cataouache, plenty of bass are being caught by anglers.
- The Galliano Sulfur Mine area has produced good numbers and good sizes of speckled trout for decades during this time of year.
- It’s been a tough year for trout chasers, but that’s in the past. Speckled trout are showing up inside at Hopedale and Shell Beach in big numbers.
- When targeting bass in Venice this fall, anglers should know that the river has changed in more ways than just the fishing.