Crappie/Bream
Follow falling water to great bream fishing
According to Chris Black, owner of Bayside Tackle in Pierre Part, the Atchafalaya and Lake Verret water levels are finally falling, and bream are biting. […]
Articles by John Flores
Bass Fishing
Black Lake big boys
The drive from Morgan City to Natchitoches was a long four hours after I knocked off from my day job at 5 o’clock. And, by the time my wife and I checked into the Chateau Saint Denis Hotel downtown, it was after 9 p.m. — and I was just hearing from Pure Fishing ambassador Jimmy Jeansonne.
Alligator
Alligator safety tips
Alligators are strong animals, so it’s important to use caution when harvesting them. Here are several safety tips to avoid injury.
Alligator
Winning the (gator) lottery
It’s a long boat ride down the Calumet spillway to the Atchafalaya Delta Wildlife Management Area’s Wax Lake Unit. It’s also a straight run, which makes it a perfect time for reflecting. In other words, once you push your throttle forward and get your boat heading south, for the next 30 minutes or so you have time to go over mental checklists or anything else that comes to mind.
Sidebars
Riceland Custom Calls
Calling white-fronted geese can be a challenge, but quite often a quality call can make all of the difference.
Riceland Custom Calls have large bores and are easier to blow than other commercial models.
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Little things that count — Late-season goose-hunting tactics
Shot-wise things were slow. Way too slow.
The speckle bellies were down in good numbers, but for some reason acting real finicky — just plain uppity at times.
Ducks
Mottled duck telemetry study underway in Southwest Louisiana
The mottled duck’s ongoing population struggles, which prompted officials to reduce the daily limit to one bird eight years ago, now are the reason for a telemetry study designed to help researchers locate their nests to determine nesting success.
Ducks
LDWF begins lead study of mottled ducks on Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge
For years now, it’s been widely documented that mottled duck populations have been declining on the Texas Gulf coast, while they have remained somewhat stable in Louisiana.
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Hot action on the Big Burns
Clint Ward dropped his 1/32nd ounce jig into the water. Attached to it was a multi-colored curly tail plastic, tipped with a little piece of Berkley Gulp Earthworm the size of a small snow pea added for enticement. Nowhere in his rigging was a float. What’s more, the lack of a cork gave me pause mainly because I was accustomed to using one where panfish are concerned.
Bass Fishing
Sizing things up on Lake Fausse Pointe
Lake Fausse Pointe is a 17,000-acre system located in Iberia and St. Martin Parishes. Contiguous to the Atchafalaya Basin, the lake is essentially a catch basin for northern runoff and as a result is somewhat shallow when compared to public systems north of Interstate 10. But, that shouldn’t prohibit bass anglers from keying in on and fishing this particular lake for largemouth bass.
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Basin busters — Top deer-hunting tips for the Atchafalaya Basin
Jonathan Cheely walked behind his father Jamie in knee-deep water and rain to make an afternoon deer hunt near Bayou Boutte in the Atchafalaya Basin swamp.
Over the past few years, the father-son team had become almost inseparable, as the younger Cheely decidedly became a deer hunter.
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Blue crab special — Public crabbing opportunities abound
The first time I ate crabs was way back in the summer of 1984. I’m not talking about those Alaskan king crab legs that are rapidly processed, quick-frozen and shipped to a chain restaurant or grocery near you.
It certainly wasn’t good old Louisiana blue crabs.