Columns

Outboard blues

My nickname in some quarters is “Black Cloud” because I have a tendency to toward bad luck. My only chance to fish Lake Amistad during its heyday, for instance, was doomed when a blizzard (literally a blizzard) blew through South Texas — in late May.[…]

Columns

Outboard blues

My nickname in some quarters is “Black Cloud” because I have a tendency to toward bad luck. My only chance to fish Lake Amistad during its heyday, for instance, was doomed when a blizzard (literally blizzard) blew through South Texas — in late May. The one time I fished Lake Falcon, another big-bass mecca, fell apart when an upstream dam burst in Mexico and sent the lake into a massive rise.

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Columns

Outboard blues

My nickname in some quarters is “Black Cloud” because I have a tendency to toward bad luck. My only chance to fish Lake Amistad during its heyday, for instance, was doomed when a blizzard (literally a blizzard) blew through South Texas — in late May.[…]

Columns

Trout, red regs in need of overhaul?

Since 1988, we anglers fishing along the Louisiana coast have operated under regulations allowing us to keep 25 trout and five redfish per day. And that latter limit could have been even more liberal were it not for the redfish wars that ended commercial exploitation of that species.[…]

Columns

Come on: Don’t take my gasoline away!

There are some things I avoid like the plague. The dentist, for example. Yeah, I know I should go more often, but I hate the entire experience. Nothing personal. I just hate it (and it usually costs me loads of money). So I avoid anything dealing with dentists until I have a tooth that is killing me.[…]

Columns

LWFC should sue for artificial reef funds

When Gov. Bobby Jindal raided the constitutionally protected Artificial Reef Program, outdoorsmen were up in arms. The man who came to office on the coat tails of this state’s hunting and fishing community proved beyond any shadow of doubt that he was anything but “the sportsmen’s friend” he had claimed.[…]

Columns

Catch-and-release hurting bass fishing

Old dogs can learn new tricks. Proof of that came in January when the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries’ Mike Wood announced that slot limits should be dropped on six lakes that have been part of the state’s quality-lakes system for more than 20 years.[…]

Columns

Sometimes nature is just fickle

Three short years ago, a little lake snuggled into the crescent of the Mississippi River southwest of New Orleans rose to world prominence when Kevin VanDam boated 20 fish worth 69 pounds, 11 ounces to win the Bassmaster Classic by a stunning 10 pounds.[…]

Columns

Spoiled children

Ever been in a restaurant with your significant other and have the family from hell seated right next to you? You know the family I’m talking about: The one with three kids throwing nonstop tantrums while their parents seem oblivious to the chaos.[…]

Columns

Revived passion

As a kid, I spent as much time as possible in the woods on the 600-acre working ranch on which we lived on the edge of Baton Rouge. During the summer, when I wasn’t sitting on a tractor bush-hogging a pasture or helping in the hay field, I ranged through the 300 acres of hardwoods doing whatever struck me at the time.[…]

Columns

Never give up

When my kids were young, I was determined they would be as eaten up with hunting and fishing as I was. They were dragged along on trips as often as possible, and the lessons stuck ­— at least with my son.[…]

Columns

The lunker parade

My introduction to Toledo Bend was almost 20 years ago this month when I drove to the reservoir for a Louisiana Outdoor Writers Association meeting. Former Louisiana Sportsman editor Todd Masson and I jumped on John Dean’s boat, and spent a broiling-hot day dropping plastics into 30 feet of water.[…]

Columns

Give ’em a break

It’s all the rage to bash governmental agencies. Folks are tired of taxes, tired of the political wrangling that prevents much from happening (which might be a good thing) and turned off by partisan sniping reminiscent of spoiled children.[…]