Ask Captain Paul
The Bird Island that once was
Dear Capt. Paul:
Do you have the coordinates for Bird Island in Barataria Bay near Grand Isle?[…]
Columns
Columns
Coastal region’s best hope for Isaac recovery: You!
OK, admit it: You didn’t take Tropical Storm Isaac seriously. No, it’s alright. I didn’t either, even when when it finally churned it’s way up to a Category 1 hurricane. Really, what was there to fear? Isaac certainly was no Katrina.[…]
Columns
A mullet by any other name is still a mullet
The striped mullet is a fish of many names. By one count, it carries 21 English names and at least 144 in other languages. It is “jompo” in Malagasy, an appropriate-sounding name for this most airborne of fish. In Dutch it goes by “diklipharder.”[…]
Columns
Hideout guns
A group of firearms instructors for the sheriff’s office was standing around, waiting for a meeting to begin. One of the guys, the best pistol shooter among that relatively talented group, pulled a little North American Arms .22 Magnum revolver out of his pocket, and began showing it around.[…]
Apex Predator
Preseason pumpup: 2012-13 hunting season holds promise
Two years ago, I jumped some deer and a streak of white caught my eye. I thought surely that was brighter than just the white of a tail, but the thick cover of the area left me uncertain.[…]
Columns
Fly-Yaking
Fly-fishing from a kayak is admittedly not for the purist. Most kayak anglers won’t be wearing waders or a tactical fly-fishing vest.[…]
Columns
Stop, look, listen before crossing the street or going in the dove field
Dove season opens Saturday and you just got off the phone with your hunting buddy. He has wrangled an invitation from a farmer friend to a dove field for the two of you, and he says the field is swarming with birds.[…]
Columns
Deer camera techniques
My excitement level is now building to a fever pitch as I plot and plan strategies for the soon-to-begin deer season.[…]
Columns
A new season but the game is the same
If you didn’t like the 2011 deer season you probably will not like the 2012 season.[…]
Columns
Not your typical creature bait
Just look at those rows and rows and rows of soft-plastic creature baits, the success story of the 21st century, on the shelves at the main outlets and the local fishing tackle shops. It can be a mind-boggling challenge to pick up the right one(s).[…]
Columns
BP message ‘bunk’
BP has conducted a public relations blitz since their Deepwater Horizon well belched almost 5 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. Their message? Everything is better than ever thanks to their cleanup efforts.[…]
Columns
Smart anglers use grass shrimp
Taking the time to catch a mess of grass shrimp can be the difference between filling the boat with fish or going home empty handed.[…]
Ask Captain Paul
Lost platform
Dear Capt. Paul:
I’m trying to locate a small satellite platform I used to enjoy fishing located in ST63 block. It shows up on my GPS as an icon that was already on my map card; therefore, I never saved it as a waypoint.[…]
Columns
Making the Dog Rabid
I’ve been blessed to have known some of the greatest fly tiers of the modern era. Folks like George Harvey, Polly Rosborough, Mike Verduin, Chris Helms, Gary LaFontaine to name just a very few.[…]
Bobby C's Outdoors
Gun safety a must when dove season opens
Last week, this writer recounted the best dove hunt of my life, when I limited out — 12 back then — in less than a box of shells in under an hour. But even better than my shooting was the organization of the hunt, which was held by a Delta landowner to benefit his son’s high school baseball team.[…]
Columns
Vote for Act 874
A proposed amendment to the Louisiana constitution has caused much consternation in the firearms community, particularly online in the gun forums.[…]