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Jump Around

December 1, 2012 Chris Ginn

I always wondered while fishing during the winter if all those ducks I kept jumping in the river lakes just off the Ouachita River between Monroe and West Monroe would eventually return to that same spot.[…]

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Sock Knocker

December 1, 2012 Chris Ginn

This past teal season didn’t exactly knock Capt. Chris Pike’s socks off. The Delacroix charter captain and duck-hunting guide hunted every day, and although he had some decent hunts, most days ended with a few empty spots on his duck strap.[…]

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Footsteps of a ghost

December 1, 2012 Jerald Horst

It was a hypnotizingly peaceful afternoon. I shuffled along the banks of Little River, head down, searching intently for a pottery shard, an arrowhead — anything that the area’s first inhabitants might have left behind.

The sun’s rays felt good on my back, but the air still had a cold nip to it from a front that had passed the day before.

The sound of dogs barking in the distance echoed through the bare trees. The occasional cawing of crows seemed especially sharp in the dry air.

Otherwise, there was silence.

I felt rather than heard something behind me on the riverbank. I turned but saw nothing. It happened again. The third time, I barely turned my head and peeked out of one corner of my eye. […]

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Tadpole’s Tensas — Tactics for Tensas NWR deer hunting

December 1, 2012 Keith LaCaze

It was Jan. 7 of this year and Alton “Tadpole” McLeod was hunting an area of Tensas National Wildlife Refuge he had not previously hunted. He found a deer trail and a suitable tree for his climbing stand overlooking the trail and got set up.

Around 4 p.m. buzzards (of all things) began to congregate at a roost tree nearby.

“They were making a lot of noise, landing, flapping wings and breaking branches,” McLeod said. “There must have been 30 or 40 of them.”

Tadpole was discouraged and did not expect any deer movement due to all the noise. He considered moving, but since it was so late in the day he decided to sit it out till dark.

Around 5 p.m. he heard something moving in the palmettos, coming from the direction of the buzzard roost. He suspected either a deer or bear.[…]

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Wilkerson’s Wonderland — Myrtle Grove’s Wilkerson Canal offers great redfishing options

December 1, 2012 Rusty Tardo

Maybe you’ve thought of Myrtle Grove as a mere blip in the road, a tiny hamlet somewhere between Ironton and West Pointe a la Hache, a place you whiz by on your way to more notable destinations, such as Buras, Empire and Venice.

But it’s time to think again.

Certainly, many old timers remember Myrtle Grove as an outstanding wintertime bank-fishing destination, where you could pay a small fee and pull your car or truck up near the edge of Wilkerson Canal and fish for trout and redfish.

It was well known for producing excellent catches of specks and reds in the most inclement weather. It actually seemed that the colder and more bitter the winter weather was, the better your chances of catching fish.[…]