Louisiana Sportsman

July 8, 2026

Wearing a safety harness and attaching yourself to a lifeline before ever leaving the ground are keys to tree stand safety.

Tree stand safety tips

October 10, 2018 Patrick Bonin

With bow season now in full swing, that means hunters will once again be heading into the woods. Here’s some tree stand safety tips.[…]

Bassmaster Elite Series pro Gerald Spohrer of Gonzales turns to several baits during the fall, including (left to right) a Sixth Sense SplashBack popper, a Sixth Sense Dogma, a Delta Lures buzzbait and a Missile Baits D Bomb punching rig.

Fall can be an unnerving time for bass anglers, as the fish seem erratic while transitioning out of summertime patterns. But Gonzales Bassmaster Elite Series pro Gerald Spohrer said that unpredictably is actually a misunderstanding.[…]

A summer of battling redfish in the salty waters of South Louisiana can shorten the life of your reels. But adding a little Corrosion X before putting them up for the winter can have them ready for action next spring.

Prep your reels now for 2020 season

October 3, 2018 Andy Crawford

The 2019 fishing season is almost over for those of us diehard hunters. Charter guide Capt. Brent Roy said a little TLC on your reels could save you money.[…]

This simple line winder allows anglers to quickly and easily respool reels and change out leaders.

Austin’s Handy Dandy Line Winder

September 12, 2018 Andy Crawford

Is there anything worse than having to spool a reel while on the boat? I mean, after you spend the time to snatch the old line off the reel, you then have the pleasure of fighting a plastic spool of new line rolling around the boat — and it’s a pain to ensure you’re putting the line on the reel tightly.[…]

Don’t toss it — button it up

September 11, 2018 L. Woodrow Ross

Deer hunters are often guilty of discarding items that are useful, and could be used to create reminders of a special hunt. […]

Scouting for teal

September 10, 2018 Darren Digby

Teal hunters with the ability to move around a bit would do well to put in some scouting time for best odds on opening day.[…]

Want crabs? All you need to know to fill a hamper

August 22, 2018 Todd Masson

Crabbing is in full swing across the Louisiana coast, and it’s downright silly in certain areas, like the lower Barataria Basin.[…]

Get real-time tidal conditions — right on the water

August 13, 2018 Patrick Bonin

Get a good real-time reading of the wind’s impact on tidal estimates using a piling or other stationary object in the water.[…]

Understanding how water moves through the marsh — and the ‘traffic system’ fish use to travel — will help you locate more honey holes and make you a better angler.

Understanding how water flows through the marsh

August 9, 2018 Devin Denman

It’s easy to look upon Louisiana’s prairie marsh and only see a bunch of grass and water.[…]

Lure profile – not just color – an important factor to consider

August 9, 2018 Devin Denman

In addition to color, the profile of your lure will also determine its effectiveness depending on what forage predators are feeding on.[…]

Devin Denman and some fishing buddies tagged and released lots of speckled trout along the MRGO rocks earlier this spring, and he’s already received several recapture reports on some of the fish.

Tracking trout movement at the MRGO

August 7, 2018 Devin Denman

Back in May, me and some of my closest fishing buddies targeted speckled trout to be tagged and released at the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MRGO) Long Rocks. […]

A violet goby is a speckled trout favorite, and just might be the reason we have purple-colored lures. Keeping a close eye on what a trout throws up when you reel it in can give important clues on what it’s eating that day — and might ultimately help you

Inshore Insights: Mystery baitfish revealed

August 2, 2018 Devin Denman

We were fishing Delacroix when a speckled trout coughed up this weird thing shown in the picture above. Read on to learn what exactly it is — and why it’s important to you as an inshore angler.[…]

Inshore insights: Keep your tackle tangle-free

July 26, 2018 Devin Denman

Rod socks and hook bonnets are an easy and relatively inexpensive way to prevent your rods and reels from becoming a tangled mess.[…]

Chas Champagne, with Matrix Shad, always keeps a close eye out for snot grass like this because he typically finds redfish in the area.

Sight-fishing support

July 17, 2018 Patrick Bonin

If Matrix Shad lure owner Chas Champagne is cruising through marsh and duck ponds sight-fishing for reds — but doesn’t actually spot any fish — he’s typically keeping a close eye out for two other reliable indicators of reds in the neighborhood.[…]

Todd "Marsh Man" Masson catches numbers of marsh bass using weightless worms in clear water.

How to use weightless worms to catch more bass

July 17, 2018 Andy Crawford

Todd “Marsh Man” Masson is best known for his speckled trout-catching prowess. After all, he wrote a book on the subject.[…]

Instead of letting the crabs come to him, Josh Chauvin hunts them down during one of his recent 'sight-crabbing' trips.

Apex Predator goes ‘sight-crabbing’ for monster blues

July 11, 2018 Josh Chauvin

I vaguely saw a quick fleck of blue in the moss 2 feet below the surface of the clear marsh water. Unsure of what actually was beneath the ripples, I tossed my jighead hooked with catfish skin next to the grass pile. It laid on the mud bottom for two seconds, when a huge claw suddenly flashed out of the green growth.[…]

Field Notes