Louisiana Sportsman

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July 18, 2026

Seeing red

August 1, 2018 Jerald Horst

Louisiana’s Red River used to be a mud hole.

Or at least, something close to it. […]

Despite the Delta’s abundance of redfish, Capt. Ryan Lambert still enjoys tugging on largemouth bass.

With morning glories blooming across the canal, Capt. Cody Obiol was pushing away from the dock as I waited for his boss, Capt. Ryan Lambert to launch his Skeeter bay boat. Obiol was after bull reds that morning, but he knew my mission involved something much different, so his gracious salutation stoked my optimism.[…]

They don’t get as big as largemouth, but spotted bass offer plenty of aggression.

An unlikely ‘spot’ spot

August 1, 2018 David A. Brown

Finding three Bassmaster Elite Series pros working a hot bite less than a rod length from one another is a rarity, if not the prelude to a heated interaction.[…]

Early and on cloudy days, Tyler Stewart likes a white frog to get the most bites.

The ‘frog’ days of summer

August 1, 2018 Kinny Haddox

For most folks, it’s almost too hot outside to go fishing. You’ve really got to want it to go chasing largemouth bass this time of year. […]

Shimano’s Curado casting rods

August 1, 2018 Louisiana Sportsman

Lightweight, strong, sensitive and affordable. Those are all great attributes for a bass fishing rod, but they don’t always go together. Usually, the affordable part is left out when the other three are mentioned -; but that’s not the case with Shimano’s Curado casting rods.[…]

Marsh Man Masson vid: Crankbaits and more deep in the Louisiana swamp

July 26, 2018 Todd Masson

This time of year, falling river levels serve as Mother Nature’s Kirby to suck bass out of their hiding places way back in Louisiana’s legendary swamps. The fishing is often downright epic.[…]

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.[…]

Never pass wood in Blind River without casting to it.

Tips for Blind River summertime bass

July 15, 2018 Jerald Horst

• Look for places that bass go to eat. That’s where they congregate. Focus on sloughs and points without ruling out bank fishing.[…]

Overall, a Texas-rigged Strike King Rage Tail Rage Craw is Johnson’s go-to lure on Blind River.

Johnson’s Blind River bait calendar

July 15, 2018 Jerald Horst

Topwater frogs and Texas-rigged craws are “in season” on Blind River for Lyle Johnson from March to November. But he is quick to admit that the Texas craw is his mainstay lure. The clear water coming out of the sloughs draining into the river is what prompted his heavy use of the frog the day we fished.[…]

Lyle Johnson serves both as president of the Louisiana Outdoor Writer’s Association and chairman of the Louisiana Fish Records Program.

Don’t cook a record fish

July 15, 2018 Jerald Horst

“Get in the books.” That’s Lyle Johnson’s message to his fellow fishermen.

As chairman of the state’s Fish Records Program, he encourages people to enter their fish, even if it isn’t a No. 1.[…]

Lyle Johnson devotes a lot of time he could be fishing to maintaining the Louisiana Fish Records Program.

A ‘consumptive conservationist’

July 15, 2018 Jerald Horst

Lyle Johnson wears a lot of hats.

The Gonzales native is the long-serving president of the Louisiana Outdoor Writers Association (LOWA), the state’s professional organization for outdoors writers and communicators.[…]