Louisiana Sportsman

March 18, 2025

Henderson Lake fishermen who target shallow-water cypress trees like those in the background usually get their hands on sac-a-lait like this one.

Hit the cypress trees at Henderson Lake for sac-a-lait

March 6, 2025 Don Shoopman

If you’re hoping to get your hands on a mess of sac-a-lait this month, there are some hotspots to check out at Henderson Lake.[…]

This hungry slab fell for Laitin Gauley’s Bobby Garland jig in the bone white color.

The return of the Tickfaw River

February 21, 2025 Keith Lusher Jr.

The Tickfaw River is home to anglers who target bass, bream, and catfish. But its most prized possession may be the loyal sac-a-lait anglers.[…]

The late Harold Ensley, center, host of “The Sportsman’s Friend” fishing show, and his friends show off two ice chests stuffed with crappie following a trip four decades ago with the author at Toledo Bend.

Crappie time at Toledo Bend

January 2, 2025 John Dean

There have been some extraordinary crappie catchin’ days on Toledo Bend, where huge balls of shad congregate when the water temperature drops.[…]

No trees in sight! Metzger shows off a big sac-a-lait he caught in the marsh in a patch of submerged eel grass.

Shrimp for sac-a-lait

December 20, 2024 Keith Lusher Jr.

Kyle Metzger of Pearl River is an admitted artificial shrimp fanatic. He targets sac-a-lait on a regular basis fishing the East Pearl.[…]

Travis Brown of Woodworth with a beautiful pair of Red River crappie.

The Red River is a winter crappie hotspot

December 8, 2024 Justin Adkins

The Red River offers some of the best opportunities for winter fishing, and Travis Brown has mastered the art of catching these crappie.[…]

The Bite Me Shad Daddy Formula is the pretreatment scent of choice for soft plastic artificial lures when Mike Clark is after sac-a-lait.

Cuzz’s Bite Me Scents

November 28, 2024 Don Shoopman

Dan T. “Cuzz” DeWitt’s Bite Me Formula’s “secret sauce” liquid scent triggers beaucoup bass and crappie bites.[…]

The Creme Crappie Shad

October 28, 2024 Don Shoopman

The Creme Crappie Shad is a tri-colored soft plastic crappie lure that remains to this day a favorite for fish and fishermen.[…]

Jonathan Phillips shows off a crappie he caught after “shooting” a small jig under a dock. Dock shooters can fling small baits way under tight places where crappie lurk. (Picture by John N. Felsher)

‘Shooting’ docks puts small baits where big crappie lurk

October 25, 2024 John N. Felsher

To get way back under cover for crappie, try “shooting docks.” This essentially means turning a fishing rod into a bow.[…]

Professional crappie angler Dan Dannenmueller shows off a white crappie he caught while fishing around cypress trees. (Photo by John N. Felsher)

Falling for crappie

September 24, 2024 John N. Felsher

In many ways, chasing crappie in the fall somewhat resembles hunting. Anglers need to go where they can find food sources.[…]

For some down-sized thrilling fishing action, an ultralight spinning combo and a tiny Beetle Spin is hard to beat. A simple cast and retrieve action is all that is needed to trick these colorful, feisty and tasty little demons.

Paddling for panfish

September 9, 2024 Chris Holmes

Whether you collectively call them sunfish, bream, bluegill or panfish, chasing these tiny fighters in a kayak is an absolute blast.[…]

Calvin native Holden Higgs holds a couple of the summer crappie he caught on Black Lake in Natchitoches Parish.

Black Lake angler has the right formula for summer crappie

August 1, 2024 Justin Adkins

Calvin native Holden Higgs has cracked the code to the hot summer crappie bite on Black Lake in Natchitoches Parish.[…]

Terry Aucoin of Denham Springs shows what a fly rod can produce on Gray’s Creek in August.

Gray’s Creek bream on the fly

July 26, 2024 Keith Lusher Jr.

Fly fisherman Terry Aucoin shares how he targets bream in small creeks near his home in Denham Springs. One is Gray’s Creek.[…]

Kywan Housley of Pelican holds up a pair of Cross Lake crappie.

Cross Lake crappie haul

June 8, 2024 Justin Adkins

Pick up a dock shooting rig, and try out a new technique to catch crappie this summer on Cross Lake in Caddo Parish.[…]

Bream base ahead

April 22, 2024 Kinny Haddox

People who want in on a lot of action can find it with bedding bream. Finding a bream bed is like hitting the jackpot.[…]

Kevin Alleman caught this stringer of crappie using a Bobby Garland Baby Shad on a pink and orange jig head. (Photo courtesy Kevin Alleman)

Crappie under the moon

April 19, 2024 Keith Lusher Jr.

During his crappie fishing career, Kevin Alleman has never let a full moon cancel his plans. If anything, he uses it to his advantage.[…]

A tabletop covered in crappie like this is a normal sight along the shores of Lake D’Arbonne this month.

Simple approach to target D’Arbonne crappie

March 8, 2024 Justin Adkins

Lake D’Arbonne boasts one of the state’s most abundant populations of quality crappie. Brad Black turns it into his playground.[…]