Louisiana Sportsman

Fish smarter, not harder. You can still catch fish in the height of summertime heat.

Hot trout tips

August 1, 2018 Andy Crawford

The dog days of summer have arrived, and that means staying on the water for 12 hours to limit out on speckled trout is about as much fun as hitting your thumb with a hammer. Twice.[…]

Live shrimp and croakers will be effective in catching trout roaming over the shell pad bottoms of the sound’s rigs and wellheads.

Dog days specks

August 1, 2018 Patrick Bonin

Mother Nature typically cranks up the furnace on high this month, enveloping the state in a sticky, humid sauna that practically leaves anglers begging for the first cool fronts of fall.[…]

Prairieville's Tyler Brockman caught these two 5-pounders on back-to-back casts on Friday while fishing with his dad, Steve Brockman, in Lake Pelto. The larger of these fish went 5.27-pounds, and should put him on the CCA STAR leaderboard.

Bounce around for solid Cocodrie trout

July 30, 2018 Andy Crawford

Trout fishing out of Cocodrie is a bit different this year, and it took Prairieville angler Steve Brockman a couple of trips to figure things out.[…]

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.[…]

Marsh Man Masson vid: How do various topwaters look, sound to speckled trout?

July 25, 2018 Todd Masson

Catching trophy-sized speckled trout on topwater lures is no less exhilarating than hitting a grand slam in the bottom of the ninth to win game seven of the World Series. There’s just something about hearing the staccato rhythm of a clacking plug being interrupted by a cupped slap and frothy explosion. It turns the knees to jelly.[…]

St. Bernard man cited for alleged crabbing violations

July 25, 2018 From News Reports

Enforcement agents with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries cited a 65-year-old St. Bernard man for alleged commercial crabbing violations on Monday.[…]

Capt. Johnny Nunez with a good eating-sized redfish out of Shell Beach.

Three keys for Shell Beach specks

July 24, 2018 Rusty Tardo

Capt. Johnny Nunez, AKA the Fishing Magician (504-239-3159), was born and raised in Shell Beach and has spent his life pulling fish of every kind from the surrounding waters. When Nunez speaks, fishermen listen — and he told me the keys to speckled trout success this month are rocks, reefs and rigs.[…]

Marsh Man Masson vid: What’s biting on the rocks? Apparently everything

July 23, 2018 Todd Masson

Daily west winds mean the outer bays are rough and muddy and the interior marshes are lower than the average politician’s ethical standards. So South Louisiana anglers could do a whole lot worse right now than finding stretches of protected rocks and catching whatever will bite.[…]

Marsh Man Masson vid: Catching redfish after wicked west winds

July 18, 2018 Todd Masson

Westerly winds have been as much a part of the South Louisiana fishing scene this summer as humidity so thick you can almost drink the air while you breathe it. Winds from that direction empty the marshes in a lot of areas, and can make usual hotspots drier than fine red wine.[…]

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.[…]

Tippets

July 15, 2018 Catch Cormier

Early July should be great surf fishing for speckled trout. Try poppers starting at first light. An hour after the sun rises, switch to Clouser Minnows or other baitfish patterns. An intermediate or sink tip line will help get the fly down in the trough areas where the larger trout are feeding.[…]

Stay mobile for maximum trout action

July 15, 2018 David A. Brown

If the notion of “shooting fish in a barrel” appeals to you, summer trout fishing probably won’t be your cup of tea. Sure, you may find a pile of fish, but finding implies looking — and this time of year often requires a lot of that.[…]

July is a month where you might have to bounce around a bit, picking up a few fish at each stop. But those fish will quickly fill the cooler.

Be flexible to fill trout limits

July 15, 2018 Andy Crawford

Capt. Tommy Pellegrin always has a plan in mind when he leaves the dock. But he said he’s ready to zig and zag because, well, stuff happens.[…]

Pellegrin uses a No. 4 treble hook when fishing shrimp because he knows they will sink into flesh and won’t let go without the use of pliers.

Treble hooks hold tight

July 15, 2018 Andy Crawford

Capt. Tommy Pellegrin uses slip corks because they make it so easy to cast.

He uses slip corks because they make it so easy to cast, even working over deep water.[…]

Capt. Tommy Pellegrin looks for sweet spots when he’s fishing jetties and beaches. If you find water pulling out faster than the surrounding surf, actively feeding trout are almost guaranteed.

Beating the barrier islands

July 15, 2018 Andy Crawford

When conditions are slick enough to allow you to work the beaches on the barrier islands, ice chests can quickly fill with solid trout throughout the summer.[…]

How to tie a uni knot stopper

July 15, 2018 Andy Crawford

Tying a uni knot stopper is easy and quick, once you get the steps down. Here’s how you do it in five easy steps.[…]