A spokesperson for the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said rig removal has not been, as suggested, recently ramped up as a knee-jerk response to the Deepwater Horizon disaster; however, many of those who have been making frequent trips out in the Gulf see it differently.[…]
Earlier this year, one of spearfisherman Terry “Papa Smurf” Migaud’s favorite oil platforms was removed. It was the Main Pass 305 platform, which Migaud said hosted “wall to wall” grouper in the winter, and large schools of amberjacks and snapper in the summer — along with a large variety of tropical fish.[…]
Danny Sykes was tired of having soggy baits, but he needed to rig his offshore trolling baits the night before to be ready for hot action when he went fishing off the North Carolina coast.[…]
James Ledet was sitting on the front of the center console of a pristine 32-foot Yellowfin cruising at 45 mph. The next thing he knew he was in a hospital wondering what happened and why he was there, only to be told that he was pummeled in the jaw by a fish flying through the air at 50 mph.[…]
With the closing of snapper season, we find ourselves dreaming of next March and new regulations. There are no shortages of red snapper in the Gulf right now, and bagging a limit of some 10- to 15-pounders on the last day of snapper season (July 16) was almost too easy aboard the Cajun Venture with Capt. Chad Reinhardt.[…]
Red snapper numbers in the Gulf of Mexico have grown to the point that snapper seem to be everywhere off the Louisiana coast.[…]
Everywhere I go, I seem to bump into Casey McLaurin, director of operations for Acadiana Outfitters, a high-end specialty outdoor retailer located on the outskirts of New Iberia. Casey loves to fish for speckled trout and he loves to duck hunt, so our talk always turns to one of the two subjects.[…]
Running the long distances necessary for offshore trout fishing —up to 25 miles one-way from either Southwest Pass or the eastern end of Marsh Island — demands having a real boat under you. And after reaching those points, Vermilion Bay must still be crossed.[…]
Speckled trout fishing offshore of Vermilion Bay is a seasonal business, primarily because of the fickle behavior of the Atchafalaya River.[…]
Live bait is considered critical for success by the anglers. Whether croakers, cocahoe minnows or mullet are used, live bait must, by definition, be kept alive to be used.[…]
The old removal regulations created in the 1970s focused on “navigational liability,” and have not been adjusted to the environmental protection laws that followed in the next three decades, EcoRigs’ Steve Kolian said.[…]
Red snapper season has been extended for six days because of rough seas that have prevented anglers from reaching the offshore fishing grounds, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced today (June 29).[…]
The Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission in early June approved the extension of state territorial waters from three miles off the Louisiana coast to more than 10 miles in the ongoing battle to wrest control of fisheries management from the federal government.[…]
Capt. Cory Talbot of Reel Addictions charters was recently entrusted with the 32-foot Twin Vee charter boat at 10:30 a.m. when David Pizzolato and his friends from Luling stepped on board.
“I was sure we were going to catch snapper, and was hoping for some tuna but was not really quite sure what to expect,” Pizzolato said while gearing up for the ensuing overnighter.[…]
I used to be fascinated at how quickly my grandfather’s catfish would come to the surface of his two farm ponds as he drove across the field in their direction.[…]
Capt. Vernon Ledoux is a diehard speckled trout fisherman, but when he’s down on Grand Isle and the winds fall to a whisper, he has a hard time resisting the call of the offshore rigs.[…]