Louisiana Sportsman

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August 29, 2026

Painting a crankbait, even with a state-of-the-art airbrush paint, is a process that takes many, many steps and coats of paint to give the bait a perfect finish.

Tie on a Black Label balsa crankbait

March 26, 2019 Don Shoopman

Mississippi pro’s hand-crafted balsa crankbaits are square-billed, bass-catching creations.[…]

Big north Louisiana crappie like these are bringing anglers from around the country to Lake D’Arbonne for the American Crappie Trail National Championship.

What will it take to win the D’Arbonne National Crappie Championship?

March 25, 2019 Kinny Haddox

Lake D’Arbonne’s famous crappie fishing has reached a new level. On March 28-30, the 16,000 acre Union Parish lake will host Louisiana’s first-ever national crappie championship.[…]

Missouri angler lands giant Toledo Bend 11-pounder

March 24, 2019 Patrick Bonin

Bryan Hargiss, of St. Louis, Missouri, landed an 11.14-pound largemouth bass on March 13 in a cove near Holly Park Marina.[…]

Some members of the St. Michael Fly Fishing Club practice casting on school grounds at one of their after-school meetings. Only half the members can practice at one time due to shortage of equipment.

For these students, the fish ate their homework

March 21, 2019 Catch Cormier

Most schools in Louisiana have a bass fishing club that competes against other schools. Now there’s the St. Michael High School Fly Fishing Club.[…]

Caddo 12 pounder reverses LeJeune’s bad luck to good

March 21, 2019 Kinny Haddox

Austin LeJeune landed a 12.02 lunker at Caddo Lake. He took photos and videoed the release of the big fish back into the lake to spawn as part of the BASELINE Trophy Replica program.[…]

Bowfishing Championship set for Bossier City

March 18, 2019 From News Reports

The U.S. Open Bowfishing Championship, the largest event of its kind in the fast-growing sport of bowfishing, is coming to Bass Pro Shops in Bossier City in April.[…]

Frog tactics

March 18, 2019 David A. Brown

For an angler, the frog offers a great search bait for covering lots of water and finding key staging areas for bass.[…]

Will spillway openings hurt April trout bite?

March 18, 2019 Brian Cope

Even though the Bonnet Carré Spillway on the Mississippi River continues to pour out the remnants of a long, wet winter, the speckled trout bite should still be much better than it was in 2018.[…]

LDWF says early draft of study shows trout numbers down; new evaluation underway

March 14, 2019 From News Reports

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries is reassessing the state’s stock of speckled trout. […]

Fertilizing small ponds this month will kick-start growth at the bottom of the food chain that leads to healthier fish populations, good fishing.

March is time to fertilize small ponds

March 14, 2019 Jeff Burleson

With spring just around the corner and water temperatures on the rise, pond owners should proceed to the next level of their continual improvement program. […]

It’s tough to beat a spinnerbait when the water is dingy to muddy in the early spring.

Try three baits for March bass

March 14, 2019 Dustin Wilks

These three bass fishing patterns have always seemed to be among the best to fish in March.[…]

Spring speckled trout will move miles to get away from muddy water because they need water with higher salinity.

Move, move for specks

March 14, 2019 Sam Davis

Spring speckled trout will move miles to get away from muddy water because they need water with higher salinity.[…]

The redfish bite is hot under docks

March 14, 2019 Brian Cope

Capt. Ben Powers uses his Humminbird Solix to find redfish under docks, then he catches them with live bait on a jighead. The redfish bite is hot right now.[…]

Caddo birthday bass fine with Harwell

March 14, 2019 Kinny Haddox

Corey Harwell got a late birthday present with this 10.50-pound largemouth bass out of one of his favorite fishing holes, Caddo Lake.[…]

Jerkbaits will trigger strikes from speckled trout year-round, but they’re especially productive in cold weather.

Jerkbaits can give speckled trout fits

March 13, 2019 Chris Bush

How to cast jerkbaits and get the merciless response that speckled trout exhibit after staring down its hard-plastic foe.[…]

Texas angler enjoys epic day at the Bend — including a 10.43-pounder

March 11, 2019 Patrick Bonin

Chance Vicknair enjoyed one of those trips that most bass anglers only dream about. He had an epic day at Toledo Bend that featured a 9, a couple of 7s, a 6 and his third double-digit bass ever, a 10.43-pounder.[…]