Louisiana Sportsman

Clayton Shilling combined this nice 42.25-inch bull red with a 14.125-inch trout to win first place in the IFA kayak fishing tournament in Grand Isle.

‘Yak tournament tactics

September 15, 2018 Chris Holmes

Clayton Shilling is no stranger to the podium when it comes to kayak fishing tournaments. He has won several and regularly finds himself in the money.[…]

Joe Lavigne is best known for his speckled trout fishing skills, but his first love is bass in small rivers.

A heck of a place for a Trout Master

September 15, 2018 Jerald Horst

Joe Lavigne’s name is well-known in South Louisiana fishing circles, but not for float-fishing spotted bass. Rather, his name is mentioned as being in the revered circle of trophy speckled trout fishermen.[…]

Fishing rafts are never out of sight on Old River.

Old River rafts and raft courtesy

September 15, 2018 Jerald Horst

Rafts is the local term for well, rafts — essentially floating platforms that people fish from. […]

The Reliefband 2.0 is a wearable device that uses electronic pulses to prevent or lessen the effects of seasickness.

New gear reviews

September 15, 2018 Chris Holmes

Many people are prone to getting seasick, and if you fish a kayak in rough waters, the tiny craft is prone to being tossed around — which can make things even worse.[…]

The three lures that Lavigne used on the river are, from the top, a Humdinger spinner, a Whopper Plopper topwater plug and a Lunker Lures buzzbait.

Keep lure choices simple

September 15, 2018 Jerald Horst

Joe Lavigne says three lures are all that’s needed to successfully float fish the Tangipahoa River for spotted bass: a spinner, a buzzbait and a topwater plug. The “day-in-and-day-out” skirt color for the spinner and the buzzbait is chartreuse and white.[…]

Old River offers excellent sac-a-lait fishing, as well as bream fishing, and Padra and Gene often “combo fish” for them.

The Old River bream cycle

September 15, 2018 Jerald Horst

“Bream fishing in Old River is good from spring through October,” advised Padra Francois. “And the fishing is good. When people think of bream in Old River, they think of fish nearly a pound in weight.[…]

After Chris Holmes landed a small bass, this young brown pelican swooped in and tried to steal a free meal. The bird wasn’t successful — but it didn’t give up easily, circling around and eventually landing on the kayak for a quick free ride.

September’s best kayak fishing

September 15, 2018 Chris Holmes

September’s best kayak fishing[…]

Delta Lures started mass-producing spinnerbaits in 2011, and now their offerings are sold all over the country.

Delta Lures’ Spinnerbait

September 15, 2018 Don Shoopman

Two longtime fishing buddies couldn’t keep a good thing to themselves 7 ½ years ago, which was a blessing for bass fishermen who love to catch on quality spinnerbaits.[…]

Capt. Lane Zimmer was catching a few speckled trout inside before Gordon's surge. He expects to see that trend accelerate in the coming days.

Gordon gives Lafitte the nudge it needed

September 14, 2018 Todd Masson

For the last couple weeks, Lafitte-area speckled trout were standing on the edge of the diving board, their toes curled, unsure of whether they wanted to commit yet to the inside pool.[…]

Night-fishing kayak trip in Hackberry produces

September 13, 2018 louisianasportsman

There was no moon, tons of mosquitoes and showers in the area when we launched our kayaks about 11 p.m. last Saturday into Kelso Bayou near Hackberry.[…]

This simple line winder allows anglers to quickly and easily respool reels and change out leaders.

Austin’s Handy Dandy Line Winder

September 12, 2018 Andy Crawford

Is there anything worse than having to spool a reel while on the boat? I mean, after you spend the time to snatch the old line off the reel, you then have the pleasure of fighting a plastic spool of new line rolling around the boat — and it’s a pain to ensure you’re putting the line on the reel tightly.[…]

Video: Consistent redfish action out of Venice

September 12, 2018 Ann Taylor

A very green Mississippi river has sucked the redfish in along the shoreline, according to longtime Venice guide Capt. Boola Landry of Reel Tite Fishing Guide Service.[…]

The author tested this new Mojo Trout series from St. Croix, along with 19 other new rods for 2019.

New fly rods for 2019

September 12, 2018 Catch Cormier

At the International Fly Tackle Dealer show in July, it was yet another record-setting year for premium fly rods.[…]

Marsh Man Masson vid: Catching redfish after a tropical storm

September 11, 2018 Todd Masson

Tropical Storm Gordon certainly won’t be remembered for generations as a monumental deliverer of destruction, but that doesn’t mean the storm didn’t leave its mark.[…]

Belle Chasse angler Chad Battles said redfish action is about to explode in Delacroix. He's been targeting 26- to 30-inch fish with a white Paca Craw.

Delacroix redfish getting thick inshore

September 10, 2018 Todd Masson

Belle Chasse angler Chad Battles isn’t a fishing guide, but he’s on the water chasing redfish at least as much as any professional fisherman. As such, he can really recognize trends, and one of them he’s seeing now is increasing redfish action out of Delacroix.[…]

Capt. Paul’s Fishing Edge: GPS waypoints for Lafitte

September 8, 2018 Captain Paul Titus

I refer to the Lafitte Edge area as the location in the Southeast Louisiana marsh in St. Charles, Lafourche and Jefferson parishes between the Bayou Segnette launch in Westwego, Lakes Cataouatche and Salvador, areas in the Lake Salvador Wildlife Management Area, southwestward to Bayous Gauche and des Allemands, Lac des Allemands and Bayou Boeuf and eastward toward The Pen and Bayou Du Pont, then continuing south to the northern part of Barataria Bay.[…]