Bass Fishing
Always bet on Black
I’ve got to admit I wasn’t expecting much.
Chad Wiley, a Bassmaster tournament pro from Pineville, asked me to meet him at Joe’s Horseshoe Lake Marina in Monterey.[…]
Fishing
Crappie/Bream
Warm up to winter crappie
When baitfish go deep in colder months, crappie follow them. Try these tips from some professional guides to load up on winter slabs.[…]
Features
Delta winter hotspots
Step outside and the chilly winter air stings your nose and ears. What do you do? You grab a jacket, gloves and maybe a neck gaiter. Pretty standard stuff, but fish have no such options. They gotta deal with whatever nature throws their way by being smart and seeking refuge in life-sustaining habitat.[…]
Freshwater Fishing
Shimano Curado 200 K series
Shimano made some waves in the fishing industry last summer when it debuted its new Curado 200 K series baitcasting reels at the annual ICAST show, where they promptly took home the honor as the best new freshwater reel.[…]
Big Bass
Bayou Sorrel pond gives up 12-pound lunker bass
Dequian Jackson hasn’t been bass fishing all that long, but the 20-year-old reeled in a true lunker largemouth earlier this month from a public pond in Bayou Sorrel and experienced a fight most veteran anglers likely will never get to feel in their lifetimes.[…]
Field Notes
Inshore insights: Easy tip to prevent a backlash
Baitcasters are an excellent tool for inshore anglers, offering capabilities not found in spinning reels.[…]
Inshore Fishing
Inshore insights: How to secure a drop-shot rig
Drop-shot rigs are awesome for many reasons: They’re low-cost, easy to tie and best used with spinning tackle.[…]
Fishing Hotspots
Best Delacroix fishing is now
Ray Chagnard rarely misses a week of fishing in Delacroix, and he said this is absolutely the best time to be there.[…]
News Breaker
Study tide charts for December trout success, veteran guide says
We’ve all been there: We pull up to our favorite fishing hole to find the trout absolutely mauling anything hitting the water — and then the tide stops moving and you can’t buy a bite.[…]
Bass Fishing
How to catch post-front bass
It never fails this time of year: You have a weekend tournament or plan to spend your weekend on the water and a cold front blows through.[…]
Inshore Fishing
Marsh Man Masson vid: Fish bit just days after Louisiana’s snowstorm
After catching my first tagged redfish, I continued to hit the bass and reds before switching gears and boating speckled trout after speckled trout.[…]
Field Notes
Inshore insights: Tying and securing a double rig
Catching speckled trout two at a time is a hallmark of an excellent Louisiana fishing trip — and few rigs are better for the job than the double rig.[…]
Columns
Exotic ‘yak trips
Catching fish in a kayak never gets old. However, there is always that quest for bigger and different species. Nothing provides that opportunity better than a trip to an exotic location.[…]
Columns
December’s best bets
Of course, Toledo Bend is a large lake and it’s difficult to pinpoint any one area. However, the diversity of terrain and varying depths allow for finding fish no matter what the conditions are. In Louisiana, December can mean heavy coats or short pants. If fishing a sustained warm stretch, the fish move shallower and the bite is a bit more determined.[…]
Columns
Tourney tip: Target tide lines
The Inshore Fishing Association (IFA) Kayak Fishing Tour is a premier catch-photo-release kayak tournament series that spans from South Carolina to Texas. The five divisions (Atlantic, Florida East, Florida West, Louisiana and Texas) attract some of the best inshore kayak anglers from across the country.[…]
Columns
New gear reviews
If you’re looking for a reasonably priced spinning reel that’s built like a tank, the Penn Slammer III is it. Kayak fishing is tough on reels. Kayaks sit low to the water, and your reels will get wet and occasionally dunked.[…]