Freshwater Fishing
Top fishing tips for Atchafalaya Basin bream
1. Be there when water temperatures are right for the spawn — 68 to 75 degrees.[…]
Fishing
Inshore Fishing
Best baits for Cocodrie’s spring specks
Finding healthy numbers of late-spring speckled trout in the eastern Terrebonne estuary is one thing. Tempting them to bite is quite another — something that tends to change seemingly day by day.[…]
Freshwater Fishing
Where to go bream fishing in the Atchafalaya Basin
Beadle has several regions that are easy to get to with short runs from local landings in Berwick and Morgan City.[…]
Inshore Fishing
Deep trout-fishing option
As endless as the shallow-water trout fishing options are to the east of the Houma Navigation Canal are, those choosing to fish bigger — though just as accessible — water in the same general area shouldn’t feel left out.[…]
Freshwater Fishing
When to go bream-fishing
Local angler Ray Beadle typically starts getting the itch to fish bream in February when the willows start to bud. I kind of get that, because for me it’s when I can hear the steady singing of prothonotary warblers and northern parulas.[…]
Offshore Fishing
Dog snapper provide more meat for the table
Few of these other species turn up in catches while mangrove snapper fishing. But one does, and it’s not all that unusual — the dog snapper.[…]
Bass Fishing
When to throw a spoon
During the shad spawn in April and May, Johnston fishes spoons around Styrofoam docks or muddy banks where the baitfish do their thing.[…]
Offshore Fishing
How to snell a circle hook
Capt. Kenny Heikamp snells all his hooks rather than tying them on with knots. Here’s 5 steps to show you how to snell a hook.[…]
Inshore Fishing
Breaking the Barataria Bay trout code
The Midway campaign of May 1942, was hard-fought but successful because U.S. Naval Intelligence was able to break the Japanese communications code and decipher their plans. […]
Bass Fishing
Modifications to get the most out of spoons
While spoons will definitely put fish in the boat, there are some modifications that help make them even more effective — and can eliminate a nagging problem inherent with the lures.[…]
Freshwater Fishing
Top chinquapin baits
Aggressive and gluttonous as any schooling fish, chinquapin are hardly picky. Nevertheless, catering to their tastes and preferences will earn you more love.[…]
Offshore Fishing
Live bait is the ticket for mangrove fishing
Capt. Kenny Heikamp, like many other fishermen, believes mangrove snappers are wary fish and learn quickly how to avoid danger.[…]
Inshore Fishing
Top fishing tactics for Barataria Bay redfish
Before calling it a day, Capt. Keith “Herk” Bergeron wanted to run into the marsh and make a few casts for redfish. […]
Bass Fishing
Coastal fish love spoons, too
In coastal marshes, a gold weedless spoon like the Johnson Minnow or Bomber Saltwater Grade Who Dat is standard issue for redfish seekers.[…]
Freshwater Fishing
Best tactics for bedding chinquapin
When chinquapin move in shallow to spawn, the ensuing game of tempting and taunting them to bite can become much like bed fishing for largemouth bass.[…]
Offshore Fishing
The making of the master
Kenny Heikamp is built like a 5-foot, 7-inch coiled steel spring. He moves about his 32-foot Twin Vee catamaran with latent, ready to unleash energy. His chin has a determined set to it and his dark eyes burn intensely, like hot embers. I would hate to be a fish, knowing that he was after me. […]