Contents
Cover: April 2014
The trout season is kicking off and bass should be on their spawning beds this month.[…]
Fishing
Bass Fishing
Bend Bonanza — Keys for bass fishing the Toledo Bend spawn
Half-ounce Rat-L-Traps were about as rare from Alexandria west to Toledo Bend last month as a Republican at an Obama rally.[…]
Contents
The Free-liner — Trophy trout expert shares the secrets to success
Speckled trout have always been the premier gamefish in Louisiana’s coastal marshes, and big speckled trout — the kind that are 7 pounds and larger — are the stuff of which dreams are made.[…]
Contents
Cover: April 2014-Freshwater
The trout season is kicking off and bass should be on their spawning beds this month.[…]
Contents
Plan A, B and C — Fishing tactics for redfish, drum and sheepshead
“Redfish in April?” Artie laughed as Doc mentioned our forthcoming fishing trip. “Man, redfish ain’t ‘runnin now! Dey run in da fall! You guys gotta be outcha mind![…]
Inshore Fishing
Big Lake speckled trout starting to crank up
As long as spring-like temperatures remain in the forecast, speckled trout fishing at Big Lake should keep on ramping up as water temperatures gradually rise, according to a fishing guide.[…]
Fishing Tournaments
67th New Orleans City Park Big Bass Rodeo attracts 575 anglers
Saturday’s City Park Big Bass Rodeo attracted 575 anglers, plus 89 kayakers for the Boats on the Bayou division.[…]
News Breaker
Coast Guard reportedly tickets red snapper fisherman 6 miles off Louisiana’s coast
After a LouisianaSportsman.com user announced online he had gotten a ticket from the Coast Guard while fishing for red snapper beyond state waters last weekend, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries is reminding offshore anglers of the risk of venturing beyond the currently recognized 3-mile boundary.[…]
Inshore Fishing
Specks showing up now on the west side of the Mississippi out of Buras, guide says
Speckled trout are just starting to show up on the outer bays and over the oyster reefs on the west side of Buras in advance of a minor April spawn, according to a Venice guide.[…]
Fishing
Garmin catches up (and then some)
Garmin is bringing its down- and side-scanning sonar technology to the marine electronics market, calling them DownVü and SideVü. You can expect near-picture-quality views of the fresh- or saltwater world beneath and off to both sides of your boat like those you’ve been seeing on the screens of other manufacturers’ units.[…]
Freshwater Fishing
LDWF, LSU AgCenter search for cold-tolerant salvinia weevil for North Louisiana
Unusually cold temperatures in the northern parishes are expected to have killed 90 percent of the salvinia weevils used to combat the invasive aquatic plant giant salvinia, which is clogging waterways across Louisiana.[…]
Inshore Fishing
LSU professor reels in ‘shocking’ catch on Florida beach
When Steve Harrison was surf-fishing recently at Grayton Beach State Park in Santa Rosa Beach, Fla., he caught a strange fish that he couldn’t readily identify.[…]
Bass Fishing
Another wild week of 10-pounders at Toledo Bend
At least three more anglers landed big-time bass during the last week at Toledo Bend.[…]
Inshore Fishing
Specks beginning to show up in Delacroix marsh, guide says
Speckled trout are starting to appear in the Delacroix marsh, according to a fishing guide.[…]
Columns
Contest fraud stinks
Hunting and fishing tournaments and contests are a big part of the outdoor industry. Though I never had any desire to participate in such competitions, many of my friends do and more power to them.[…]
Bass Fishing
Paulina angler catches 10-pounder in Patroon area at Toledo Bend
What a difference a day makes.
Paulina anglers Thomas Hymel and Victor Guidry wrapped up a hard day of fishing in the 1215 area at Toledo Bend last Thursday with a three-bass stringer weighing just under 6 pounds.[…]