Freshwater Fishing
Louisiana’s turtles
Louisiana has 25, maybe 26 species of turtles within its borders or along its coastline. Not all of these are targets for freshwater turtle fishermen.[…]
Fishing
Offshore Fishing
Wonderland
In the truck on the way from his Houma home to Cocodrie, where he docks his offshore boat, Capt. Tommy Pellegrin explained “Wonderland,” the day’s fishing destination.[…]
Freshwater Fishing
What’s legal as a turtle trap?
According to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Enforcement Division, the definition of a turtle trap is quite liberal, essentially calling it any device used to catch turtles.[…]
Offshore Fishing
Bank-fishing tactics
Capt. Tommy Pellegrin fishes different bottom relief features on top of the big Ewing Bank. He has multiple spots marked on his GPS screen, each of which he has found to be productive by previous trial and error.[…]
Inshore Fishing
Lake Pelto Sulphur Mine loaded with speckled trout
Joey Hedrick knows of at least three “sulphur mines” that people fish along the Louisiana Gulf coast. However, the one he most-frequently fishes is the collection of cast iron, wooden pilings and steel cables just north of Lake Pelto.[…]
Freshwater Fishing
The feast
“This is plain, old pot-frying, not turtle soup like at those French Quarter tourist restaurants,” Dirk Matherne said wryly. “Of course, ours has turtles in it. I don’t know if those restaurants even have any turtle in their soup.[…]
Offshore Fishing
All about banks
For most offshore-fishing Louisianans, the existence of hard rock banks off their coast is unknown except for the one commonly called the “Midnight Lump.”[…]
Inshore Fishing
Advantage drop shot
Although drop-shot rigs are nothing new, they have slowly started pushing aside the venerable Carolina rig from its place as the most relied-upon rig for fishing live bait in saltwater.[…]
Freshwater Fishing
How to make a turtle trap
Dirk Matherne’s turtle trap is simple in construction, requiring nothing more than 2-inch-by-4-inch animal wire fencing material and hog rings to hold it together.[…]
Offshore Fishing
Offshore bag and size limits
One of the things Tommy Pellegrin likes about fishing for his Cocodrie exotics, besides the variety, are the relatively liberal bag limits for the fish he catches.[…]
Freshwater Fishing
Bait care essential to crappie-fishing success
When crappie are feeding, they might hit a jig or a skirted hook, but everything tastes better with a Missouri (aka Arkansas) minnow on the back.[…]
Offshore Fishing
Rigging up for offshore bank fishing
Pellegrin’s offshore bottom rig is very simple. His reels are spooled with either 60-pound-test monofilament or 65-pound-test braided line.[…]
Inshore Fishing
Toups’ family fishing tradition
Fishing the Grand Isle Tarpon Rodeo wasn’t something Bootsie Toups did as a child, but when he began fishing the event in 1978 at the age of 23, he was instantly hooked.[…]
Bass Fishing
Make fish attack topwater lures
Often you’ll find fish tracking your topwater for considerable distances before striking. Some will wake like a rising submarine or even boil under the bait in a test run.[…]
Freshwater Fishing
Chains help slow down drift for more crappie success
Crappie pro Mark Williams knows that working with the wind is a make-it-or-break factor for spider rigging.[…]
Inshore Fishing
The Grand Isle Tarpon Rodeo’s colorful history
For about 360 days a year, the tiny island of Grand Isle is home to slightly more than 1,200 people.[…]