Freshwater Fishing
New fishing line could benefit crappie anglers
When folks spool up their reels with line before heading off to Lake D’Arbonne, they typically use anything from 4- to 10-pound test.[…]
Fishing
Freshwater Fishing
Change has come to Black Bayou Lake
Freddie McMullen, now a successful 51-year-old Monroe orthodontist, spent his formative years on Black Bayou Lake. […]
Inshore Fishing
Reader offers advice
Dear Capt. Paul:
I recently wrote to you about the data card on my Garmin 182c not reading, and you posted the article in the April Louisiana Sportsman magazine. I am writing today to give you the results.[…]
Bass Fishing
Hop to it
Is there anything more dazzling, spectacular or spellbinding in the bass fishing world than a big mossback monster blowing up on a topwater frog?[…]
Freshwater Fishing
Black Bayou Lake is pretty as a postcard
Black Bayou Lake, the centerpiece of the Black Bayou Lake National Wildlife Refuge, is pretty as a postcard. […]
Freshwater Fishing
Tippets
Speckled trout action should be gangbusters this month after a colder than normal spring. There was plenty of clear water in April and that favors topwater action.[…]
Bass Fishing
Swimming plastics
Streamlined swimbaits like the Berkley Havoc Grass Pig, Reaction Innovations Skinny Dipper, Yum Lil’ Suzee and Yamamoto Swim Senko offer a lot of versatility for grass fishing.[…]
Freshwater Fishing
The bream of Louisiana
The word “bream” (pronounced “brim”) is a Southernism. Our northern friends call them by their proper species name, or they lump them all together as sunfish — which sounds altogether too sissy-like. In the South, we talk about bull bream.[…]
Bass Fishing
Spin cycle
Combining flash, vibration and a large profile, spinnerbaits should always remain an active part of the grass angler’s lineup.[…]
Freshwater Fishing
Bluegills
This feisty species is definitely the backbone of the bream fishery. It gets big — for a bream —at 10 inches, and during its summer-long spawning season forms dense beds of nests.[…]
Bass Fishing
Getting cranky
Now, tossing a hard bait with two exposed trebles into the middle of a topped-out hydrilla bed is little more than an exercise in futility.[…]
Freshwater Fishing
A better anchor
Although Lyle Soileau definitely uses a standard anchor, he also has another tool to help hold his pontoon boat in place.[…]
Bass Fishing
The jig is up
Hackney’s approach for warm-season grass jigging is all about forcing the issue: He’ll flip the ¾-ounce version of his signature Strike King Hack Attack jig with either a Rage Craw or Twin Tail Menace Grub trailer, targeting those edges, points and gaps where fish will be looking for easy meals that don’t require much effort.[…]
Freshwater Fishing
Never cut an anchor loose again
Bream will stack up where tangles of cover is scattered along the lake bottom, and that means anchoring often results in anchor hang-ups.
[…]
Bass Fishing
Heavy handed
Similar to the jig approach, but tailored for reaching deeper into the slop, punching enables anglers to scare up some mean grass action.[…]
Freshwater Fishing
Looking for Toledo Bend bream in all the right places
Toledo Bend is vast, so there are myriad areas in which to look for bream beds.[…]