Fishing
XCalibur Square Lip
The new series of Square Lip shallow-running crankbaits from XCalibur cast like a bullet and bounce off cover like a champ, looking just like a dazed and confused baitfish.[…]
Fishing
Currents
Feeling hungry? Really hungry?
Louisiana Sportsman magazine has been working on a two-part series that will begin in the April issue on the safety of our state’s seafood.[…]
Bass Fishing
Paulina Pilgrims
Some aspiring bass anglers from around Paulina graduated together in the late 1980s. They started making a yearly run to Toledo Bend, while trying to get noticed enough to be accepted into the biggest local club there was at the time, Road Runner Fishing Club.[…]
Contents
Dead Man Walking
On May 31, 2004, Thomas Edward Prickett retired from the prestigious job of Chief of the Wildlife Division of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.[…]
Contents
Reds N’ Heads
Capt. Rory Rorison says he copes with the fickleness of March by specifically targeting “reds and heads” in Breton Sound and Black Bay.[…]
Contents
Blue Line
It was late February. The day was a beautiful blue respite from the drizzly overcast weather of the week before. The 70-year-old man across the table from me had the creased, tanned skin of an outdoorsman.[…]
Contents
Cut to the Chase
Perhaps it’s the pure enjoyment of a long boat ride. Maybe it’s the pioneering spirit to explore that drives us. Or maybe it’s trying to find a honeyhole a friend pointed out on a map.[…]
Contents
Go Deep on D’Arbonne
Die-hard crappie fishermen look forward to spring every year because that’s when those delicious fish are easy to pattern. When the dogwoods start to bloom, you know the crappie will be heading to shallow cypress trees or brushy banks to spawn.[…]
Contents
Cover: March 2011
Even avid saltwater anglers, like Joe Lavigne of Independence, take advantage of the incredible freshwater action Louisiana offers in March.[…]
Bass Fishing
Take Home Angler: Matthew Hymel
After releasing his third bass of the morning, Matthew Hymel wondered aloud if I had learned my lesson yet. Although we had met for the first time only two hours earlier, he was starting to get a sense of just how hard-headed I can be.[…]
Fishing Tournaments
Patterson’s Blanco wins Celebrity Pro Bass Challenge, sets event record
When the scales settled Saturday (Feb. 26) during the first daily weigh-in of the 2011 Celebrity Pro Bass Challenge, only two-tenths of a pound separated first and second place. And Patterson’s Gary Blanco headed into the final day with a scant lead.
The weigh-in was held outside of Academy Sports and Outdoors on Siegen Lane in Baton Rouge.
Twenty-four hours later, following the second day’s weigh-in, Blanco’s name remained at the top of the leader board. With that honor, the event’s $10,000 first-place prize money went into his pocket – and Blanco had set a record for the event.[…]
Inshore Fishing
Trollers starting to catch Causeway trout
It looks like inshore fishing for speckled trout is starting to pick up all across coastal Louisiana. Within the last few days, I’ve heard several good reports coming from the waders at Lake Calcasieu, the cork jerkers at Lake Mechant and the jig bouncers at the Lake Pontchartrain Train Trestle. However, the report that most interested me was from the trollers on the Causeway.[…]
Fishing Tournaments
Tucker takes Central Open, earns first 2012 Bassmaster Classic berth
Mark Tucker must have felt some sense of redemption.
After plying his fishing skills on the Elite Series for the past 10 years, he opted out of an 11th season at the 11th hour, choosing instead to give the Opens a try.[…]
Fishing Tournaments
Tucker extends Central Open lead, Humpreys is highest-ranking Louisiana angler at 26th
Despite less-than-ideal conditions, Mark Tucker of St. Louis topped his Day 1 catch that increased his lead and put him in position to win on Lewisville Lake.[…]
Fishing Tournaments
Tucker leads Bassmaster Central Open after one day, Keithville’s Lee in top 25
Mark Tucker’s decade on the Bassmaster Elite Series served him well Thursday, and the veteran angler discovered a way to put together 16 pounds, 10 ounces during the first 2011 stop of the Central Bassmaster Open on Texas’ Lake Lewisville.[…]
Inshore Fishing
Bad Rap – February can produce big speckled trout in Delacroix
For many Louisiana sportsmen, February is the most dreaded month of the year. Duck and deer seasons are over, and the Mrs. is looking to cash in on those long-promised honey-dos.[…]