Inshore Fishing
Terminal tackle
What is on the business end of Auenson’s line varies very little. The vast majority of the time it holds a Carolina rig with a live croaker. The rig is simple — 18 inches of 30-pound-test monofilament.[…]
Sidebars
Inshore Fishing
Summer cycle
Capt. Zutie Auenson has two fishing seasons. From sometime in September until late April, he charters from his permanent home in Golden Meadow.[…]
Inshore Fishing
Zutie’s bag of tricks
A person can’t successfully charter fish for 28 years without accumulating a bag of tricks. Zutie Auenson is no exception. Here are some of his.[…]
Freshwater Fishing
Bay Cat Hot Spots
Anglers looking for a few locations to catch bay cats, both blues and channels, should start on the west side of East Cote Blanche Bay near Point Moroon, at the mouth of Bayou Carlin, Humble Canal and Jackson Bayou on the west side of the Bay.[…]
Freshwater Fishing
Frabill Crawler Can
Fish catfish with worms long enough and chances are quite good that many will die in the wax-coated cardboard or styrofoam containers they come in.[…]
Inshore Fishing
Don’t connect the dots to get to far-away fish
He has seen it too many times for it to be an anomaly and he has yet to figure out why people — even guides — do it, but Capt. Jeff Poe with Big Lake Guide Service would never run over a potential fishing spot just to get to another potential fishing spot.[…]
Inshore Fishing
Increase in knowledge leads to decrease in pressure
Although there’s been a lot of talk of increased fishing pressure at Big Lake in the last few years, Capt. Jeff Poe feels like there’s something going on that might have gone a little bit under the rader recently.[…]
Inshore Fishing
Tippets
Speckled trout have returned. Along wading areas like the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain, Breton Island and Grand Isle, clousers and other baitfish patterns will be the ticket.[…]
Inshore Fishing
Stick with basic baits under pressure
One might think that changing lures would be a good way to counteract fishing pressure at Calcasieu Lake. […]
Bass Fishing
Polarized glasses essential to success
Monster bass can be all over the banks and locked on beds, but if they can’t be seen they can’t be caught.[…]
Bass Fishing
Keys to sight-fishing
Anyone who has ever set up on a bedding bass knows there’s the real potential to burn hours of fishing time without getting that fish to bite.[…]
Bass Fishing
Leave the males
Some anglers swear the best way to catch a female bass off a bed is snatch the male into the boat and store it in the livewell. Craig Graham doesn’t subscribe to that theory.[…]
Freshwater Fishing
Why a hole?
Catfish noodlers, grabbers or wrestlers, whatever you call them, take advantage of an important trait in the biology of North American freshwater catfish. They need to spawn in cavities of some kind.[…]
Bass Fishing
Anchors down
It’s impossible to catch bedding fish if your boat is drifting all over the place. A trolling motor helps, but anglers have to be very careful not to wash the targeted fish.[…]
Freshwater Fishing
Rub-a-dub tub
Catfish noodlers use a variety of man-made objects to entice flatheads into confining spaces where they can be grabbed. The “Women, Whiskey and Wrastl’in” crew have settled on bathtubs as their favorite. Preparing one takes substantial work.[…]
Bass Fishing
Jerkbait ups aggravation factor
Most anglers think of soft-plastic baits when bed fishing comes to mind, and they are an important part of Craig Graham’s arsenal.[…]