Bass Fishing
Cover: February 2012-Fishing
Louisiana will shine this month as the pros descend on the Red River for the Bassmaster Classic.[…]
Currents
LDWF proposes its own raid
The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries announced in December that it was implementing mid-year budget reductions of $2.2 million.[…]
Columns
A new year in paradise
The magazine in the doctor’s office referred to Grand Teton National Park as a nature lover’s paradise. No doubt it is, especially in the winter when the game descends the mountains and walks around with the humans.[…]
Columns
In the rearview mirror
After 34 years with LDWF’s Division of Law Enforcement, I retired as assistant chief in April 2011, and returned home to Gardner. My career with LDWF provided the opportunity to work with dedicated fish and wildlife enforcement and management professionals, elected and appointed officials and hunters and fishermen throughout Louisiana.[…]
Columns
Drift ‘Yaking
Anchoring and trolling are undoubtedly productive methods of fishing in Southeast Louisiana. However, wintertime ‘yak fishermen who learn to drift will find that this method can put fish in the box when nothing else will.[…]
Columns
Rusty gun syndrome
We were swapping out units: I was getting a newer take-home unit from one of the other guys. He was getting another unit assigned to him by the chief in our small-town police department.[…]
Fishing
Lady Luck
It is easier to predict a winning roulette number than it is to guess who’s going to win a Bassmaster Classic. Take Skeet Reese for example. Nobody predicted this California kid going to the Red River and winning in 2009.
However, fishing being what it is, all the variables and proverbial stars aligned for Reese three years ago as he found enough Red River bass to bring home the title of Classic Champion.
Unfortunately for Reese, he won’t be able to defend his Red River championship because for the first time in 10 years, he didn’t qualify for the Classic.[…]
Hunting
Rabbit Wrap-Up
Brent Smith’s head was on a swivel as he knelt on the forest floor in a Washington Parish pine plantation. Ice Man, Law Man, Boss Man, Hawk, Sugar and Ruby had just recently passed on a line where Smith now took a knee.[…]
Other Hunting
Evading coyotes harder than evading beagles
While walking through the woods listening to Brent Smith’s beagles running rabbits, I wondered if they ever actually caught one before a hunter got a shot on it.[…]
Other Hunting
Rabbit sign leads to more productive hunts
Hunters who have access to enough land for rabbit hunting could just let their dogs go and see what they jump, or they could do like Smith and focus on areas that show promising sign.[…]
Contents
Shallow Rig Slaughter
The whoops, roars and racket on Doc’s balcony for the post-Endymion party rattled the very tray as I carried the bowl of fresh-caught sheepshead ceviche to the serving table from the kitchen.[…]
Inshore Fishing
Quality care
Ricky Richoux has strong opinions about the right way to handle fish to get a quality product for the table.[…]
Inshore Fishing
Tools of the trade
The Slimeslinger travels light, with all his tools in a single plastic tool box. Naturally enough, the man’s most important tools are his knives.[…]
Inshore Fishing
Why not electric?
Ricky Richoux must get asked that question a lot. His answer comes too quickly when a kibitzer pops the query.[…]
General
Hit the Jackpot
My hunter was Brady Perise, 11. Brady had been drawn for the youth turkey hunt on Tunica Hills Wildlife Management Area. The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries offers youth lottery hunts on a number of its public WMAs across the state each year. These hunts usually open the week before the regular season and give the kids an opportunity to make a hunt before the adults hit the woods.[…]
Columns
Trail camera scouting
This is my inaugural column in Mississippi Sportsman based around the general topic of trail-camera scouting. Each month I will share advice, tips, tactics, strategies and techniques regarding the use of digital scouting cameras that have proven useful to me over time in the successful pursuit of whitetail deer on my farm in west-central Mississippi.[…]