Features from April 2020
River shrimp are the ticket to big blue and channel catfish catches on the Atchafalaya River in Morgan City for the next 10 weeks.
We follow along with Louisiana pros Darold Gleason and Caleb Sumrall as they compete in the Bassmaster Classic, which was won by a North Carolina pro.
Loop knots allow lures to work more naturally, which is a big factor when picky slab crappie aren’t in a real feeding mood.
Turkey hunting in Louisiana hasn’t been stellar in recent years, but some good public-land options still provide decent chances at scoring on a longbeard.
According to one Louisiana turkey hunting legend, scouting and listening are more important than calling when turkey season arrives.
Stay on the move for Louisiana’s post-spawn crappie. Two of Louisiana’s top crappie thumpers share their tips for making your April fishing trips good ones.
Capt. Herk Bergeron knows that this time of year the speckled trout are following the bait as it moves south down the Barataria Waterway.
Speckled trout love grassbeds; learn how submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) helps fish, the environment and Louisiana fishermen.
Columns - April 2020
- It’s unlikely Louisiana anglers will for very long enjoy the same speckled trout limits that have been in place for nearly four decades.
- Increase your kayak fishing skills by trying your hand at catching some of the less popular fish species Louisiana has to offer.
- Early spring is a good time to get the habitat in shape for turkeys and the approaching nesting season here in Louisiana.
- Missile Baits’ new Quiver looks amazing underwater and is an ideal bait for use with the Neko Rig and the Tokyo Rig for bass.
- Wahoo are among the fastest fish in the ocean, are hard-fighting, and are also one of the tastiest. That’s why they are highly sought after by anglers.
Outdoor Updates - April 2020
- The 2020 Louisiana Sportsman Show and Festival was shut down early and the show’s Big Buck Contest ended the second night of the show, with 27 entries.
- The BassCashBash began in 2015 on Toledo Bend and has expanded the program to seven different lakes. Prizes include $1,000 for each tagged fish caught.
- Joseph Martin of Baton Rouge set the hook and landed a "hawg" on Feb. 15 in Lake Fausse Pointe with the help of his fishing buddy, Austin Whitaker.
- West Monroe’s Spencer Lambert, a rookie on the BASS Open Tour this season, hooked his personal best bass from Caney Lake.
- A big bass made New Iberia's Jarrod Derouen’s day when he caught it on March 7 in a borrow pit in Lake Fausse Pointe while fishing with Troy Laviolette.
- The competitors in the Louisiana State Championship Crappie Masters tournament on Lake D’Arbonne Feb. 28 and Feb. 29 weighed in some incredible fish.
- This week there were three anglers who teamed with the Caney Lake monster bass for some pretty impressive photo catches and photo ops.
- Jason Fails and his fishing partner David Gordon fished the Ashley Vidrine Benefit tournament on Indian Creek Lake where Fails hooked a lunker largemouth.
- Kyle Berry of Grayson hooked this 3.1-pound crappie on Feb. 12, 2020, in Caldwell Parish.
- Jino Papania of Meraux shot this odd-looking duck on Jan. 13 while hunting in Yscloskey, La., with his cousin, Trent Tedesco.
- Read the stories of two anglers who succeeded in catching the largest bass of their lifetime at Toledo Bend in February, which is the second-best month.
- Toledo Bend continued to deliver double-digit lunkers in late February. DeRidder’s Jonathan Harper and Denni Fetting of Leesville both caught big bass.
Field Notes - April 2020
- There are a few things that can wreck your chances of success when you head to the beach to surf fish. Here are 8 things you should not do.
- Randy Despino, who spent the past two years on the FLW Pro Tour, will rely on the V&M Flat Wild this month at Toledo Bend.
- A stream of bubbles coming from the bottom of a body of water can mean a lot of things, most of them good for bass fishermen.
- Greg Hackney, one of the most successful and recognizable Louisiana bass pros, plans to be swimming a jig for bass this month.
- Bassmaster Elite Series pro Robbie Latuso had a ready answer for what he wants to throw for fun or in crunch time in April, a Delta Lures spinnerbait.
- Get a different ‘perspective’ on what’s below the surface with LiveScope’s latest Perspective mode. It gives you a live, real-time view of the fish.
- Gerald Spohrer of Gonzales turns to spinnerbaits made by Delta Lures to trigger bass bites at Toledo Bend around docks and Lake Verret around cypress trees
- There’s more to catching trout in the surf than showing up and walking into the water. Here are some tips from Sammy Romano, who has perfected the tactics.
- So what is it about turkeys that make them so difficult to kill? University of Mississippi’s Richard Bucholz ran down the some of the reasons.
Hot Spots - April 2020
- Capt. Mike Guidry, of Rippin Lip Guide Service, says he’ll fish the Sulphur Mine and Catfish Lake this month until the trout make their annual transition.
- The surf at Elmer’s Island is a great destination to catch sharks. But surf-fishing for sharks requires some preparation. Here’s what you’ll need.
- For many fish in the marsh, April is a transition period into their summer patterns. The marshes around Leeville fill with redfish in April.
- Capt. Gene Dugas, of Rather Be Fishing Adventures, says April should be a good month for speckled trout and redfish fishing at the MRGO Rocks.
- Raceland’s David King and David McMath were surprised with their catches of numerous quality bass at Lac Des Allemands Feb. 5.
- April will be a prime month for bass fishing at Toledo Bend. The majority will be in depths of 5 to 10 feet, up and down the lake, west to east.
- Barry Henry of Morgan City explains why April gets a green light for awesome slab crappie fishing in the Bayou Black area.
- Sabine National Wildlife Refuge is now open for fishing business. The best choice for April is sight-casting for redfish.
- In April, Toledo Bend’s largemouth bass will chomp down on spawning shad. This father-daughter duo shares what they do to catch numbers of quality bass.