Louisiana Sportsman

Robo-logic

January 1, 2013 John Flores

If there’s one conditioned response that comes from the various mechanical apparatus used on duck ponds, it’s usually negative.[…]

The power plant of choice for surface drive motors is the 35-horsepower Briggs & Stratton engine. These stock engines can be modified to improve their performance, something done every day by Andy Johnston and his crew at The Boat Doctor Inc. in Metairie.[…]

Cover: January 2013

January 1, 2013 Louisiana Sportsman

You won’t believe what Casey Young went through to kill this 205-inch deer. Story on page 12.[…]

Back and Forth — Top winter fishing tips for Delacroix trout

January 1, 2013 Todd Masson

If you live in the northern tier of the United States during the month of January, you’d better really like your wife.[…]

Suspended Animation —Jerkbait tips for wintertime bass fishing

January 1, 2013 David A. Brown

Cold water, shallow water, clear water; plenty of situations make it hard to get fish to bite. For largemouth bass, one of the biggest mistakes anglers make in these conditions is fishing too fast and pulling baits through the strike zone with only a brief window of opportunity for predators to make their move. […]

Live shrimp makes things a little easier

January 1, 2013 Todd Masson

Believe it or not, live shrimp are often still available in Delacroix for much of this month.[…]

Jerkbait enhancement

January 1, 2013 David A. Brown

With any jerkbait, a suspending posture at rest is usually what you want, but some days find the fish most interested in falling baits.[…]

Everybody’s working for the weekend

January 1, 2013 Todd Masson

Delacroix is less than an hour from New Orleans, and about two hours from Baton Rouge, so day trips there are easy.[…]

Suspend in the salt

January 1, 2013 David A. Brown

When winter pushes trout and redfish into deeper canals and inner marsh arteries, suspending baits often earn the attention denied to sinking and faster-moving baits.[…]

Bark up the right tree – How to make the most of squirrel hunting with dogs

January 1, 2013 John Flores

Somewhere inside the small patch of woods surrounded by sugarcane fields, Hoke hunted. Maybe no more than 20 acres in size, if you flew over it the woodland would resemble a postage stamp stuck in the middle of an envelope.

A mix of hackberry, swamp maple, water and pin oaks, the isolated habitat wasn’t large enough to support a deer population, but it’s perfect for big red fox squirrels.

Hoke was used to the terrain, having hunted it before. There’d be no surprises on the afternoon. The goal was simply to spend a couple of hours hunting on a day already short because of winter, and if all went well the day would culminate with shooting a couple of the tree dwellers for the pot.[…]