Features from January 2020
- There’s a brave, new world out there for fishermen interested in crappie. Crappie are approaching bass as the most-popular freshwater fish in the country.
- When the bite is on, crappie will hit most anything: jigs, shiners, spinners, wax worms, etc. When they get a little finicky, give them something extra.
- It doesn’t take a big monetary investment to work on Louisiana’s hogs. Hunters can work on the hog population with a minimum investment of time and effort.
- Waterfowl hunting in Louisiana isn’t headed in the right direction, and there are many reasons. Biologists are crunching numbers right now.
- Catching speckled trout during a cold Louisiana winter takes a special understanding of the fish. Here are some techniques for winter trout.
- With fewer ducks visiting Louisiana’s marshes, hunters need to come up with some new ideas and plans to keep their success on par with past seasons.
- Anglers flock to the Wall near Chalmette for great winter action on speckled trout and redfish. Here’s how to fish there this month.
Columns - January 2020
- These three bow manufacturers have great additions for 2020.
- Big speckled trout have particular times they feed during the moon cycle. Pay attention to your success and pinpoint when that big-fish feeding window is.
- Stalk hunting with a recurve bow is one of the hardest types of hunting, but it can be very productive in the right conditions.
- Crappie are one of the most popular gamefish among anglers in America. Many anglers don’t realize it, but crappie come in two varieties: black and white.
- The Mega Matrix, which fits in between the 2-inch Matrix Mini, the original 3-inch Matrix Shad and the 5-inch Monster Matrix, works great on redfish.
- The combination of January’s cold weather and lack of native forages will have the deer active and eating in the green patches and at feeders.
- Capt. Charlie Bush, who tagged a little over 12,000 speckled trout in 4 years for the TAG Louisiana Trout tagging program, shares his top 5 fishing lures.
- As with any other service industry, some game processors and taxidermists are better than others. Here's some tips on choosing the right ones.
- Change up your tactics when it comes to fishing from a kayak this winter. Slow down the presentation of your bait and fish later in the day.
Outdoor Updates - January 2020
- Sara Furman killed a trophy 15-point buck that could be the 3rd largest bow kill by a woman in Louisiana Pope & Young records.
- Hunter Tuggle got her big buck while hunting on Nov. 17 with her dad and other family members on their lease in Winn Parish.
- Donald Humphrey has been visiting Bodcau WMA in Bossier Parish for the better part of 10 deer seasons, and on Nov. 10, he killed a trophy buck.
- The duo of Dr. Jack Cox and his nephew Lane Cox downed two bucks, half an hour apart, totaling over 300 inches of bone in Tensas Parish.
- An unfortunate decision to second-guess a blood trailing dog resulted in Ryan Foster being unable to recover his 16-point buck until three days later.
- Jeremy Cooley put together a plan to waylay a big buck that was crossing his parent’s 5-acre patch of land 200 yards behind his house in Beauregard Parish.
- Clint Johnson who lives in the village of Gardner took a giant 12-point buck on a 400-acre piece of property in Rapides Parish.
- An old can call from his dad paid big dividends for Cody Albritton on Nov. 5 when he took an impressive 8-point buck on family land in Union Parish.
- For Dakota Carter of Montgomery, 20 feet up in an oak tree on the Kisatchie National Forest was the perfect place for him to take a trophy buck.
- Ryan Masters, Assistant Fire Chief for the Natchitoches Fire Department, downed a big 10-point buck on Nov. 11 in Sabine Parish.
- Tommy Thompson of Rosepine added another notch to his Remington 30.06 auto when he killed an impressive Vernon Parish 10-point buck.
- Jonathon Zell lives within the Kisatchie National Forest in Grant Parish, a 604,000 acre chunk that has been kind to him when it comes to big bucks.
Field Notes - January 2020
- Squirrel season is open in Louisiana. Here are the 7 steps to easily, quickly and cleaning snatching the hide off of a squirrel.
- If you’re lucky enough to be the recipient of a new rifle, here is a time-proven and simple method for breaking in a barrel.
- Use the old branches off a plastic Christmas tree or wrap the shooting screen of your duck hunting blind with Christmas garland.
- Bassmaster Elite Series pro Caleb Sumrall of New Iberi loves smaller creature baits when it’s cold. That’s why he uses the Missile Baits Baby D Bomb.
- Brent Bonadona goes with a Delta Lures flipping jig in January. He usually fishing it in the Atchafalaya Basin and Lake Verret.
- Pro Dakota Ebare of Watson loves Red Eyed Shad for cold-water bass. He has had plenty of success on Toledo Bend and Sam Rayburn with the bait.
- Major League Fishing pro Greg Hackney, host of Louisiana Sportsman TV, throws a Lucky Shad crankbait no matter how cold winter chills the water.
- As with any other service industry, some game processors and taxidermists are better than others. Here's some tips on choosing the right ones.
Hot Spots - January 2020
- For anglers up for the challenge of fishing the Shell Beach area this month, Capt. Eric Olsen of Saltwater Therapy has some helpful pointers.
- Capt. Darren Schaff said the late-fall fishing action at Reggio and Delacroix has been nothing short of fantastic, and he hopes for a mild winter.
- When the water is blown out and murky from cold fronts, there may be no better time than January to drop a tight-line rig for central coast blue catfish.
- The Alabama Rig, aka the A-Rig, really shines this time of year, and holds the key to catching bass in late December and through January at Toledo Bend.