Bass Fishing
Make fish attack topwater lures
Often you’ll find fish tracking your topwater for considerable distances before striking. Some will wake like a rising submarine or even boil under the bait in a test run.[…]
July 2013
Freshwater Fishing
Louisiana’s turtles
Louisiana has 25, maybe 26 species of turtles within its borders or along its coastline. Not all of these are targets for freshwater turtle fishermen.[…]
Inshore Fishing
Berkley Mantis
The Mantis Shrimp was designed with high-action appendages for increased movement and water displacement to attract more fish, Berkley said.[…]
Bass Fishing
Best line and knots for topwaters
If you’re aching for a lesson in frustration, tie your topwater onto an outfit spooled with braided line. Light, limp and oh so buoyant, braid tends to gather just where you don’t want it – right in front of that first treble hook.[…]
Freshwater Fishing
What’s legal as a turtle trap?
According to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Enforcement Division, the definition of a turtle trap is quite liberal, essentially calling it any device used to catch turtles.[…]
Bass Fishing
Tag team topwater fishing tactics
Savvy anglers will keep walkers and chuggers/poppers handy, but a deliberate one-two plan can elevate your topwater game — particularly in deeper water.[…]
Freshwater Fishing
The feast
“This is plain, old pot-frying, not turtle soup like at those French Quarter tourist restaurants,” Dirk Matherne said wryly. “Of course, ours has turtles in it. I don’t know if those restaurants even have any turtle in their soup.[…]
Offshore Fishing
Wonderland
In the truck on the way from his Houma home to Cocodrie, where he docks his offshore boat, Capt. Tommy Pellegrin explained “Wonderland,” the day’s fishing destination.[…]
Bass Fishing
The right rod for topwater fishing
Murray said the key to effective topwater retrieves — particularly for walking baits — is a 6 ½- to 7-foot, soft-action rod. No spinnerbait or worm rods here: Just something with the right amount of fish-fighting backbone that still has sufficient flexibility.[…]
Freshwater Fishing
How to make a turtle trap
Dirk Matherne’s turtle trap is simple in construction, requiring nothing more than 2-inch-by-4-inch animal wire fencing material and hog rings to hold it together.[…]
Offshore Fishing
Bank-fishing tactics
Capt. Tommy Pellegrin fishes different bottom relief features on top of the big Ewing Bank. He has multiple spots marked on his GPS screen, each of which he has found to be productive by previous trial and error.[…]
Offshore Fishing
All about banks
For most offshore-fishing Louisianans, the existence of hard rock banks off their coast is unknown except for the one commonly called the “Midnight Lump.”[…]
Freshwater Fishing
Bait care essential to crappie-fishing success
When crappie are feeding, they might hit a jig or a skirted hook, but everything tastes better with a Missouri (aka Arkansas) minnow on the back.[…]
Inshore Fishing
Spoons for any fishing situation
Jason Shilling and Gerald Roy couldn’t figure out what was wrong with me when I told them I wasn’t a big fan of fishing spoons for redfish.[…]
Offshore Fishing
Offshore bag and size limits
One of the things Tommy Pellegrin likes about fishing for his Cocodrie exotics, besides the variety, are the relatively liberal bag limits for the fish he catches.[…]
Freshwater Fishing
Chains help slow down drift for more crappie success
Crappie pro Mark Williams knows that working with the wind is a make-it-or-break factor for spider rigging.[…]