Features from March 2020
How to single out and target that one big bass? Two Louisiana fishermen, Todd Risinger of West Monroe and Sontus Mitchell of Ruston, share their secrets.
Single-pole techniques can put plenty of sac-a-lait in your cooler if you understand how to get your baits in the right places or to the right depths.
Long-lining sounds complicated, but it’s an easy and effective technique to leisurely catch spring crappie across Louisiana.
When spring brings out new growth on natural plants, your local deer herd will prosper, but it takes more to improve their year-round health.
Johnny Watkins of Longville has taken a treasure trove of huge largemouth bass in southwestern Louisiana’s rivers and reservoirs. Could he be the best?
Delacroix-area guide commands anglers to ‘move’ if they want to fill their coolers with speckled trout and some bonus redfish in March.
Turkey hunting is perhaps the most-challenging outdoor sport. Cedar Hill’s Little Scratch Box can be the ticket to great turkey hunting.
Columns - March 2020
- With bass available in almost all areas of Louisiana except the extreme coastal regions, kayak anglers are finding unlimited areas to fish.
- Some veteran turkey hunters would never shoot a jake, but a novice would no doubt be thrilled to bag one. Should you shoot jakes?
- More often than not, patience in letting a bite develop or changing techniques to target certain parts of the water column, has directly led to success.
- Some deer seasons, everything seems to go right, but others are a test of persistence. This hunter’s frustrating season turned into a success.
- Sac-a-lait fisherman and artificial lure manufacturer Capt. Clyde Folse shares what makes The Crappie Weapon so successful on the water.
Outdoor Updates - March 2020
- Ann Taylor’s main goal over the past 10 years during the Louisiana Sportsman Show was to promote youth education and fishing.
- With hunting season in the books, it’s time to make plans to bring your bucks to the Louisiana Sportsman Big Buck Contest, scheduled for March 13-15.
- Mickey Greer of Calhoun killed his biggest ever deer on Jan. 10 in Madison Parish. He may not have killed the deer if he hadn’t misplaced his keys.
- Trey Bayles of West Monroe hooked five lunker largemouth bass weighing more than 36 pounds this week on Caney Lake near Chatham.
- Jeff Brown was fishing for crappie at Lake Claiborne with his friend Monty Walker on Feb. 2 when he hooked and landed the biggest bass of his life.
- Lacie Russell, a student at the University of Louisiana Monroe, took a 14-point buck while hunting with her dad, Greg, in Morehouse Parish.
- During their Feb. 6 meeting, members of the wildlife and fisheries commission heard some disheartening news regarding southern flounder stocks in Louisiana.
- The Louisiana Sportsman Show scheduled for March 12-15 will provide an even greater focus on the latest boat offerings.
- Back at the show is the Fetch-n-Fish Tub, with nationally known Jason Reynolds combining fishing seminars with dog shows.
- LDWF enforcement agents arrested a Homer man for allegedly killing a bald eagle and other wildlife crimes in Claiborne Parish.
- Ayden Fatherree of Prairieville, Louisiana, got a call that he had won the Wyoming Elk Super Tag for the 2019 hunting season.
- The issue of who legally owns the massive Catahoula Lake area and the fight to keep it open for public waterfowl hunting access is not over yet.
Field Notes - March 2020
- Good crappie fishermen see an entire cypress tree and where fish might hide — like the root ball — even if much of it is normally underwater.
- While he fishes in heavily pressured waters in March, especially at or around the height of the spawn, bass pro Greg Hackney catches more bass than others.
- Want to try the kitchen sink? Here are the details of the rig Jay Stone came up with to put the maximum number of baits in the right spots to catch suspended crappie.
- Nick LeBrun looks for any advantage he can get over the wily, oft-stubborn bass he spends many hours targeting for fun and for money.
- Bubba is the brand name for one of the hottest new electric fishing knives. It’s produced by Bubba Blades, which is owned by American Outdoor Brands.
- Different jerkbaits work better when fished with different retrieves or techniques. Here are seven popular jerkbaits and techniques.
- For Caleb Sumrall of New Iberia, La., a Bassmaster Elite Series angler, March is one of his favorite months because the spawn is on for largemouth bass.
- Clark Rheem of Elk Grove, a veteran pro bass angler, uses a 5-inch Senko to catch bass consistently when the money’s on the line, particularly in March.
- If bass pro Derek Hudnall of Baton Rouge had just one artificial lure to use during March, it would be the Missile Bait 48.
Hot Spots - March 2020
- Fishing the backwaters of the Ouachita River is anything but normal in March. The river floods out of its banks, creating a mecca of bassing opportunities.
- March is the No. 1 month to catch big slabs on Toledo Bend Reservoir. Jerry “J.T.” Thompson of Livin’ the Dream Guide Service has tips for catching them.
- Fishing on Henderson Lake this month for crappie? You’d better fish black jigs. Henderson Lake sac-a-lait can’t resist a black jig during the spawn.
- Chris Basey has been fishing the Northshore all his life, and he said March is when bass anglers can take advantage of big bass moving into the shallows.
- If you’re going to catch your biggest-ever trout at Sabine Lake or Calcasieu Lake, it is likely to be during March or April.
- Gerald Foulcard of Patterson is an angler who has caught his share of bass in the marshes near Gibson, particularly during March.
- Rising water and water temperatures have big Toledo Bend largemouth bass on the move all month. Find out the best way to catch them.
- Big old slab crappie up in the shallows are what makes Black Lake “hot” this time of year. Here’s some fishing advice from long-time guide Charlie King.