Columns
Don’t mess with this cook!
Sheri Birk of Southern Exposure Inland Fishing Charters shares her recipes for Crab Cakes with Dill Remoulade and Crawfish Étouffée.[…]
May 2017
Fishing
What’s in a software update?
Lowrance’s latest software update reminded me that it has been a while since I mentioned how important updates are to all of us — no matter what brand of electronics we run.[…]
Columns
Check the boat before going afloat
Whether your particular brand of good time boating involves fishing, skiing, riding personal watercrafts or simply cruising down the river, proper preparation and planning are crucial to boating safely. […]
Columns
Ground proving buck age
We began a general discussion of this topic in the recent February, 2017 installment of Happy Trails. Let’s now go a little further and expand the discussion. Ground proving bucks means harvesting bucks that you believe meet your minimum goals, collecting their lower jaw bones for “tooth replacement/wear” age estimates, then comparing the earlier “live on-the-hoof” eyeball age estimate with the jawbone indicated age for confirmation or clarification.[…]
Columns
Fishing is not always about catching
Louisiana experienced a mild winter and the inshore fishing never really slowed down. However, there are always those couple of days around a front where the fishing slows for a while.[…]
Freshwater Fishing
Safety comes first in the backwater
There are no marked boat runs in Finch Lake.
There are many underwater hazards. Everywhere. Be careful.[…]
Freshwater Fishing
Finch Lake fishing: What you need
When you go to Finch Lake, you better take everything you are going to need with you. Other than a helping hand from other fishermen if you need it, there isn’t much available within miles of this lake. And more than likely, if you go here, it is going to be a day trip, not just a few hours.[…]
Fishing
Tippets
Bream action will be hot and heavy everywhere this month. Your five-weight outfit is recommended for the heftier gobbules. And because it’s quite common for catfish to eat a bream fly this time of year.[…]
Inshore Fishing
Hard-plastic outside trout in May
There’s still plenty of speckled trout for anglers to target on the inside in May, but for those who want to scratch the outside itch, May is the first traditional month to do it.[…]
Inshore Fishing
Top tips for bird fishing success
Larry Frey doesn’t particularly like bird-fishing, but he will occasionally chase after them in May, when the birds are diving in full-force.[…]
Hog Hunting
Life on his terms
Rich Shiree has packed a lot of living in his 43 years. All he seemed to do was hunt hogs and deer, 12 months a year, with a totally independent lifestyle.[…]
Inshore Fishing
Phone app shows fish finder screen
I thought Capt. Lane Zimmer had some kind of social-media addiction when I saw him continually retrieve his phone out of his pocket. […]
Bass Fishing
Gear for the rear
Historically, poppers have been one of the most productive baits for fry guarders because you can zip them into tight spots, make use of even a short retrieve lane and create the kind of threatening presentation that’ll send papa reaching for the 12-gauge.[…]
Inshore Fishing
Rig ‘em up
Capt. Creighton Ward fishes almost exclusively with live shrimp. “They maximize opportunities under almost all conditions. I firmly believe that,” he said.[…]
Inshore Fishing
The triangle of fishing
Creighton Ward likes to call Buras, located in central Plaquemines Parish, the triangle of fishing. From Buras, there is fishing on the east side of the river, on the west side of the river, and down the river.[…]
Inshore Fishing
A cool idea
The whole day, Creighton Ward was never out of reach of his beverage.
That’s ’cause he had it slung on his belt. […]