Sydney Turner is walking tall these days. Well, maybe not Sunday because she’s on the water for the final day of the Orange Beach Ladies Tournament and walking would be more than a doable chore, but she can stand tall on her family’s boat with her mom, Sari, while competing … Continue reading →

Not too many years ago fishing and hunting, the blood sports among all outdoor pursuits, played a more prominent role in our children’s growing-up process than it seems they do today. That’s bad for several reasons, and sociologists tell us that one of the factors … Continue reading →

WEDNESDAY WHITE LAKE PROPERTY ADVISORY BOARD MEETING: 9:30 a.m., White Lake Wetlands Conservation Area, 15926 La. 91, Gueydan. LA. SEAFOOD PROMOTION & MARKETING BOARD MEETING: 10 a.m., 5th Floor Conference Room, Capitol Annex, 1051 N. Third St., Baton Rouge. CANAL BANK BASS TOURNAMENT: 5 p.m., Canal Bank Club, Diversion Canal, 18499 La. … Continue reading →

tip of the day Offshore anglers going after reef-fish species need to heed regulations that mandate the use of non-stainless steel circle hooks.

When fishermen talk about technology these days, it’s usually about the latest sonar systems, video displays and/or spot-on GPS units. On Friday at Pointe Fourchon and Port Fourchon Marina, an old standby — radar — helped put fish in the boat. Dr. Brent Bankston, the newly crowned admiral of the July 4-6 Golden Meadow-Fourchon … Continue reading →

Don’t think twice about this weekend: If you have the chance, then go — and take dad along for his special day. If you’re heading to the coast, make sure to secure live shrimp, live cocahoe minnows or live croakers. Live croakers are good for pitching to the red and … Continue reading →

CALENDAR WESTSIDE CCA BANQUET: 5:30 p.m., Carl Grant Civic Center, 24700 J. Gerald Berret Blvd., Plaquemine. Call CCA (225) 952-9200. BASSMASTER NORTHERN OPEN: James River, Richmond, Va. First in three-tournament series to qualify winners for 2014 Bassmaster Classic. Website: http://www.bassmaster.com. FRIDAY NIGHT COOKIE … Continue reading →

Going surf fishing? Your morning’s first casts should come before entering the water, because there are of trout and redfish near the beach.

Swollfest GRAND ISLE — Saturday’s final leaderboard from the three-day 16th-annual Swollfest Fishing Rodeo with divisions, categories, anglers and weights of their catch in pounds: Overall Swollest (largest fish): 1, Brodie Glenn, 118.2 pounds (tuna). 2, Doug Barber, 114.25 (tuna). 3, Chase Nelson, 107.9. Continue reading →

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. — A huge mako shark caught off the coast of Southern California could set a record, but a critic said it should have been released because sharks are threatened worldwide. Jason Johnston of Texas landed the 1,323-pound shark off Huntington Beach on Monday after a 21/2-hour battle. “I’ve hunted lions and … Continue reading →

It’s not likely many Louisiana folks know Andrew Hanen. He doesn’t live here, doesn’t work here, but what he did for Louisiana 10 days ago should make him a household name for thousands of Louisiana’s recreational offshore fishermen. Hanen is a judge in a federal … Continue reading →

Thursday at 10 a.m. is the deadline for alligator hunters to submit bids for taking the reptiles from state wildlife management areas and Army Corps of Engineers lands for the 2013-2015 wild alligator harvest seasons. There is a list of qualifications bidders must meet to be eligible to enter the bid process: Qualified, eligible hunters are … Continue reading →

SUNDAY LOUISIANA FREE FISHING WEEKEND: Final day. No recreational fishing license required. RED STICK FLY FISHERS PROGRAM: 7 p.m., Louisiana Resource Center for Educators, 5550 Florida Blvd, Baton Rouge. Website: http://www.rsff.org. CANAL BANK BASS TOURNAMENT: 5 p.m., Canal Bank Club, Diversion Canal, 18499 La. 22. Maurepas. Fee $40/boat, … Continue reading →

New regulations for the tens of thousands of bass fishermen who take to the Atchafalaya Basin and surrounding waters will be in place later this month after Thursday’s Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission voted to change more than 20 years of regulations. The Department of Wildlife and Fisheries confirmed Friday that the effective date for removing … Continue reading →

Despite high water in the marshes, bluegill and sac-a-lait are showing up in big numbers in the Bayou Black area. Crickets, shiners, tube jigs and Beedle Spins are the productive baits.

Atchafalaya Spillway bass fishermen who’ve been clamoring for a change in size limits for most of the past decade will get their wishes later this month after the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission ratified new regulations for the area during its monthly meeting Thursday. The new regulations eliminate a minimum-size limit for taking black bass, but … Continue reading →

Land gives up its heat during daylight hours and brings afternoon storms. Water gives up its heat at night and brings coastal thunderstorms in the early morning.

Bassmaster Weekend WESTWEGO — Saturday’s Boater and Co-Angler top finishers from Saturday’s Bassmaster Weekend-District 13 Tournament held out of Bayou Segnette State Park with anglers, number of bass weighed in parentheses (5-bass limit in Boater Division; 3-fish limit in Co-Angler Division), total weight in pounds and prize winnings for the top 7 … Continue reading →

LOUISIANA WILDLIFE & FISHERIES COMMISSION MEETING: 9:30 a.m., Waddill Outdoor Education Center, 4142 North Flannery Rd., Baton Rouge. Ratification of new creel/size limits for Atchafalaya Basin and surrounding waters. CAJUN CCA BANQUET: 6 p.m., South Crowley KC Hall, Crowley. Call CCA (225) 952-9200. 16TH-ANNUAL SWOLLFEST FISHING RODEO: Sand Dollar Marina, … Continue reading →

To coincide with the state’s Free Fishing Days coming Saturday and Sunday is Saturday’s Youth Fishing Tournament set to run from 7:30 a.m.-1 p.m. at Grand Isle State Park. Wildlife and Fisheries’ Louisiana Saltwater Series is the sponsor and has placed a $5 fee on youngsters 15 and younger for the tournament, which adds things like casting … Continue reading →

OK, the hurricane season started Saturday, and we have an Andrea, a storm moving into Florida’s Bend area, and leaving a rough wake in her path. The storm lifted water levels mostly in areas east of the Mississippi River, and offshore Louisiana likely will remain rough into Saturday morning. Come … Continue reading →

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A judge has ruled that federal regulators used a false claim of emergency to cut the federal season for red snapper off of Texas and Louisiana, and did so to punish those states for setting seasons and catch limits beyond federal dates and limits. U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen, of Brownsville, Texas, overturned … Continue reading →

Nick Rauber and Dan Bankhead expect the anglers’ invasion of Grand Isle that started in last week’s Grand Isle Speckled Trout Rodeo will continue this week for the annual Swollfest Rodeo, Thursday through Saturday out of Sand Dollar Marina. The dentists and long-standing hunting and fishing buddies look at the revised red … Continue reading →

This red snapper issue has reached the status of something my Missouri-born mom would call “a mess,” a situation far worse than a predicament, something approaching a disaster. The latest twist in this battle between Louisiana and federal fisheries managers came late Friday. Continue reading →

CWPPRA TASK FORCE MEETING: 9:30 a.m., Room 119, NOAA Estuarine Habitats & Coastal Fisheries Center, 646 Cajundome Blvd., Lafayette. Technical Committee recommendations for FY2014 Planning Budget & Phase I engineering & design decision. Call Brad Inman (504) 862-2124. Website: http://www.mnv.usace.mil/Missions/Environmental/CWPPRA.aspx. CANAL BANK BASS TOURNAMENT: 5 p.m., Canal Bank Club, Diversion … Continue reading →

When using a Carolina rig in freshwater or saltwater, use only a sinker heavy enough to hold the bait/rig in position against the current or drag from wave action. Too heavy a weight can lead to lost fish.

With Saturday’s opening day of the federal recreational red snapper season near, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries’ secretary Robert Barham used powers granted him by the Wildlife and Fisheries Commission to adjust the state’s recreational red snapper to the season set by federal fisheries managers. Louisiana’s recreational red snapper fishermen will have a two-fish-per-day limit for … Continue reading →

Speckled trout and redfish are on along the coast, but somebody needs to flip a switch for Lake Pontchartrain to join the festival. Freshwater action picked up in the Florida Parishes rivers after the Tickfaw, the Tchefuncte and the Pearl settled from the hard rains earlier this month, and the bluegill started to spawn. Offshore … Continue reading →

LSS-Trout MANDEVILLE — Saturday’s top seven teams from the Louisiana Saltwater Series-Speckled Trout Tournament held out of the Mandeville Public Launch with weight of teams’ catches in pounds and prize winnings. Also listed is the overall Youth Division winner: Top Teams: 1, Scott Comeaux-Baylie Comeaux 5.37 pounds, … Continue reading →

CENLA CCA BANQUET: 5:30 p.m., Riverfront Center, 707 Main St., Alexandria. Call CCA (225) 952-9200. FRIDAY NIGHT COOKIE JAR BASS TOURNAMENT: 7 p.m.-midnight, Morrison Parkway Public Landing. Fee $30/boat. Weekly Friday night event through Sept. 13. Call Guy Perkins (225) 293-3402. FATHER-DAUGHTER FISHING RODEO: 5-8 … Continue reading →

Topwater lures, including frogs and buzzbaits, work best when there’s a ripple over the water. Ripples reduce sunlight penetration into the water and allow fish to look up in the water column.

The risk of writing more about Louisiana’s battle with federal fishery managers is boring readers to the point where they see little value in reading more about it, but as long as we continue to have the kind of federal management of red snapper that risk is small. Continue reading →

Federal fisheries managers finally decided on the total allowable catch for 2013 for red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico and posted what turned out to be a increase from the 2012 quota Thursday in the Federal Register. The final rule issued by the Fisheries Section of the National … Continue reading →

17TH ANNUAL GRAND ISLE SPECKLED TROUT RODEO: Final day, noon weigh-in deadline. Bridge Side Marina, Grand Isle. CAPITAL CITY BASS OPEN TEAM TOURNAMENT: 3 p.m. weigh-in, Doiron’s Landing, Stephensville. MEMORIAL DAY RED STICK FLY FISHERS FLY-TYING SESSION: 7 p.m., Bass Pro Shops, Denham Springs Call Pete Bongiovanni (225) 335-4596. Website: … Continue reading →

Find a pier, and you usually will find bass. After the spawn, piers provide bass with shade, a path to and from shallow water and more than enough forage fish to last through the summer.

Danny Wray and his wife Kristen show the way to take advantage of the springtime run on speckled trout in the Grand Isle area. While the run began much later than the late March start of the 2012 trout feeeding spree, speckled trout have moved to the Louisiana coastal waters just in time for the Memorial Day holiday. Continue reading →

The Fisheries Section inside the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration revised estimates in the overall quota/allocation for red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico, a move that resulted in Louisiana's recreational red snapper fishermen getting a June 1-June 24 season this year. That 24-day season is a twice-changed offering from NOAA, through the National Marine Fisheries Service via the Gulf of … Continue reading →

Put fishing and Lake Pontchartrain into the same equation, and bridges automatically come after the equal sign, right? Not today, well, not this week. When Jeff Bruhl and Gary Krouse jumped at the chance to get on the state’s largest lake earlier in the week, their first inclination was to head to The Causeway. … Continue reading →

Weekly tidal ranges for Shell Beach at Lake Borgne, South Pass of the Mississippi River, Grand Isle at Caminada Pass and Caillou Boca south of Cocodrie: Shell Beach South Pass Grand Isle Caillou Boca HI(R) LO HI(R) LO HI(R) LO HI(R) LO Fri. 2:06p (1.6) ---- 8:10a (1.6) 6:55p 9:39a (1.3) 8:30p 9:59a (1.8) 9:06p Sat. 2:47p (1.7) 12:05a 8:52a (1.7) 7:50p 10:24a (1.4) 9:24p 10:44a (1.9) 10:00p Continue reading →

POINTE COUPEE CCA BANQUET: 5:30 p.m., Scott Memorial Civic Center, New Roads. Tickets $60, spouses $30, youths $25. Call Nolan Reynerson (225) 952-9200. 23RD ANNUAL BOGS, BIRDS, BUTTERFLIES, BAYGALLS, BROWN BAG: Fort Polk, Leesville. Plant identification, day & night hikes, tours, “Native Plant Propagation” seminars. Call Charles Allen (337) 328-2252/(337) … Continue reading →

Using a long-shanked hook, usually No. 8 or No. 10, is best for bluegill and chinquapin. The long shank makes it easier to remove the hook from the small mouths of these extra-tasty fish.

Italian-American Rodeo HOPEDALE — Saturday’s winners from the 7th annual Italian-American Fishing Rodeo with anglers and their winning catch in pounds: Open Division Redfish: Darrel Kramer, 22.45 pounds. Speckled Trout: Bill Danos, 4.7. Drum: Chris Naquin, 20.0. Flounder: Dave Rosatto, 2.6. … Continue reading →

Guess we had to leave it up to Mother Nature to tell us where, then when speckled trout were going to start their spring run. Last year, it was March. This year, it’s early May, and just knowing that the run is hitting full stride in the eastern half of the state’s coastal … Continue reading →

CANAL BANK BASS TOURNAMENT: 5 p.m., Canal Bank Club, Diversion Canal, 18499 La. 22. Maurepas. Fee $40/boat, $15/angler membership fee. $5 launch fee. Email Susan Carpenter:
lucysue8780@me.com. TANGI CCA BANQUET: 5:30 p.m., Twelve Oaks, 500 West Texas Ave., Hammond. Tickets $60, spouses $30, youths $25, corporate tables $480. Call Steve Parra (985) 974-1896 or … Continue reading →

Young writers and photographers have until 5 p.m. July 12 to submit entries for the Louisiana Outdoor Writers’ Association’s annual Youth Journalism Contest. There are two writing divisions: Junior Essay is open to boys and girls ages 7-13, and Senior Essay is for writers ages 14-18. Essays must … Continue reading →