LOUISIANA OUTDOORS

Fishing, hunting and outdoor recreation

Inshore saltwater Low tides, cold water temperatures and few anglers continued to dog the fishing scene. Weekend weather guess looks good for watching football. Approaching front will bring stiff winds from the west Saturday, then a return to northwest by Sunday. Trout anglers should continue to fish deep -- reds will be moving back into ponds. Delacroix Isle: Fair... Full story »

The Times-Picayune's outdoors editor Bob Marshall gives you his weekly early bird outdoors report for this weekend.  Full story »

Although the dates for the 2010-2011 hunting seasons on resident game deer, squirrels, rabbits and quail are set, the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries' Wildlife Division is planning several other changes for the next seasons. Though still in outline form, some of the alterations were announced at a recent meeting of the Wildlife and Fisheries Commission. The biggest change... Full story »

Bass record is matched It's official. After 77 years,  the most prized angling record in America has been matched,  but not beaten. The International Game Fish Association on Friday certified the application by Japanese angler Manabu Kurita,  32,  of a 22-pound,  4-ounce largemouth caught July 2 on Lake Biwa,  Japan's largest lake. Kurita's fish ties the record held for... Full story »

As the tides and temperatures dropped off the charts last week,  delta sportsmen of a certain age couldn't keep their memories off the 1980s,  when historic freezes shocked the local system. Those were days of worry and anguish,  but ultimately also of education and marvel. Given what has happened to our coast in the intervening decades,  many of us... Full story »

It's the first weekend of the year,  time for cleaning out the old,  bringing in the new. And that includes my mailboxes. The following questions represent the trend of correspondence I received from readers during the past 12 months. While I answered most of them,  the fact that I usually receive more striking the same themes tells me there... Full story »

When De'Cory King of Houston took a fishing trip to Empire with his grandfather Walter King Sr. of Marerro he didn't pick on the small fry. This 38-inch bull red De'Cory pulled from the Empire Canal near the pumping station was just one of many landed that day, most of which were released. Made a catch?   Share your fishing... Full story »

Inshore saltwater The New Year will start with a hard,  cold blow out of the north. Best day for fishing over the next five will probably be Saturday,  but check for low water. Look for specks on the bottom in deeper interior bays and lakes. Reds will be forced to the shorelines with falling water. Delacroix Isle: Fair Trout, ... Full story »

The Times-Picayune's outdoors editor Bob Marshall gives you his weekly early bird weekend outdoors report.  Full story »

Arriving at the dock after the hunt off Grand Lake,  Cressend Schonberg and I were asked the obvious first question by some of the other guys clad in camouflage: "How'd you do?" There were four ducks on the floor board. The limit for two hunters is 12. But Cressend didn't give the physical evidence a glance. "We had a... Full story »

Welcome to this week's mailbag. Thanks for your questions and keep 'em coming. The e-mail address is bmarshall@timespicayune.com. Bob, I'm a lady rancher,  and over the years I think I have seen and heard everything. But recently I found a copperhead snake skin in a stump hole that wasn't there just earlier in the day. Can a snake shed... Full story »

For duck hunters wondering if the big cold front that swept the Midwest just after Thanksgiving brought more duck to Louisiana,  the resounding answer is: Yes. Unfortunately for the metro area,  73 percent of those new ducks went to southwest Louisiana. Those were the findings in the annual December aerial waterfowl survey conducted by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife... Full story »

If your New Year's resolution is to catch a speckled trout over 6 pounds, you're in luck. Over the next few weeks The Trestles, one of the most accessible big-speck spots in Louisiana, could be yielding wall-hangers. "We often catch some of our biggest trout of the year out there in January and February," said Dudley Vandenborre, a guide... Full story »

Hunting season has reopened in parts of southeast Louisiana where it was closed last week. However, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries is restricting deer harvest to bucks only, until further notice. State officials closed the seasons last week due to flooding in the area. The restriction is in place to compensate for fawn mortality and decreased productivity... Full story »

Reporters are supposed to be the most cynical people on the planet. Our well-known motto: "If your mother says she loves you,  check it out." So where do we get off leaving a gift list for Santa Claus? Well,  I'm someone who's never stopped believing in 15-pound speckled trout or that the country finally will move swiftly and effectively... Full story »