LOUISIANA OUTDOORS

Hunting, gaming, and outdoor recreation.

Here are the five tips to hunt the way your father and maybe even your grandfather did.

Remember, Keep it Simple.

Bob Marshall/The Times-PicayuneThe black drum, known simply as 'drum,' usually doesn't get the respect it deserves. A close cousin of the redfish, it fights almost as hard and is a willing feeder in harsh winter conditions. It also currently is moving in thick schools along the bridges at Pass Rigolets.

The jolt from the strike made the butt of the rod shake. The run that followed bent the tip toward the handle, and pulled line against the drag, as power boils rolled across the surface of the channel.

Excitement rippled through the boat with shouts of "that's a good red!" But they stopped just as suddenly when the fish came to the surface flashing silver and black.

Christmas arrived last Monday for Louisiana sportsmen and other outdoors lovers at a Grand Isle press conference.

Gov. Bobby Jindal -- sans the white beard and red suit -- played Santa at a photo-op we've been waiting six years to see: Elmer's Island is starting to reopen to the public.

Notice the phrase "starting to reopen."

Fog. Heat. Gnats.

Each of those conditions alone is a factor that make for an unpleasant day on the water, especially during the so-called Louisiana winter. But when they come in combination, it's enough to make me cancel a fishing trip. Fishing, after all, is supposed to be fun. I can't have fun in December when the temperature is 79 degrees, a great cloud of fog has covered the marsh -- and the gnats are on a feeding frenzy.

One recent morning charter skipper Dudley Vandenborre was preparing for a fishing trip when he got a shock: Lake Pontchartrain was gone.

Well, not completely. But close enough to stun a man who has been fishing the lake for more than 50 years.

Bob Marshall, The Times-PicayuneThe sharp turns made by some bayous in the marsh can create deep holes due to the scouring power of tidal action. These deep spots are ideal hangouts for speckled trout during the colder months.

Wednesday morning arrived in Shell Beach on the wings of a stiff northwest blow. The water was falling fast, and the water temperature was following right behind it. So Frank Campo knew where anglers would find fish this weekend.

"Trout and reds are in those deep holes at the bends in the bayous," said Campo as the latest cold front was roughing up Lake Borgne. "You know, places like Crooked Bayou."

Now, if you're a veteran angler in southeast Louisiana and someone tells you, "the fish are biting in Crooked Bayou," it means as much as a Yankee telling you "I know a guy in New Orleans named Bourgeois."

Bob Marshall/The Times-PicayuneNational Wildlife Federation members get an up-close view of Louisiana's rapidly eroding coastal wetlands at Grand Bayou in Plaquemines Parish. The organization is launching a major effort to assist coastal restoraiton efforts.

How do you say, "It's about time!" without sounding ungrateful?

Let me explain.

Last week, 40 people were taken on a tour of area wetlands. They listened with rapt attention as experts explained how and why southeast Louisiana was dying, and how it could be rescued. They looked with shock and sadness at the eroding marshes while on boat and walking tours. Then many of them vowed to get involved in the cures.

Bob Marshall/The Times-PicayuneWhen the salty water from the Gulf of Mexico makes its way up the Mississippi River, "The Jump" becomes the place where speckled trout come to feed heartily, and anglers come to haul them in.

Fishin' Fridays: The 'Jump'

Anglers across the nation have come to learn that Venice is the jumping-off spot for the most diverse, abundant and accessible fishing on the continent. So daunting are the choices, so vast the fishing area, that many anglers bring extra tanks of fuel to make sure they can cover all the alternatives.

But for anyone only interested in filling their 25-trout limit, a quart of fuel has been more than enough lately. That's because the hottest, most consistent speck fishing in the state recently has been at "The Jump" -- the starting place for the expansive Venice fishing area, a spot within shouting distance of the town's two marinas.