Don Shoopman

1 week ago | thedailyiberian.com | Don Shoopman

Published 11:30 am Tuesday, May 27, 2025 ’Tis the season to delve into remarkable waterfowl migration adventures, such as a duck flying as fast as 94 mph and logging nearly 2,000 miles in a week, across North America. Weather has been heating up with more daylight hours south to north nearly every day since late April and early May, a seasonal change that sets off a biological clock in so many ducks, geese and other birds.

1 week ago | thedailyiberian.com | Don Shoopman

Published 11:15 am Tuesday, May 27, 2025 Louisiana’s growing wild turkey population is a long way from making the state a prime turkey hunting destination or even being mentioned in the same breath as Texas, Florida, Alabama, Kentucky, Missouri and five other states in the Top 10. The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Small Game / Turkey Program Manager, Cody Cedotal, has good reason to be optimistic for the future of turkeys in the Sportsman’s Paradise.

1 week ago | thedailyiberian.com | Don Shoopman

Published 11:00 am Tuesday, May 27, 2025 VILLE PLATTE – A veteran bass angler was proud of his first catch, a 4.81-pound bass, of the morning and very pleased with the 3-plus pounder his fishin’ buddy netted about 15 minutes later on May 18 at Chicot Lake. But the fish that meant the most to Travis Meche Sr. of Branch and his tournament partner was a 1 ½-pound class bass late in the day on a wacky-rigged green pumpkin Zoom Trick Worm.

2 weeks ago | louisianasportsman.com | Don Shoopman

A silent topwater that’s perfect for pressured bass in clear waterSilence is golden, and often very much necessary for a topwater artificial lure on a very clear and/or heavily pressured body of water. Dustin Elder of Hot Springs, Ark., proved that time and time again after he redesigned an oldie but goldie for Heddon Lures, which put the new look Super Zara Spook on the market in mid-October 2024.

2 weeks ago | louisianasportsman.com | Don Shoopman

Whether Henderson Lake is up or down in June, a Broussard bass fisherman expects to hook and reel in bass in one of two areas. Fifty-two-year-old Jeremy Girouard has his fishin’ rods at the ready, each loaded with an artificial lure he relies on when the calendar page turns from May to June. His lure selection ranges from black or white Zara Spooks and Yellow Magics to purple Zoom Trick Worms or Zoom Speed Worms if the water’s high like it was in mid-May.