Today is the final day for early bird entry into the 2014 Louisiana Sportsman Open Bass Championship scheduled for March 15-16.

The tournament, which is part of the Louisiana Sportsman Show to be held at the Lamar-Dixon Expo Center in Gonzales, features a top prize of $12,000.

Go to http://www.louisianasportsmanshow.com/downloads/bass_rules_entry_form.pdf for entry forms.

Entry forms can be faxed to 985-758-7000 or emailed to bassopen@louisianasportsmanshow.com.

If you miss today's cutoff, registration also can be completed at the captains meeting to be held next Wednesday (March 12) at 6 p.m. at Cabela's in Gonzales.

If you want to catch some reds, you need to click on this link to find out how - and you don't even have to have a boat!

http://www.louisianasportsman.com/details.php?id=6104

A SECOND pending state-record buck has been killed. Check out the details on this 204-inch monster at http://www.louisianasportsman.com/details.php?id=6070.

Man, this is CRAZY: A kayak submarine? How many ways can I say, 'Ah, NO!'

Man, the bull reds were schooled up in a big way today at Southwest Pass. Go to http://www.louisianasportsman.com/details.php?id=5842 for information on how we found schools of hundreds of fish and easily hooked up.

This one is worth watching again, especially if you're one of those guys who don't wear a life vest. Wow!

Have y'all seen this vid of a 350-pound blue marlin jumping into a boat? Wild times.

Wow: Check out the video of the Assumption Parish sinkhole swallowing up more of the swamp. Watch how quickly those trees disappear.

What do Jimmy Kimmel and the Duck Dynasty folks do when a celebrity bashes the act of hunting? Make more money! Check out this Kimmel skit: Just hilarious.

My dad used a lot of implements to pull my teeth - and I used a pair of rusty fishing pliers to snatch out one of my son's loose teeth (hey, I jokingly told him to go get them, and he did - so what else was I supposed to do?).

But this takes wins the redneck prize.

There are significant deer-hunting season changes being proposed today during the Louisiana Wildlife & Fisheries Commission meeting. It will take some time to put together the story with all the details, but there are new hunting zones and a move back to designated either-sex days in some areas of the state.

So stay tuned, and be watching for the story on the front page.

Here is the agenda for Thursday's meeting of the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission. The meeting will be held at the Waddill Outdoor Education Center at 4142 North Flannery Road in Baton Rouge, and will begin at 9:30 a.m.

1. Roll Call

2. Approval of Minutes of January 3, 2013

3. Commission Special Announcements/Personal Privilege

4. To Hear Enforcement & Aviation Reports/January

5. To receive and consider a Notice of Intent for the 2013 – 2015 Hunting Seasons and 2013-2014 WMA Seasons

6. To receive and consider a Notice of Intent on General/WMA Hunting Rules and Regulations

7. To present recognition to the Tangipahoa Parish School Board for continued free lease of lands comprising the WMA

8. To receive and consider a Notice of Intent on DMAP Fee Corrections

9. To receive and consider a resolution to add the Rathborne Tract to the Maurepas Swamp WMA

10. To consider the Alternative Oyster Culture Permit proposed Rule for final Rule

11. To receive and consider a Declaration of Emergency on Fisheries Closures due to Oil Spill

12. To receive a presentation of Annual Stock Assessment Report for Striped Mullet

13. Discussion of the 2013 Red Snapper Season

14. To receive and consider a Notice of Intent to designate the fishing boundary for Lake D’Arbonne for purposes of crappie regulations

15. To receive and consider a Notice of Intent related to black bass regulations in the Atchafalaya Basin, Lake Verret, Lake Palourde, and Fausse Pointe Lake

16. To elect Vice-Chairman

17. Set June 2013 Meeting Date

18. Receive Public Comments

19. Executive Session to Discuss Prospective Litigation relative to return of Artificial Reef Fund Monies

20. Adjournment

Holy cow! Jump over to http://www.louisianasportsman.com/details.php?id=4498 and read about this 190-inch buck killed this weekend!

Man, jump over www.louisianasportsman.com/details.php?id=4474 to read the details of this buck, which greenscored in the upper 160s! Just an awesome deer.

And don't forget to keep up with the buck mania by checking out www.louisianasportsman.com/bigbucks!

Man, the story of how this 200-inch Mississippi buck was killed is amazing. Check it out: Looks like it will be the third-largest buck ever killed with a bow in Mississippi, according to the Magnolia Records.

Here's the link: http://www.louisianasportsman.com/details.php?id=4453

Man, flip over to http://www.louisianasportsman.com/details.php?id=4416 and check out the story on this monster yellowfin tuna, which likely will sit atop the Louisiana Fish Records!

Here is the agenda for Thursday's Louisiana Wildlife & Fisheries Commission meeting to be held at 9:30 a.m. at the LDWF headquarters building in Baton Rouge:

1. Roll Call

2. Approval of Minutes of September 6, 2012

3. Commission Special Announcements/Personal Privilege

4. To hear Enforcement & Aviation Reports/September

5. Update on Land Acquisition – Wham and Bussey Brake

6. To receive and consider public comments on the Notice of Intent for 2013 Turkey Areas, Season, and Bag Limits for final Rule

7. To receive and consider public comments on the Notice of Intent for General and WMA Turkey Hunting Regulations for final Rule

8. To receive and consider a Notice of Intent to Revise Rules Governing Falconry

9. To hear a Report on Assessment of the Impact of Hurricane Isaac to the White-Tailed Deer Herds in Southeast Louisiana; and to consider a Declaration of Emergency to Adjust the 2012-13 Deer Season Rules and Regulations in the Impacted Area

10.To receive and consider public comments on the Notice of Intent on Crappie Regulations in Lake D’Arbonne for final Rule

11. Set February Commission Meeting Date

12. Receive Public Comments

13. Adjournment

By Rusty Tardo
Louisiana Sportsman contributor

The Campos were smiling today as Mike transferred a boatload of live shrimp into their refurbished bait baskets along the completely repaired dock under their newly rebuilt roof.

“A lot of work has gone on down here in a month,” he said, as they dipped scoop after scoop of nice sized, frisky shrimp out of the bait boat’s wells. “We’re back to operating along the dock like Blackie did for all those years, and like we did after Katrina until we built the big shed. But that’s OK, this is a proven system, we’re up and running again and that’s what matters. “

The electricians were still there, winding up their projects at the dock, and their handiwork was clearly visible. A host of new lights illuminate the bait tanks under the new roof.

“So we’re now finally up and fully operational again, four weeks after the hurricane. We have live shrimp, ice, and fuel; both gas and diesel, and of course, the two back-downs,” Mike said.
And just in time, because fall is arriving and the fish are biting!

Guys, if this video doesn't make you want to head south this weekend for a bit of redfish action, then you need to check your priorities!

I just talked with the Grand Isle mayor's office, and learned that work is under way on the portion of Highway 1 between Fourchon and Grand Isle that washed out during Hurricane Isaac - but apparently they are allowing traffic to pass on the one remaining lane.

So be sure and get down there and spend some money to help the area recover. It's really the best thing we can do to help the coastal marinas.