In the aftermath of hurricanes Rita and Katrina, Louisiana fisheries recovered well enough to provide plenty of opportunities to catch lunkers this year.

The twin monsters of 2005 reconfigured the swamps and marshes in the southeastern and southwestern portions of Louisiana and ruined freshwater fishing opportunities in many coastal areas, but didn't severely affect saltwater fishing. In fact, only months after the storms, many anglers reported some of the best saltwater action in a long time. With good saltwater action and inland freshwater systems unaffected by the storms, Louisiana anglers should find outstanding opportunities across most of the Sportsman's Paradise throughout 2007.

Of course, no list could accurately depict all the excellent opportunities to string fish in Louisiana, but this list gives 36 suggestions of where to find action this year. With something from every corner of the state, let's take at brief look at what's waiting for Louisiana anglers this year.

JANUARY
Linesides
Looking for rod-bending action from really big fish, but can't make it to the coast? Head to Toledo Bend to challenge linesided line-pullers. For years, both Louisiana and Texas have stocked striped bass into the 186,000-acre reservoir overlapping state lines. Some of the monsters exceed 40 pounds. James L. Taylor landed the state record, a 47.5-pound fish while fishing the Bend in 1991. When generators at the dam create current, vertically drop chrome jigging spoons into water 20 to 45 feet deep. Also tempt big stripers with live shad. When feeding near the surface, stripers might hit shad-colored lipless crankbaits, spinnerbaits, bucktail jigs or topwater baits.

Other Choices
Lake Pontchartrain gained notoriety after inundating New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina. Many people feared the urban run-off would cripple the fisheries in the lake. However, the lake cleaned itself rather quickly. Today, anglers can catch big speckled trout around the bridges spanning the lake. In January 1999, Kenny Kreeger landed an 11.99-pound speck on Pontchartrain, currently ranked second in the record book. In the winter, many people flip heavy jigs to the base of the bridge pilings.

For bigger action, head into the Gulf of Mexico out of Venice to tempt wahoo. Many wahoo gather off the Mississippi River delta in the winter. Offer them live bait on drift lines or troll with spoons, divers or other plugs. On Jan. 11, 2005, David M. Wolfson landed a 120.37-pound wahoo off Venice.

FEBRUARY
Tuna
The Mississippi River Delta creates one of the richest tuna fisheries in the world. Many yellowfins congregate at the Midnight Lump, an ancient salt dome about 18 miles south of the Mississippi River mouth. It rises from about 600 feet of water to crest about 185 feet below the surface.

Many anglers chum for tuna. In the chum slick, toss a chunk of bonito, pogie or mullet attached to a 14/0 circle hook tied to fluorocarbon leader. Anglers commonly catch yellowfins in the 100- to 150-pound range with a few fish breaking the 200-pound mark. On March 15, 2004, Tom Moughon landed a 235-pound yellowfin at the Lump.

Other Choices
Caney Lake, a 5,000-acre impoundment near Chatham, has produced 16 of the current top 20 Louisiana bass including Greg Wiggins' 15.97-pound state record. While it hasn't produced a Top 20 bass since 2001, it still holds plenty of double-digit lunkers.

Caddo Lake actually produced a larger bass than Caney's, but as the 26,810-acre lake straddles the Louisiana-Texas line, Bobby Shaver weighed his 16.01-pound bass in Texas.

MARCH
Bass
Probably one of the best freshwater fisheries in the nation, Toledo Bend stretches for 65 miles along the Louisiana-Texas line. With more than 1,264 miles of shoreline, abundant weeds, humps, deep water, shallow flats, dropoffs and flooded timber, the lake offers anglers just about any type of cover a bass might want. In the spring, roe-swollen bass head to the shallows. Many anglers flip flooded brush with tubes or craw worms in 2 to 5 feet of water.

Other Choices
Lake D'Arbonne, a 15,000-acre lake near Farmerville, holds good numbers of crappie. Using long limber poles, anglers in the spring drop tiny jigs next to cypress trunks in two to four feet of water. Anglers catch many crappie in the 1- to 2-pound range, and a few exceeding 3 pounds.

During winter or early spring, cold north winds often blow water out of the marshes of southeast Louisiana. With little other water, speckled trout drop into numerous oilfield canals from Cocodrie to Delacroix. Drop 3/8- to 1/2-ounce jigheads sweetened with soft-plastic temptations and work them slowly along the bottom.