• New Orleans may soon be back in hunt
Local duck hunters might finally be getting some relief from the steady beat of bad news.

• ANGLERS ALMANAC
INSHORE SALTWATER

• Transition period shows on a lake with no name
The story was to be about the transition period of trout fishing in early fall, when specks begin migrating from their summer haunts in the large coastal bays into the shallow interior marshes. Guide Barry Brechtel explained how the pattern was just beginning, how we would be picking up seven or eight trout at each of our many stops during a wide circle through the marsh.

• Hunters, anglers need to bite bullet
In the months ahead, America will learn if sportsmen remain the nation's leading conservationists. The answer will be found in their choice between the following slogans:

• A return of the old gang again livens up the party
For members of a fishing community such as Lafitte that has just been rocked, socked and soaked by two hurricanes in less than a month, the best news possible would go something like this: "Hello, I'm your insurance adjuster, and here's your check to cover all the damages."

• Old haunt becoming anglers' new favorite
Open the file "Everything Old Is New Again," and you will come across this headline: The specks are biting at Sandy Point rigs!

• Take it to the bank, fish within reach of shoreline
Anglers standing along the banks of Bayou Terre aux Beoufs didn't have time to talk. The redfish wouldn't let them.

• Fish weathering the storms, but habitat is another story
When Hurricane Ike's tides finally fall next week, fishing is expected to pick up where it left off. But anglers heading back to their favorite spots shouldn't expect to find their world the way they left it before Hurricane Gustav. The marsh has been reshaped -- again -- and so have area marinas.

• All in all, Gustav certainly was no Katrina
Hurricane Gustav's last gasps still were sweeping the marsh when the marina owners supporting the region's huge recreational fishing business began exploring the bayous, looking for evidence their livelihoods might have survived the storm. By Thursday, they had their answer.

• Precautions can help float your boat
Memo to local anglers: Gustav in German translates to "Staff of God."