Raising Cane on the Delta

In Southern parlance, stating that someone is "raising cane" typically refers to a caustic, ill-tempered behavior. That's no less applicable in Louisiana's Mississippi Delta region, but the cane you find there is actually more likely to evoke gleeful contentment from anglers happy to stretch a line.

It's called Roseau cane - Phragmites australis to botanists - and this stout, stalky vegetation common to the river's brackish regions offers abundant habitat for redfish, black drum, sheepshead, flounder and speckled trout. Roseau pattern defies summation but whether it's a long orderly row, a ragged pond perimeter with lots of nooks and crannies, or a random smattering of storm-torn...