This latest generation of hunters, not surprisingly, might ask, “Were there ever any quail and quail hunters in Louisiana?” They read the hunting regulation pamphlet and see where we have a lengthy 14-week open season (Nov 21-Feb 28) with generous 10-bird daily and 20-bird possession limits. Yet no, or very few, hunters they know actually hunt quail.

            Not that Louisiana ever has had the long-standing upland bird hunting traditions found in neighboring Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia, but there’s no escaping reality.  Louisiana quail hunters are at an all-time low. From the heyday of quail hunting in the mid 1970s, when there were 25-30,000 of us.  Our ranks have dwindled to a fewer than 3,000. Sure, here in the sportsman’s paradise, our hunting roots are deeply planted in squirrel, duck and deer traditions, but that’s never stopped us from finding time to stalk less popular game species.

            For those of us who have had the pleasure of participating in the “gentlemanly...

Read More »

As my retriever returned with a fine drake pintail my buddy whispered from his end of the duck blind, “Check him for jewelry!”  It took a second for what he was saying to sink in but as usual this bird had no leg band. Well, there was a double-banded snow goose I’m certain I shot but was quickly scoffed up by a claim jumper next to me in the goose pit but that’s another story for another day. 

You would think after 40 plus years of shooting quail, doves, woodcock, rails, gallinules, mergansers, snipe, coots, ducks and geese, it would be harder for me NOT TO HAVE shot a banded bird. I’ve got hunting buddies who have collected so many leg bands they’ve made necklaces and bracelets. I’ve sat next to them in blinds, on levees, in fields and swamps and watched as the birds they’ve shot brandish their special “jewelry.” But for me, no such luck.  Just once I’d like to make that toll-free call to report details of my kill and learn the life story of my quarry – hasn’t happened, at least not yet.

 There was a time when I thought I was the only person who chased the purple ghosts of the bayou. Well, truthfully I never really thought I was the only one but very often I wondered who the handful of other hunters might be who took advantage of the white-meat answer to poule’ deau known as gallinules.

That was until those lean years when duck hunting bottomed out with a 30-day season and a three-bird limit and a halt to the season’s appetizer, the teal season. Now things are different, or the same again, depending how you look at it. 16-day teal and 60-day, six-bird duck seasons have been, and continue to be, the norm.

Right now you’re probably thinking, have I seen these things before? Let’s get down to what is and what isn’t a real honest to goodness gallinule. Even before the days of reduced waterfowl action I was out there stalking, paddling the bayous off Lakes Salvador and Des Allemands. The dead-end pipelines make perfect hiding and feeding places for these shy, wily members of the shorebird...

Read More »

 

During the hot summertime months most hunters are in the planning mode. You know,    securing leases, designing food plots, making plans for stands and blinds maybe even reserving vacation dates at lodges. But it’s a safe bet very few are strategizing their upcoming nutria hunts. Recreational nutria hunting really hasn’t caught on even while the state’s program designed to control an explosive population to reduce or eliminate damage to our wetlands has been a rousing success. It’s also proof-positive that putting a price tag on wildlife can put a serious dent in populations. In most cases this would be a bad thing, but in the case of nutria, a good one.

 

Now in its 7th year, the LA Department of Wildlife & Fisheries’ Coastwide Nutria Control Program concluded its 2008-09 season crediting 262 participants with taking out 334,038 of the orange-toothed, rat-tailed critters. These registered “bounty hunters” bagged 25,826 more than last year bringing the total since the program began to 1,790,829....

Read More »

Never could decide if catching frogs is hunting or fishing so I just call it “frogging.” In Louisiana we have a 10-month open frog season. Only a valid fishing license is required. April and May are the only months when frogging is not legal.   Size limits are measured from tip of muzzle to posterior of body between the hind legs, and are 5 inches for bullfrogs and 3 inches for pig frogs. Not being a catch and release sport (at least not intentionally) there are no limits on how many frogs you can take home. No firearms are allowed when frogging, but it’s ok to take them at night with lights, gigs, spears, nets, etc. The best method is determined by the species hunted and the terrain. Bullfrogs (at 5-15 inches, the largest frogs in North America) are more common in swamps and along rivers and bayous that have high, dry banks. Pig frogs (3-7 inches and named for their “hog-like” grunting sounds) are more common in marshy terrain like duck ponds. Sometimes their territories overlap allowing you to catch both species...

Read More »

 “I want your job,” say people I meet all the time. “You can’t have it, I’m not ready to give it up,” I always reply.

After all, hunting, fishing, and then writing and talking about it on TV and radio certainly has appeal. And although that description of my job as an “outdoor writer” is a gross oversimplification it represents the dream of many. But the cemetery is full of wannabee writers. With newspapers on the ropes, TV shows plentiful as gnats on a calm day in Hopedale, and the internet headed who-knows-where, the future of aspiring young outdoor writers is shaky at best. But I guess there will always be places for those of us who love to make their living in and telling stories about the outdoors.

To create an interest in outdoor journalism and help prepare future writers, our Louisiana Outdoor Writer Association sponsors an annual Youth Journalism Contest. I’m encouraging parents and teachers to encourage students to participate in this event. It’s open to all students in two essay categories:...

Read More »

It’s no secret that statistics have shown a steady decline in hunting license sales for a number of years. The reasons are numerous and varied: no place to hunt, younger would–be hunters are preoccupied with ball sports or “indoor pastimes” like computers, I-pods, video games, etc. True, we have become a more urbanized society and nation than ever, and a hunter’s first thoughts might be; “Good, now it won’t be so crowded in the woods and more game for the rest of us.”

February stinks. Well ok, I guess many folks are happy because there is Mardi Gras and King Cakes, but at least for hunters and this goes for fishermen too, February really does stink. It’s cold and dreary, the only water left by the low tide is muddy and almost every hunting season is shut down. Yeah sure, there’s snipe and the goose conservation order, but those aren’t exactly the most popular seasons. But it is a good time to take a look at the future of our hunting and shooting heritage as we get past the inauguration of a new president and administration.