Duck hunters pulling for cold front's progress

Duck hunters hope the forecast of a cold front passing through the area late this week holds true.
Cold is to them as water is to ducks, so to speak.
“It’s not looking good so far,” said Larry Reynolds, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries waterfowl study leader. “The weather is warm, and the habitat up north is in good shape. Our habitat is in good shape, too.”
“The migration is a few weeks behind. The sooner and the colder it gets, the better for us.”
Big duck season in the Coastal Zone, which includes all of St. Landry Parish west of La. Hwy. 103, will open Saturday. The youth waterfowl hunt days are this weekend. Coot and merganser season will also open Nov. 15, and the regular season dates for ducks, coots and mergansers will be Nov. 15-Dec. 7 and Dec. 20-Jan. 25. The Canada geese season dates in the coastal zone will be Nov. 15-Dec. 14 and Dec. 20-Jan. 31, and White-fronted Geese (specklebelly) and Light Geese (Snow, Blue and Ross’) seasons will be Nov. 15-Dec. 14 and Dec. 20-Feb. 1. The Conservation Order for Light Geese will be Dec. 15-19 and Feb. 2-March 1.
Big duck season in the East Zone, which includes all of St. Landry Parish east of La. Hwy. 103, will open Nov. 22, and the youth waterfowl hunts will be Nov. 15 and Jan. 31. Coot and merganser season will also open Nov. 15, and the regular season dates for ducks, coots and mergansers will be Nov. 22-Dec. 7 and Dec. 13-Jan. 25. The Canada Geese season is Nov. 8-Dec. 7 and Dec. 13-Jan. 25, and White-fronted Geese and Light Geese seasons will be Nov. 8-Dec. 7 and Dec. 13-Jan. 25. The Conservation Order for Light Geese will be Dec. 8-12 and Jan. 26-March 1.
The daily bag limit for ducks is six and may include not more than four mallards (no more than two of which may be hens), one canvasback, one mottled duck, one black duck, three wood ducks, three scaup, two redheads and two pintails. The daily bag limit on coots is 15, and five for mergansers. The daily bag limit for White-fronted Geese is two, and the daily bag limit for Light Geese is 20.
“The reports I’m getting so far are similar to last year,” Reynolds said. “Spring was late, and it got cold late. It looks like we may have a repeat of last year.”
“Things are pretty quiet so far. A lot of northern states are still waiting on the migration.”
Reynolds will participate in a coastal area survey this week prior to the Coastal Zone opening day, and from his vantage point, he will see how far along the migration is coming. Despite the poor outlook, Reynolds did point out two possible silver linings to the potentially dismal duck days ahead.
“Even with flooding in nesting area, there was still plenty of good habitat for goose nesting,” Reynolds said. “There was still recording breeding and that will hopefully equal a plentiful fall flight headed south.”
In addition to good goose news, some of the state’s duck hunters may have slightly better luck than others, depending on location, location, location.
“The season dates are a week later in the coastal zone for the first time since 1975,” Reynolds said. “I hope that extra week will work out well for us.”
“It’s going to be a game of wait and see.”
While there are no public places to duck hunt in the Coastal Zone in St. Landry Parish, hunting opportunities are available at Sherburne and Thistlewaite wildlife management areas, both located in the East Zone.
The waterfowl regulations for Sherburne are as follows: Waterfowl, snipe, rail and Gallinules: Same as outside except closed after 2 p.m. and except closed Oct. 25-26, Nov. 29-30 and Dec. 5-7, and except hunting after 2 p.m. prohibited; except no hunting in Waterfowl Refuge; and except non-toxic shot only on waterfowl impoundments.
The area of Sherburne WMA known as the South Farm is restricted to lottery hunts only. South Farm waterfowl hunting is limited to one hunt per calendar week per person. All other hunting is closed on the South Farm area from the Friday before the Youth Lottery Deer Hunt until the day after the last waterfowl hunt on the South Farm.
“The lottery hunts are a very controlled, quality type hunt,” said Tony Vidrine, region manager of the Mississippi Alluvial Valley Eco Region Wildlife Management Area for the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. “Groups of hunters are spaced away from others in the unit. There’s no overcrowding like some other public hunting spots.”
Lottery drawings for the Tuesday and Thursday hunts in the South Farm Unit are hosted at 4:30 a.m. each Tuesday and Thursday during the seasons at the South Farm entrance near Ramah. Hunters must fill out an application for the Saturday hunts prior to that day. During the first split, there will be four groups of three hunters allowed to hunt the unit.
“We only allow four groups for the first split because the season is so short with no hunting on Thanksgiving and the buck and doe days,” Vidrine said. “There are not as many ducks in first split anyway.”
“During the second split, we will hunt up to seven or eight spots with about 21 to 24 people. We usually have 75 or 80 people show up.”
According to Vidrine, the Tuesday and Thursday lottery hunts are extremely popular with hunters from Lafayette and Baton Rouge, as the WMA is roughly in the middle of the two cities, and many of the hunters are also college students.
Zeus Swamp is a popular non-lottery hunting spot at the WMA, and LWDF staff have been busy prepping area with herbicides to knock down vegetation like water hyacinth, cat tails and willows to create spots for ducks to land. Hunters there are also known to hunt low spots that hold water and wood ducks.
“Duck hunters at Sherburne do well,” Vidrine said. “Last year was not the best season, but it was fair to average. Some days were good. Others were not quite as good.”
“We get more hunters at Sherburne than Thistlewaite because there is more place to hunt, but Thistlewaite is popular, too.”
Those interested in lottery hunts at the WMA can contact the Opelousas Field Office at (337) 948-0255 for details.
The waterfowl regulations for Thistlewaite WMA are as follows: Same as outside except waterfowl closed after 2 p.m. and except closed Oct. 25-26, Nov. 28-30 and Dec. 6-7.
According to Vidrine, Thistlewaite is great for a quick wood duck hunt, and conditions are best when there is a good amount of rainfall to fill the swamps and bayous and cover the flats.
“Hunters at Thistlewaite usually do very well,” he said. “Foy Lake it good for hunting too, but it’s a long walk. Every once and a while, they will see some teal or some big ducks there too. People also hunt the pipeline crossings.”
“With wood duck hunting, the birds fly early, and it’s a quick hunt. Some people will hunt there before they go to work.”