Some of the best woodcock hunting on public lands can be had, weather conditions permitting, on Sherburne WMA, according to LDWF’s Yony Vidrine.
“The last couple of years it has been excellent on Sherburne,” Vidrine said. “If a guy is looking for a place to woodcock hunt, that probably is one of the better ones in the entire state.”
And, he confided, it isn’t necessarily true that a hard freeze is needed to push the birds down here.
“Woodcock habitat managed on Sherburne WMA, in addition to the bottomland forest habitat that hold numbers of woodcock, contribute to good hunting success on this area,” Vidcrine said. “During the 2014 season, we recorded 404 woodcock hunters, with a total harvest of 377 woodcock.
“Richard K. Yancey also has bottomland hardwood habitat that supports high numbers of woodcock. Hunting success is good on this WMA. During the 2014 season, we had a recorded hunter use of 82 hunters taking 62 woodcock,” he said.
Some fine woodcock-hunting opportunities also are there for the taking on Pearl River and Sandy Hollow WMAs, the Gulf Coastal Plain Region’s Christian Winslow said.
“Of our nine WMAs, Pearl River and Sandy Hollow WMAs offer the best woodcock hunting opportunities,” Winslow said.
Cliff Dailey, who oversees Dewey Wills and Little River WMAs, said hunters can find excellent woodcock hunting habitat on old logging sites that have grown back to thickets. And, he added, there is no need for an ATV.
“There’s good shooting to be had within walking distance from major roads. Wear orange hats and vests for safety,” Dailey advised.
There is no woodcock hunting worth noting on the coastal WMAs under Cassidy LeJeune.
If the areas are open, some of the best Gulf Coastal Plain Western Region’s quail hunting is on Fort Polk WMA, according to Wendell Smithn. The region’s best bet for woodcock hunting is Clear Creek WMA, where hunters average about two birds a hunt.
When conditions are right, Boeuf WMA offers excellent snipe hunting, according to Lowrey Moak in the MAV North Region-Ferriday. Last season, 15 hunters harvested 120 snipe, he said.
Also, woodcock hunting is available on all four of his WMAs, he said, naming Big Lake, Buckhorn, Boeuf and Sicily Island WMAs. The most popular is Bouef WMA, where 18 hunters got 25 woodcock in 2013-14. However, there are frequent woodcock sightings on Big Lake, Buckhorn and Sicily Island WMAs, he said.
Quail hunting should be at its best in the Gulf Coast Plain Northwest Region-Minden.
“We have quail on Jackson Bienville WMA,” LDWF’s Jeff Johnson said. “They can be hard to locate and, due to few quail hunters, the place doesn’t get a lot of quail-hunting activity.
“If I was in this part of the state and looking for a place to try on public land, though, J-B is where I’d start. There is a significant amount of mature pine timber on this WMA that is managed for red-cockaded woodpeckers. This involves having well-spaced, low basal area timber stands, and regular use of prescribed burning to keep understory at an acceptable level. The results of this are some really good quail habitat; It’s some pretty woods to hunt and watch a bird dog work, but it can be work to find the quail.”
