I'm interested myslef in the effects the storm had on that area. I am going to be heading out to there this weekend to do some scouting i will keep you posted as to what it looks like out there. Sounds like you travel through there a lot is the water high in that area (joyce, manchac, maurespas)?

Yes the water is still high , still flooded . Yes I live nearby and everyone is seeing deer up around the neighborhoods and on the road but I'm sure that a lot have died .

Not sure about Maurepas, Manchac hardly has any deer before the storm and then I road the area around Joyce and lots of dead deer. I think they need to close Joyce or at least limit the number of deer taken off of the WMA

Man , I hope your right ! If those animals can survive a summer back there , they can survive anything . Definitely some tough critters .

Your right about poachers too , my son told me one of his teachers heard gun shots and looked to see two spotted fawns running down the blacktop . So whoever it was must have been shooting at the mama doe ? That's a shame huh . I know times are hard but it's early September .

I think a bunch will make it like you say but there are a lot of deer in there . More than people might think , way more . I don't want to start a stampede of hunters to it but from the amount of deer and deer sign ive seen it would shock a lot of people .

I like the way you think though fishfearme , and hope most survive ...

Livetohunt ... Where did you see all the dead deer ? What area of Joyce ? Like around middle bayou ? Or tangi river ?

...most will survive, I think their biggest enemy is poachers...we can balance it out w/1-800-442-2511...they need the money and seized equipment !!!...cheers

I agree with that admiral . I thought that was pretty crummy to hear that . It's hard enough it's flooded everywhere , then they try to escape some of the water and you got hoodlums shooting at them on a public hwy !

Fishfearme I've hunted bonne carre spillway a good bit with rabbit dogs . There have always been a few in there but not a lot . But when the river gets up and they open the spillway , that following rabbit season it terrible . We went once after they opened them that spring and we never jumped a rabbit . I would like to think that some rabbits survived in Maurepas but have my doubts . You right about the deer too , they never get out the water much . I've killed deer with 8 or 9 inch hooves . I guess they never hit hard dirt to wear them down any and just keep growing . Next thing they might grow gills ... Lol

We put in at peavines and went in the spillway from the lake to fish the gar rodeo . We were talking about how thick it is in there and couldn't wait to dump the rabbit dogs off in there . There's a lot of hog sign in there too , well was . We'll still go try and see what happens . For some reason there's always a ton of rabbits on that lake beach .

I'm wondering if the water in the swamp is going to kill of the thick vegetation that has choked up the place and killed the duck hunting. I sure hope so!!

Pic right about Peavine...about the mid 80's we use to hunt rabbits on both slopes of RR tracks and load up on each trip...but after losing 3 good dogs on the tracks we felt it wasn't worth it...those trains would open-up after that last turn and somehow I think those older swamp rabbits knew it when they ran the center of the tracks ???...cheers

Admiral those are the Kamakaze rabbits . My dogs don't run those things .

I've never run off the low road , always afraid of that . By the spillway the train trestles are raised up in the air about 15 ft . I wonder if the rabbits are trying to figure out how to climb down from there now .

The storm blew a lot of acorns out the trees too . It's hard to beat that new growth grass though for the deer and rabbits . Sometimes the deer will walk through a pile of corn to get to fresh grass or good acorns .

It'd be nice to get a day off so I could go take a look around . Plus by next week the trout should start showing up in lake Maurepas .. Lol so much to do and so little time .

Just heard they may close portions of south La. down for deer season . Probably the best thing they can do .Posted: Tuesday, 11 September 2012 8:01AM

Isaac could change Louisiana deer season

Chris Miller Reporting
Dead nutria, dead alligators, dead cows, even a dead whale are among the dead animals found in Louisiana in Hurricane Isaac's wake.  State officials are now checking to see if the storm took a toll on the deer population.

Isaac's flooding could have killed deer, or it could have caused herds to move.  That's what Louisiana wildlife agents are trying to find out.

'Were deer forced out of their normal habitat area to the extent that we might need to consider revising harvest guidelines for the upcoming season?' is the question Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries spokesman Bo Boehringer said the department is seeking to answer.  Boehringer says wildlife agents are in the midst of investigating how much of an impact the storm could have had on deer population.

Boehringer says they've seen it before: in 2011, when the Morganza spillway opened, it caused changes in the deer population in the Atchafalaya basin.

'There were restrictions on that particular hunting season which reduced the hunter take,' Boehringer said.

If Wildlife and Fisheries finds that Isaac killed enough deer or forced the beasts to move, the state could adjust hunting season dates or bag limits to compensate.

(photo from Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries)

E-MailPrintShareThisA   A   A  Follow 

...why choke what's left ???...lett'em get back on their feet...the sport'n goods industry won't mind !!!...looks like WLF has the same demeanor as tax asscessors !!!...where are the rainy day LSU management skills and degrees ???...cheers