The key to a good deer management program is good habitat — plain and simple. The research that has been done measuring the impacts of good deer habitat is crystal clear on the subject: Good habitat provides the nutrition needed for optimal body growth and antler development.[…]
Many years ago, in the mid-70s, there was an article in a popular hunting magazine that was titled “The Thundering Herd.” Basically it was about exploding deer numbers in most of the states in the southeast.[…]
Harvest data produced by the LDWF DMAP program shows that hunters are killing more adult bucks than yearling (1 ½ year) bucks. Data from the Quality Deer Management Association also shows this is true in most of the southeast.[…]
Genetics is the least of our worries concerning the management of deer in the Bayou State.[…]
I made the statement last month in this column that now is the time to start preparing for the 2017 deer season if you want to have success. It begins with examination of the 2016 harvest data and surveying the 2017 habitat conditions.[…]
The madness that happens during the month of March began when the soothsayer told Caesar to beware the Ides of March. Julius did not listen and paid the price for ignoring it.[…]
When I went to work for the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries in 1976 as a game biologist in the Florida Parishes, I quickly discovered a new species of bird to hunt — the eastern wild turkey.[…]
The January issue of the Louisiana Sportsman had the words “finish strong” on the cover. This was in reference to the idea that January is the peak rut month for Areas 1 and 6, the land of the big bucks in the Bayou State.[…]
The bottoms of my knee boots weren’t gripping the top of the sunken log very well, and I would occasionally slide as I inched my way across the slough. Fortunately, I had stick poles in each hand to help with balance.[…]
When the Notre Dame football players leave the locker room and head for the field they pass under a sign that reads, “Play like a champion today.”[…]
In December, seasons are open for most game species, so it is time for a hunter to put some meat in the freezer.[…]
The sport of hunting remains strong in the Bayou State because families make it a priority.[…]
Records are kept these days of just about everything. As we saw during the 2016 Summer Olympics the old adage “records are made to be broken” is still true.[…]
About the end of June, I started receiving emailed photographs of newly born fawns. The fawn drop was on in Area 4, right on schedule and right on time for the deer season that opens in October.[…]
At the 2016 Southeast Deer Study Group Meeting, a presentation was made concerning different food plot mixtures and their effectiveness in attracting deer.[…]
Are you trying to affect the physical condition of the deer on your lease, or just hold them on your property year round? Here are some food plot pointers.[…]