January is named for the Roman god Janus.
You’ve seen his image. It’s a two-headed figure, one head turned toward the past and the other toward the future.
Perfect, right?
So it’s the perfect time to look back on 2024 and the impacts the last 12 months have had on fishing and hunting in our beloved Sportsman’s Paradise.
We have new regulations on speckled trout and redfish and catches during the last six months certainly have shown a remarkable uptick in the enthusiasm of our coastal anglers.
True, we continue to find lots of speckled trout measuring less than the new 13-inch minimum size, now all the while knowing those fish will be perfect table fare in 2025.
Yet, there were enough fish in the 13–20-inch range to make most folks leave the water with smiles on their faces.
Same’s true for redfish. The new 18-inch minimum size put a crimp in “keepers” showing up at docks east and west of the Mississippi River.
Still, there were enough going-home fish in the new four-redfish limit to prove there are enough reds in the water to keep this species on the target list.
Even better are the reports of the 14–16-inch reds that showed up in waters east of the Mississippi River, enough of them to make ardent anglers believe the next years will produce tons of action.
Thanks, too, can go to CCA Louisiana, Wildlife and Fisheries and the many partners for establishing numerous artificial reefs across the coast to provide fish habitat in areas where habitat is so sorely needed.
Hunting in 2024
We can include hunting, too. Cold weather in the North and Midwest came at just the right time to make duck hunters in both East and West Waterfowl Zones happy with what they saw — and took home to their tables.
East Zone hunters from Ferriday north to Lake Providence, then east to the Mississippi River levee and west about 60 miles enjoyed the best first split they’ve had in at least five years. Mallards came in early and joined gray ducks, woodies, spoonies and teal to make wild waterfowlers believe all the hard work paid off.
Rains coming after a worrisome dry October refreshed marshes and ag fields in the southwestern parishes to give migrating ducks and geese enough places to find food and refuge.
And rains in early December should keep these areas ducky and goosey through the East Zone’s second split and the West Zone’s second and third splits.
What’s more, early reports from places like Deer Area 2 came in with off-the-charts success for the diligent whitetail deer hunters. The cold weather timed well with the moon cycle to push bucks into a rigorous rut not only in Area 2, but in the Florida Parishes and the fields and forests west of Interstate 49.
November’s rains helped hunters who worried through October about their wasted work on food plots planted with hopes rain would make their fields lush and inviting to whitetails.
Those fears laid to rest will allow hunters to believe they can turn unused tags into post-rut success.
Food sources
David Moreland, the retired state biologist and Deer Study leader, said continued cold should force bucks, hungry after their rutting surge, to feed more heavily on what nature and hunters provide.
Moreland said hunters should know by now where oaks provided enough acorns to scatter to attract whitetails. Furthermore, native browse, like briers and native grasses, are a deer’s other favorites.
Of course, you can hunt a food plot, but the advice here is a deer will feed on the acorns first before seeking other food sources. Acorns are high in fat and provide a deer with gut-cleansing tannins, benefits whitetails find at an early age.
Bear hunting
And, we can add the first year with a black bear hunting season.
Yes, it was confined to a small area of our state. And, yes, there were only 10 permits issued from among nearly 900 applications.
This was an important first step in the recovery of a healthy black bear population in Louisiana. While there were loads of trepidation among the groups of folks who worked for years to get black bear numbers on the rise in our state, it’s hopeful they will see a hunting season, and the benefits of the money raised from this lottery was a feather in their collective cap.
Next month it’s time to look into 2025.
