The marsh that Chris Pike hunts around Delacroix is admittedly all leased up. That means that one can’t just launch a boat and find the closest pond to make a duck hunt.
However, Southeast Louisiana does have areas of public access that provide the same kind of hunting that Pike experiences in the Delacroix marsh, and one of them is just on the other side of the MRGO.
As he mentioned, Pike probably kills more gray ducks in the Biloxi Marsh when he’s able to sneak over there for some buddy hunts.
“The stuff I do in the lease applies to Biloxi Marsh, as well,” Pike said. “In fact, it applies to the whole southeast coast, too. In the lease, I’ve got the luxury of not having any other hunters in my hip pocket.
“But honestly, it’s not that bad in the Biloxi Marsh, either.”
Having to deal with inconsiderate hunters who intentionally set up too close or inexperienced hunters who motor in right at shooting time is the bane of public-land waterfowlers everywhere.
However, it’s Pike’s experience hunting Biloxi Marsh WMA that there are so many ponds and places to hunt over there that he really doesn’t have to fight the crowds like he might at Pass-a-Loutre WMA farther down the Mississippi River or Salvador over by Lafitte.
“The Biloxi Marsh is really under hunted,” Pike confided. “It seems like people just don’t make it over there, and I don’t know why. Your bread-and-butter ducks — gray ducks and green-winged teal — dominate over there just like they do in the leases I hunt, but you can also get on a mallard or pintail or two.”
According the Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries, the Biloxi Wildlife Management Area is a 35,644-acre tract located in Upper St. Bernard Parish about 40 miles east of New Orleans that is accessible only by boat via commercial launches at Hopedale and Shell Beach.
A few oak trees are present on old ridges, but the major vegetation includes marsh hay cord grass, black rush, hog cane, smooth cord grass, saltgrass, glasswort and three square. Widgeon grass is the main submerged aquatic plant occurring there.