On the chilly, early morning boat ride into the Lafitte marsh it dawned on me that summer was really over. I realized then that it was time to put away the shorts and T-shirts until next year, and break out the long sleeve shirts and jeans.[…]
The sound was almost frightening. A dark, crisp December morning suddenly shaken by a too-close neighbor blasting the air waves with a duck call. How in the world he got there in the first place without you noticing was bad enough, but now the hideous sounds of his amateurish calling guarantee that no birds will be taken here.[…]
Tony Chachere Jr. had been hunting Three Rivers Wildlife Management Area for several years, and he had killed a couple of deer.[…]
It had been raining for several days, but my hunting partner and I were undeterred.[…]
Every hunter has a specialty.
He may hunt for everything from antelopes to zebras, but there’s one animal that holds his fancy more than the rest.[…]
The teal opener and it’s a coolish 63 degrees. Could anything be more GLORIOUS?![…]
My first dove decoys were made of cardboard and inspired by a bird watcher.[…]
It was as though the animal had popped out of the ground, as deer are seemingly apt to do in food plots.[…]
As a youngster, I devoured my uncle’s outdoor magazines. He was a chemical engineer, a machinist, a shooter and a gunsmith — and I hero-worshiped him as only a kid can.[…]
But the marsh that serves as the very foundation for those staggering fish and game stocks is disappearing, and in many places it’s totally gone. Unless serious, costly and painful steps are taken within the next five years, the Sportsman’s Paradise will become Paradise Lost.[…]
But the marsh that serves as the very foundation for those staggering fish and game stocks is disappearing, and in many places it’s totally gone. Unless serious, costly and painful steps are taken within the next five years, the Sportsman’s Paradise will become Paradise Lost.[…]
The old logging road was a promising place to look for sign. It ran through a year-old clearcut before dropping off a slight ridge into Winn Parish’s Dugdemona swamp.
Before timber harvesting, the ridge had been covered with a variety of oak and hickory trees, providing a rich food source. It also was the nearest high ground that would serve as a refuge when Dugdemona River inevitably experienced its annual flood. A hard rain a few days earlier made scouting conditions perfect.[…]
O.K., let’s start with the obvious: For the last two seasons, duck hunting in Louisiana has been, at best, disappointing.[…]
“You cast that bait right over that reef, and I guarantee a fish,” said Buras fishing guide John L. Taylor, pointing his 7-foot Shimano V-series rod toward a small spit of land near a sun and rain-scrubbed white PVC pipe leaning at a 60-degree angle.[…]
Deer hunting isn’t really about racks. Well, it isn’t all about antlers.[…]
“There’s somebody back there!” Eddie hissed, spraying me with whiskey spittle as he pointed a gloved finger behind the duck blind. “I’ve been hearing them all morning.” His eyes were wild. His lips quivered. “SEE!….. Hear THAT?!”[…]