Bayou Catholic October 2015 Bayou Outdoor Guide by Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux

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HOUMA, LA ~ OCTOBER 2015 ~ COMPLIMENTARY

Contents Outdoor writer John Flores says that what happens with duck production in Louisiana this year is anyone’s guess. It takes ice to take away the resting areas in the north, snow to cover grain fields and food resources, and cold air to push ducks southward. Only time will tell if Louisiana waterfowl hunters will have a productive season.

2015 - 2016 Waterfowl season preview

On Our Cover Bayou Outdoor Guide Fall 2015 Cover Photo by John Flores

2015 - 2016 Deer season forecast

Mastering the swamp one buck at a time

10 8

Fall speckled trout fast and furious action

Index to Advertisers Associated Pump & Supply Co., Inc. ... 19

Houma Orthopedic Clinic ..................... 29

Barker Honda ........................................ 32

Howard Castay ....................................... 7

Bayou Catholic ...................................... 11

KEM Supply House, Inc. ........................ 38

Cenac Marine ........................................ 39

Lafourche Motor, Co. ............................ 35

Charles A. Page & Sons ....................... 15

LeBlanc & Associates, LLC ................... 33

Courtesy Automotive ............................ 30

M & L Engine ......................................... 13

Dagate’s Marine .................................... 21

Re-Bath ................................................. 36

Daigle Himel Daigle .............................. 17

Robichaux Ford ....................................... 3

Data Management Services ................... 25

Southland Dodge .................................. 37

Evolution Marine ................................... 27

Synergy Bank .......................................... 5

G & F Sporting Center .......................... 22

Thibodaux Physical Therapy ................ 34

H & H Marine ......................................... 23

Vision Communications.......................... 31

Bayou Catholic • Houma, LA • October 2015

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Outdoor Guide

Waterfowl

By John Flores Another year has passed and another six bird liberal bag limit is what hunters have to look forward to in the upcoming 20152016 waterfowl season. For 21 straight years all of the stars have lined up on the upper Midwest and Canadian prairies. And what with Mother Nature stepping in at just the right moment the past couple of years, duck breeding numbers have once again topped the United States Fish & Wildife Service charts this past spring. If that isn’t enough good news in itself, white-fronted goose populations have increased to the point where the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries proposed the options of a three bird – 74 day season or two bird – 88 day season to the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission in August. Much to the consternation of Louisiana’s waterfowl hunters who took the time to turn in write-in and complete online surveys, the commissioners went against the overwhelming majority of public opinion choosing to go with the 88 day goose season. There was one noticeable thing that stood out during the United States Fish and Wildlife Service’s aerial surveys this past spring. The prairie was much dryer than the previous year. During the last week of April and first week of May, I happened to be vacationing in the upper Midwest chasing Merriam turkeys in Nebraska and South Dakota, just as we had the year before. My and my wife’s 3,023-mile odyssey took us through the southern portion of the prairie pothole region known as the duck factory. Compared to 2014, when the area was teeming with waterfowl, the bone-dry sand hills and farmlands were void of ducks. Reports posted on the flyways. Bayou Catholic • Houma, LA • October 2015

season preview

JOHN FLORES PHOTO

us website stated many of the early nesting species of ducks simply “over flew” their traditional breeding grounds opting for wetter land further north confirmed what we saw on vacation. Concerning the southern strata of the prairie pothole region, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Waterfowl Study Leader, Larry Reynolds, said, “There is little doubt that production will be lower this year due to more northern settling of the

breeding population, the reduced pond count, and the late date at which some of the water arrived on the breeding grounds. We have long known that wetlands flooded continuously lose productivity. Periodic drought is a necessary part of the cycle that maintains high prairie-wetland productivity. We also know that high breeding populations lead to lower numbers of juveniles in the fall harvest because of lower reproductive rates.”

A friend and Editor of American Waterfowler Magazine, Jay Strangis, who resides in Minnesota mentioned during a conversation I had with him during the summer that the parklands in northern Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba had been burning, which meant it had been dry up there too. In my conversation Strangis mentioned that climate prediction models tend to point out that when rain is falling in western Minnesota and northeastern Iowa (Note: areas of prairie pothole region that no longer have many potholes), less rain is falling in the core pothole regions of the Dakotas. Therefore, if the trend continues for years, the remaining core pothole areas will dry up while the “tiled and drained” vast agricultural region in the upper Midwest will receive most of the water. Not a win for ducks, he says. Annual statistics year in and year out tend to show the majority of ducks harvested by Louisiana waterfowl hunters occurs during the first three weeks of the first split duck season. The early migrating

duck species tend to be blue winged teal, northern shovelers and green winged teal, with a sprinkle of other species like pintails, scaup and gadwalls. When you toss in the local mottled and wood ducks a hunter’s bag can show a lot of variation those first few weeks. However, what most hunters are looking for is what they refer to as “quality” ducks and bunches of them. There is nothing like a bag limit mix of green-headed mallards, rust-colored tuxedoed pintails and a bonus widgeon. Yet, these birds over the past decade have come down to Louisiana’s coastline in less numbers, leaving hunters clamoring for the seasons to open later in November and stay open later in January. What happens this year is anyone’s guess. It takes ice to take away resting areas, snow to cover grain fields and food resources, and cold air to push ducks southward. It’s nice to have another liberal 60day six duck season. But, only time will tell if Louisiana’s waterfowl hunters will be able to take advantage of it.

JOHN FLORES PHOTO

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Outdoor Guide

Get in on fall

redfish action

By Chris Berzas Looking on the surface of the waters just south of the rising sun, I could see the commotion. Flocks of gulls would rise and dip frequently and their screams could be heard as we ventured closer to the activity. Casting along the edges of the disturbance, it didn’t take long to pull back on the rod and let the hook dig in. The rod bent in response and the drag began noisily letting off some braid. My buddy, Craig, also had one on and we were both happy we found the fish so quickly. We managed three upper slot reds from this school before picking up the troll motor to head south with the vast school of redfish. About an hour later, we caught our limits and then headed off to look for some flounder fun. Beginning in Venice and moving westward along the coast to Sabine Lake, saltwater anglers will find heated fall redfish action in Louisiana coastal waters. Beginning in August and lasting through October, numerous schools of redfish ranging from 20 to 28 inches will move offshore to spawn. There these upper slot fish will join many schools or herds of offshore bulls for their annual mating rituals. The migration of these fish from inland to offshore waters gives anglers ample opportunities to engage in some tackle-testing adventures in both inland and near offshore waters. Redfish will also be busy gorging themselves on baitfish, crabs and shrimp, as these species too begin moving out of the marsh during outgoing tides. Capt. Bill Lake of Houma and his guides will be all over the redfish south of Dularge. “We have very good redfishing Bayou Catholic • Houma, LA • October 2015

here in the fall,” Lake said. “In late September, October and through November, redfish will be cruising the shorelines and we’ll find them in pods ranging from six to 20 fish,” he said. “They’ll range in sizes from 18 to 25 inches. “We’ll be sight-fishing for them, mainly looking for their wakes.” According to the angler, Lost Lake and Lake Mechant are likely locations for this to occur, and the redfish will be shallow here on the edges of the grass. Lake will be casting Wedgetail Mullets, Bayou Chubs and gold

spoons for these fish. The angler advises anglers to be patient as it’s not uncommon to witness 15 to 20 different schools of redfish working the shallows in the morning. On quiet, calm days, Lake will often throw a half-ounce gold spoon for these fish. “When you see the school of reds working toward the boat, don’t move until they arrive,” he said. “Cast about three feet in front of them and let that gold spoon sit. Don’t move it until they get near it. “If you’re throwing plastics like Wedgetails or Bayou Chubs, just twitch it when the reds get near it,” he added. “These techniques work better than just throwing the baits in the midst of the school.” Much larger redfish, what anglers refer to as bulls (20 to 40 pounders), also prowl in numbers inshore but also near barrier islands, passes and beaches in the Gulf especially south of Cocodrie. “Bull reds can be found out of Dularge in Grand Pass, also,” Lake said. “All an angler has to do is anchor up along the Pass and cast crabs on Carolina rigs with a twoounce weight and a No. 9 hook, and you can catch bull reds and black drum from 25 to 40 pounds when the tide is moving,” he said. All redfish taken by saltwater anglers in Louisiana must be at least 16 inches minimum total length. There is a five-fish-perperson daily bag with not more than one exceeding 27 inches in length. For more fishing information, you can reach captain Bill Lake’s Bayou Guide Service at (985) 6373712 (cell). He can be messaged by email at b.lakejr@comcast.net. Have a safe time on the waters, and read carefully regarding limits and sizes in the 2015 Louisiana Fishing Regulations Pamphlet before heading out.

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Outdoor Guide

2015 - 2016

DEER

SEASON forecast

By John Flores There is no doubt when it comes to hunting in the Sportsman’s Paradise, the whitetail deer rules as king over all other game animals. There is also no doubt we live in a day and age where deer hunting isn’t as much about woodsmanship as it is the business of the pursuit. As a result, the health of the state’s deer herd is extremely important to hunters. And, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries is extremely cognizant of the fact. Going into the 2015-2016 Deer Season, statewide, the deer herd appears to be stable. But, a review of the LDWF’s 2014-2015 Deer Report seems to indicated biologists continue to manage cautiously and even have some legitimate concerns to downward trends in some areas because of things like hog overpopulation, flooding, blue tongue and hemorrhagic diseases. LDWF Deer Study Leader, Scott Durham, said, “I think the statewide herd is okay and more or less stable at this point. There may be some areas where we will see continued decline due to lowered productivity and the lag associated with increased hog populations and flood conditions. I have concerns for these areas. Flooding this year is mainly an Atchafalaya Basin issue and it is an issue there. It was underwater much of the spring and summer, where habitat conditions, quality, and productivity were reduced. Does may have a hard time Bayou Catholic • Houma, LA • October 2015

raising fawns where food resources were compromised, which will be a lot of that country; especially in the southern end at the lower elevations. We’re also getting a lot of anecdotal HD reports this year, so that’s not good for deer hunters.” The Louisiana deer harvest a little over a decade ago, stood annually around 200,000 animals give or take, based on department estimates from mail in surveys. Durham attributes today’s norm of a 140,000 to 150,000 deer harvest to changes in habitat use. “It’s a combination of things that I have written about in my annual report,” Durham said. “Habitat and productivity

JOHN FLORES PHOTO

changes due to intensive forestry practices, invasive species, some fragmentation due to development, are all associated issues. But, hunter selectivity may also be part of the picture, where hunters intentionally pass deer.” The coastal marshes of Lafourche, Terrebonne and St. Mary Parishes look excellent for deer browse going into the 2015-2016 deer season. And, according to LDWF browse surveys much of the Mississippi River alluvial valley hardwoods do as well. Areas where browse surveys seemed to show marginal or substantial habitat were in the pine-dominated regions of the state. Durham also pointed out by and large deer have recovered from the coastal flooding that occurred in 2011 when the Mississippi River

rose to a near record high. Durham said, “I believe we have seen some recovery in those areas since the last high water events. We still have concern over low lactation rates we are seeing in some of the coastal areas, so we’re being cautious on some of our DMAP harvest recommendations. But, overall Area 7 is the strongest down there and I think it’s because of the freshwater influence of the Atchafalaya River. Those marshes just look really good; especially when the deer peas really get going.” A few notables statistic-wise worth mentioning are modern gun hunters harvested 83 percent of the deer during the 20142015 season, with primitive weapon hunters harvesting 11 percent. Bow and cross bow hunters harvested a combined six percent of the total deer taken last season. The ratio of harvested bucks to does was 59 percent to 41 percent respectively. There were 192,600 hunters that harvested 139,900 deer and spent 3.8 million days afield according to department estimates. Hunters should pay close attention to rut activity. The LDWF publishes pre, peak, and post rut periods for each zone on their website. Area 7 hunters typically see their heaviest rutting period taking place by the third week of October, when it often times is unseasonably warm. Nevertheless, this is when hunters need to be sitting in the woods. Deer movement is at its highest when bucks are chasing receptive does. In spite of a decline in deer harvest numbers over the past decade, the modern age of technology has allowed deer hunters to forgo some scouting and wood lore that went with success in years past. Now, trail cameras, elevated stands, deer feeders, lures and “magic” food attractants have relegated the old ways to just nostalgic conversation when down at the camp. No matter … times change. So, let’s get down to the business of deer hunting. The season is only weeks away.

2015-2016 Season Dates Small Game Season

Species

Season Dates

Daily Bag Limit

Possession Limit

Rabbit Squirrel

Oct. 3 - Feb. 29 Oct. 3 - Feb. 29

8 8

24 24

Deer Season Area Archery Season Primitive Weapon

Still Hunting Only No Dogs Allowed

With or Without Dogs

7 Oct. 1 - Jan. 31 Either Sex Bucks Only Oct. 10 - 16 Oct. 19 - Nov. 6 Bucks Only Nov. 14 - 20 Nov. 7 - 13 Nov. 23 - 26 Either Sex Oct. 17 - 18 Nov. 21-22 Nov. 27-29 9 Bucks Only Bucks Only Bucks Only Oct. 1 - 15 Nov. 14 - 20 Nov. 21 - 26 Either Sex Either Sex Nov. 30 - Dec. 11 Oct. 16 - Feb. 15 Jan. 25 - 31 Either Sex Nov. 27 - 29

Bucks Only Nov. 30 - Dec. 25 Dec. 28 - Jan. 3 Either Sex Dec. 26 - 27

Bucks Only Dec. 14 - 25 Dec. 28 - Jan. 8 Jan. 11 - 24 Either Sex Dec. 12 - 13 Dec. 26 - 27 Jan. 9 - 10

Waterfowl Coastal Zone Season

Season

Coastal Zone

Ducks, Coots, and Nov. 7 - Dec. 6 Mergansers Dec. 19 - Jan. 17

Youth Waterfowl

Daily Bag Limit

Possession Limit

Ducks 6 Coots 15 Mergansers 5

Three Times The Daily Bag Limit

Oct. 31 - Nov. 1

Same as Regular Season

Light Geese (Snow, Blue, Ross)

Nov. 7 - Dec. 6; Dec. 19 - Feb. 7

No Possession Limit

White-Fronted Geese (Specklebelly)

Nov. 7 - Dec. 6; Dec. 19 - Feb. 7

6 Possession Limit

Canada Goose

Nov. 7 - Dec. 6; Dec. 19 - Jan. 31

1 Per Day

3 Possession Limit

The daily bag limit on ducks is 6 and may include mo more than 4 mallards (no more than two of which may be female), 2 pintails, 2 canvasback, 1 mottled duck, 1 black duck, 3 wood ducks, 3 scaup, and 2 red heads. www.bayoucatholic.com

Outdoor Guide

Fall speckled trout action can be and By Chris Berzas Two days after an October cool front pushed in last fall, Capt. Brady Giroir of Houma was having a great morning south of Dularge. The 37-year-old guide and his clients were fishing a hump in the curve of a marsh canal, and white shrimp were just pouring out of the drains nearby. “The trout were just stacked on that hump on a falling tide,” Giroir said. “They had moved out of deeper water to get on those shrimp.” The guide and his clients immediately tied on VuDu Shrimp under a popping cork to mimic exactly what the trout were feasting on. “As soon as the corks would hit the water they went under,” he said. “It was nonstop action, and we actually had to keep the lid cooler open to keep up with the catches.” And most of the fish were respectable keepers. The cooler was quickly filling up with speckled trout ranging 14 to 18 inches in length. A few even went 21 inches. “In just a little over an hour, we had 120 trout,” 10 Giroir said. “Everybody was ecstatic about catching so many fish just that quickly.” Giroir reasoned that this great trip occurred due to the white shrimp movement into the area, tidal outflow and the relatively cooler surface waters following the onset of the front. But that’s exactly how fall fishing is along coastal Louisiana. One day it’s just catching a few fish from reef to reef, whereas other days the conditions are superb and coolers get easily filled. Unfortunately, many anglers give inland fishing up when football and hunting seasons start. The fact is however, fall fishing for speckled trout can be just as good if not better than what is experienced in the spring of the year. In the early fall, Capt. Giroir advises anglers that the easiest way to catch early fall speckled trout is to find bird activity. “As long as we have shrimp moving, we’re going to have trout and birds working above them most of the time,” Giroir said. On many occasions, there is no difficulty at looking at the horizon to see gulls flying and dipping into the waters – especially if there are huge schools of trout moving in lakes or along the coastline. At other times, trout activity may be selective to certain small areas, and the use of a good pair of binoculars can assist the angler to find small groups of working birds. And don’t discount sitting gulls – especially when they sit in a circle or semi-circle on the waters. Anglers with years of experience will tell you that Bayou Catholic • Houma, LA • October 2015

BILL LAKE/BAYOU GUIDE FISHING CHARTERS

these birds often signal activity that is occurring or is about to occur in the area. And tidal movement is important with fall fishing success often favoring a falling tide. “You want to fish during tidal movement,” Giroir said. “Work the mouths of bayous, reefs and humps near them – especially if white shrimp are popping in the waters.” As waters cool in November and December, speckled trout will seek the relatively deeper waters of deadend canals in the area, and anglers will find them by fishing plastics swimbaits. As for lures in the early fall, Capt. Brady and his crew will cast VuDu Shrimp under popping corks and chicken-on-a-chain or LSU Wedgetail Mullets – either single or double-rigged depending on the location fished and numbers of trout. In the later fall, speckled trout will switch over to foraging only on baitfish, and plastic swimbaits such as Bayou Chubs and Wedgetail Mullets work very well. For more fishing information, you can reach Capt. Giroir, Cajun Waters Fishing Charters, LLC, at (985) 870-0311. You can also contact him through Capt. Bill Lake’s Bayou Guide Service at (985) 637-3712. Have a safe time on the waters this fall, and read carefully regarding regulations, limits and sizes in the 2015 Louisiana Fishing Regulations Pamphlet before heading out.

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Outdoor Guide

12 JOHN FLORES PHOTO

2015 Small Game preview By John Flores My first experience hunting in Louisiana came during the fall of 1984. It was hot, humid and wet most of the time. What made matters worse I knew nothing about the marshes and swamps of the region. For a hard ground Michigan boy the idea of floating soil beneath your feet was like something out of a Saturday morning Morgus the Magnificent horror show episode. One October afternoon hunting rabbits along a spoil bank filled with low briars at the back end of an oil field canal, I stepped out into the marsh and sank up to my chest. It was terrifying to say the least. Being swallowed up by the ground where not a trace of me could be found would give nightmares to all who watched the particular episode of this horror show that Bayou Catholic • Houma, LA • October 2015

took place in the marsh. At the time, the only thing lacking was the deathly organ music while in slow motion I disappeared with my hand reaching to the sky as it too sank below the goo. That was 31 years ago. I survived those informative early hunts in the Sportsman’s Paradise. What’s more, it’s pretty much been a tradition in my family to hunt squirrels and if the opportunity presents itself, rabbits, the Saturday before the deer season opens annually. The thing about small game hunting is it takes a backseat to big game, particularly whitetail deer. But, never have small game species of animals like squirrel and rabbits been more plentiful. “Small game and upland hunting often served as a hunter’s first experiences pursuing game before

deer, turkey and elk populations became so plentiful. And, for many hunters, they still are. With abundant opportunities available to hunt various small game and birds, it would seem interest among many sportsmen is still there,” says Rob Southwick, president of Southwick Associates, which designs and conducts the surveys at www.HunterSurvey.com . “For those not pursuing small game, by promoting such hunting we may be able to help expand their hunting opportunities and fun, and thereby increase overall hunting activity.” Biologically speaking, the abundance of food sources available for small game animals statewide makes Louisiana second to none, when it comes to sustainability. As a result anyone who has access to a small piece of property can usually do well when it comes to

putting meat in the black iron pot. Several years ago a good friend from West Monroe and I floated Dugdemona Bayou through parts of Kisatchie National Forest. The sheer vastness of this forest overwhelms you. The trees in this part of the state, unlike coastal Louisiana’s mid-story canopy growth, reach to the clouds. They sway with the slightest breeze and the leaves clap like concert attendees at the Mahalia Jackson Theater in New Orleans. It was during this trip I learned squirrels seldom pay attention to the waterside of their habitat. Our craft silently floated with the current, allowing us to catch our unsuspecting quarry feeding along the ground under the tall trees around each bend. But, the trees held and dropped bushels of acorns that the squirrels couldn’t keep up with. Hence, making this region a Mecca for fox and gray bushy tails. Hunting swamp rabbits after the duck season on the Atchafalaya Delta Wildlife Management Area in St. Mary Parish can be as productive as a Kisatchie Forest

squirrel hunting float trip. Each year, it’s not uncommon to hear about a group of hunters who harvested upwards of 40, 50 or 60 rabbits by simply walking them up along the bayou banks on the refuge during a weekend hunt. The vast expanding delta has ample

‘

Season should be a good one

food sources and cover to sustain the population that quite honestly few can imagine, unless they make a hunt there. There have been no manmade or natural disasters along Louisiana’s coastline for several years

that would impact small game populations. The northern part of the state has seen dryer conditions much of the summer this year, but there have been no reports coming from this region that would indicate a decline in small game populations. Small game or upland game also includes game birds such as dove, quail and woodcock. There are dove hunters who traditionally hunt the opening weekend of the season, but switch to waterfowl by mid-month when teal arrive. Woodcock hunters are few in number, perhaps 4,000 licensed hunters, who annually take to the field in late December. Woodcock populations are currently stable, but with a bag limit of only three, other than a cult following, few hunters statewide seem too interested in these excellent game birds. The 2015 small game season should be another good one. Certainly the opportunities statewide are available. All that’s required is for hunters to take advantage of them. 13

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Outdoor Guide

Speckled trout Looks to be a great fall season

BILL LAKE/BAYOU GUIDE FISHING CHARTERS

By Chris Berzas Capt. Bill Lake of Houma is optimistic about the numbers of speckled trout anglers will find this fall. “We’ve had a really good summer,” Lake said. “Usually the summer trout run is over by the second week of August, but we have been catching lots of speckled trout into September. “We evidently had a good spawn two years ago as we have seen just great numbers of small trout just over and under the 12 inch length limit.” And finally in the fall of 2014, biologists with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries released information Bayou Catholic • Houma, LA • October 2015

to the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission for the first time since the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Despite many claims of poor fishing for speckled trout in many areas in Louisiana, the report noted stock assessments detailing a healthy status of speckled trout in Louisiana waters. “With what we saw this summer out here, I am expecting an awesome fall and winter catching speckled trout in waters south of Dularge,” Lake said. Just where can the faithful Bayou Catholic readership venture for speckled trout catches close to home? First of all, there is Lake Mechant

and Sister Lake where anglers can locate numbers of specks under birds. “That’s usually what we see in the early fall,” Lake said. By the end of October, Lake advises anglers to find any of the deeper waterways on the north sides of both lakes - especially any of the major tributaries where bayous meet the lake. “Places like Bayou Raccourci, Deer Bayou, Goose Bay and the mouth of Blue Hammock – all off Lake Mechant will hold speckled trout,” he said. “The mouth of Bayou Raccourci will also be good. “There’s also Bayou Seveur, Bayou Dunord and Bayou John, and these three empty into

Sister Lake on the north end.” Regarding lures for these specks, Lake made specific recommendations. “There is absolutely no doubt that the best baits anglers can throw are VuDu shrimp under a cork in the early fall,” he said. In late September and October, the guide will usually have three rods prepared with double rigs and three others with VuDu Shrimp under a cork ready to go in the morning for he and other anglers. “When the trout are feeding on baitfish over reefs and humps, we also throw Egret Baits, Wedgetail Mullets in chicken-on-a-chain colors as well as LSU Bayou Chubs under a cork,” Lake said. In late November and going into December, Lake and his guides focus on deeper waters and dead-end canals where they will chiefly throw plastic swimbaits to include the Wedgetail Mullets and Bayou Chubs along with three inch Tsunami swimbaits in the following colors: blue/back, purple haze, glow, bunker and speckled trout/beige with black dots.

“In November, we start getting a more consistent better trout bite with more fish in the 15 to 18 inches range,” he said. “These fish are mainly eating baitfish, and you can catch a lot of trout when finding big schools of mullet. “All anglers have to do is go from reef to reef and find mullet. You may catch 15 to 20 trout at one reef, and maybe 10 at the next. Just keep moving from reef to reef.” For more fishing information and guide service, Captain Bill Lake can be reached at (985) 637-3712 (cell). He can also be reached by e-mail at b.lakejr@comcast.net. Anglers are reminded that the recreational creel limit for speckled trout in the Bayou Catholic readership area remains 25 fish per person at 12 inches minimum total length limit. An exception to these regulations occurs in western Louisiana where in a defined area of Cameron and Calcasieu Parishes there is a 15 fish daily take and possession limit - with no more than two spotted seatrout exceeding 25 inches total length.

BILL LAKE/BAYOU GUIDE FISHING CHARTERS

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Outdoor Guide

The redemption buck By John Flores If you hunt deer long enough it’s bound to happen. Hence, last deer season in mid October, the reason I found myself in the marsh looking for what was rapidly becoming a needle in the haystack as the day wore on. Hours earlier I was sitting in a deer stand overlooking a pea-patch when a decent four-point buck walked out on me. The distance was a very manageable 100 yards. He was broadside. He was feeding. The wind was in my face. To sum it up, it was a milk run. Other than going to the butcher shop to buy a choice piece of meat, it didn’t get any easier when it comes to harvesting a deer. Countless times prior to this I’d closed the deal. This would be no different. When I squeezed the trigger the buck went down where 16 he stood – just as before. For 10 minutes I sat taking in those post kill moments – something that’s different for every hunter. I did the same thing with the first buck I killed, a mule deer in New Mexico. After a cross canyon shot I sat on a rock outcropping alone with my thoughts. For 38 years I have been sitting with this same emotion each and every time I’ve shot a deer. I unloaded my gun and packed my gear bag. Texting my son, I told him I’d be over to his stand in a few minutes to pick him up and get him to help me drag the deer out of marsh. No sooner had I stuffed the phone back into my pocket, the buck stood up and ambled slowly into a thick patch of tall grass cover. I was astounded at the sight and sick at the same time. How? No way! Darn it! … were just a few of the new emotions I felt. My son and I gave the deer another 45 minutes to lie down and expire. After all, he was hit hard by all indications. It wouldn’t take long. Riding home in the truck, I told the story to my son enough times Bayou Catholic • Houma, LA • October 2015

JOHN FLORES PHOTO

it was probably becoming like a rerun to him. But, it was my story and I was sticking to it, where no polygraph test would find an error in its retelling. Tracking a deer in the marsh is

hard. Perhaps no other place where whitetail deer live is it harder. The fact we had no blood trail made it even worse. It was impossible to look under every blade of needle, flag and cut grass. The

briar patches and myrtle thickets were impenetrable – we gave up the search. Days later, I went to the St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s range to check zero on my rifle. I was sure it had to be off. Three holes you could cover with a quarter at 100 yards proved it wasn’t the rifle, which made me even sicker that I had lost this buck. I was guilty of being so overconfident when the deer walked out I made a lousy shot. Time has a way of easing the pain of things that are lost. Though disappointed, the fact the coyotes and other animals would be able to enjoy a considerable feast was my only consolation the deer wouldn’t be totally wasted. I envied the critters. With black Friday past and the Christmas holiday season upon us, my son and I found ourselves hunting deer again in the marsh a month later in the season. As the morning wore on, around 9:15 a.m. I heard him shoot. Moments later came a text from him, “Four point down.” When I got to his stand, I

inquired where the deer was, when my son said, “I heard him go down over there. I didn’t find any blood and decided to wait until you got here to trail him.” “I thought you said he was down,” I replied. “I heard him go down in the thick

‘

My son had redeemed my error in marksmanship - I was whole again.

cover,” he said sheepishly. “Okay, we’ll sort it out and find him,” I said confidently knowing my interrogation gave him pause, which wasn’t my intent. We found a few drops of blood and began the meticulous task of trailing his deer. What’s more, a

deer that wasn’t giving us much to work with. My mind drifted back to the month before, when the trail got cold. This time it was different. I immediately found the deer’s track and on a leaf near it a drop of blood. What’s more, a drop of blood no larger than the size of a pea every so often after that gave me courage somewhere on the trail ahead would be a successful outcome. Finally, nearly 300 yards from where we started, piled up in a briar thicket was my son’s deer. We celebrated like two warriors. But there was more. Upon examination the deer had a wound near its spine that was healing over. Could it be? Indeed it was. It was the same four point, just over a month prior, I had shot. My son had redeemed my error in marksmanship – I was whole again. Last Christmas our family shared a meal of venison from the deer I referred to as the redemption buck as we celebrated the birth of the one who came to redeem us from our errors in judgment. The one who made us all whole again. 17

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Making good on a childhood memory 18 By John Flores Lundies Sporting Goods was a little store located at the end of Newberg Road in the town of Durand, MI. No wider than a shotgun house, its worn oak floor had a slight bounce. When you walked in there would be a sound of bells that clashed like a tambourine, as the door closer pulled the door shut tight behind you. The little shop was so chockablock with sporting goods stuff conversations sounded muffled making it seem almost church-like, where parishioners try to keep their voices down while the minister is preaching. During the winter there was always the chime of the doorbells followed by the rhythmic stomping of feet by patrons getting the snow off their shoes. But, the store simply had everything. Being a small town, Lundies supplied the local high school with varsity jackets that hung in the front window right next to fishing tackle. Boys in junior high would look through the glass and stare Bayou Catholic • Houma, LA • October 2015

at the jackets their big brothers in high school wore with letters affixed. Almost salivating, the youngsters dreamed of the day they would be wearing their colors to impress the girls. Shelves were stack with Converse “Chuck Taylor” All Star tennis shoes to life preservers. The store had two-cycle oil for outboards and shotgun shells and rifle cartridges for hunters. Along one wall there were glass display cases loaded with odds and ends like pocketknives, compasses and wild game calls. The idea that you could call a bird or wild animal intrigued me during my impressionable years. What’s more, the calls that particularly caught my eye were in an orangish red and white box with yellow lettering. Across the face of the box read the name, Faulk’s Game Calls. That was nearly 50 years ago. As fate would have it, this past January I found myself in one of those surreal moments before daylight while sitting on the front bench seat of a 16-foot bateau with, Canaan Heard, a fourth generation descendent of Faulk’s Game Calls founder, Clarence “Patin” Faulk, at the helm. Negotiating a boat trail in the Sweet Lake marsh, Heard, my wife and I, were about to make a duck hunt he invited us on. Following the hunt we would take a tour of the Faulk’s Game Calls facilities back in Lake Charles. The weather was a balmy 60 degrees and misty wet with the ominous threat of some severe thunderstorms coming out of the south. Around Heard’s neck was a lanyard full of Faulk’s game calls made of cocobolo, cherry and bamboo cane. Every now and then they would clank together ringing like percussion claves. The sound of quality came to mind when hearing the mixture of woods hit one another. Barely set up in the boat blind, the sudden drop in air temperature from the clash of occluded weather fronts predicted by the weather man gave us pause. The worry lasted just long enough for lightning bolts to decide for us that duck hunting wouldn’t be prudent. The ducks would be safe for another day and

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instead of hunting it would be an early tour of Faulk’s back in town. A 10-year Marine Corp veteran, Heard, 32, is currently working on his master’s degree in physiology at Tulane University in New Orleans, besides directing the company’s marketing activities. Because of vocation, Heard’s father didn’t hunt much. However, being the grandson of the late Paul

Dudley “Dud” Faulk, who was a world champion caller, calling waterfowl is in his genes. Heard, reminiscing about his first duck hunt at the age of five recounted saying, “We were hunting at the end of Big Pasture Road south of Lake Charles. There wasn’t much happening and near the end of the hunt my grandfather, ‘Dud,’ who also was a bit of a prankster, says to me, ‘You want to shoot a duck?’ Of course I did. He helped me see the bird sitting out in the water, while my father braced me and I shot it. Well, I got to shoot all right – a decoy – and they all got the biggest kick out of me shooting it. I didn’t know better, I was a little kid and thought it was a duck.” Patin Faulk began making calls and selling them in the mid-1930s. But, it was his son Dud who had the foresight in 1951 to incorporate his father’s business, turning it into one of the first commercial call making companies in the United States. Moreover, an international company today that sells upwards of 75,000 calls annually.

During those impressionable childhood years, Heard says each summer they had to go spend a week at his grandparent’s house in Lake Charles. His early recollections spoke of a time when everyone smoked and the old men complained. “When you opened the door, it looked like nightclub in there,” Heard said, smiling. “Back then everybody smoked and drank coffee while they worked. They’d be saying things like, ‘It’s too hot out,’ or ‘It’s too cold.’ They’d say, ‘There ain’t enough rain,’ and ‘The ducks aren’t going to be here.’ But, they’d listen to Paul Harvey and sometimes get mad at the radio. But, ‘Papoo,’ is what we’d call Dud, and Papoo would tell us go run to the house and get this or that, so we would. We’d get to fold the boxes to put calls in. I guess I was seven or eight – maybe nine – around that time.” Heard’s maternal grandmother, Rena Faulk, still keeps the books and operates Faulk’s Game Calls with the help of her daughters, grandsons and several long term

employees who have worked for the company many years. Heard said, “We’d call my grandmother ‘Honey.’ After an early morning of running in and out for Papoo, folding boxes and packing lanyards, we’d get tired and go lay down in Honey’s office. When we woke up, Honey would take us to McDonalds for breakfast.” Nearly all of the lathes and milling equipment in the old shop are original pieces of equipment the company started with. There are several benches where burnishing and tuning calls is done. The musty smell of sawdust fills the air where the humidity of Louisiana weather mixes with the fine wood particles. When I peered through those glass display cases at Lundies Sporting goods my pockets weren’t filled with a lot of money to burn. This past winter I was now up close and personal with that childhood memory. Whipping out a twentydollar bill, I finally made good on that nostalgic memory by buying my first Faulk’s game call – a Model SG-49L Speck call fresh off the production floor. 19

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swamp

Mastering the one buck at a time By John Flores Two days after Christmas last year, 11-year-old Jonathan Cheely walked behind his father Jamie Cheely in kneedeep water and drizzling rain to make an afternoon hunt in the Atchafalaya Basin swamp. Over the past few years, father and son had become almost inseparable as the younger Cheely decidedly became a deer hunter. Suddenly, Jonathan spotted a deer that had walked out onto a pipeline staring right at them. What happened next would be the beginning of a week that most deer hunters only dream of. “Look at that deer,” Jonathan said to his father. “Get your gun ready,” came the older Cheely’s reply. Jonathan raised his Ruger Model 77, fired off a shot, and the deer ran off. Initially his father thought Jonathan 20 had missed. But the youngster having practiced was adept with his scoped rifle, chambered for the 7mm-08-caliber cartridge. What’s more, a round known for being highly accurate, having mild recoil and lethal on deer sized big game animals. This wasn’t Jonathan’s first deer either. Hunting since the age of seven and killing his first two deer, a spike buck and a doe at age nine with a crossbow, he was seasoned enough to be confident in his shot placement. One that turned out to be a 160-yard shot for that matter. As it turned out the buck hadn’t run far, in fact, only about 30-yards. When the two hunters approached the deer it was way bigger than either of them first thought. “I was aiming right behind the shoulder. I was pretty excited because I saw the antlers and it looked like a pretty big rack, but not that big. When we got to him, he was really big,” Jonathan said. The deer turned out to be a huge 10-point buck – a real swamp buster. Moreover, a buck of a lifetime for many of those who hunt the Atchafalaya Basin, where historically deer hunting with dogs was the only consistent way to harvest one. The elder Cheely, 44, whose

Bayou Catholic • Houma, LA • October 2015

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family has had a lease in the basin for over 45 years, said, “We have a camp right on our lease that’s called Bayou Boutte Hunting Club that I’ve been a member of for 26 years. For years we did good with the dogs, but it’s stillhunting only now. Also, our lease isn’t full of deer. It’s hard hunting. You have to wear hip boots or waders because we cross a lot of water to get to the stand. And actually, when you do shoot a deer it’s quite a task to get it out of there. The 10-point Jonathan shot is one of the nicest deer that has come off of the island we hunt in five or six years.” After harvesting his big buck the younger Cheely wasn’t through hunting. There was still plenty of holiday vacation for the Patterson Junior High student to be in the woods with his dad. The next week father and son were back in the basin hunting deer again on the afternoon of New Years Eve; this time from a box stand when a six-point buck walked out on Jonathan. Once again, the young hunter made a one-shot kill, dropping the buck in its tracks. If that wasn’t enough the next morning the two hunters were in the stand once more, where Jonathan says they could hear a deer walking in the water. The

deer turned out to be a seven-point this time that the young hunter stopped in its tracks with yet another one-shot kill. “The past few years he just loves to go hunting with me,” The older Cheely said. “I’ve been letting him hunt with me and he’ll shoot. We’ll get up at 5:45 a.m. when it’s dark and we’ll go to the stand. We have different stands that we hunt. In fact he and I two weeks prior to when he shot his 10-point, put up a stand together. I’ve been out there a long time and you don’t see a deer every time you hunt. But

‘

Every time we go we see deer

he’s been so lucky; every time we go we see deer.” Jonathan’s father says he and his son put their time in the woods looking for various sign like rubs, scrapes and crossings that indicate deer activity and movement. Besides sign they look for food sources like briars, willow leaves, acorns and persimmons all relatively plentiful in the basin throughout the year along with dewberries, swamp lily and

alligator weed. Jonathan also enjoys hunting ducks and rabbits. The family has a camp in Calumet, where they hunt the Atchafalaya Delta Wildlife Management Area’s Wax Delta. Even though these other pursuits allow more talking and movement, plus can be shared with friends, deer hunting is what the youngster prefers. Jonathan, who also killed a hog this past season, would simply rather be in the stand with his father chasing big game. His father tells the story how one afternoon at the camp everyone was sleeping, including his son, when he sneaked out to make a hunt by himself. It wasn’t long before a friend texted him saying, “Jonathan’s upset. He woke up and you were gone. He got his hunters orange on and is coming to meet you.” The text message says it all about the youngster at this point in his brief hunting career. But, the difficulty that comes with hunting deer in the bottomland hardwood swamp hasn’t had an impact on the young hunter yet. When asked rhetorically, “So, you don’t think Atchafalaya Basin deer hunting is that hard?” the younger Cheely replied, “With the luck I have, no – not really!”

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great hunting tips

One of the most interesting things about being a hunter is that the learning process never stops. Added up over the years, these gems of knowledge make us all better hunters. Here are our top 50.

HUNTING STRATEGIES 1) GO EXTRA SLOW When still-hunting, most of us don’t move slowly enough, or stay put long enough. Try using your watch as a guide. Decide on a period of time to stand still, such as five minutes. This way you’ll be forced to remain quiet and silent for a minimum amount of time, longer if necessary. 2) STOP AT THE NOISE Here’s a saying I came up with to remind me of an animal’s terrific senses. “The sound of a snapped twig is quickly forgotten by the hunter, but long 22 remembered by the quarry.” If you make an unusually loud noise, stop and stand there as long as you can if you suspect animals are close by. A deer might stand a long time and stare in your direction. If it doesn’t see or smell you, it might go back to feeding or whatever else it was doing before it was disturbed. 3) QUICK-STEPPING FOR DEER A deer is easily alerted to human cadence as we walk through noisy leaves. This might sound like a dumb idea, but try taking quick steps in a short sprint for 10 to 20 yards or so. Stop, and do it again. Keep your footfalls as light as possible; you’ll be surprised at how much you sound like a squirrel scrambling through the leaves. 4) DESIGN A BETTER DRIVE When putting a drive together, we tend to place standers in front of and alongside the area being driven. If you have enough people in your party, position a stander in the rear where the drive originated. Deer will often wait for hunters to pass and then sneak back and run off in the opposite direction. 5) DRIVE SOLO Try a one-man drive if you’re hunting alone. Purposely walk into an area with the wind at your back. The idea is to stir deer up and get them moving. Once you’ve passed through, make a circle and do it again. You might see confused deer creeping about, unsure of your location. If this doesn’t work, take a position on the flank of the area you walked through and wait an hour or two. You might see deer sneaking back in, believing the danger has passed. This works in dense thickets that deer use for security cover. Bayou Catholic • Houma, LA • October 2015

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6) PICK YOUR LANDMARKS When you plan to stalk an animal by making a big circle and coming up behind it, it’s easy to become confused as you change your location. Pick a distinctive object on the skyline that you can recognize from the back, such as a large tree, a fence line or a rock, to help guide you to the correct spot. 7) JUDGE THE QUARRY’S PACE Also try to anticipate where the animal will be once you complete your stalk. Before starting, watch the quarry long enough to determine its direction and rate of travel if it’s actively feeding or walking. Pick your destination accordingly. 8) FOLLOW WITH CARE If you’re tracking an animal, remember that the quarry will be alert to its back trail. A really fresh track requires you practically to still-hunt rather than merely follow, especially if the animal isn’t “lined out” but is taking bites of browse as it goes. 9) CLEAR SHOOTING LANES When you first get into your tree stand, practice taking up shooting positions for all the directions from which an animal might appear. After doing that, try to remove branches in the line of fire if you can reach them, and take up the position that requires the least amount of movement for you to turn in any direction. Be sure your safety strap is secure and allows free movement. 10) SWEEP AWAY BLIND CLUTTER If you’re sitting in a ground blind or standing next to a tree, sweep away leaves and brush with your boot

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great hunting tips

so the area you’re in is clean of forest debris. This will eliminate unnecessary noise if you must make a move when an animal approaches. 11) GLASS AND RE-GLASS When glassing with a binocular early in the morning, move to your vantage point in the dark. Glass likely spots, but don’t take just a single cursory look. From time to time, refocus your attention on places you’ve already checked out. The changing light might reveal animals you hadn’t seen before or animals that have moved out of deep brush or timber. TRACKING 12) HOW TO FOLLOW A BLOOD TRAIL Move quietly as you track. Be alert for the quarry, which might be bedded just ahead. If other hunters are with you, communicate with hand signals. Mark every spot of blood with a piece of toilet tissue or flagging, which should be removed later. 13) DON’T GIVE UP Many times a good blood trail that you’ve followed a long way will peter out to nothing. That’s not a good sign, because the animal is still going strong, but it doesn’t mean it isn’t fatally wounded. Don’t give up. Start looking for tiny spots of blood. Get on your hands and knees, if necessary, to help keep you on the spoor. 14) CALL THE SPOT If you’re hunting in a brushy area and you drop an animal at a distance, make a mental note of where it Bayou Catholic • Houma, LA • October 2015

stood at the shot, especially if you must take your eyes off it to get there. It’s vitally important to find the precise area so you can pick up the blood trail. 15) BEWARE OF THE ‘INSTANT DROP’ An animal that drops at the shot is more likely to run off than one that doesn’t go down but runs some distance and then falls. The animal that falls immediately might do so from shock, then recover and run. When an animal drops instantly, stay put and be prepared for a quick follow-up shot. 16) NO EYE POKES Television hunting-show hosts like to walk up to a fallen animal and prod it with the firearm muzzle to make sure it’s dead. That’s dumb. The last thing you want is for an animal to leap up when you’re so close that you can’t take action. Instead, toss a stone or branch at it and look for a reaction. If an animal’s eyes are closed, it’s probably still alive. If there is any sign of life, shoot it in the throat under the chin to administer a humane coup de grâce and not waste meat. 17) LOOK UP FOR BLOOD When tracking a wounded animal, don’t stay focused only on the ground. Look for blood higher up on the sides of trees, on grass heads, and on stems of brush. Sometimes we’re so intent at looking for traces on the forest floor that we completely miss clues off the ground. THE COMPETITION 18) GETTING IN FIRST Many roads are blocked these days to restrict vehicle access, allowing only foot or horse traffic. Hunters commonly park at gates early in the morning and hike up roads. Beat everyone else by parking there at midnight. Carry a light sleeping bag and walk to

the end of the road, where you’re apt to find a logged area. Since these spots are virtual smorgasbords for wildlife, position yourself at the back of the area in an elevated spot away from the road, using your flashlight sparingly. Once settled, take a nap and wait for other hunters to push deer to you as shooting hours approach, or look for unpressured deer feeding naturally. 19) BIG-GAME HONEY HOLES If you’re in big country and want to focus on the place where the odds are best of finding game, look no further than a deep, heavily timbered canyon with no roads or major trails to the bottom. Most hunters don’t descend into nasty spots because they know they’ll have to climb back out. The idea of hauling a deer or elk out of the bottom is a double nightmare that makes them even more prone to avoid these potentially game-rich spots. 20) DRIVE DOUBLE-DIPPING If you know of a drive being put on by another party of hunters, try taking a stand well away from the group in heavy cover where spooked deer might run. This is ethically acceptable if you keep a reasonable distance from the party and don’t interfere with the drive. 21) DON’T FOLLOW THE LEADER If you’re tracking a deer in snow and suddenly discover that another hunter has come upon the tracks and is in front of you, there’s obviously no sense in following. Instead, quickly make a big circle and try to ambush the deer. Chances are the other hunter will only keep pushing it ahead—maybe to you.

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Outdoor Guide

great hunting tips

Ethics require that you do this a considerable distance from where you think the hunter might be. I’d suggest at least a half mile or more. STAYING WARM 22) SLEEP IN COMFORT A cot in an unheated tent or cabin will keep you cold all night if you don’t have a pad underneath your sleeping bag. If you have no pad, spread out clothing to insulate you from the cold air under the cot. The loft in your bag is compressed from the weight of your body, and offers little insulation when in contact with the thin fabric of a cot. 23) BRING YOUR BEST BAG Be sure you have your best sleeping bag along during a cold-weather hunt, even if you’re in a tent or cabin with a wood stove. The fire will go out during the night, and the temperature inside will almost equal the temperature outside. A lightweight summer bag is just for that—summer. 26 24) COLD-WEATHER HORSEMANSHIP Riding a horse in cold weather will chill you rapidly if you end up sitting for long periods of time. Warm up by walking the horse downhill. Not only will this get your blood moving, but it’s also good horsemanship to give the animal a break. UPLAND GAME/WATERFOWL 25) DON’T SPOOK THE RINGNECKS Wild pheasants spook easily at the sounds of vehicles, dogs and voices. Most birds will start running or flying at the first sign of humans. Park as far as possible from where you expect to hunt and approach the area quietly. 26) DON’T SWEAT IT Perspiration is your greatest enemy on a cold day. Take every precaution to keep dry, even if it means stripping off layers of clothes as you walk in frigid temperatures to avoid sweating. If you sit for any length of time, working up a sweat beforehand will guarantee that you get chilled. 27) GLASSING FOR DUCKS When jump-shooting ducks along streams or potholes, use a good binocular to scan the area for distant ducks. Make your observation looking through brush, if possible. Ducks have keen eyesight and will fly off if they spot you. 28) TAKING DOWN GROUSE Ruffed grouse are masters at flying through thickets. Many hunters pass up shots if the birds aren’t in the clear. That’s a mistake. Never pass up a shot if you can see the blur of a grouse as it erupts through brush, but always be sure you know exactly where Bayou Catholic • Houma, LA • October 2015

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the other members of your hunting party are. If you continually pass up birds you might never get a shot. SMALL-GAME CARE 29) BRING SOME SHEARS Carry game shears to cut off wings and legs of birds in the field. Be sure to leave evidence of sex or species of the bird if required by law. Dress the birds when you take a break and wrap them in cheesecloth to keep them clean, allowing air to circulate and cool the meat. Never put a warm bird in a plastic bag. 30) SKIN ‘EM ASAP Skin rabbits and squirrels as soon as possible. The skin peels easily when it’s warm. Some small game animals harbor fleas, which can carry diseases. If you get rid of the skin quickly, the fleas won’t have time to migrate off the carcass and onto you! 31) DON’T BREAST OUT TURKEY Turkey hunters often “breast” their birds, taking the breast meat and discarding the legs, thighs and wings. This is a mistake. The latter three parts make wonderful stew and soup. Simply cook them in a crock pot until the meat falls off the bones, and put the boned, diced meat in a pot with soup or stew ingredients. You’ll never throw away a wild turkey leg again. 32) MOO-VING IN FOR THE KILL If it’s a quiet day and you’re trying to approach ducks by crawling through thick reeds, the noise you make will invariably spook birds before you’re in range. If cattle are around, try this: Say “moo” loudly as you sneak, being as cowlike as possible. Don’t laugh— it works like a charm. Ducks will tolerate cows, but not you. PACKING SMART 33) BAGGING YOUR GEAR On wet days, moisture will invariably find its way

inside your day pack. Protect your gear by storing items in zip-top bags. Store similar items together, such as flashlights and batteries in one bag, fire starters and matches in another, etc. 34) BUILD A BETTER FIRE Fire starters are vital to getting a fire going. I use several kinds. One of the best is easy to make at home. Impregnate cotton balls thoroughly with petroleum jelly. About seven of them will fit in a 35mm film canister. Each will burn for about three minutes. TRANSPORT AND STORAGE 35) GET THOSE SHOULDERS UP It’s far easier to drag a deer with its shoulders high off the ground. Pull it with a harness that fits snugly over your torso, moving the carcass short distances at a time. Don’t try an extended drag, since you might tire before getting the chore accomplished. 36) LOSE THE WEIGHT Bone out a moose or elk quarter before you move it. This will eliminate much of the weight. Wrap the meat in cheesecloth to keep it temporarily clean and to let air circulate. For longer periods of storage, toss the cheesecloth and put the meat in heavy-duty bags that can be laundered. 37) HANG ‘EM HIGH Never hang a carcass or part of a carcass any lower than 3 feet from the ground in a yard or shed. Animals can quickly consume your hard-earned venison. I’ve had it happen to me more than once.

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38) GRIZZLY SMARTS If you’re in grizzly country and shoot an elk late in the afternoon and don’t have time to get it out that evening, place the quarters in an area that’s visible from a distance. In the morning when you return, you can check the meat with binoculars to make sure it wasn’t disturbed or covered with brush. A nearby grizzly will be possessive of the meat and you could be in big trouble if you unwittingly approach. Most grizzly confrontations with hunters occur around meat that has been left in the field overnight. 39) POLE POSITION Although few hunters do this, one easy way to transport a deer or a couple of quarters of elk or moose is to lash them to a stout pole and then carry the pole across your shoulders. Put some padding on your shoulders and wrap plenty of orange flagging around the animal for safety reasons. 40) WHEELIN’ IT OUT The best way to move an animal, other than with a horse or having it fall next to a road, is to wheel Bayou Catholic • Houma, LA • October 2015

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it on a cart. Don’t use a two-wheeled cart. They’re cumbersome in the woods and require a wide trail. A one-wheeled cart will go practically everywhere. PREDATORS 41) HIKE BEFORE YOU HUNT Park as far as you can from your calling location. Coyotes can hear your vehicle a long way away if you’re in a remote area. You can get away with parking close if you’re in a place where there’s plenty of traffic. 42) TAKE A SHOTGUN TOO Bobcats are often so mesmerized by a predator call that they run right into the lap of the caller. Many times coyotes will approach within just a few yards as well. A shotgun is a good choice for a second firearm. 43) SWITCH YOUR CALL Try a radically different call if the area you’re in has heavy hunting pressure. Coyotes can become accustomed to basic calls, such as the rabbit distress, which is used universally. Try a fawn bleat, a flicker call or another offbeat sound. 44) HUNTING FOR THE BIRDS Incoming foxes and coyotes are often accompanied by magpies or other birds. Stay alert if you see a squawking bird approaching your calling position or motion decoy. Chances are good an unseen predator is nearby and closing in.

WILD GAME COOKING 45) TAME THE TASTE Some say strong, gamey venison is always the result of improper field care. That’s not true. No matter how well you care for it, an animal can taste gamey because of its age, the rut, its diet or other factors. Here are ingredients that will tame strong meats: fresh ginger root, soy sauce, onion and garlic. Stirfries are the best at masking a too-strong taste because the ingredients are in close contact with the surface of the meat. 46) GRIND YOUR OWN Want to try something wild? Get a small electric meat grinder for less than $100 and make your own burger and sausage. Try boning rabbits, squirrels and other game meats, and grinding the meat to make meatballs and burgers. Dazzle your pals with rabbit, squirrel and goose meatballs. 47) DISHWASHER FISH Here’s a crazy technique I learned in the Arctic. Wrap a fish fillet along with butter, onions and seasonings in foil, then wrap it again. Put the whole works in the dishwasher (minus soap) and turn it on. Presto— when the cycles are completed your fish will be beautifully steamed. 48) SAUTE A SNAKE You’ve no doubt heard about rattlesnake meat being a delicacy, and that it tastes like chicken. It doesn’t really taste like chicken, but it’s tasty. To process, carefully remove the head and peel off the hide. Then, fillet the meat, which comes away in thin strips.

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Outdoor Guide

great hunting tips

Sauté in butter and garlic. It’s really good stuff. 49) HOW TO EAT ANYTHING Offbeat critters such as porcupines, woodchucks, muskrats, raccoons and beavers can be outstanding table fare. Be sure to remove any fat and musk glands and cut the meat into chunks. Soak it in a mild salt solution for 12 hours (½ cup salt to one gallon of water) and cook it in a slow cooker with plenty of spices and vegetables—the more tomatoes, the better. Let it cook until the meat falls off the bones. You might be surprised. 50) STEW MADE EASY My favorite stew is called whatchagot, meaning whatever you’ve got in the back of your freezer. As I cook, I routinely freeze all the leftovers. When I have a dozen or so packages, I thaw everything and dump it in a huge pot. I let it simmer, add salt and pepper to taste and toss in some extras, such as rice and beans. It’s always a hit, but please don’t ask for a recipe. I don’t have a clue. It’s whatchagot. 30

Bayou Catholic • Houma, LA • October 2015

The lay of the land

The better you know an area, the better you can hunt the deer on it. I’m talking about the big picture: how and where the different habitat types merge and how the ridges and hills relate to the river bottoms and streams. By understanding these relationships, you can gain a general knowledge of the habits and activity patterns of the deer in that area. You really do need to understand the overall pattern of a deer population before you try to pattern an individual buck. As to that buck, the more information you can glean from afar, the better. Go lightly into the woods. Look and listen more than move. When you find a rub or scrape line and have identified it as “serious,” back off. There’s no need to walk all over it. Note such sign in your “big picture” and figure out how to hunt it without thrashing about in the buck’s pet cover and breeding areas so as to put him on guard.

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Outdoor Guide

Rabbit and Squirrel hunting basics - 101 and 102

By John Flores Recently, while stopped at a traffic light, I read the print on the back window of a pick-up truck that said, “Size Matters.” Above the statement was the vinyl logo image of a double drop tine Texas buck, in a European mount style configuration. Literally, the hunting industry has gone bananas over trophy whitetail hunting, where many have forgotten their roots. I would venture to say that the vast majority of tried-and-true deer hunters cut their hunting molars on rabbits and squirrels. As a 15-year-old teenager, I can remember walking farm field fencerows, hunting rabbits. The fencerows bordered small patches

of woods and paralleled railroad tracks that led out of town. After school, I would high-tail it home, throw my books in my room, and grab my single shot Harrington & Richardson 20 gauge shotgun along with a hand full of shells. Generally, if all went according to plan, I would kick up a cottontail that hopefully would give me a possible shot. Fencerows offered perfect habitat for rabbits, as they were a mix of overgrown grass, weeds and low briars. Even if I weren’t successful, I always would catch the last couple hours of daylight, sitting beneath an old oak tree waiting for a big fox squirrel or two. I was never one that enjoyed being stuck for hours in

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the classroom listening to what I felt then, was useless information. I often caught myself gazing out of the classroom’s windows, mystified and enchanted by the changing color of the trees that signaled fall. What made matters worse, was the classroom windows were partially open to allow a breeze to come in. The radiators would be turned on in the morning to take the cold edge off of the classroom; by afternoon the room would be hot and stuffy. Every so often one of those cool breezes would reach invisibly through those windows and tap me on the shoulder. With a seductive whisper, the breeze was able to arrest my mind and I somehow would miss the importance of factoring bi-nominal equations. I was much better at time-distance problems. These made sense. In fact, I keenly developed my own story problems. If John left school at 2:55 p.m., and arrived home at 3:10 p.m., a three-mile distance, how long would it take him to travel two more miles to the woods near his home to hunt after school? It wasn’t until my first semester of college that I realized I should have paid more attention back then. I found that pre-calculus algebra was far more difficult than both cottontail 101 and bushy-tail 102 combined. Today, I’m still as passionate as ever about hunting rabbits and squirrels. The coastal marsh terrain that I now hunt them in may be different than the land I hunted as a young lad, however, their habits aren’t. Big marsh rabbits are extremely difficult to hunt, simply because the grass tends to be too high to see them. Many hunters prefer to wait until late in the season after a few frosts have knocked down the grass to hunt them. In early October, I won’t spend a lot of time “walkingup” rabbits, but when I do; it’s typically only short kneehigh grass and low briars along marsh canal banks. I’ll also kick in and around fallen trees that have formed

brushy cover for them to hide in. Late in the season, marsh rabbits can be better isolated, as now the marsh is flat and cover is in short supply. Most patches of low grass, cane-roseau and briars along canal banks always hold a rabbit or two. I’ve worked these patches in a slow meticulous zigzag fashion, forcing the rabbit to become unnerved. The cottontail will come busting out into the open marsh, allowing me an opportunity for a shot. Squirrel hunting in early October, though the best time of year, can be difficult because too many leaves still remain on the trees. This is often referred to as being too dirty. Many hunters who hunt squirrels will sit motionless, under an acorn, pecan or cypress tree waiting for their quarry to come feed. Others will employ a sort of spot, pause and stalk method. Both tactics are effective, but I’ve got to say, there’s nothing quite like sitting on a bucket under a wild pecan tree out in the marsh. For many Louisiana hunters who take to the field after small game in early October, no doubt, they will be sporting a shotgun chambered with an all around field load of No. 6-shot. Heavy high brass loads are best for early squirrels and rabbits. Later in the year, once the leaves fall and a frost or two has knocked down the grass in the marsh, things will get a little cleaner, enabling clearer shots. Though rabbit and squirrel hunting has been relegated to a much lower status than trophy whitetail hunting, to me, they bring back far more memorable hunts. What’s more I’ll never forget my roots … .

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