Mother Nature and Father Time Determine Hunting Success

Go back and study the history of just about any annually-occurring activity and something becomes clear. Like the pendulum on a grandfather clock, there are cycles, times when the particular activity ebbs; times when it flows.

This year it’s hurricanes. Experts had predicted that because of forces of nature coming together in sync, this could be a record year with increase and intensity of hurricanes. It looks like they nailed that one head on with Helene devastating the southeast doing unbelievable damage and Category 5 Milton plowing into the Florida peninsula.

There are lean years; there are years of bounty. Take, for instance, the duck situation. For more than a decade, we watched the numbers of ducks slip into a free-fall as an extended drought on wintering grounds put the hex on production. Then there were a couple of years with lots of rain up north and the ducks rebounded with a vengeance.

Squirrels? It’s the same thing in hunting these feisty creatures. A good acorn crop one year means a good squirrel crop the next year. By the same token, an acorn failure this year caused by inclement weather, such as drought or too much rain, means that the squirrel population will be relatively slim the next.

One of Louisiana’s favorite game animals, the whitetail deer, has been caught up in the cyclic thing, and weather is the culprit, just as it is with ducks and squirrels. It’s not that the numbers of deer dropped when weather conditions were not favorable for hunting. On the contrary, they were there in numbers; it was just too warm for them to do much moving about during daylight hours. As a result, deer hunters complained long and loud about their inability to see deer. But when an upswing occurs in the cycle, hunters were smiling once again

Take for example a year when deer hunters are happy and complaints are few. That’s a year when winter’s weather was more in line with what winter weather in Louisiana should be. It was much cooler over the state than the previous winters and as a result, deer movement during daylight hours was escalated with the result being more deer sightings, more deer harvested over most areas and more trophy animals taken.

Recalling a year when we had weather more seasonal and cool, if not downright cold, in the area where I hunted, I’ll admit it was rather nice to occasionally break ice when walking in puddles on the road to my stand. Having to brush frost from the steps of my stand as I climbed wasn’t bad either.

Being able to see my breath and scrunching down in several layers of warm clothing as I waited on stand made me forget the previous season when a walk to the stand in lightweight clothing resulted in profuse sweating. I just doesn’t feel right to be deer hunting with weather this warm, conditions bow hunters experienced this season. I heard a bevy of complaints from bow hunters perched in stands when it was just too warm for comfort and as a result, the deer movement wasn’t what they hoped it would be.

More seasonal temperatures not only make hunters feel more like hunting; it put the deer in motion as well. Thinking back to my season I mentioned above, I saw more deer on the move during daylight hours that season than I did in the two previous seasons combined. The majority of other hunters I talked with said the same thing; the colder temperatures during most of the season created a much more quality hunt because there was a much better chance of seeing deer than in the previous two seasons.

What can hunters do to ensure a quality hunting season in 2024-25? Unfortunately, very little. It’s all in the hands of Mother Nature and Father Time.

FISHING REPORT

CANEY LAKE – Bass are starting to school with shad imitation lures working best. Also early mornings they’re hitting around pads and moss on topwater lures and buzz baits and on secondary points later in the day on crank baits and soft plastics. Night fishing is fair on dark spinners or plastic worms. Crappie are good fishing shiners or jigs around the submerged tops. For information contact Caney Lake Landing at 259-6649, Hooks Marina at 249-2347, Terzia Tackle at 278-4498 or the Honey Hole Tackle Shop at 323-8707.
BLACK BAYOU – No report. Contact Honey Hole Tackle Shop 323-8707 for latest information.
BUSSEY BRAKE – Bass fishing is improved with some big ones reported. Best bets are flipping structure with creature baits and topwater lures early. Some big crappie are being caught on the flats on shiners and jigs. For latest information, contact the Honey Hole at 323-8707.
OUACHITA RIVER – The river is falling because of a levee issue below Columbia. Water is muddy and ramps are closed. For latest information, contact the Honey Hole Tackle Shop at 323-8707.
LAKE D’ARBONNE – The lake is down 5 feet and fishing has been good. Bass are best fishing the mouth of creeks where there is current using soft plastics, crank baits and spinners. Crappie are bunched up on the channel edges and shiners and jigs are working on them. Bream are slow; catfishing good off the banks. Just be sure if you go to watch out for stumps and obstructions just below the surface. For latest information, call Anderson Sport Center at 368-9669 or Honey Hole Tackle Shop at 323-8707.
LAKE CLAIBORNE – Crappie fishing has been best early mornings with shiners seeming to work best. No report on stripers. Bass should be schooling and once located will hit shad imitation lures. Some are caught at night fishing soft plastics and dark spinners and crank baits around lighted piers. Some have been caught early mornings on topwater lures fished along the edges of grass. Bream are slow. For latest information, call Kel’s Cove at 927-2264 or Terzia Tackle at 278-4498.
LAKE POVERTY POINT – Crappie are improving in deeper water on the south end. Lots of catfish are being caught. For latest reports, call Poverty Point Marina at 318/878-0101.
LAKE YUCATAN – The water is on a slight rise with water expected to have a slow fall next week. Catfish are biting and commercial fishermen are catching a good many buffalo. The bass and crappie are slow. For info call Surplus City Landing at 318/467-2259.