DON DUBUC

If youre going duck hunting say, in Delacroix Island or Venice, would you abide by the states East or West Zone season dates? With all due respect to Rand McNally, this season youll be hunting in Louisianas West Zone. Never mind these areas are geographically the easternmost you can get in the Bayou State; all waterfowl hunters will consider them the West Zone. Slidell and the rest of the northshore will be considered East Zone. Totally confused? You should be. And so will lots of hunters, at least for this season, until the re-designated waterfowl zone confusion wears off. For a number of years, Louisiana has had two duck hunting areas, east and west with different open dates. The zones roughly followed a diagonal line starting at Shreveport running southeastward through Opelousas, Lafayette and Houma to the Gulf of Mexico. This year, the east-west line will turn eastward at Lafayette and follow U.S. Highway 90 to the Mississippi state line. The coastal areas below U.S. Highway 90 will share the same dates as the West Zone. Here is why. “Waterfowl use and hunter preferences in the entire coastal zone are largely similar. Additionally, southeast coastal marshes are mostly tidal and access is often limited as the season progresses because of low water during strong frontal passages,” LDWF waterfowl biologist Robert Helm said. Hunters were asked if they favored a change adding the entire coastal area to the west zone which typically has more days earlier in the season and the majority favored the change. Another advantage for duck hunters will be the opportunity to hunt certain areas while the other is closed. Another change is the changing of the Youth Waterfowl Weekend dates from one week after the close to one week before the opening of regular seasons. West Zone dates are Nov. 10-Dec. 2 and Dec. 15-Jan. 20. East Zone is Nov. 17-Dec. 2 and Dec. 8-Jan. 20. Youth Waterfowl Weekend will be Nov. 3-4 in West and Nov. 10-11 in East. During these times, only hunters 16 and under are allowed to have guns in the blind and must abide by all regulations and bag limits. Daily bag limits are six ducks per hunter per day to include no more than four mallards (no more than two females), three mottled ducks, one black duck, two wood ducks, one pintail, one canvasback (during last 20 days and youth waterfowl days only), three scaup and two redhead. Daily limit on coots or poule deau is 15. Goose hunters will again have 86-day regular seasons and liberalized regulations and bag limits during special conservation order periods. West Zone goose dates are Nov. 3-Dec. 2 and Dec. 15-Feb. 8. East Zone dates are Oct. 27-Dec. 2 and Dec. 8-Jan. 25. Daily bag limits for snow, blue and Ross geese are 20 and the daily limit for speckled bellies is two. There is a limited Canada goose season in a restricted area that requires a special permit, consult the waterfowl regulation pamphlet for details. During the Conservation Order (West Dec. 3-Dec. 14 and Feb. 9-March 10 and East Dec. 3-Dec. 7 and Jan. 26-March 10) hunters can use electronic callers, unplugged shotguns and there are no bag limits for snow, blue and Ross geese.

SEASONS FOR NEW WMA SET

A new state-owned Wildlife Management Area, Maurepas Swamp WMA, will be open for hunting this season. The 23,973-acre tract is located south of Lake Maurepas, west of Interstate 55, north of U.S. Highway 61 and Interstate 10 and east of the Blind River. Maps of the area can be obtained from the LDWF Library located on Quail Drive in Baton Rouge. Dates for the 2001 seasons are DEER – Archery (same as outside area) Muzzleloader – Jan. 7-13; Either Sex, Gun Nov. 23-25 and Bucks Only – Dec. 22-Jan. 6. SMALL GAME and WATERFOWL: Same dates and regulations as outside except closed Nov. 23-25 and except rabbits and squirrels may be taken by still hunting only. Waterfowl hunting is allowed until 2 p.m.

SHRIMP SEASON

The fall white shrimp is open now in all three Louisiana zones. Zone 1 (which includes Lake Pontchartrain and Lake Borgne) is open through Dec. 31 except for Breton and Chandeleur sounds, which remain open until March 31, 2002. Zones 2 and 3 are set to close Dec. 18. The LDWF secretary has the authority to close earlier in emergency cases. DON DUBUC is the outdoors reporter for L’Observateur.