Have you checked out the weather forecast for later this week?
You should, especially if you’re planning that duck or deer hunt — or anything else — after the youngsters cross school off their schedules for their Christmas holiday.
The Baton Rouge area will have lows of 28, 18, 22 and 23 degrees Thursday through Sunday (Christmas Day) with afternoon highs barely hitting 40.
For duck hunters, this is the long-awaited, ice-up-the-Midwest-water invasion that pushes ducks from the frozen North to Louisiana marshes. For deer hunters, this kind of cold means deer must find high-calorie food to fuel their bodies against the prolonged cold.
So, this situation invites hunters into blinds and stands.
It also invites danger. Hypothermia has killed in Louisiana’s seldom-frigid past, and the soon-arriving Arctic blast carries the same exposure danger. If memory serves, the coldest, closest-to-Christmas freeze was in 1989’s single-digit lows that killed at least five hunters.
Layering head to foot is one way to limit the chill that could lead to hypothermia’s first signs: a chill that starts shivering. It’s a sign your body is trying to contract muscles to keep blood flowing to your extremities.
Be careful not to wear cotton, which absorbs sweat and will start a chill next to your skin. An outer, wind-stopping layer helps, too. This will keep wind from invading the cold-weather clothing layers. And, wind usually is a factor in making frigid temperatures even colder — the wind chill factor.
Taking along hot liquids helps, too. You saw LSU football with hit chicken broth, hot coffee and hot chocolate on the sideline at Arkansas. Follow their lead. All three work, and what young hunter doesn’t like hot chocolate?
What’s more, know youngsters are not as able to deal with bitterly cold temperatures as adults. Limit their exposure to open, windy conditions and limit the time spent in blinds, deer stands and boats if you intend to go fishing.
Because most of our hunting involves water, always wear a serviceable life jacket over all that hunting outerwear when you’re on the water.
More avian flu
State Wildlife and Fisheries through the National Veterinary Services Laboratory confirmed hunters took bluewing teal infected with Avian Influenza (bird flu) from southwest Louisiana in Avoyelles, Calcasieu, Morehouse, Ouachita and Richland parishes. The birds were sent to the lab in October from the September teal season and the results posted last week.
While the Center for Disease Control indicated this bird flu is “a low risk for public health,” CDC scientists said, “it is important to avoid contact with sick birds. Also, be mindful that hunting equipment may transport the virus. If you hunt waterfowl and have backyard poultry, plan for added biosecurity measures to keep your flock healthy.”
Notes on security and safe handling are outlined on a website: bah.state.mn.us/media/HPAI-Notice-Backyard-Final.pdf.
Other safety guidelines include:
- Avoid handling or eating sick game;
- Field dress and prepare game outdoors or in a well-ventilated area;
- Wear rubber or disposable nitrile gloves while handling and cleaning game, and wash hands with soap or disinfectant and clean knives, equipment, and surfaces that were exposed to game with hot soapy water and a 10% bleach solution;
- Do not eat, drink or consume tobacco products while handling animals;
- And, cook all game to an internal temperature of at least 165 degrees.
Repeating
Red Stick fly Fishers member Chris Williams retained his club’s Jambalya Challenge title by catching 55 different species on a fly rod this year. Brian Roberts was second with 38 species.
Williams said the most unique catch was a sea robin in waters off Rhode Island while fishing with his brother earlier this year.
Shrimp closure
Wildlife and Fisheries secretary Jack Montoucet signed a declaration to close the inshore shrimp season effective for sunset Monday in all areas except some waters east of the Mississippi River.
Areas to remain open include Chef Menteur and Rigolets passes, Lake Borgne, Mississippi Sound, Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MRGO), a section of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW) in Orleans Parish from the GIWW East Closure Sector Gate westward to the GIWW intersection with the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal, and the open waters of Breton and Chandeleur sounds.
And, all state outside waters seaward of the Inside/Outside Shrimp Line will remain open.
The closure comes after state biologists find samples of small white shrimp (smaller than the minimum count) with the closure allowing those small shrimp to grow to marketable sizes.
Save those trees
Wildlife and Fisheries is partnering with the Cypress/Black Bayou Recreation and Water Conservation District for a 10 a.m.-noon, Jan. 7 “Reef Rodeo” for Cypress Lake at Parks Road public boat launch.
The idea here is to deploy 200 “unused” Christmas trees collected from local vendors for fishermen to sink throughout the lake. The trees will become fish habitat.
State Inland Fisheries section biologist Jeff Sibley said fishermen “will be given trees they can place in their favorite fishing spot to attract fish. Weights needed to sink the trees are limited and will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis. Participants may also provide their own weights; concrete cinder blocks are often used.”
Trees not used by fishermen will be placed to enhance public fishing piers and the existing artificial reefs in the lake.
If this program interests fishermen in other locales, contact Sibley at (318) 371-5294 (email: jsibley@wlf.la.gov) or contact the LDWF’s Inland Fisheries Section in Baton Rouge for information on how to develop this effort on your public lake.
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