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Louisiana Saddle Hunter's Thread

Dmathews87 said:
back in 2019 they closed sherburne when they had to open the morganza spillway. that whole area flooded real bad and it was thought that alot of deer got killed off during that ordeal. I havent hunted sherburne in years to know how its been...
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Me neither, other than a hunt here and there this is the first year I've hunted out there in any real way since 2017. Mostly because I got the bug to chase pigs around a little bit this year :D. Although the last few hunts I've been chasing around this big doe I found. She's slipped by me 3 times just out of bow range from different stand locations. Hopefully she made it through the gun weekend.
 
kyler1945 said:
I regret starting this thread. And I’m glad I don’t live in La anymore…
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Please elaborate for everyone. I think it was a great idea to have a designated place for us LA Saddle Hunters to converse. What now causes you to regret starting it, Kyle? Genuinely curious.
 
The few dozen people reading this isn’t going to increase hunting pressure on any of these places
 
BTaylor said:
It's the googlers that are the problem.
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You know how they say all a kid needs is one person to believe in them, and they’ll accomplish a goal?

An internet mobile hunter is no different. All he needs is one person saying that WMA he was thinking of going check out has been good to one other internet hunter one time and he’s throwin gravel
 
I'm still relatively new to public land hunting and brand new to it in South LA. It's easy to get blinded by toxic positivity, Pollyannaism, and try to consciously force a parcel of land to be better than it actually is. I can fall into this tendency as well, especially if I want a certain tract to produce good deer (because I read a story on SM, it's easy to access, or have some type of nostalgia ascribed to it). One of the best pieces of hunting advice I've received recently, which has proved to be a sober reminder, has been to "not waste your time where there aren't deer or sign. You're better off increasing the quality of your time in the woods on a better tract than just throwing quantity of sits at a piece of property." This could very well mean making less hunts overall.

I've scouted several tracts down here that I "wanted to be good" and convinced myself that there were deer there, but have been unable to uncover any evidence of that via scouting or sits. So, instead of burning myself out to fight over-hunted/under-populated areas, I've decided to travel to areas where there are deer.
 
Crawdaddy4 said:
I'm still relatively new to public land hunting and brand new to it in South LA. It's easy to get blinded by toxic positivity, Pollyannaism, and try to consciously force a parcel of land to be better than it actually is. I can fall into this tendency as well, especially if I want a certain tract to produce good deer (because I read a story on SM, it's easy to access, or have some type of nostalgia ascribed to it). One of the best pieces of hunting advice I've received recently, which has proved to be a sober reminder, has been to "not waste your time where there aren't deer or sign. You're better off increasing the quality of your time in the woods on a better tract than just throwing quantity of sits at a piece of property." This could very well mean making less hunts overall.

I've scouted several tracts down here that I "wanted to be good" and convinced myself that there were deer there, but have been unable to uncover any evidence of that via scouting or sits. So, instead of burning myself out to fight over-hunted/under-populated areas, I've decided to travel to areas where there are deer.
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well said. Fell in the same trap myself and still do unfortunately. Some times it feels convenient to access a certain piece of property due to my schedule or proximity to my home but at the end of the day how convenient is it really? Am i really accomplishing anything or am i just sitting in a tree for no other reason than to be sitting in a tree (the quiet time is nice,gotta admit). Making a point this year to spread out and not settle so much on ''deer should be here'' and find areas where i know they are based on good sign.
 
Can anyone confirm the LDWFs approach to consciously decrease deer number in an attempt to increase deer quality? I've heard people complain about that but never seen any primary evidence for this being LDWFs aim. I guess the idea would be that fewer bigger deer is more desirable than tons of small deer?

I echo CrawDaddy and in general I think SE LA Public hunting is a bear.
 
Dmathews87 said:
well said. Fell in the same trap myself and still do unfortunately. Some times it feels convenient to access a certain piece of property due to my schedule or proximity to my home but at the end of the day how convenient is it really? Am i really accomplishing anything or am i just sitting in a tree for no other reason than to be sitting in a tree (the quiet time is nice,gotta admit). Making a point this year to spread out and not settle so much on ''deer should be here'' and find areas where i know they are based on good sign.
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100%. Some evenings the peace and quiet is nice. It's just important that our expectations are aligned with those outings. I hate going too long between getting out and practicing with my gear as well. Nothing prepares you for hiking, climbing, and sitting like actually doing those things.
 
mschultz373 said:
Can anyone confirm the LDWFs approach to consciously decrease deer number in an attempt to increase deer quality? I've heard people complain about that but never seen any primary evidence for this being LDWFs aim. I guess the idea would be that fewer bigger deer is more desirable than tons of small deer?

I echo CrawDaddy and in general I think SE LA Public hunting is a bear.
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its a bit of a read....page 40. WMA deer program objectives


may not answer you specifically, but they do have some sort of 'plan'
 
mschultz373 said:
Can anyone confirm the LDWFs approach to consciously decrease deer number in an attempt to increase deer quality? I've heard people complain about that but never seen any primary evidence for this being LDWFs aim. I guess the idea would be that fewer bigger deer is more desirable than tons of small deer?

I echo CrawDaddy and in general I think SE LA Public hunting is a bear.
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Not sure if it’s the actual plan but “common” sense says less deer = better quality which is why I play my part in if it’s brown it’s down lol I’m actively trying to lower the numbers lol
 
A few year s back the head of the wildlife commission said "we manage opportunity, not wildlife" in an interview. This is why they let crossbows in for everyone during archery and why they let crack barrel rifles into muzzloader season. The department funds mainly come from license sales and that is what they manage for. That whole plan is a crock of bull. They do nothing based on science for the benefit of the wildlife. It is like this. You go to the doctor and he says you have sleep apnea and need a CPAP machine, and insurance "should" cover it. When you go to get your machine the insurance holds your request pending a review of your case. Then you get a letter in the mail telling you your doctor is wrong, you are not sick, and they are not paying. That is how the LDWF operates in a nutshell. It is all political. Our biologists make recommendations based on data. That data gets reviewed by a political board to see if it is worthy of consideration. Then what the biologists wanted gets scrambled or thrown out. It is defeating for them. There is a wma where one connected guy, one guy, who had a camp there, got the seasons reduced and dates moved when the biologists could get nothing done. He grew up in the area, left, made a pile of money, and came back to see how pitiful the deer hunting had become. He had more influence than science. Let that sink in. Lastly, don't think there is not an insurance company influence over the LDWF's decisions as well.
 
Crawdaddy4 said:
I'm still relatively new to public land hunting and brand new to it in South LA. It's easy to get blinded by toxic positivity, Pollyannaism, and try to consciously force a parcel of land to be better than it actually is. I can fall into this tendency as well, especially if I want a certain tract to produce good deer (because I read a story on SM, it's easy to access, or have some type of nostalgia ascribed to it). One of the best pieces of hunting advice I've received recently, which has proved to be a sober reminder, has been to "not waste your time where there aren't deer or sign. You're better off increasing the quality of your time in the woods on a better tract than just throwing quantity of sits at a piece of property." This could very well mean making less hunts overall.

I've scouted several tracts down here that I "wanted to be good" and convinced myself that there were deer there, but have been unable to uncover any evidence of that via scouting or sits. So, instead of burning myself out to fight over-hunted/under-populated areas, I've decided to travel to areas where there are deer.
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If you haven’t been to Joyce, I recommend not going. You can spend an entire season in that place and see just a handful of deer.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 
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