Duck season dates set

Don’t day s like this make you want to put on a pair of insulated underwear, a heavy three-in-one jacket and a pair of thick rubber waders and head outside?  No?

Well, me either. But it makes me want to dream about wading around in shallow water in duck gear in about 30 degree weather. Is that better?

Well, it isn’t cold and it isn’t duck season yet, but it’s time to talk quackers. Setting duck seasons in Louisiana is always a high profile affair. But by the time it gets to the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission, it’s usually pretty well settled. This year it was reported that the Commission debated for over an hour and even when it voted to set the seasons, it was approved by only a 4-2 vote earlier this week. Most of the discussion was Coastal Zone hunter input to have a later season.

All that doesn’t really matter. What does matter is the dates are set. Here they are:

Louisiana’s 2015-2016, divided into three zones, is for the normal 60 days. Our East Zone dates are  Nov. 21-Dec. 6 and Dec. 19-Jan. 31. 

Seasons are Nov. 7-Dec. 6 and Dec. 19-Jan. 17 in the Coastal Zone and Nov. 14-Dec. 6 and Dec. 19-Jan. 24 in the West Zone.

Annual special youth duck hunting dates will be Oct. 31-Nov. 1 in the Coastal Zone, Nov. 7 and Jan. 31 in the West Zone and Nov. 14 and Feb. 6 in the East Zone.

It’s the 19th straight season for a 60-day, 6-ducks-per-day bag limit. The daily bag , as set by the Mississippi Flyway Council and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, set limits of mallards at four per day, of which only two can be mallard hens; three woods ducks; three scaup; two redheads; two pintails; two canvasbacks and one each mottled duck and black duck. The limit on canvasbacks is an increase of one per day from the 2014-2015 season limitations. It was done due to increased numbers of the species in the May Breeding Count estimate.

Seasons on geese, to include blues, snows, Ross’, specklebellies and Canada geese will be announced later Thursday, along with the Conservation Order periods on blue, snow and Ross’ geese. The commission approved a cut in the state’s daily bag on Canada geese to one after a three-bird limit from last season, and elected to have an 81-day season on specklebellies with a bag limit of two per day.

Always, always, always double check regulations, dates and special season information before you go duck hunting. If you get a ticket, I’m not paying your fine.