Continuing from our previous post that you can find here, we’ve listed even more ways to enjoy the outdoors in St. Landry Parish.
Hunting
If you want a more active way to appreciate the outdoors, St. Landry Parish’s WMAs also provide ample hunting opportunities. The culture of this area, to hunt and catch your own food using every piece of the animal is a practice that has persisted from Native American tribes, including the Opelousas and Attakapas, to the frontier cowboys in the 1700s, and into present-day sportsmen and outdoor enthusiasts. There are plenty of places to purchase game meats as well even a wild-game cook-off that takes place on the weekend after Memorial Day. Some game species you can expect to find include deer, hogs, squirrel, rabbit, woodcock, waterfowl, and turkey.
The American Woodcock – also known as the timber-doodle, bogsucker, or brush snipe – can be found during the winter months along the forest floor. These birds can be found along the Atchafalaya River floodplains such as the Sherburne WMA, Indian Bayou Area, as well as Thistlethwaite WMA.
In the Sherburne WMA deer, squirrel, and woodcock hunting are good while rabbit hunting is fair. Waterfowl hunting is seasonal and can depend on many factors. But the opportunities to hunt waterfowl here are some of the best in the country. Turkey populations are small, and turkey hunting is limited. There are general and youth waterfowl and turkey lottery hunts, youth deer and squirrel seasons, a youth deer lottery hunt, and a small game emphasis area. In addition, deer and waterfowl hunting areas for the physically challenged and wheelchair-confined are available on this WMA.
In Thistlethwaite, available game species include deer, squirrel, rabbit, wood duck, and woodcock. The deer herd is high-quality—hunters take many trophy bucks on this WMA. There is a youth deer season and trapping for furbearers is permitted; species include beaver, raccoon, mink, bobcat, otter, and opossum. See regulations for details.
Fishing/Paddling
Louisiana is the Bayou State for a reason. Winding freshwater waterways and the Atchafalaya Basin provide for largemouth bass, white and black crappie (also known as Sac-a-Lait), sunfish, the primeval-looking paddlefish, and catfish fishing. There are many places to launch your boat in Eunice, Lawtell, Mermentau Basin, Vermilion-Teche Basin, and Atchafalaya Basin.
Public boat launches in St. Landry Parish:
- Bayou Courtableau Boat Launch at Washington
- Highway 103 and Water Street
- Latitude: 30.63, longitude: -92.06
- Bayou Courtableau/Bayou Teche Boat Launch at Port Barre
- 245 Bayou Road, Port Barre, LA 70577
- Latitude: 30.56 Longitude: -91.95
- Bayou Teche Boat Launch at Leonville
- 129 Mistric Street, Leonville, Louisiana 70551
- Latitude: 30.48 Longitude: -91.99
- Atchafalaya River Boat Launch outside of Krotz Springs
- Boat Ramp Rd, Krotz Springs, LA 70750
- Latitude: 30.53 Longitude: -91.74
- Find more launches at the Wildlife & Fisheries website here.
If you need a fishing license, they are available at several local stores, including Bourque’s Supermarket, St. Landry Lumber, Ardoin’s Grocery, Budden’s Store, and Cajun Corner. For a complete list of physical locations to buy a fishing license, visit the Wildlife & Fisheries website here.
Here are some safety tips for those interested in paddling courtesy of the TECHE Project.
Other Outdoor Tours & Events
If you’d like a more guided tour of the outdoors rather than going out on your own, Cajun Customized Excursions is a personalized experience for you. Located in Arnaudville, Captain Mark Allemond will take you on a tour of the Atchafalaya Basin by small boat. You can even choose to have the tour in English or French.
A less traditional tour that you can use to educate yourself about the environment, as well as eco-friendly practices, is the St. Landry Parish Solid Waste Landfill tour. This place is more than a landfill, it is a vision of how the future of waste management can be with sustainable practices and the ability to coexist with nature. Adjacent to the landfill is a wildlife habitat and bird sanctuary that you are able to tour.
STEP OUTSIDE Day provides a free, fun, hands-on introduction to the outdoors for children, families, and people with disabilities. Some of the activities include fishing, target shooting, skeet shooting, archery, birdwatching, dog training, crafts, duck calling, trapping techniques, and boat rides. The event is held each May, on the Saturday of Mother’s Day weekend, at the Sherburne Wildlife Management Area; for more information contact the project office at (337) 585-0853.
Mary Hawkins is the communications manager for the St. Landry Parish Tourist Commission. Contact her at hawkins@cajuntravel.com.
