Even the Sportsman’s Paradise has a slow season. Now, our dip in the outdoor action is relative. Compared to many places, our slow season often beat other’s peaks. Our great outdoor action is to blame for our great outdoor love, which makes March a tough month for those with a passion for getting outside. 

       Of course, analyzing a problem is pointless without attempting a

solution and with a little effort I believe we can find many. For those whose attraction to the outdoors is easily pacified, this is show

season. Boat shows, sportsman shows, gun shows, and even home and garden shows are scheduled this time of year. They work like placebos prescribed to keep our cabin fever under control. 

       For those truly bitten by the outdoor bug, there are other options. The hearty sportsman can find huge bull reds in our coastal waters, from the edges of the Louisiana marsh, to the rocks at Fourchon and the island south of Cocodrie. If tuna and wahoo turn you on, the offshore fishing is fantastic, just a little weather sensitive. For the hunters, this is a great time of year for hog hunting. There is no season, the feral pigs are excellent to eat and the state encourages taking the hogs. 

       Most landowners are excited to have people remove the animals, because they can be a nuisance. This is also a great time of year for Louisiana’s hunting preserves. These state licensed businesses, offer a taste of upland game bird wing shooting. The experience is fun for hunters of all ages and levels of experience.  The preserves offer species like quail, pheasant, and chukkar. The outfits often have a little skeet shooting set up before hunters enter the field. This allows guides to assess skills and shooter to warm up and get ready. Shooters then enter the field with working dogs, usually pointers, and the dogs begin a game of hide and seek for the birds. 

       Upon finding a bird, the dog will freeze until the shooter is in position, and upon command, the dog jumps the bird and a shot is taken. The experience is fun for everyone, but offers an excellent opportunity to introduce youngsters to the field, the gun, and the outdoors. The preserves also offer the advantage of not having to get up at 0’dark thirty and make your way into the woods, swamp, or marsh half awake. These hunts can be scheduled at any time and are conducted at what we might call a “Southern Pace”. 

       These preserves can be found on the north and southshore. The newest preserve just opened in Lafitte and was established for those who wanted to both fish and shoot. Capt. Theophile Bourgeois of Bourgeois Charters (NewOrleansFishing.com) has a great little quail preserve. Folks arrive at his lodge in the afternoon, get in some skeet shooting and quail hunting before a home cooked dinner, and spend the night at his beautiful lodge. In the morning, guides are waiting at the dock to give guests the experience of Lafitte’s fishing. Once back at the dock, fish are cleaned and lunch is served. While guests go home with both birds and fish, it’s the memories and fun that are really the prize. 

Over the next month we’ll hear of waters warming. A story or two will be told of speckled trout showing up here and there. The fishing will continue to improve through April. Just about the time you can no longer remember when you caught your last speckled trout, the season will kick into full gear and we’ll enjoy another year in the Sportsman’s Paradise. One place you can find those fishing reports and more is on the BIGFISH Charters website (www.thebigfish.net  http://www.thebigfish.net> ) or subscribe (free) to the BIGFISH Guide our quarterly newsletter with all kinds of good inside information.  So whether you hit the outdoor shows, do a little Bull red fighting, chase the horizon for yellowfin tuna or just put on a pair of topsiders and a flannel shirt for quail, make the most of March. The year just gets better from here.