What’s a rookie to do?

Building lasting memories
December 1, 2014
Major changes ahead for hunters: LDWF rolls out 20
December 1, 2014
Building lasting memories
December 1, 2014
Major changes ahead for hunters: LDWF rolls out 20
December 1, 2014

Our state is loaded with people who are absolutely mad about hunting and fishing.

But every, single 30-year outdoorsman has something in common – that first-ever trip where all of the learning took place.

A big part of our Sportsman’s Paradise culture is predicated on teaching our youth the etiquette of both the woods and the water.


Experts with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and veteran outdoorsmen all agree that the key to being a successful hunter or fisherman has more to do with your eyes and ears than it does with your hands, feet, arms and legs.

“If you’ve never hunted or fished before, and you just go on the boat or hop in a stand, you won’t be very successful,” said Dean Thompson, a local outdoorsman. “I learned a life lesson once. It’s called, ‘Shut up and listen.’ And that’s a big part of hunting and fishing if you’re inexperienced. Find someone who’s been successful and let them be your teacher. Out here, we’re dealing with animals. You have to learn how to speak their language. You have to 

learn the right ways to do things or you might be scaring them off or doing things to put you at a disadvantage. It’s all about learning from your elders.”


Experts with the LDWF agree.

Waterfowl Study Leader Larry Reynolds focuses most of his time and energies on waterfowl hunting within Louisiana – a sport that has ballooned in popularity over the past several decades with numbers doubling in some instances.

But Reynolds said that means the number of first-time hunters is up, as well – something that can be both good and bad for hunters.


He said a lot of folks see their friends or family members having success, which prompts them to spend a lot of money buying all of the gear necessary to get involved. But instead of taking it slow and easing into a trip with a few experts, the rookie hunters will sometimes go for a hunt alone and have little success because of a lack of understanding for what’s to come.

It adds up to money wasted without the thrill of a successful day.

“Duck hunting is a complicated and expensive sport,” Reynolds said. “My best advice to a first-time duck hunter would be to find a mentor. It is difficult to find places to hunt. Public lands are crowded, and the etiquette for duck hunting takes a while to learn. … First-time duck hunters face big challenges that are best overcome through a good mentoring relationship with an experienced hunter.”


The same can be said for fishing, as well.

Several fishermen touted this week the best way to learn the sport is by grabbing a rod and reel and hitting the water. But they quickly added that having an experienced mind to pick in your maiden voyage is always helpful, because there are a lot of unexpected pitfalls that can grab an angler along the way if he or she is not careful.

“You need to know what you’re doing, and until you learn from someone who does know, it’s a dangerous situation,” said local fisherman Pete Gros. “You need to know catch limits, all of the rules pertaining to how big a fish must be and all of those other things that can quickly get you in some hot water. Then, of course, you need to know the honey holes and the spots to navigate and how to share common waters with other fishermen and just other tricks of the trade that you pick up along the way.


“There’s no rule book, you know? There’s no magic encyclopedia you can pick up. Every trip, you just slowly absorb it all until you have a feel for how it’s all supposed to go.”

Once an angler or hunter learns all of the etiquettes, protocols, limits and restrictions, then it’s time to learn the basic skills necessary to be successful.

On a fishing trip, that’s when an angler can start to perfect the right combination of baits he may use in given situations.


For a hunter, it may seem obvious, but Reynolds said one of the biggest keys for early success is making sure that you actually are a decent shot with a gun.

“One of the most important skills that a new duck hunter can learn on his own is wingshooting,” Reynolds said. “Learning to be a good shot can help immensely in increasing the odds that things go well. Doing that offers a solid opportunity for a new hunter to put a bird in the bag and then on the table, instead of having the frustration of watching it fly away.”

It takes time, but our people tend to have shown over time a tendency for learning all of the tricks of the trade.


But it always starts with a first trip and a learning period, and experts say that shouldn’t be taken lightly.

“The learning process is very important,” Gros said. “It’s like anything else – if you learn it right the first time, a lot of your worries will go away. If you learn it wrong, you may develop bad habits that’ll stick with you. I think we do a great job in Louisiana introducing people to the outdoors and encouraging them to pick up on everything. By the time we’re older, it’s all routine and easy.”