Louisiana Spring Squirrel Season Opens Saturday

This Saturday, May 3, is the start of the special spring squirrel season in Louisiana.

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Avid Louisiana squirrel hunters really enjoy having another opportunity to pursue their favorite game as they still hunt or get to use their trained squirrel dogs for another few weeks.

I personally love eating squirrel and once upon a time I loved to hunt squirrels. It takes me back to my childhood days walking the woods with my grandfather and his beloved squirrel dog, Bob. I can still hear him hollering out "Come on Bob. Run him up a short tree this time."

However, as I got older and began to realize my own mortality, I discovered a huge respect for snakes. Especially copperheads. And what I began to notice was that when a person spots a copperhead while squirrel hunting, every stick on the ground becomes a copperhead. Are you aware of just how many sticks are on the ground in the woods?

You've now stopped squirrel hunting and you've become a snake hunter.  I just got to the point where it was much easier to sit in a tree, deer hunting, in the fall, safely a dozen feet away from any of those copperheads.

I say this to remind you that if you are going to take part in this spring season, just keep an eye open for old "No Shoulders" and that snake chaps are a good investment in your safety.  I'll just stick to my bass boat and leave you to the woods.

In a notice from the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, the season begins this Saturday, May 3  and will continue through Sunday, May 25.

Besides the obvious temperature difference, the biggest difference between this season and the Fall season is the daily bag limit which is a conservative three, with a possession limit of nine.

LDWF also highlights the ease of taking advantage of this special season:

A basic hunting license is all that is needed to hunt squirrels and those 17 and under are not required to have a youth license to hunt squirrels. There are many LDWF public lands on which hunting opportunity is available. Louisiana has two species of squirrels; gray and fox squirrels.