Hunting, fishing day set to go on as scheduled

BATON ROUGE – Louisiana’s National Hunting and Fishing Day will be held today, hosted by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.

This year, the festivities will again be held at Waddill Refuge in Baton Rouge. Waddill is located at 4142 N. Flannery Road. The activities kick off at 9 a.m. and will continue until 3 p.m.

This the 18th year the department will host the event. The special day was created to show appreciation for the state’s abundant fish and wildlife resources and to recognize sportsmen and commercial industries for their role in conservation.

The event is celebrated each year on the fourth Saturday in September, and events are held across the state. This year, in addition to the activities in Baton Rouge, celebrations will be held in Minden, Monroe, Woodworth and Natchitoches.

This year’s activities will include ones from previous years, as well as new hands on opportunities. Visitors will be able to test their skills at the skeet shooting range, with BB-guns or with bows and arrows.

There will also be canoeing and boating safety demonstrations at the facility’s ponds. An annual highlight is the fishing contest, with prizes being awarded at 11 a.m. In addition to the hands-on activities, there will be many exhibits for attenders to check out. Ducks Unlimited, Coastal Conservation Association and Red Stick Fly Fishers are among the more than 20 exhibitors scheduled to be on hand.

Of course, there will be food for the visitors’ enjoyment. Chefs will prepare wild game dishes for taste-testing, including nutria, alligator and venison. Hot dogs and soft drinks will be available to all in attendance, free of charge.

Suspects cited for hunting violations

With the opening of mourning dove season in Louisiana on Sept. 7, LDWF enforcement agents have been busy enforcing the Federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act. The act sets the rules and regulations for taking migratory birds, with one of the most important being the prohibition of taking mourning doves over a baited area.

On Sept. 7, agents cited three individuals in Catahoula Parish for hunting doves over a baited area. The suspects, Eddy B. Andrews, 38, and Jean J. Andrews, 73, both of Trout, and Leon K. Dayton, 44, of Jonesville, received citations. Eddy Andrews was also cited for hunting with an unplugged gun. The men were discovered by agents in a heavily baited field near Manifest, where 34 doves were seized as evidence.

That same day, five more individuals in Concordia Parish were cited for the same violation. Kerstan J. Stuckey, 35, John B. Hammatt, 58, Francis K. Bergeron, 47, and Kenneth W. Bergeron, 20, all of Baton Rouge, and John D. Cantey Jr. 49, of Geismar were nabbed by agents for hunting in a baited field near Monterey. Cantey received an additional citation for aiding and abetting the hunting of doves over a baited area. Six doves were seized by the agents in connection with the violations.

On the following day, a group of eight hunters were caught hunting doves over a baited area in Madison Parish. Jonathan O. Hoffman, 41, Betty L. Hoffman, 37, Daniel Duncan, 33, Jeremy P. Purvis, 20, Matthew G. Marsh, 21, John Busby, 38, and Carl Busby, 39, all of Tallulah, along with Walter J. Bertram Jr., 23, of Sondheimer, all received citations from the agents. Carl Busby was issued an additional citation for aiding and abetting the hunting of doves over a baited area. In this case, 21 doves were seized.

If convicted of hunting mourning doves over a baited area, each hunter could be fined up to $15,000 and could spend up to six months in jail. Hunting migratory game birds with an unplugged gun also carries a penalty of up to $15,000 in fines and up to six months in jail. And the violation of aiding and abetting the hunting of doves over a baited area also carries a penalty of up to $15,000 in fines and up to six months in jail.

Fisherman cited for undersize catfish

LDWF enforcement agents recently cited Steven B. McQuiston, 50, of Jeanerette, for alleged commercial fisheries violations.

Agents stopped McQuiston in the Atchafalaya River near Attakapas Wildlife Management Area and performed a routine check. He was found to be in possession of 1,288 blue catfish of which 869 were under the legal size limit of 12 inches. The fish were seized, photographed and donated to charity. Taking undersize commercial catfish carries a fine of up to $500, up to 90 days in jail, or both.

Agents cite more hunters

LDWF enforcement agents recently cited two men in Franklin Parish for alleged violations of the Federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

Kendall Johnson, 43, of Oakdale, and Coby M. Latiolais, 24, of Arnaudville, were both cited for possessing over the limit of mourning doves. The daily bag limit on mourning doves is 12. The citations were issued after agents came in contact with the dove hunters in a field near Big Lake Wildlife Management Area.

Agents seized 21 mourning doves from Johnson and 20 mourning doves from Latiolais.

Hunters plead guilty to violations

Todd Charles Landry, 36, and Timothy Joseph Schouest, Jr., 42, both of Erath recently entered guilty pleas to waterfowl baiting charges before U.S. Magistrate Mike Hill in Lafayette.

Landry entered a guilty plea to a Class A Misdemeanor Bill of Information for placing bait for the purpose of taking ducks and was sentenced to pay a fine of $2,500. In addition, he was placed on probation for one year and he may not hunt for one year. He received 40 hours of community service to be served within 180 days. Schouest pled guilty to two counts and received the following sentence: for hunting ducks with the aid of bait, a fine of $750; for hunting ducks with an unplugged shotgun, a $75 fine.

Agents collected and documented bait samples out of a large pond located in Vermilion Parish on the night of Nov. 8, 2001. The agents returned to the same area on the opening day of the 2001-02 duck season. They observed two hunters hunting ducks over the baited pond. The agents contacted the hunters, Landry and Schouest.

Both men were cited for hunting ducks with the aid of bait. Schouest was also cited for hunting ducks with an unplugged shotgun.