No matter how hot or wet it gets during these dog days of summer, avid, all-around outdoorsmen continue to keep their fishing lines wet but all the while have hunting on their mind.

Heck, Louisiana’s special teal season is just a little more than a month away (Sept. 10-25). Small game hunting starts Oct. 1. And even some either-sex archery hunting for deer gets underway as soon as in mid-September.

Those outdoorsman can check 2022-23 hunting dates, rules and regulations at their fingertips. The state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries announced July 19 its 2022-23 hunting regulations pamphlet is online at www.wlf.louisiana.gov/page/seasons-and-regulations.

Louisiana’s 10 deer hunting areas and major changes for the 2022-23 season also are outlined in the pamphlet.

The information includes guidelines for hunting on state Wildlife Management Areas and Louisiana federal lands, as well as information about the LDWF’s new licensing process and fees.

Printed copies of the pamphlets should be available in late August at LDWF offices throughout the state and at businesses that sell hunting and fishing licenses.

For more information contact Tommy Tuma at ttuma@wlf.la.gov.

Many Acadiana hunters who hunt WMAs across Louisiana must take note of a change for 2022-23. Hunters are required to have a WMA Access Permit, Senior Hunting/Fishing License or a Lifetime Hunting/Fishing License to visit an LDWF WMA, Refuge or Conservation Area, including shooting ranges, for any reason – boating, hiking, bird watching, berry picking, fishing, hunting, etc.

Previously, WMA Access Permits cost $15. Now the fee is $20, part of sweeping changes to hunting and fishing license costs that were implemented July 1.

The WMA Access Permit is for both residents and non-residents. A five-day permit is $5 for both residents and non-residents but they must be five consecutive days.

Hunters under age 17 aren’t required to possess a WMA Access Permit.

LDWF maintains more than 1.6 million acres of the Louisiana Sportsman’s land and waterways with a variety of habitats pine/hardwood, cypress trees, tupelo trees, bottomland hardwood and brackish marsh.

Acadiana boasts some prime hunting for big game and small game on several WMAs. Close to home the Atchafalaya Delta WMA is known for its deer hunting (archery only with annual youth lottery gun hunts … access by boat only) while Attakapas WMA for its deer hunting and squirrel hunting.

Within a reasonably short drive are Sherburne WMA and Thistlethwaite WMA, both known for their deer hunting.

Stay tuned for breakdowns on hunting on those and other WMAs in August and September.

DON SHOOPMAN is outdoors editor of The Daily Iberian.