Story and recipes by Jean-Paul Bourgeois
Right around when college football kicks off is when we begin to feel the change in the air. It’s subtle at first. Weeks are crammed with mid-90–degree heat; then, out of nowhere, you get a couple of days in the mid-80s with a touch less humidity and a steady breeze. This is also the time when you get the annual comments and jokes about it being “gumbo weather” with every drop of a degree. As if Louisianans needed any more reason to make a gumbo.
Don’t get me wrong—I love Saturday nights in Death Valley, and I will always make time to slurp down a gumbo. But when I feel the air change, I know it’s time to start getting serious about deer, ducks, and fishing redfish in the saltwater marshes. That’s just me. For some, it might be the dozens of state parks around the state that beckon Louisianans to visit and walk the trails without fear of heat stroke. For others, it’s the perfect time to kayak among the ancient cypress that are studded around Lake Martin and take in the natural beauty of black water swamps. Louisiana gives you every opportunity to get into the great outdoors year-round. As the weather changes, the call of the wild whispers its spells over the citizens of the Bayou State, once again connecting us to the natural beauty of Louisiana.
A north wind blows through the state, causing the willow trees to dance in the bayou as the night rushes through their scattered vegetation. The trees sway and whisper secrets to the hunters preparing to call their duck camps home for the season. Ducks are migrating and trickling into the Louisiana marshes, and people of this state are once again drawn to these camps, spellbound as if Marie Laveau were calling the shots. Our spirits transition from the chewy humid summer to the short-lived cool fronts, fixating our eyes on the new season ahead. The air is filled with it: the smells of a roux cooking, rhythms of swamp pop and Cajun music, whistling wings at shooting time. Louisiana has a secret to tell you. Can you hear it?
Jean-Paul launched Duck Camp Dinners, a digital video series about experiences at the camp. The successful series’ third season goes beyond duck hunting and expands into rabbit, squirrel, goose, deer, and hog hunting as well. Stream all episodes from your mobile devices at waypointtv.com.
