Layering best way to prevent hypothermia

It’s time to talk about cold weather.

Oh, not the kind of “dry” cold our Yankee brethren face, but the kind of wet, bone-chilling conditions we face across our beloved Sportsman’s Paradise.

It doesn’t take freezing temperatures to bring on hypothermia, and while we will not be facing plummeting late-fall thermometer readings during the next couple of days, it’s that dip into the lower 30s next weekend that’s a signal to get smart while in a duck blind or on a deer stand.

Humidity and wind are prime factors around here, and if temperatures fall into the 20s, then you hunters — fishermen, too — better know how to layer clothing and the other things that will bring you home safely.

Wind-chill charts are good guidelines to the danger outdoors on a particular day, but those only list temperature and wind and Louisiana outdoors folks have to contend with a dampness factor.

It’s been 35 years since that bitter winter blast that killed two Louisiana hunters and left three more with lengthy hospital stays and even longer recoveries, but that doesn’t mean hypothermia will not have victims around here this winter.

Understanding hypothermia is easy: It happens when your body releases more heat than it has stored and can ingest from external sources. Hypothermia’s onset comes when a body’s core temperature falls to 95 degrees and becomes life-threatening at 85 degrees.

It’s here we need to mention that consuming alcohol is not the answer. Hot liquids like broth and chocolate (carried in a Thermos) help to ward off hypothermia’s first signs — a chill that leads to shivering, then prolonged shivering, which is your body’s attempt to contract muscles to keep blood flowing to your extremities. Slurred speech and drowsiness come later.

And, what young hunter doesn’t like hot chocolate!

Layering clothing helps. Base layers, then heavier pants and shirts are the next step. Outerwear that keeps wind and moisture away from clothing is a must. And, do not wear so much clothes that it constricts movement.

Be careful not to wear cotton. It absorbs sweat and will start a chill next to your skin.

With so many parents wanting to expose their sons and daughters to the thrill of the hunt or a marsh fishing trip, know that youngsters are unable to deal with bitterly cold temperatures as well as adults. Limit their exposure to open, windy conditions and limit the time spent in blinds, deer stands and boats.

Because most of our hunting involves water, always wear a serviceable life jacket over all that hunting outerwear when you’re on the water.

Then, if you feel these symptoms coming on, get back to the camp or landing. You need indirect heat to begin warming. Don’t use heating pads or jump into a hot shower. Try to drink warm, not hot, fluids like warm apple cider and warm lemonade. Avoid caffeine and alcohol, the latter will slow your body’s recovery response.

And, please, file a trip plan with someone at home. Give your hunting location, a boat landing, the make and model of your vehicle and your boat, and an expected time of return. Also list your cellphone number and the number of the local sheriff’s department.

Fishing

Saltwater and freshwater species are beginning to show signs of find deeper water now that we’ve had our first tastes of cold temperatures and rising barometers.

The best catches of trout and redfish are coming from holes near the intersections of bayous and deeper-water canals.

Bass and sac-a-lait have found the depths, too, but “depths” in south Louisiana often mean the deeper bends of bayous and off the deeper sides of points where two waters meet, either a bayou/river into a canal or two canals. In places like Toledo Bend, finding old sloughs and creek beds are the most productive now.

Those patterns hold the first days after a cold front passes. For days like this weekend and leading into Tuesday, the warmer conditions usually find trout, reds and bass moving into shallower areas to feed on more active baitfish and shrimp.

Checking the barometer will help, too. When the barometric pressure hits 30.30 inches, it’s probably a good time to stay home. The fish won’t be very active.

Shrimp

With a lone exception, most of our state’s inshore shrimp season will close at sunset Monday.

The exception is in Shrimp Zone 1 in the Pontchartrain Basin, the Biloxi Marsh and Breton and Chandeleur sounds. The map of this open area can be found on the agency’s website: wlf.louisiana.gov

This means all the other locations in Zone 1 and all of Zones 2 and 3 will be closed.

State biologists close the inshore season when the count of white shrimp in each area rises above the 100-to-the-pound count in their test trawls.