Get Catahoula Nwr Permit

Hunters may only access the Refuge from 4 am until two hours after legal sunset. Waterfowl hunting must cease by 12 noon and all decoys and blinds removed from the hunting area by 1 pm. Waterfowl and small game hunting prohibited during deer primitive firearms and gun hunts.

It is owned by the State of Louisiana and managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.

The popular duck hunting spot in Central Louisiana has recently been off-limits to public use after a Rapides Parish 9th Judicial District Court judge and the Third Circuit Court of Appeal ruled the long-time public lake was private land, which cut off public hunting in the area.

The Louisiana Supreme Court has upheld part of a lower court ruling, deeming Catahoula Lake as private land.

Hunters delight at the abundance of duck and geese on the waters at the Lake of the Ozarks. When the weather turns cold, ducks and geese visit the lake in large numbers. Frequent flyers to the Lake area include mallard, wood duck, gadwall, greenwing teal, ringneck, goldeneye, Canada and snow geese.

Vehicles are only permitted on public roads and designated parking areas. Primitive camping is permitted within 100 feet of designated streams. Camping is closed and the refuge is closed to hunting (except waterfowl), when the water level at the Pearl River, LA station is at 15.5 feet or higher.

The Sabine and Lacassine National Wildlife Refuges offer abundant public hunting opportunities. Shreveport and the Red River area are known for great hunting in the western areas of Louisiana.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service manages 23 national wildlife refuges within Louisiana, covering more than 550,000 acres throughout 29 parishes.