Mississippi River Batture

It's very tricky.

I've hunted it. But some areas are owned. Some are not

you can dock your boat and dry your nets on the bank, but 90% of the batture is private, subject to the public levee servitude, which gives no right to the public to hunt it.

It's my understanding that it's one of the most complicated areas of law in Louisiana.

I fought these wars (from both sides mind you - as a leaseholder and possible trespasser) for years on the red river.

I even went so far as to get a guy that thought he owned some land to have a game warden meet us at the disputed location to write me a ticket such that I'd have a cause of action in court. The result? Game warden showed up, we all met up, and the game warden said "we don't enforce trespassing laws". I had a lease the bordered this guy's property, and there was land between us that literally didn't exist ten years prior to me leasing/him buying our respective lands. I felt I had as much right to it as him. He shot holes in the barrels of a blind that landed on "his side", I got in it, dang near flipped the blind, had lawsuit paperwork drawn up, and was going to go down there, get a ticket written to me for trespassing, then call my attorney from the location, and have him file the suit. (that's the backstory)

the problem is this. the laws that give you certain rights to batture were written in a different era. they were written when places like the red river was heavily used in commerce. deer hunting's not commerce. judicial campaigns are typically funded by those that own land/are of baller status. the law's generally on the richer man's (landowner's) side, and that's probably a good thing.

My experience with trying to either keep people off of my batture, or getting on someone else's, is that whoever barks loudest wins. If you're the "trespasser", good luck keeping your stands/feeders free from molestation. it's easier to find a different place to hunt.