This weekend across much of Louisiana and the Gulf South you'll be hearing the roar of gas burners under boiling pots of Heaven on Earth. From Breaux Bridge to Bossier City, Monroe to Mandeville chicken and sausage, duck and sausage, sausage and sausage, and even seafood will be nestled in a deep brown roux, seasoned to perfection, and served over rice. It's gumbo weather and for those with the "bayou in their bloodstream" it's a happy time of year.

Stephanie Stokes via YouTube
Stephanie Stokes via YouTube
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If you live in Louisiana long enough you'll come to realize our state doesn't celebrate summer, winter, fall, and spring. Our seasons are football, hunting, gumbo, hurricane, and crawfish. And while we celebrate the first official days of gumbo season we can't help but cast an eye forward to crawfish season, especially after what we experienced earlier this year.

You might recall the drought of 2023 quashed the crawfish season of 2024. We are having dry conditions across the state right now, but what does that mean for the upcoming mudbug season in early 2025? 

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Todd Fontenot works with the LSU AgCenter in Acadia Parish, and he knows a lot about crawfish. So, who better to offer a forecast for the upcoming season than Todd? Todd's thoughts on the forthcoming crawfish season were chronicled in a report published by the Louisiana Radio Network. 

What Is The Forecast For Louisiana's Crawfish Season in 2025?

The word Todd used in the LRN article was "promising". He noted that many farmers are in the process of flooding ponds and quite a few of those producers are seeing signs of emerging crawfish.

Photo by Barry Toups
Photo by Barry Toups
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Mother Nature has not been as brutal to Louisiana crawfish producers as she was in 2023. The area has had decent rainfall amounts through the summer and only recently began to experience dry conditions. Temperatures weren't as "hellish" over this past summer as they were in 2023 either, that bodes well for the season too.

Some South Louisiana producers are still fighting issues of salinity in the freshwater ponds but those conditions are showing signs of improvement as well. But all in all conditions around the southern part of the state have been improving since the saltwater intrusion brought on by the drought of 2023. 

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(Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)
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Fontenot, in his comments to LRN, suggested that with about 400,000 acres of Louisiana ponds dedicated to crawfish production and improved weather conditions, the outlook for 2025 is certainly brighter than 2024's season. And for the most part should see the return of more normal supplies, quality, and quantity.

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YouTube Via Southern Boyz Outdoors
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That means prices for consumers should be more in line with what most of us are used to paying for "five pounds on Friday night" or the family crawfish boil. The weather across the state over the next few months will ultimately determine how the season plays out but as of now, you might want to get that water boiling because the crawfish season in Louisiana is looking to be bountiful.

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Gallery Credit: Bruce Mikells