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Chances are they'll continue to see the ducks that move back into heavily gunned places after the shooting stops and lobby for even later dates.

Date: 1/26

Time: morning

Location: Dixie

Cloud Cover: clear

Wind Direction and Velocity: NNW brisk

Temperature: cold in the wind

Barometer:

Moon phase:

Special Notes:

Waterfowl Activity: Was a mostly scouting trip to see it would be worthwhile to fix one of the messes our ghetto guides had made of a blind and saw precious little movement to recommend the work that would be involved

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Couldn't say.

Hunters: thankfully just the coyote and I

Guns:

Malfunctions:

Dog(s):

Special Equipment:

Kudos: Got plenty of exercise mucking across a wet field to our grassy levee observation point, and didn't drag any other poor souls along.

Curses: The list is long: forgot a pad to kneel on and didn't think I'd want my hand warmers, wore thin socks and uninsulated knee boots and too little clothing in general, and froze my tush to no good end.

Birds By Species: Ha!

Photo Ops:

Rick wrote:Chances are they'll continue to see the ducks that move back into heavily gunned places after the shooting stops and lobby for even later dates.

Oh yea, especially the big push of returning (from the south) birds in March

The late season has typically been very productive one for my group of East Zone hunters. Not near as much this year but for three years prior we absolutley wore them out the last two weeks of the season.

With all of that said it's been a tough tough year for this ole boy. Makes you appreciate the good years that much more!

Thanks for sharing you're hunts with us Rick. Already looking forward to next year!

You're certainly welcome. Last year was the devil for me and had me seriously considering a change of venue and perhaps even camps for the first time ever, but this season eased the pressure toward that move. Not a great season, by any means, but solid enough that we had a lot of fun, and I could feel like I was doing more than disappointing most folks.

In other news, the coyote's sister had twelve, count 'em 12, pups including 5 males, so he should be getting some relief next Fall.

Rick wrote:More like a "fortunate strap," as it was the big one for the camp from eerily empty skies.

Oops, just learned of not just one but two better last day hunts than I'd been aware of. Shows what I know.

Kudos: Got plenty of exercise mucking across a wet field to our grassy levee observation point, and didn't drag any other poor souls along.

Did you end up with clown feet getting to and from that levee?

by Rick » Mon Jan 26, 2015 11:09 am

In other news, the coyote's sister had twelve, count 'em 12, pups including 5 males, so he should be getting some relief next Fall.

dats a lot of pups! Looking forward to the pics of your chosen one.

DComeaux wrote:

Kudos: Got plenty of exercise mucking across a wet field to our grassy levee observation point, and didn't drag any other poor souls along.

Did you end up with clown feet getting to and from that levee?

No, was a stubble field. Just a long hike over rutted ground to get away from the truck and to a spot with big cuts and enough cover on the levee.

DComeaux wrote:

by Rick » Mon Jan 26, 2015 11:09 am

In other news, the coyote's sister had twelve, count 'em 12, pups including 5 males, so he should be getting some relief next Fall.

dats a lot of pups! Looking forward to the pics of your chosen one.

The fireball second from the top is the early front-runner:


But mine is second pick of males, and the other guy may very well notice his tremendous potential...

Rick, just wanted to say Thanks to you as well, and have really enjoyed your daily log reports! It is apparent that you work hard for your clients, love what you do, and are damn good at it! You remind me of the old adage "If you can make a living doing something you love, you'll never work a day in your life"

Thanks. I'm a little surprised how well my enjoyment of waterfowling has held up over the years, but when I've good folks and the birds don't show, that is work, and I flat hate it. Probably bothers me worse than most of them, but after all these years, it still eats my lunch.

Rick wrote:Thanks. I'm a little surprised how well my enjoyment of waterfowling has held up over the years, but when I've good folks and the birds don't show, that is work, and I flat hate it. Probably bothers me worse than most of them, but after all these years, it still eats my lunch.

Ma Nature is always apt to throw a few curves, whether bird movement or weather, and those days, tough as they can be, really make you appreciate the good days. You can do everything in your power to change the tides, at times making the difference, but sometimes the situation is beyond your control. Anybody that has ever spent time in a duck blind understands this, and although frustrating, is part of the game.

Deltaman wrote:

Rick wrote:Thanks. I'm a little surprised how well my enjoyment of waterfowling has held up over the years, but when I've good folks and the birds don't show, that is work, and I flat hate it. Probably bothers me worse than most of them, but after all these years, it still eats my lunch.

Ma Nature is always apt to throw a few curves, whether bird movement or weather, and those days, tough as they can be, really make you appreciate the good days. You can do everything in your power to change the tides, at times making the difference, but sometimes the situation is beyond your control. Anybody that has ever spent time in a duck blind understands this, and although frustrating, is part of the game.

I know this all too well! This season done slapped me in the face with this.

Spent pretty much all day closing up shop at the mudhole and saw nothing to make me wish it wasn't over. Marsh is very nearly barren of game, though I did hear blues once and looked up to see a V crossing the moon in postcard fashion and also hear pintails which turned out to be almost dancing or skipping by low, instead of their usual high and oh so formal formation. That, and an eagle hung out with me for a while.

Pulled all the canes I've carried in out from around the blind to lessen the chance of either a dog being speared by the punji stake points the cane knife makes and marsh water seems to petrify and of the canes sprouting and taking hold where I'd rather they didn't:


And once again I was struck by just what a miserable job the coyote has at the mudhole, where even in a relatively wet year like this one there are a precious few inches of water over three feet of humus sludge. From his stand:


and in the decoys:




Thick enough in places to keep the wind from blowing the Go-devil boat across the pond:


Made me think of when I got pissed at him for sometimes being balky late in what had to be a miserably hard season and feel like a real asshole.

That just a rubber mat going up for a dog ladder up to his stand? Had trouble getting mine up the ladder I threw together with just a 2x12 and 1x's going across for traction.

Yep. Pretty heavy duty one with big deep holes, and there's a more horizontal platform below to give him something stable to push up off of.

Good deal will give that a shot.

Date: 1/28

Time: morning

Location: spot a friend let me borrow for a morning

Cloud Cover: clear

Wind Direction and Velocity: light eastery

Temperature: pleasantly cool

Barometer:

Moon phase:

Special Notes:

Waterfowl Activity: Found a nice little bunch of specks roosted on the north end of his duck pond and what sounded like a much bigger roost just across the boundary levee to the SE, but next to nothing was moving. Took a driving tour of the area later and saw the most geese scattered around it that I've seen anywhere in some time.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Brought a pair around several times just south of the blind, but couldn't get them to cross the open water low. (Gathered they'd had a near death experience there.) And worked a single "close enough" to the 4-wheeler road north of the blind on the way out to "anchor" him with a second shot, then watch him get his act together and make it across the west protection levee and off to...

Hunters: just the coyote and I

Guns:

Malfunctions:

Dog(s):

Special Equipment: No decoys, just gun, calls and dog.

Kudos: Took a nice walk in a place I've not seen much of and enjoyed listening to the ground talk of the neighbor's bunch. Appreciated the chance to look around and would suggest my benefactor try camoing up something grassy and try sitting in the thick cutgrass at his pond's very north end late one afternoon.

Curses: Only that I didn't spend my third shot on the thought to be crashing bird "just in case"...

Birds By Species: Zip.

Photo Ops:

then watch him get his act together and make it across the west protection levee and off to...

Shoot! SHOOOOOOT!.......... Typing that reminded me of a video clip I shot with me saying this among other choice words while my chamber was empty and I turn to see that the other end of the blind has only scared their ducks and they're getting away. It's a helpless feeling that usually has me fumbling through my blind bag, spilling shells all over the floor of the blind. The video from that point on is nothing but a view of blurry brush.

try camoing up something grassy and try sitting in the thick cutgrass at his pond's very north end late one afternoon.

Gilley suit with waders and a snorkel tube whittled out of a roseau stalk?

Someone really should go sit in that grass one afternoon before it's over.

Rick wrote:Someone really should go sit in that grass one afternoon before it's over.

Saturday afternoon.

There are "ridges" out there in the buffaloed ground of only a foot or so deep, so you might be able to field a few FBs to help take eyes off the lumps in the grass.

Date: 1/29

Time: morning

Location: thornwell

Cloud Cover: dense ground fog

Wind Direction and Velocity: zip to light SW(?)

Temperature: warm

Barometer:

Moon phase:

Special Notes:

Waterfowl Activity: Crawfisherman has been banging the geese off the farm all season, and that seems to have been the case again, as I could hear none roosting on either end of it. And the fog prevented me from seeing just how far what precious little traffic I heard really was. Bagged it after 2 1/2 hours and still saw nothing moving in the clearing areas I passed on the way home.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Called to everything I heard and only had one speck circle above the ground fog grumbling about my wanting him to come down into it.

Hunters: thankfully just the coyote and I

Guns:

Malfunctions:

Dog(s): slept

Special Equipment: Chuck and Agie.

Kudos: Only that I wasn't disappointing anyone who might have been excited about the morning's prospects.

Curses: Feel like I'm just going through the motions to be doing so, and probably ought to stick a fork in the season of 2014-2015.

Birds By Species: nada

Photo Ops: Socked in:

Date: 1/30

Time: morning

Location: klondike

Cloud Cover: clear

Wind Direction and Velocity: brisk NE

Temperature: cold

Barometer:

Moon phase:

Special Notes:

Waterfowl Activity: Missed what little flight occurred during the hour or so I was out there by being lazy about my start and location.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Got caught by the first flight on my way in, and by the time I got up against the grass, the bunch was so far downwind I could spin them around but couldn't convince them to return into the wind. Only other specks I saw were crossing a distant piece I'd been too stubborn and lazy to fix up yet again after the last "guides" to hunt it screwed it up, yet again, after the last time I did, and all I could garner from such distance was a brief look from afar.

Hunters: just self and the coyote

Guns:

Malfunctions:

Dog(s): Plainly enjoyed the field trip, but slept during the "hunt" portion. Found myself worrying about losing track of the deaf dog on the way in and out, a reminder that it's definitely time for another for hunts when a deaf one might slip off and lose track of me.

Special Equipment: Chuck and Agie

Kudos: beautiful morning

Curses: next to nothing in the area or at least moving while I was there.

Birds By Species: zip

Photo Ops: Had plenty of time to consider the value of a self-camouflaging dog with regard to this one's successor:


Lagniappe: A wise man, OK, it was just John Elher, once suggested that my log wouldn't be complete without a "lagniappe" (something extra) section, and I wish I'd started one earlier as an opportunity to add little essays about this or that topic which had struck me as being of special interest that hunt. Perhaps doing so now will serve as reminder to make a regular thing of it next season.

What has me mulling just now is having given up on specks before their season closes this coming Sunday. Has always been not just my practice but my compulsion to be out there giving it a good, if not necessarily my best, shot right to the bitter end. But I would have been quite content to call it a season after yesterday morning if not for a reawakening of the urge to go by this morning's chill wind after days on end of Spring-like weather. And having honored that urge, I'm ready to put the gun up until next September.

Could blame Doug for cutting the camp's ag land leases to next to nothing and mostly sorry at that, making the hunting tougher than tough. But if I'd been willing to work harder, or even just stay longer, I've little doubt I could still be killing specks. But I haven't been. Perhaps I've just grown old and lazy...

Rick wrote:And having honored that urge, I'm ready to put the gun up until next September.

Bummer! You and the Coyote were the last two holdouts I could keep up with a while after I've hung it up myself.

Keep us posted on your puppy pick

Darren wrote:

Rick wrote:And having honored that urge, I'm ready to put the gun up until next September.

Bummer! You and the Coyote were the last two holdouts I could keep up with a while after I've hung it up myself.

Keep us posted on your puppy pick

He's not done! He has two days left and the urge will be strong.

Blake and I will be out there in the morning, and If the birds are still around, I feel pretty good about our chances. I've just been too lazy to do what needs to be done this late in the season.

Rick- looking forward to meeting the new pup next season. I enjoyed your log, and enjoyed my now (annual) visit to Doug's.

Bruce.

Darren wrote:Keep us posted on your puppy pick

My early pick was the only one that's died so far. Might ought pick those New England Bungholes for the Super Bowl...

DComeaux wrote:He's not done! He has two days left and the urge will be strong.

Already scheduled a marsh workday in the morning to pull the boats and put them up for the Summer. Just have to get past Sunday...

Bruce Yerkes wrote:Rick- looking forward to meeting the new pup next season. I enjoyed your log, and enjoyed my now (annual) visit to Doug's.

Bruce.

"Now annual"? Hell, you're damn near naturalized.

As for the pup, I'm looking more and more forward to meeting him, too. Going to be a long couple months.