2014-2015 Preseason...

Re: 2014-2015 Preseason...

Postby Rick » Sun Oct 26, 2014 1:27 pm

Ericdc wrote:Good stuff rick.
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I had a successful hunt Thursday evening. Looking forward to some fresh pan sausage.


I'd be happy with three just like that, but they've cut our zone down to next to no doe days I can take advantage of.
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Re: 2014-2015 Preseason...

Postby Ericdc » Sun Oct 26, 2014 2:04 pm

Dang, well I shot the biggest out of the 3 does that where standing in my rye grass 30 yards from stand.....if that makes you feel better.
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Re: 2014-2015 Preseason...

Postby Rick » Fri Oct 31, 2014 8:09 pm

Finally got back in the marsh this morning. Have fingers and toes crossed for a little frost to kill all these pretty flowers:
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But wanted to get the nasty boogers cut before said frost knocks the pedals off them and makes it hard to see and cut the dozens (hundreds?) of forked burrs at their center of each flower that the Cajuns call "fourchettes" and we knew as Spanish needles in the north. They're the devil for getting in dogs' nostrils and under their eyelids, then migrating. I get after all I can in the blind's vicinity with no hope of getting them all, only of getting most, and was pleased to find relatively few this year. Could be making progress?

That plan got sidetracked for a while by the discovery that thick black dirt flotant had the blind and boat hide blocked and needed to be ground:
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And ground:
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And ground and ground some more. But it's broken up now and shouldn't take a whole lot more to keep that way until the cold puts the bacteria doing all the CO2 farting that holds it up to sleep.

Also got all, OK, most, of the fourchettes and some intrusive roseau canes cut before finding a long lost Dakota goose decoy stand the hard way:
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Much better I found it with something easily patched than that the dog got speared. Even if it did mean getting soaked making my way back across the flotant to the boat. As always, trying to traverse the flotant to cut fourchettes, and breaking through umpteen.8 times left me with great respect for the dog that works it daily.

And now the bird report: probably didn't see more than a couple dozen ducks, and all were mottleds, bluewings, woodies and grays. But there were more high specks this morning than we've seen any other to date - by a big margin. So perhaps things are looking up. Perhaps.
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Re: 2014-2015 Preseason...

Postby DComeaux » Fri Oct 31, 2014 8:55 pm

AW man! That hole in the boot sucks!
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Re: 2014-2015 Preseason...

Postby Rick » Sat Nov 01, 2014 5:45 am

Nothing 3M 5200 won't make stronger than new.
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Re: 2014-2015 Preseason...

Postby Rick » Sun Nov 02, 2014 6:33 am

11/1

Heard the first blues of the new season while on stand this evening.
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Re: 2014-2015 Preseason...

Postby Rick » Sun Nov 02, 2014 4:30 pm

Another work day in an, as yet, nearly duckless marsh.
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Re: 2014-2015 Preseason...

Postby Darren » Mon Nov 03, 2014 7:10 am

Rick wrote:11/1

Heard the first blues of the new season while on stand this evening.



What's been the typical date for above milestone in recent 5 years? I recall a scouting mission in our marsh Nov 2 last year and we had quite a number of snows and specks over that way in SE La marshes. Didn't see or hear any on Saturdays trip out there.
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Re: 2014-2015 Preseason...

Postby Rick » Mon Nov 03, 2014 10:38 am

I made special note of the date in an effort to start keeping better track, but it's been common, at least in recent years, for them to wait until November to show in any numbers. Sometimes well into November.

On a sort of related note, the coyote and I took a big pass through Klondike rice this morning in a sweet cool breeze without so much as hearing a speck, let alone blue. Where all the specks we saw over the marsh two trips there ago have settled in remains largely mystery, though a farmer we spoke to said there are a few on some stuff he farms in Thornwell.
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Re: 2014-2015 Preseason...

Postby Rick » Thu Nov 06, 2014 7:33 pm

11/6:

On again, off again youth hunt is on again for this coming Sunday, so I spent most of the day in the marsh getting the mudhole ready. Didn't want to half-ass it for the kids, so their setup should be identical to the regular season's, except I'll probably go light on the brush in front of the blind to make it easier for them to water swat. Thought about sparing my coot raft the inevitable result of that, but decided I can patch what they pop. So the little pothole is loaded up with a couple dozen mallards, 15 teal, three or four dozen coots, 2 speck floaters, a ninja spinner and a modified mallard machine, the prop of which I raised a hair higher than it was for teal and really slings some water now. And there are 41 specks, a snow and a blue scattered around the hole and the blind's island. None of which will matter much if nothing sees it.

But, drum roll please...there were actually a few birds in the marsh today. Not what we'd like by any means but perhaps a couple hundred, which beats the dozen or two we've been seeing. Also some high specks about. So here's hoping for the kids...
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Re: 2014-2015 Preseason...

Postby DComeaux » Thu Nov 06, 2014 8:55 pm

Sounds good Rick! I can't wait to get out to the blind this weekend.
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Re: 2014-2015 Preseason...

Postby Rick » Sat Nov 08, 2014 4:18 pm

Last prep day for the youth hunt. Really didn't have much left to do.

Finished the brushing:
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And helped some other fellow's with theirs. But mostly just hung out and admired my "work".

Most of the duck spread:
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View of the poule d'eau raft from the blind:
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And the blind (right) from the poule d'eau raft:
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Might have also played a bit with the season's new toy, my Mallard Machine modification:
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Showed promise with September teal, but I'm anxious to see what other ducks think.

Also put fresh corks in the MVP and Microhen. Flat love fresh cork, it's like getting a whole new call.

Now bring on the kids...
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Re: 2014-2015 Preseason...

Postby Ericdc » Sat Nov 08, 2014 4:41 pm

Changed corks a week or so ago. Love it.

Me and a buddy had a good first hunt at our new lease. Got 12 feet down at 15 yards, buddy whiffed on his 2nd bird, but it was a sweet thing to behold.
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Re: 2014-2015 Preseason...

Postby Flightstopper » Sat Nov 08, 2014 4:41 pm

Looking good Rick
AKPirate wrote:Jason is usually right but sometimes wrong
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Re: 2014-2015 Preseason...

Postby Rick » Fri Nov 14, 2014 4:16 pm

11/14: The day before Christm...er, the big season.

Had the mudhole pretty well done for our youth hunt last weekend, but tied up what few loose ends remained this morning. Enjoyed a really neat show of big ducks on the ride out but was bundled too tight against the cold to dig the camera out. OK, I coulda if I woulda, but I was too busy just taking it all in. May not be a duck in the marsh tomorrow, but this was the most big ducks I've seen in several years. Teal were mostly AWOL, but there were quite a few bunches of jacks/ringnecks, too. Did I mention the big ducks?

Did take some stills of the finished product. Here's the blind, brushed so the cane tops will hopefully help conceal smiling faces:
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Another view of the blind and its island, complete with specks to hopefully take some eyes off smiling faces:
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One of two other groups of geese on the flotant around the mudhole, mainly there not so much to pull geese from any morning flight to the rice as to help make the smiling faces seem benign:
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This is the whole show, poule d'eau raft on the left and scattered ducks on the right (tight to the blind where the smiling faces won't shoot them):
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And this was the project's tool pusher, with his critical eye for details downplaying smiling faces:
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Would have been remiss to have such opportunity and not test fire this thing:
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It's the current version RNT Microhen's insert with an Old Style barrel I prefer to the one they come with. Am a big fan of the original Microhen, which had a bigger bore providing more volume, while still being much quieter than my MVP. But the current version's grown on me, with the big concern being if the quieter call would still have the teeth to spark reflex response. Put that concern to rest this morning, despite much higher winds than I would normally run a Microhen of any bore in. Had no trouble breaking birds that were plainly boring past the mudhole intent on points elsewhere. So the new one will bench the old, at least for a while.

One more thing: made a swing by the crawfish pond where I took some teal video back in September and shot a remake with big ducks:



Wish you could hear all the specks jabbering away behind that grassy levee.
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Re: 2014-2015 Preseason...

Postby Ericdc » Fri Nov 14, 2014 4:46 pm

Looks good, we will mostly break ice for the early youth hunt tomorrow. Hoping it might be a little warmer for the jan 31 youth hunt up here in east zone.
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Re: 2014-2015 Preseason...

Postby Rick » Fri Nov 14, 2014 8:51 pm

Good luck with it, Eric.
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Re: 2014-2015 Preseason...

Postby Rick » Fri Nov 14, 2014 8:55 pm

11/14: An interesting thing happened on this evening's deer wait, woodcock started popping out of the woods and going to the field edges at dark. This is way early for them, and it's generally such a poor woods for them that I don't recall ever seeing an evening flight there of any size much less as many birds as this evening. Cold apparently has everything early and, in this case, misplaced.
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Re: 2014-2015 Preseason...

Postby Ericdc » Fri Nov 14, 2014 9:12 pm

What was it rick?
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Re: 2014-2015 Preseason...

Postby DComeaux » Fri Nov 14, 2014 11:41 pm

Rick wrote:11/14: An interesting thing happened on this evening's deer wait, woodcock started popping out of the woods and going to the field edges at dark. This is way early for them, and it's generally such a poor woods for them that I don't recall ever seeing an evening flight there of any size much less as many birds as this evening. Cold apparently has everything early and, in this case, misplaced.



A coworker showed me a picture from her phone this morning of a bird she found dead near the road at the start of her driveway. She asked, what is this?.....Woodcock!
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Re: 2014-2015 Preseason...

Postby jarbo03 » Sat Nov 15, 2014 12:14 am

Looks primed for a good hunt, bang em up tomorrow. :thumbsup:
TAZ 2014-15 birds

Ducks: 57
Geese: 59
Pheasant: 4
Quail: 2
Prairie Chicken: 4
Dove: 168
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Re: 2014-2015 Preseason...

Postby Ericdc » Sat Nov 15, 2014 3:25 am

DComeaux wrote:
Rick wrote:11/14: An interesting thing happened on this evening's deer wait, **** started popping out of the woods and going to the field edges at dark. This is way early for them, and it's generally such a poor woods for them that I don't recall ever seeing an evening flight there of any size much less as many birds as this evening. Cold apparently has everything early and, in this case, misplaced.



A coworker showed me a picture from her phone this morning of a bird she found dead near the road at the start of her driveway. She asked, what is this?.....****!


Whatever kind of bird it is, it's coming up as 4 *'s when u type it on here.
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Re: 2014-2015 Preseason...

Postby Rick » Sat Nov 15, 2014 4:46 am

Eric, if you PM Olly, he'll turn off the filter for you. But we're talking about "timber doodles".
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Re: 2014-2015 Preseason...

Postby Ericdc » Sat Nov 15, 2014 5:09 am

I had a hunch but wasn't sure.
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Re: 2014-2015 Preseason...

Postby Rick » Mon Dec 15, 2014 12:26 pm

Spent an hour or so this morning trying to idiot proof the blind I did most of last week's sky watchi..., er, speck hunting from before the ghetto guides try to undo what's right about it, and there were geese all over me, apparently moving ahead of the coming front. Guys next door were trying an e-caller and wind sock "conservation" hunt for blues, but none were buying in. Spread may have been too small, because the recorder was plenty loud.
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Re: 2014-2015 Preseason...

Postby Rick » Wed Dec 17, 2014 7:29 pm

Went to the marsh this morning and prepped the mudhole for Saturday's second split opener. Jumped a couple big bunches of jacks on the east end and a show of mallards both where expected and surprising was encouraging until it ended at the last blind to my east. My area and our westernmost blind beyond were dead zones today. Not sure what that's about, maybe an eagle had passed. Teal were conspicuously absent throughout, and grays and spoons were sparse.

Ducks or not, my stuff is ready.
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Re: 2014-2015 Preseason...

Postby Darren » Wed Dec 17, 2014 9:04 pm

Marsh was a ghost town this morning on paddle in, but enjoyed a good bit of traffic soon after LST in the area. Then again, some days we jump up hoardes on paddle in, and nothing returns. good luck this weekend!
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Re: 2014-2015 Preseason...

Postby Rick » Thu Dec 18, 2014 5:36 pm

Spent much of the day at DComeaux's piece trying to get water back on his neighbor's. (Seems someone tried to block a 16" pipe with a 12" board, and it worked out as a reasonable person might expect.) Lots of specks and mallards in the area and even had a pair of big, for here, mid-continent Canadas go over.
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Re: 2014-2015 Preseason...

Postby DComeaux » Thu Dec 18, 2014 8:25 pm

Rick wrote:Spent much of the day at DComeaux's piece trying to get water back on his neighbor's. (Seems someone tried to block a 16" pipe with a 12" board, and it worked out as a reasonable person might expect.) Lots of specks and mallards in the area and even had a pair of big, for here, mid-continent Canadas go over.


I sure like reading that!

Blocked the pipe with a board?
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Re: 2014-2015 Preseason...

Postby Rick » Fri Dec 19, 2014 6:46 am

DComeaux wrote:Blocked the pipe with a board?


The drain for the east end of the farm is a 16" pipe running under the center road and into the interior canal that goes around your end and feeds the pump. Once had a board overflow box like those on your piece, except it was already broken up when we took over the farm, and I cut a plywood piece that just completely blocked the pipe, instead. Something has since happened to that board, and someone tried closing the pipe with one of the old board box's sides that wasn't wide enough, instead of butting the two sides together, which would have done the trick. Hence their "leak". Put a proper sized board there yesterday, least that mistake be repeated.

While I've opened and closed the drains on that farm often enough, this was the first time I've done the pumping, and that's been revealing. Pump canal is so full of flotant that water has to be pulled very slowly for it to get from the the outside pipe or screw gate to the pump without sucking the flotant with it and clogging the works. But it turns out that's a good thing, because the eastward flood canal is so full of canouche/maidencane that water going into it finds it easier to get out over the south end of the canal, back by your blind, and into the center portion of the farm than push through to the east end at other than very low volume.

Of course, what's sorely needed is a hoe to clean both pump and flood canals, which doesn't seem apt to happen under current mgt. But it's something to keep in mind, if you should end up there without us, as the pump's very near the end of its usefulness without it.
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