Looking ahead...

[Rick]

A mile east of Big Four. Some of it will be crawfished, but here's hoping using the owner's son as a guide will get us some cannon relief. As always, we'll see...

[Ericdc]

Got to love hunting where they like to be, or don't mind going.

I'm thankful my blind is just off the west side of the boeuf River and under a pretty good north to south flyway.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Rick]

But with no flight---we never get to part B

That they've all but quit moving most afternoons has had me thinking of giving up my morning marsh blind. But history tells me that about as soon as I made something in the rice work, that would be Doug's selling point to sublet it out. (Would probably have our marsh all subbed out, too, if that wouldn't get his lease pulled.)

[Darren]

Rick, also sent you email this AM but wanted to make sure you heard about Francis K.'s passing last night. Got the word through the in-laws this morning.

[Rick]

Learned of it through one of his neighbors this morning. Is my understanding that he, like Bob, had been battling cancer. Pretty sure he was in his early 90s, so he'd had a good run.

[Deltaman]

" But history tells me that about as soon as I made something in the rice work, that would be Doug's selling point to sublet it out."...........it's a good thing you realize how his mind works Rick, and can't imagine you giving up your little piece of heaven in the marsh. We know that you work your arse off getting it ready, but the stringers of ducks you manage to pull from it are about as good, and as consistent as duck hunting gets.

[Darren]

Learned of it through one of his neighbors this morning. Is my understanding that he, like Bob, had been battling cancer. Pretty sure he was in his early 90s, so he'd had a good run.

On my visits I often wondered if just sitting in their guide shack would degrade my health, much less if I were contributing to all the smoke constantly in the air. Helluva run.........

[Rick]

" But history tells me that about as soon as I made something in the rice work, that would be Doug's selling point to sublet it out."...........it's a good thing you realize how his mind works Rick, and can't imagine you giving up your little piece of heaven in the marsh. We know that you work your arse off getting it ready, but the stringers of ducks you manage to pull from it are about as good, and as consistent as duck hunting gets.

Wasn't all that tempted to move to one of our better duck blinds this year, but I really, really miss speck hunting. 'Course during the period when I was mostly goose hunting, I really, really missed duck hunting...

[Rick]

Learned of it through one of his neighbors this morning. Is my understanding that he, like Bob, had been battling cancer. Pretty sure he was in his early 90s, so he'd had a good run.

On my visits I often wondered if just sitting in their guide shack would degrade my health, much less if I were contributing to all the smoke constantly in the air. Helluva run.........

Think someone said this morning that Francis had been with that camp 50+ years.

[Darren]

Yea I think the newspaper in Lake Charles did a story on the brothers' longtime affiliation there a lil while back, pretty certain it confirmed the 50+ years. Prints of that story hang in the camp. Long time in the same marsh! Sitting in that smoky guide shack before the hunts, Francis would usually tell me how it used to be, and I had the small triumph of somehow impressing him on a morning hunt when I was able to con a lone eaglehead into shooting range with my limited speck calling abilities. He was all business in the blind, I liked it.

[Rick]

Think doves were his real love. Come late summer during his time as our deputy, no one had to worry about traffic warnings, because his eyes were on the fields and power lines. He wasn't patrolling, he was scouting.

Had a chocolate Lab back when they were fairly new and mostly worthless that would ride in the bed of his truck, start barking when he turned the ignition key to start it and not quit until Francis killed the engine. One day hunting with us, the dog ate their first dove and Francis decided to wrestle it over the next one going down the hatch and was lucky to retrieve his own bloody hand. Off they went to the emergency room with that dang dog no doubt barking all the way.

[Ericdc]

Think doves were his real love. Come late summer during his time as our deputy, no one had to worry about traffic warnings, because his eyes were on the fields and power lines. He wasn't patrolling, he was scouting.

Had a chocolate Lab back when they were fairly new and mostly worthless that would ride in the bed of his truck, start barking when he turned the ignition key to start it and not quit until Francis killed the engine. One day hunting with us, the dog ate their first dove and Francis decided to wrestle it over the next one going down the hatch and was lucky to retrieve his own bloody hand. Off they went to the emergency room with that dang dog no doubt barking all the way.

My wife got bit last Wednesday by a little yapping dog that visits the trucking shop where she is bookkeeper. Dog has been around for months and she plays with it all the time. It bit her when she was picking grass of her shoes, not even playing with it. Owners came and got it and the dog hasn't been seen since.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[aunt betty]

" But history tells me that about as soon as I made something in the rice work, that would be Doug's selling point to sublet it out."...........it's a good thing you realize how his mind works Rick, and can't imagine you giving up your little piece of heaven in the marsh. We know that you work your arse off getting it ready, but the stringers of ducks you manage to pull from it are about as good, and as consistent as duck hunting gets.

Wasn't all that tempted to move to one of our better duck blinds this year, but I really, really miss speck hunting. 'Course during the period when I was mostly goose hunting, I really, really missed duck hunting...

We got extremely (lucky?) one year when the field we leased flooded literally the day it was supposed to get harvested.
There was a bearing issue on the harvester and they missed getting the part by 5 minutes. Store closed then it rained.
Talk about weird but that field held voo-coo waterfowl where we could hunt both specks and ducks. Field next door down was loaded with snows so it was a triple-play when the wind was right. Probably never get that sort of deal in a million years.
Basically a legal baited flooded soybean field. We even asked the gw to inspect to make dang sure we were legal.
Oh what a season it was.