2016 Preseason:

[Rick]

Permission to share on social media?

Sure. (Kind of nice to actually be asked.)

[Ericdc]

We don't have any 2nd crop rice that I know of in northeast LA, but that's a beautiful site of birds settling in golden rice.

[Rick]

We need a bit of rain on that land. Driving around this weekend I noticed a lot of dust devils and clouds of dust with tractors not visible in the middle of it.

Should have been plowing with me last night, trying to finish a piece in the dark with precious little but dust visible in the tractor lights on the downwind passes. Got lost in my own little cloud more than a couple times and suspect the finished product looks like I had a jug for company. Hate it for the guys cutting second crop, but hope the scheduled heavy rains don't miss us, as the marsh sure could use it.

[DComeaux]

This years conditions are somewhat reminiscent of the 2011-2012 season. The only thing not in the mix is the salt water intrusion.

[Ericdc]

Huge speck movement yesterday reported by a very reliable source on the LA ARK border in northeast LA. Said it was quite the spectacle, no pun intended.

[Darren]

Ya'll look out for the transmitter-toting birds

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[DComeaux]

Ya'll look out for the transmitter-toting birds

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That would be neat!, but I'd like to see a bunch make it a few years to track migration routes.

[Rick]

Heard they were banding in Thornwell.

[DComeaux]

Heard they were banding in Thornwell.

Interesting.

Maybe they should close the season down here so the newly banded don't get shot in the next field over. Not unlike like those in the north where guy's fill their lanyards with bands that are days old by shooting near the release site. Yeah, that helps, lot of info gathered on those bands..........

[SpinnerMan]

Maybe they should close the season down here so the newly banded don't get shot in the next field over.

How would that help them understand what happens where the season is not closed?

Not unlike like those in the north where guy's fill their lanyards with bands that are days old by shooting near the release site. Yeah, that helps, lot of info gathered on those bands..........

Both result in skewed data.

The second is probably a lot easier to correct for. Closing the season, now you have a bunch of birds that would have got shot, but didn't. That error propagates for years to come.

Past data should give you a good idea of how many birds should have got shot. If there is an actual spike because of band hunting, it is a one time correction to the data. You can throw out any data for birds shot within a certain distance of the banding site within a certain time and rerun your calculations and see if it has any impact.

The answer, 10% more bands, 20% more bands, whatever the banding induced mortality rate is. I'd be surprised if it is even that high, but it seems pretty easy to correct for without inconveniencing everyone in the area.

[DComeaux]

Maybe they should close the season down here so the newly banded don't get shot in the next field over.

How would that help them understand what happens where the season is not closed?

Not unlike like those in the north where guy's fill their lanyards with bands that are days old by shooting near the release site. Yeah, that helps, lot of info gathered on those bands..........

Both result in skewed data.

The second is probably a lot easier to correct for. Closing the season, now you have a bunch of birds that would have got shot, but didn't. That error propagates for years to come.

Past data should give you a good idea of how many birds should have got shot. If there is an actual spike because of band hunting, it is a one time correction to the data. You can throw out any data for birds shot within a certain distance of the banding site within a certain time and rerun your calculations and see if it has any impact.

The answer, 10% more bands, 20% more bands, whatever the banding induced mortality rate is. I'd be surprised if it is even that high, but it seems pretty easy to correct for without inconveniencing everyone in the area.

I'm with you on the bands, and they have a pretty good handle on that. Ricks post got me sidetracked on bands and I was thinking transmitters after seeing Darren's post. Transmitter application,IMO,will give a better understanding of migration changes. If these are shot down here near the release site the data is useless, depending on what they're trying to accomplish. I doubt seriously it's local movement.

[DComeaux]

Maybe they should close the season down here so the newly banded don't get shot in the next field over.

How would that help them understand what happens where the season is not closed?

Not unlike like those in the north where guy's fill their lanyards with bands that are days old by shooting near the release site. Yeah, that helps, lot of info gathered on those bands..........

Both result in skewed data.

The second is probably a lot easier to correct for. Closing the season, now you have a bunch of birds that would have got shot, but didn't. That error propagates for years to come.

Past data should give you a good idea of how many birds should have got shot. If there is an actual spike because of band hunting, it is a one time correction to the data. You can throw out any data for birds shot within a certain distance of the banding site within a certain time and rerun your calculations and see if it has any impact.

The answer, 10% more bands, 20% more bands, whatever the banding induced mortality rate is. I'd be surprised if it is even that high, but it seems pretty easy to correct for without inconveniencing everyone in the area.

I'm with you on the bands, and they have a pretty good handle on that. Ricks post got me sidetracked on bands and I was thinking transmitters after seeing Darren's post. Transmitter application,IMO,will give a better understanding of migration changes. If these are shot near the release site the data is useless, depending on what they're trying to accomplish. I doubt seriously it's local movement.

I have to add that my thoughts were on migration and not mortality.

[Rick]

Pups and I went to the marsh to do some more mud leveling at the Mudhole and found the boat sitting on the boathouse bottom. Didn't budge when I stepped into it, but I was still able to push it out with just the dogs and I aboard. Don't want to think about how it might go with a couple, much less three, hunters, so fingers and toes are crossed that we'll actually catch some of the big rains predicted for the weekend.

Good news was that our leveling efforts at the Mudhole have paid off, and there was little "bottom" showing. Not that that's any consolation for the dogs having to push through what's just under the surface. (We've not yet told young Marsh that part of what lies in his future.)

Bad news at the Mudhole was that the annual fourchette bloom has begun, and it's soon to be my turn to be reminded what fun "walking" on flotant can be while cutting them before the forked "Spanish needles" work their way up the dogs' nostrils or under their eyelids.

So-so news was that a tour of the marsh turned up some 50 or so ducks and a few coots. Couldn't positively identify anything but mottleds, woodies and bluewings, but we've not held nearly so many birds since teal season pushed the late Summer wood ducks out.

[Ericdc]

Be careful googling "fourchette"

[Darren]

Hopefully this stretch from Sunday to Wednesday does you right.

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On the flip side of things, with all the east winds we've had, we could hunt from the bay boats if we were opening this weekend. Hoping a good bit of that is blown back out to near normal levels for our visit next Friday but won't complain about it remaining a bit high to help us get around for blind work.

[Rick]

Be careful googling "fourchette"

Will take your word for that. Means "fork" in Cajun French and is a common name for this miserable crap:


The centers of those posies being composed of flat, rice shaped burrs with forked spines on one end.

[Ericdc]

Rode back up to morehouse parish this evening with friend and partner in lease, Josh. Incredibly dry in the delta. All the fields except a few including ours are completely disced under and it looks like a desert.

Shoveled the muck left in bottom of pit, after pumping all the water out oct 10th. Several bull frogs and 1 small banded water snake.

Put the grates back in and zip tied stubble to the panels we use to break up hole and cover dog boxes.

Ready for specks nov 7th.

Pumps should start running nov 1 and hopefully we will have received some rain by then.

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[DComeaux]

Rode back up to morehouse parish this evening with friend and partner in lease, Josh. Incredibly dry in the delta. All the fields except a few including ours are completely disced under and it looks like a desert.

Shoveled the muck left in bottom of pit, after pumping all the water out oct 10th. Several bull frogs and 1 small banded water snake.

Put the grates back in and zip tied stubble to the panels we use to break up hole and cover dog boxes.

Ready for specks nov 7th.

Pumps should start running nov 1 and hopefully we will have received some rain by then.

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1445567547.167920.jpg

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1445567565.386683.jpg

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1445567585.304576.jpg

Eric, you should get Olly to set you up with a log. It would be neat to have another one to follow during the season.

[Ericdc]

Rode back up to morehouse parish this evening with friend and partner in lease, Josh. Incredibly dry in the delta. All the fields except a few including ours are completely disced under and it looks like a desert.

Shoveled the muck left in bottom of pit, after pumping all the water out oct 10th. Several bull frogs and 1 small banded water snake.

Put the grates back in and zip tied stubble to the panels we use to break up hole and cover dog boxes.

Ready for specks nov 7th.

Pumps should start running nov 1 and hopefully we will have received some rain by then.

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1445567547.167920.jpg

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1445567565.386683.jpg

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1445567585.304576.jpg

Eric, you should get Olly to set you up with a log. It would be neat to have another one to follow during the season.

Sent him a message but haven't heard anything. I also talked with Rick and made sure he didn't mind my occasional posts about my place.

[refugehunter09]

Seen the fourchettes tear up my buddies dog at his place south of Morgan City. Dont look like there is any food growing in that pond, but i could be wrong. Does the rest of your marsh have food to hold ducks?

[Rick]

The Mudhole's pretty much barren of feed, except as of the past couple years, it actually has the only duck potato I've seen in our marsh, though I've not seen any of it uprooted. This will be my tenth season hunting there, and I can still count the number of times I've push ducks out of it on one hand with a thumb to spare.

But we're within hailing distance of places they do use, and it's a spot they don't mind going when bid to.

[Ducaholic]

Be careful googling "fourchette"

Will take your word for that. Means "fork" in Cajun French and is a common name for this miserable crap:


The centers of those posies being composed of flat, rice shaped burrs with forked spines on one end.

Hitchkikers...devils work right there...

[Rick]

Hopefully this stretch from Sunday to Wednesday does you right.

Capture.JPG

Rains have been a bust, so far, from a hunting vantage. Just enough to interrupt and maybe halt dirt work and not enough to improve water levels. But the bulk is supposedly still coming. "Worst case" for us will be good for the farmers still cutting second crop, so there's that.

And I got to give the hounds a pretty fair workout a bit ago without resorting to rain gear.

[Darren]

Pretty good amount here in BR, maybe at least the flows will make it down to your marsh and add a few inches. Birds probably having a literal field day with sheet water next few days

[Rick]

"Worst case" for us will be good for the farmers still cutting second crop, so there's that.

Could be I lied. Still not what we'd like for the marsh but probably enough wind along with what we got to knock down a lot of rain soaked rice. So it goes...

[Ericdc]

"Worst case" for us will be good for the farmers still cutting second crop, so there's that.

Could be I lied. Still not what we'd like for the marsh but probably enough wind along with what we got to knock down a lot of rain soaked rice. So it goes...

Strictly for making a field better for waterfowl, is that a good thing?

[Rick]

As long as they can still combine it, knocked down rice is probably a good thing, as more grain is left in the field. But if not harvested at all, plowing or buffaloing open water to make decoys show is manipulation and baiting.

[Ericdc]

As long as they can still combine it, knocked down rice is probably a good thing, as more grain is left in the field. But if not harvested at all, plowing or buffaloing open water to make decoys show is manipulation and baiting.

Yea just have to avoid the manipulation for sure. I assume they will harvest?

[Rick]

A combine can pick up a lot of "fallen" rice in a dry or muddy/puddled field, but not if its fallen in water left on for crawfish. The later of which is a non issue for our stuff. Expect everything to be cut.

[Rick]

Dogs and I were sick of being stuck inside after light all day rains kept us there Sunday, so we broke out into a wind whipped drizzle yesterday morning to survey what the rains had, or hadn't, done. Found it a disappointing case of too wet to plow and too dry to hunt. Some needed dirt work probably won't get done, and the hoped for help with a putting water in a difficult to flood spot fell discouragingly short of finishing the job.

Given such wet weather, we didn't expect to see many geese and didn't. But those few bunches of specks we did see all turned pretty to the trial of a poly Riceland backup call I'd worked on while shut in Sunday to make match the modified handling of the two I hunt with. It and they performed as desired, and I got to work most well within range while dressed in blue with two dogs at my side - which, of course, won't be nearly so apt to happen when the guns come out.

Did hope to see more ducks moving than we did, so what's down may well have been worn out from trafficking in Sunday's wind and rain. Did find a few on the water that supported that notion by being reluctant to leave their spot. Snapped a couple shots of their flush when we got close enough to make them get up, with big ducks above and teal below as is their custom:


And a little video of how badly they wanted back in: