2016 Preseason:

[Rick]

Am thinking/hoping being mottled central should help draw other species when they do arrive.

No doubt.

I was out today north of Henderson in this ducky weather with the basin on one side, rice fields and crawfish ponds on the other. One lonely wood duck flying down the canal and got a brief glimpse of a flock of unidentified's working a field, that's it. Other times I've been out in this same area between teal and big duck and we'd watch many bunches of BW skimming the water down the middle of the canal. Today's experience in this area is worryingly reminiscent of last year.

Spoke this morning with a fellow who's usually fantastic piece to your SW sucked for teal this year and heard it's now loaded with teal and big ducks, including lots of pins.

But I saw exactly five mottleds and two bluewings on a tour of our marsh this morning...

[Darren]

Spoke this morning with a fellow who's usually fantastic piece to your SW sucked for teal this year and heard it's now loaded with teal and big ducks, including lots of pins.

Oh boy! Johnny and I did see a wad of about 15 birds working on our final teal hunt last sunday, couldn't get binocs out in time to confirm but would have bet at least a couple of shells that they were spoons. Plenty reports on our end of grays during teal season, but fairly confident the vast majority are seeing mottleds in family groupings common to that time of year.

[Rick]

My informant knows his ducks, and counted spoons and grays among the big ducks now there. But they're pintail fanatics, so that's what he was most excited about. No specks with them, though, and it's usually one of their first stops.

Pup and I were out training in flooded second crop again this morning, but saw no waterfowl at all.

[Woody]

My informant knows his ducks, and counted spoons and grays among the big ducks now there. But they're pintail fanatics, so that's what he was most excited about. No specks with them, though, and it's usually one of their first stops.

Pup and I were out training in flooded second crop again this morning, but saw no waterfowl at all.

I know it's a different flyway, but I went out scouting on Sunday and saw a whole ton of spoons had moved in over the last week, which is really odd to me. I am way south here and back in Michigan I always started seeing spoons in November.

[Rick]

When I lived in the Mid Ohio Valley, we didn't see enough mallards to amount to anything until late in the season, so I was mighty surprised to find SW Louisiana had 'em in early November.

[Ericdc]

I knew a guy that hunted in Ohio. Basically no mans land for waterfowl, they kill some, but said it's pretty tough being in between flyways.

[Woody]

I knew a guy that hunted in Ohio. Basically no mans land for waterfowl, they kill some, but said it's pretty tough being in between flyways.

There are parts of Ohio that are world class, but the majority (as I've been told) are no man lands.

[Ericdc]

I knew a guy that hunted in Ohio. Basically no mans land for waterfowl, they kill some, but said it's pretty tough being in between flyways.

There are parts of Ohio that are world class, but the majority (as I've been told) are no man lands.

Yea I'm sure Fred Zink's spot is pretty good.

[Rick]

There's no shortage of Canadas in Ohio, but ducks? Might want to inherit a chance to pay crazy money for membership at Winous Point.

[Darren]

My informant knows his ducks, and counted spoons and grays among the big ducks now there. But they're pintail fanatics, so that's what he was most excited about. No specks with them, though, and it's usually one of their first stops.

Pup and I were out training in flooded second crop again this morning, but saw no waterfowl at all.

A buddy was out fishing our area today, also no waterfowl. Probably won't expect much of anything by us until the Oct 20-30 window. Have seen big numbers of coots on Oct 15 but that was with a couple of fronts

[Rick]

Been in the field quite a bit shuffling blinds and working with the pup and haven't seen or heard another specklebelly or much in the way of ducks, for that matter. But reliable reports of speck sightings are starting to trickle in, so with each little northerly wind shift the anticipation of having more around grows a little.

[Darren]

Looks like small fronts this Saturday and next Tuesday or so. Figure it can't hurt right now

[DComeaux]

Well, we have another month yet before we are sitting in the blind, so "maybe" we'll have enough down here for this EARLY opening day to make it interesting. I need to get out there to see what evaporation is doing to our water level. We'll be out there next weekend to cut grass.

[Rick]

Might see some ducks. Was across the way letting the water off a piece the farmer wants to plow and bumped hundreds of mostly big ducks out of it. Had been holding a few, but this was a show. 'Course it could have been everything in the parish...

[Ericdc]

We are heading up to morehouse parish tomorrow to work on our blind. Don't expect to see anything but maybe geese since we are in a bad drought. Will be good to be in duck country though.

[Ericdc]

Might see some ducks. Was across the way letting the water off a piece the farmer wants to plow and bumped hundreds of mostly big ducks out of it. Had been holding a few, but this was a show. 'Course it could have been everything in the parish...

Could you tell what kinds?

[Rick]

Could have been all mottleds and teal for all I know, had the setting sun behind them, and I can't say that I noticed anything streamlined enough to suggest pins or grays. Was also busy being blown away by how many waves just kept getting up as I drove down the drain ditch levee. They do like their indigos.

[DComeaux]

Went fishing this morning in the same place as last Sunday, and today I did see a pair and a 10 or 15 bird bunch of BW skimming the canal. They went by awfully close to us. It was neat to watch.

[Ericdc]

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Work day at the blind. Pit was slam full as I expected, even had minnows in it. Appears some kind of larger bird or something nested in our dog box.

Field has been burned but ground has only been lightly chopped around blind like I like it. Instead of a finely disced field. All they stubble should have plenty of invertebrates growing on it by late season. Blind won't be hard to brush. Didn't see any waterfowl, much less water, it's bad dry up here in northeast LA.

[Rick]

Ought to get Olly to set you up with a log. Be something a little different that what we're doing down on this end of the state.

[Ericdc]

Ought to get Olly to set you up with a log. Be something a little different that what we're doing down on this end of the state.

Sent you a pm

[Darren]

Did some fishing today in coastal marshes, just blue wings spotted. Just came inside from taking Harry out for an evening pit stop here at the fishin camp, north wind rippin' and it was dead at sundown.Glad to hear of the waves you bumped, maybe these winds will bring down a few more. Mark from our Day 2 hunt last season is down here with us and is hoping to join us again in December over there

[Rick]

Was mighty relieved that something flew for you guys. But will have fingers and toes crossed hoping that fortune holds.

[Rick]

Finally saw some more specks this morning, this time below Gueydan. But there were 18 again, so maybe the same ones that were in Klondike. Pretty both to watch and listen to close overhead in any event.

Heard of some big bunches at coffee this morning but wouldn't want to vouch for the informant.

[Rick]

Had a nice bunch of specks come by and turn for the call while working the dogs in some rice this morning:


And took a spin in the marsh to check on the Mudhole, which is showing a lot more bottom than Br'er Coyote and I cared to see:


Marsh, who's yet to try working in the sludge didn't seem to mind, but we ground what we could off the top to help at least level it out:

[Darren]

Sounds (and looks) like a super sweet morning, and that's surely not the wad of 18 that's been bouncing around.

[DComeaux]

I love to see them specks.


From that photo of Peake staring at the mud, if he could talk, what would have been his comment?

[Rick]

From that photo of Peake staring at the mud, if he could talk, what would have been his comment?

"Here we go again."

[Deltaman]

From that photo of Peake staring at the mud, if he could talk, what would have been his comment?

"Here we go again."

Nothing quite like the smell of marsh mud! Peake's comment: Hey Marsh.......your turn

[Rick]

Peake's comment: Hey Marsh.......your turn

That's the coming thing, but not quite yet. Marsh's education is still well behind where Peake and his predecessor, Blue's, was at his age, and he's not ready for prime time (read: "paying guests"). Not his fault, just a stifling combination of Summer heat, wooly coat, my work schedule and the loss of gator safe training water. "The bug" is actually a very quick study, who's doing a lot of things right in training, but they're far from well enough conditioned to hold up under the excitement of hunting. Wishing it would get chilly enough to shut the gators down and let me train him in the marsh safely and doing the best we can with what we've got in the mean time.