2015-2016 Season

2015-2016 Season

Postby DComeaux » Sat Sep 12, 2015 2:00 pm

9/12/2015 opening day of teal
Overcast to start 72 degrees light north wind Frontal passage overnight
Blake, Bill and I
Birds- 18 BW

What a wonderful morning! It was a slow start and we listened to A LOT of shooting from all directions early. Once it settled down a bit the teal started cooperating. We got there early this morning to take care of what we couldn't get to due to not making it out there last night. Was just a bit concerned at first about our chances as we didn't fire a shot until 7 but we did see a good bit of teal. Will be out there in the morning with fingers crossed. :D


Bill and Blake with mornings take
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Strap was starting to fill and we were happy
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Re: 2015-2016 Season

Postby Rick » Sat Sep 12, 2015 3:02 pm

Glad (OK: "relieved") to see you guys had a good one. Did the guys on the east end get some shooting, too?

(Tractor that greeted you at the pump was boogered again: this time worn out ball-in-socket shift linkage joint.)
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Re: 2015-2016 Season

Postby DComeaux » Sat Sep 12, 2015 3:27 pm

Rick wrote:Glad (OK: "relieved") to see you guys had a good one. Did the guys on the east end get some shooting, too?

(Tractor that greeted you at the pump was boogered again: this time worn out ball-in-socket shift linkage joint.)


I was relieved as well. It sure felt good.

Yes, they did a good bit of shooting and left before the birds quit flying. I'd assume they filled a limit. The boys to the NW made it sound like a war in this north wind.

That tractor will get rebuilt one part and many years at a time.
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Re: 2015-2016 Season

Postby Darren » Sat Sep 12, 2015 5:35 pm

Great hunt! Glad it worked out so well for y'all
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Re: 2015-2016 Season

Postby DComeaux » Sat Sep 12, 2015 8:04 pm

Forgot to mention that the whistlers were thick. Would love for them to stick around and act as they did this morning for the regular season. Like during the regular season with geese, their sounds are still ringing in my ear. All morning in good size bunches.
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Re: 2015-2016 Season

Postby DComeaux » Sun Sep 13, 2015 1:00 pm

9/13/2015
Clear 52 degrees light north wind
Blake, Bill and I
Birds- 10 BW

Not as many teal seen as yesterday and the shooting around us was way less, but we did have birds on the strap earlier than yesterday morning. We had the opportunity on several occasions to take home a 3 man limit, but you have to knock down down more then one or two per bunch of 10 or 15 to make that happen, especially when those opportunities are lower than the day before.
Wonderful morning to be in the blind!

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Re: 2015-2016 Season

Postby DComeaux » Sat Sep 19, 2015 12:33 pm

9/19/2015
Clear comfortable early light north wind
Blake, Tim (nephew Zane's father-in-law) and I
Birds- 4 BW

Wasn't expecting much and that's how it was. Very little shooting in our area and very few teal seen.

Ellie did me proud this morning. We had three come in and all three fell. From what we'd seen it looked like all had fallen dead. Ellie marked the last to fall and made the retrieve. I couldn't see the second bird that had fallen from inside the blind so I lined her up to the first one just in front of the blind. (I had noticed that on her way back from the first retrieve she was looking intently in the direction of where the second bird should have been) I got out of the blind, and on her way to the close bird she either winded something or knew the second bird was a runaway and continued on into the wind. I have learned from previous retrieves that if her nose is guiding her, do not disturb. She was out there out of site in the vegetation in our north pond and and the sound of her running in the water was becoming faint. After what seemed like a long time, to me anyway, due to the concern of alligators, I could tell she was heading back our way. When she cleared the vegetation she had the second bird in her lips. I have to say, I had goose bumps. I wanted sooooo much to call her off when she ignored the close bird and headed into the vegetation, and I'm glad now that I remembered and didn't.

Blake and I will be back at in the morning.


Blake with the birds.
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Re: 2015-2016 Season

Postby DComeaux » Sun Sep 20, 2015 12:27 pm

9/20/2015
Clear warm just a hint of wind if any
Ellie the pup and I
Birds- 5 BW

Blake was a no show due to "technical difficulties". Not much seen this morning. Little movement early with the most movement starting around 8. I shot a single not long after LST and the next bunch to show up was about 20 minutes later. On that bunch I tried to line up for a scotch double over the decoys and ended up only pulling one from it. (was a good opportunity but not well executed) Next was a pair to come over and I took one. The last two birds came from a 20 or so bird bunch when I was out of the blind around 9 picking up. The one shot dropped two with the third drifting off out of site. Ellie did a great job finding those as one was on the west levee in the tall stuff and the other was alive in the inner canal.

NOTE: The little hinged lean-to over Ellie is working out great. Glad I have teal season to try out new stuff. It's low and will be pretty easy to blend in. I spread a little fertilizer around the blind this morning to motivate the alligator grass that I'm glad to see rising rapidly from the levee.

Ellies birds
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Re: 2015-2016 Season

Postby Darren » Sun Sep 20, 2015 3:55 pm

Very nice solo trip!
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Re: 2015-2016 Season

Postby Deltaman » Mon Sep 21, 2015 8:53 am

Great reports DC!!!!!
"It ain't what you don't know that gets you in trouble. It's what you know for sure, that just ain't so"
Mark Twain
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Re: 2015-2016 Season

Postby Rick » Mon Sep 21, 2015 11:09 am

DComeaux wrote:NOTE: The little hinged lean-to over Ellie is working out great.


I'm still holding out for the day you conk her on the noggin with that thing and get bit.
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Re: 2015-2016 Season

Postby DComeaux » Mon Sep 21, 2015 8:07 pm

Rick wrote:
DComeaux wrote:NOTE: The little hinged lean-to over Ellie is working out great.


I'm still holding out for the day you conk her on the noggin with that thing and get bit.



:lol: When she first got under it, she sat, looked up, looked around, then looked at me like, what the heck is this?!

I was concerned about blocking her view of the birds with that thing, but so far she's been on mark. When the regular season starts she'll have way more brush to deal with so we'll see what happens. I think she'll adapt and overcome.
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Re: 2015-2016 Season

Postby Rick » Tue Sep 22, 2015 3:46 am

Probably so - right up to the morning you conk her and she bites you.
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Re: 2015-2016 Season

Postby DComeaux » Sat Sep 26, 2015 1:02 pm

9/26/2015
partly cloudy warm to HOT no wind and humid
Justin Blake and I
Birds- 8 BW - 1 Cinnamon?

Not much seen this morning but enough wanted to play giving us a satisfying morning. The little movement had died and the heat was coming on so we left the blind at 8:30. We had an enjoyable morning!

With the birds.jpg



Not 100% sure myself, but this looks like a cinnamon. Top bird
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Re: 2015-2016 Season

Postby Rick » Sat Sep 26, 2015 2:47 pm

I'm not smart enough to know, but that seems an awful lot of orange to just be water staining.
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Re: 2015-2016 Season

Postby Rick » Sun Sep 27, 2015 1:03 pm

Am anxious to see how you folks did in this morning's rain. It didn't spark the usual exodus for birds from marsh to rice, so I'm wondering if most of them weren't already there, and if so, kicking around as usual for such weather. (Didn't hear much shooting from rice near us.)
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Re: 2015-2016 Season

Postby DComeaux » Sun Sep 27, 2015 1:35 pm

9/27/2015 Final day of teal season
Overcast 72* NE wind 5 to 10 Steady light rain until 8:30 am
Blake and I
Birds- 4 BW

We were prepared for a down pour after looking at the radar when we arrived at the blind this morning, but only had a steady shirt soaking rain. We had high hopes for a good shoot with this weather but there were very few birds in the area. We should have had a few more birds on the strap, bent barrels, but not enough to fill a two man limit. We stayed in the blind until 9:30, picked up the decoys and covered the blind. I'm looking forward to hearing the first speck yodel of the season. We'll be back out in a few weeks to cut grass on the levees and prep for the regular season. The water level in the cuts now is perfect.

Blake and the birds
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Rick, there must be a nest in the area that was not found. This little guy was making a ruckus in the water by the road drain pipe
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Re: 2015-2016 Season

Postby Rick » Sun Sep 27, 2015 4:47 pm

Can't tell from that whether he's this year's or last, but "my bad" in either event. Probably not the first I've missed.
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Re: 2015-2016 Season

Postby Rick » Sat Nov 07, 2015 11:27 am

Tried to check on you this morning, but your number's somehow vanished from my phone since yesterday. Probably managed to delete it myself some kind of way, but please give me a ring, so I'll have it again.

Or not if you'd rather not be bothered by my sorry self.
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Re: 2015-2016 Season

Postby DComeaux » Sat Nov 07, 2015 2:46 pm

11/7/2015 Opening day regular season
Heavy Overcast HOT NE wind moderate Occasional light rain
Blake, Toby and myself
Birds- 10 --- 6 gadwall 3 green wing 1 spoon

Started the earlier than usual morning pumping water out of the blind and getting things situated. Thanks Rick! That pump was a time saver for sure. Not many ducks moving this morning but enough to make it interesting. We had the opportunity to fill our limit but there were some severely bent barrels this morning. A frustrating feeling is getting back to the blind after being out with Ellie on a successful far east chipped bird recovery without a gun and having an 10+ flock of gadwall drop feet down into the decoys. Whats really frustrating is to only get two birds out of this slow moving bunch. They were able to reload as one of the birds swung around and came back over. Six shots later that bird flew away. This all happened while I was squatted near the blind. Boy, did I have fun riding some arse this morning :lol: We ended the hunt at 9:00.

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Re: 2015-2016 Season

Postby Darren » Sat Nov 07, 2015 3:15 pm

That surely is frustrating to watch with no gun! Yall passed a good time though, I'm sure, and put together a strap!
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Re: 2015-2016 Season

Postby Rick » Sat Nov 07, 2015 4:16 pm

DComeaux wrote:Boy, did I have fun riding some arse this morning :lol: We ended the hunt at 9:00.


Sometimes better not to be in on the shooting. What about speck activity? Were still some south and east of you yesterday, though not nearly so many as earlier in the week.
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Re: 2015-2016 Season

Postby DComeaux » Sat Nov 07, 2015 6:20 pm

Very few specks and nothing wanted to play.
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Re: 2015-2016 Season

Postby DComeaux » Sat Nov 07, 2015 9:27 pm

Wanted to add that we had a couple of really low whooping crane flybys across our north side this morning. Pretty neat!
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Re: 2015-2016 Season

Postby DComeaux » Sun Nov 08, 2015 7:41 pm

11/8/2015
Overcast to start to clear and back to broken clouds later Temp in the 50's N wind 15 to 20
Blake and I
Birds- 8 --- 5 gadwall 2 wegion 1 spoon

Birds aren't thick but plenty enough to make it fun, especially when they want to play. Speck activity is picking up but they haven't yet settled around us as they've done in the past, and I hope they do this year. We just need the excess water to go away. We had more than enough opportunities to get our limits. We had a few really high flocks coming from the south respond to the call and drop in a hurry, flaring out over the decoys. I love when they do that!

I shot like crap today and ended up having a single shot to boot. The bolt was sticking and wouldn't shut properly due to what felt like a thin coating of molasses spread over the internal parts. I took care of that this evening.

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Re: 2015-2016 Season

Postby Rick » Mon Nov 09, 2015 4:47 am

Most dead big ducks I've seen this season. More on that strap than total on the guide shack porch.
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Re: 2015-2016 Season

Postby Rick » Tue Nov 10, 2015 6:45 pm

Checked your water and found it had gone up an inch. Checked your blind and found it an inch above the water. Reset our "gauge" to reflect that, so if the white flagging at the bottom of the stake isn't showing, take stools to sit on the levee.

Don't know how much of that is gate leakage and how much is runoff from center section of the farm, but am running the pump a while to get ahead of it and see what I might learn.
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Re: 2015-2016 Season

Postby DComeaux » Tue Nov 10, 2015 8:48 pm

I know there is, or was, a shallow sheet of water in that entire mid section that needs to drain, so I'm pretty sure it's adding water to that ditch. I noticed It's level did drop significantly with the pump running over the weekend.

That gate has leaked a little since we've been there but wasn't significant for water rise when I dealt with it. In saying that, the water level in the outer canal was never as high as it is now when doing so. I haven't paid attention to the flow or leak from it this year and I did notice that you have the gate in the fully closed position.

Thanks for running the pump, it may pull enough water off of the mid section to slow or stop the rise, at least from that source. If this rain continues and the outer canal stays high I may plug the two drains for the mid section in the south levee to keep that water out of the inner ditch. I pulled those boards a few years ago and they should still be next to the drains.
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Re: 2015-2016 Season

Postby Rick » Wed Nov 11, 2015 4:52 am

There are three drains (east corner was a boogered drop pipe I opened and ditched to this summer) and none with working board gates, would have to close pipes with plywood. But that gate leaks enough that what's outside will be inside in two or three days. Maybe faster than you remember because pressure from high water is greater at the gate's depth.
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Re: 2015-2016 Season

Postby Darren » Wed Nov 11, 2015 8:46 am

Lot of low-land hydrology going on here. You might not lose water on a stout N wind like I do, but keeping water in or out of the field is apparently not without it's own headaches. Weather guy says mid-next week or so for next significant rain event.
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