2016-2017 Season Log

[DComeaux]

Really nice hunts Rick.... I can remember a time........

We've been blessed.

It's really good to see that.

Called Doug on accident yesterday and I'm glad I did, he seemed really happy. How's he been feeling?

[Rick]

I think well. Wasn't getting up before the hunts for a while but was there this morning - albeit perhaps to see that things went smoothly with our new cook after he pissed off another one. IE: same old Doug.

[DComeaux]

I think well. Wasn't getting up before the hunts for a while but was there this morning - albeit perhaps to see that things went smoothly with our new cook after he pissed off another one. IE: same old Doug.

HA!

[Rick]

It's been a too rare treat to see so many flight birds day after day, and a hoot that many will break for us. Will be interesting to what seems to stick around now that the wind is shifting south again, but there should be at least a few sweet teal shoots while it's southerly, as there's a "Never seen so many." swarm of greenwings in the rice to our north. Here's hoping, anyway...

[Rick]

Date: 1/10

Time: morning

Location: Mudhole

Cloud Cover: clear

Wind Direction and Velocity: southerly nil to fairly strong

Temperature: warm

Moon phase: waxing 96%

Special Notes:

Waterfowl Activity: "New wind, new day." Next to no big flight ducks seen over our marsh, while our guys below Gueydan saw a strong N to S mallard and pintail flight. Just enough teal to keep us on our toes early on, then wave after wave of them headed south across the marsh when were nearly done.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Early teal ate us up, while the big waves later mostly burned right on by. And virtually all of the relative few big ducks we saw seemed to know exactly who we were and what we were up to.

Hunters: 2, Kent and Bruce again

Guns:

Malfunctions:

Dog(s): Marsh did some nice tracking and not so nice handling that could have saved him much of the former on one teal that set something of a record for a teal fleeing afoot.

Special Equipment: SOS

Curses: Just that the big duck show seems over.

Kudos: Teal gunning is Kent's favorite, as well as mine, and Bruce caught the bug, as well. A mighty pleasant day.

Birds By Species: 1 gadwall and 17 gw teal

Photo Ops: Photographic evidence that Eastern Shore Canada hunter, Bruce, can now hit teal (all past photos of his hunts are largely big, slow ducks and geese with few teal):


Would have bet Photo-shopped if I'd not seen it with my own eyes...

[Rick]

Spencer was here with JD Bank a while back:

Date: 12/21

Time: morning

Location: mudhole

Cloud Cover: cloudy

Wind Direction and Velocity: none to nil

Temperature: 40s

Moon phase: 44% waning

Special Notes: Thinking of this morning's weather, the word "sullen" keeps coming to mind.

Waterfowl Activity: Spooky quiet in the marsh with very little shooting in ours or Cherry Ridge, but did have a few bunches of teal around early and high, new acting big ducks late. Was the sort of "waiting for something to happen" feel that often precedes wet fronts. Except I'm unaware of more than a low chance of rain tonight.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Pretty darn good, and I'm pleased with the new MVP reed so far: crisp as I'd hoped. But it was uncanny how know one would shoot for long periods, until we'd have a big bunch on final approach. Also got screwed out of finishing what may have been the biggest bunch of mallards I'd ever worked in the marsh by some sort of big old hawk swooping over the pond as they tried to finish.

Hunters: 2, Spencer who loves duck hunting as much as anyone I've known and Bobbly, who's been carved up and put through the grinder by cancer and surgeons and come out smiling - so it would have been a fine morning with or without birds.

Guns:

Malfunctions:

Dog(s): Really pleased with the hunt in my "peculiar looking" little dog. If beauty is as beauty does, he's a stunner. (And no doubt about to eat a bird.)

Special Equipment: SOS

Curses: Shame on me if I could think of one, much less express it, about our hunt, though we couldn't help but feel bad for some of the other blinds that did little or nothing. (One with eighteen yesterday scratched today.)

Kudos: The guys made a big time of a dead morning, wore masks and hid well, and killed our birds in bunches when they gave us the chance.

Birds By Species: 1 bw teal, 3 gadwall, 10 gw teal and 4 mallards

But I'll be tickled to see him again and hope his party hunts with me.

Re: your ducks sitting out the cold, they may have been insuring that their open water stayed that way. Dunno. Do know that most of our birds were pulled from HIGH, migratory flights headed south. (Of which we saw next to none today.)

Hate to hear about your eye injury and wish you a full and swift recovery.

[Rick]

Date: 1/11/17

Time: morning

Location: Mudhole

Cloud Cover: cloudy to partly

Wind Direction and Velocity: South nil to moderate

Temperature: warm

Moon phase: full

Special Notes:

Waterfowl Activity: Though I was out of the blind with Marsh chasing a tipped hen around the marsh when the best wave went through, teal saved our hunt again. We saw next to no big ducks that weren't local pond hoppers, while one blind to our east shot ten mallards and another had some grays.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Pretty sure the three pairs of mallards that came were tripped up locals, know I treated them as marsh veterans call wise. Teal came pretty, which was good, since we didn't see a great many until I was out in the marsh where I could only watch them pass the guys in the blind.

Hunters: 2, Bruce and Kent again.

Guns:

Malfunctions:

Dog(s): Marsh was reluctant to take direction, even in close, but showed a heck of a nose and great hunt time and again.

Special Equipment: SOS

Curses: The lack of game and, to couch it politely, we shot like elderly matrons. Two "couldn't miss" pairs of mallards were, in fact, missed. That, and given how things are going downhill with the south wind, the long range forecast for nothing but more of the same is downright foreboding.

Kudos: Pretty day and good company.

Birds By Species: 12 gw teal and 2 mallards

Photo Ops: Suzie the wonder duck, as in it's a wonder Marsh found and caught her:




And an unintentional triple, greenhead, greenwing and Dakota greenhead, "retrieve"

[DComeaux]

I like that Ellie picks up multiples when she can. It sure saves her a lot of work, especially on those rough water days. Teal fit well, but with dos gris or larger ducks, not so much in her small mouth. She's done it, though.

I want this week to end, and want to be sitting in a blind under warmer conditions.

[Ericdc]

I like that Ellie picks up multiples when she can. It sure saves her a lot of work, especially on those rough water days. Teal fit well, but with dos gris or larger ducks, not so much in her small mouth. She's done it, though.

I want this week to end, and want to be sitting in a blind under warmer conditions.

Not this warm!


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[Rick]

I sure hope you (and we) have some ducks to go with that nice, warm day.

But I'm figuratively already sweating through the days and days of warm weather and similar winds between now and season's end. Not to mention the fog that's bound to be coming with them. Could well turn out to be one we're glad is over...

[Rick]

Date: 1/12

Time: morning

Location: Mudhole

Cloud Cover: clear

Wind Direction and Velocity: southerly light to moderate

Temperature: warm

Moon phase: full

Special Notes: Beautiful ride to the blind with that big old moon illuminating the marsh and reflecting off the run - but also worrisome.

Waterfowl Activity: Saw more trafficking big ducks than the past couple days, though certainly not a lot within hearing range. Were even some ultra high twinklers heading south.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Couldn't do much of anything with the big ducks while using the crisp, clear MVP that's been my bread and butter, but ended up getting a handle on them with my teal and squacky species cut DC and the kind of snotty trashy calling that usually tickles me more than the birds. Didn't see as many teal, but there was, again, an 8:30 or so flight that came by when I was in the blind this time.

Hunters: 2, last morning for Bruce and Kent

Guns:

Malfunctions:

Dog(s): Marsh found a STINKY rotten duck he apparently thought aged to perfection and got his ear bit over it, but redeemed himself flat tearing up the marsh searching for and tracking our chipped birds.

Special Equipment: SOS

Curses: Only the ripe bird incident.

Kudos: A morning I'd fretted over turned out sweet and was a great one to send our old camp favorite, Bruce, home to Maryland on. Made all the better by his having finally found his gun's teal button after years of struggling with the little boogers.

Birds By Species: 4 gadwall, 8 gw teal and 6 mallards

Photo Ops: Bruce and his pretty last morning string:


A greenhead and orange feet against a deadgrass Chesapeake against his color's namesake:


Young Marsh has held up to our flotant remarkably well, but after the track this gray led him on, his expression suggests a wish that we'd drop them dead in the pond:


Lagniappe: I'm old and crotchety enough that a lot of things about our operation wear on me, but nothing so much as worry over how it will go for old friends of the camp, and new ones, who come a long way and just once a year. Duck camp ought to live up to the hopes that draw us there, and every now and again, like this time, it goes just about as well as it should. So now I can quit worrying about Bruce's visit - and get on with worrying about tomorrow.

[Darren]

...he's like a chunk of marsh himself, but with those eyes

neat pics and perty string for sure. Beau's BIL hunted with a big crew next door to you, pretty straps there too today.

[Rick]

...next door to you, pretty straps there too today.

Good to hear.

[DComeaux]

It was a bit tropical for Bruce this morning........Might come close to a record high today.

[Rick]

Nice birds

I knew I was in deep doo doo this am:

1---the goose flight was hellacious during the night---could hear while in bed in Klondike

2---saw a black cat at lougons at 520 am

3---could see the snow decoys in the field from the road in the moonlight driving on farm

4---my shadow plain as shadow during day,flushed ducks before I ever hit blind levee

Talk about your stacked decks. AJ's been calling from Arkansas, and it wasn't looking too sweet there yet, either. Though I'd think the thaw good for them. Complains about the lack of pressure to move what's there, but I'm thinking "If you gotta have problems..."

[Rick]

It was a bit tropical for Bruce this morning........Might come close to a record high today.

Think Bruce wore that little jacket all morning, but I quickly peeled down to a tee shirt and rather enjoyed the cool showers when Marsh shook off.

[Rick]

Date: 1/13/17

Time: Morning

Location: Mudhole

Cloud Cover: dense fog until quitting time

Wind Direction and Velocity: ESE moderate

Temperature: warm

Moon phase: full

Special Notes: Special thanks go out to Dave Comeaux for the heads-up. Texted me at five after LST to let me know it was foggy.

Waterfowl Activity: Couldn't see whether there was a flight of any kind or not.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Whistled in the fog much of the morning, but did about as well or poorly with or without. Stuck with squacky call when birds were seen and had good luck with what little of that there was. Speck came pretty to my quiet, hedge Riceland.

Hunters: 2 young guns

Guns:

Malfunctions:

Dog(s): Marsh had a good morning

Special Equipment: SOS

Curses: Just the fog.

Kudos: The yard flamingo that's been making the rounds of our blinds was in my pond this morning, and thinking the other half of my party's group's guide responsible, we left it it there. Wish I'd the presence of mind to photograph the "secret decoy" but did get to tease the actual perpetrator about his needing a flamingo, as ours was the best hunt in the marsh this morning.

Birds By Species: 4 gadwall, 3 gw teal, 3 mallards, 3 shovelers and 1 speck

Photo Ops: Turns out fog's tough on action pics, too:


So we settled for after retrieve shots that hinted at the previous action:

[Ericdc]

Hahahaha thanks Dave!


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[DComeaux]

Hahahaha thanks Dave!


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HAHAHAHA!! Glad I could help...

[Rick]

I was just glad to see it wasn't someone with boat trouble needing a ride at that time.

[DComeaux]

I was just glad to see it wasn't someone with boat trouble needing a ride at that time.

Bet you were...That would suck.

[Rick]

What could really suck would be having one too many untagged birds in the truck and your other hunter already down the road in another vehicle when an agent pulls in to block the road and do a check...

Allegedly, of course.

[Rick]

See I called it a "Riceland" in the log, but mine is actually a pre Riceland James Meyers he blessed me with early on that's always been a quiet day favorite, but I've got it running so sweetly now that it kills me not to have more occasion to use it.