Season log

Re: Season log

Postby Rick » Sun Jun 04, 2017 6:32 am

Ericdc wrote:
Rick wrote:Whether or not a field is planted that particular year would be last on my list of considerations, though given half decent water control I'd much rather rough plowed fallow ground than rice stubble.


Maybe down there. I hunted a fallow field about 5 years ago and it was terrible. The field we moving too has better water control. And it'll have a plowed area around the blind just like the one we've been hunting has had. I know that's frowned upon down there but it seems to work ok up here.


If subleasing has taught me anything at all, it's that everyone and his three cousins wants rice stubble, and I know you're one of the above. My point, however, was that good ol' "location" with regard to predominant flight paths and possible impediments to using the spot (houses, trees, other blinds, etc) and the ability to keep water shallow are what I look for first in an ag field. IE: there are things that can nix the draw of a spot with tons of any feed you'd like and things that can make spots with no feed whatsoever attractive to game.
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Re: Season log

Postby Ericdc » Sun Jun 04, 2017 7:46 am

Rick wrote:
Ericdc wrote:
Rick wrote:Whether or not a field is planted that particular year would be last on my list of considerations, though given half decent water control I'd much rather rough plowed fallow ground than rice stubble.


Maybe down there. I hunted a fallow field about 5 years ago and it was terrible. The field we moving too has better water control. And it'll have a plowed area around the blind just like the one we've been hunting has had. I know that's frowned upon down there but it seems to work ok up here.


If subleasing has taught me anything at all, it's that everyone and his three cousins wants rice stubble, and I know you're one of the above. My point, however, was that good ol' "location" with regard to predominant flight paths and possible impediments to using the spot (houses, trees, other blinds, etc) and the ability to keep water shallow are what I look for first in an ag field. IE: there are things that can nix the draw of a spot with tons of any feed you'd like and things that can make spots with no feed whatsoever attractive to game.


I understand your points. As far as flight path, it's under the same flight path as the blind we've been leasing, after 3 years of watching the birds, I've seen it.

There will be less impediments also, mainly a group of skybusters who hunt 300 yards SW of the blind we've been leasing, they also like to "call" at the specks just enough to scare em off because they sound terrible.

I know the last several year history of the blind we are switching to.


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Re: Season log

Postby Ericdc » Sun Jun 04, 2017 7:48 am

johnc wrote:there is a reason why you upped your speck calling game---here you go

you have good decoys,blind will be covered well,and water good---you should be fine

you should be really motivated to practice now---you will need all the sounds at your disposal in your blind bag

you have the note shapes down--no more lu lu,la la
now work on:
varying rythms,putting note combinations together that flow seamlessly,varying speed---MATCHING LIVE GOOSE SPEED
developing at least a 3 note scale----doing scale notes will also automatically teach proper starting pressure AND give you a low medium and high
you then create ranges withing the 3 note scale and run within that range---make sense?

this year you should be at the point to hear a particular note shape,recognize it,and fire back at the goose matching it---speed will come---dont rush syllables and lose note shape accuracy in attempt to match live bird speed---note shape accuracy kills well before speed

tone is a done deal---anything you produce on that call falls withing live bird tonal range as live birds will always extend beyond what we as humans can match at present

i realize you may do some hunting with another capable caller---remember it is not a competition in that blind---2 at once is great for breaking birds,but communicate to one guy that you or he should back off and let the lead caller keep the birds on the line after being broke and coming hard and the guy that backs off adds in finesse to walk them into the guns---unless it looks like you gonna lose the birds on a long turn---you and the other caller need to hammer down to get them re-committed



varying rythms,putting note combinations together that flow seamlessly,varying speed

^ yea that's the plan, I haven't been able to put yodels together or mix them in with clucks yet, just been working in getting good at the individual sounds.


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Re: Season log

Postby Ericdc » Sun Jun 04, 2017 1:20 pm

As soon as I get over this asthmatic cough I've been battling for last couple weeks.


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Re: Season log

Postby Darren » Mon Jun 05, 2017 6:52 am

Ericdc wrote:
I know the last several year history of the blind we are switching to.

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To me that's enough to give me the warm fuzzy on making the switch. My limited experience with a fallow field was good down in SW La, just had some misc. weeds/grasses that had grown on it in offseason, ducks liked it at least and we killed our specks there.

Bunkie field this year was in beans but apparently disc'd to hell before season because it was just mud from one end to the other. Ducks seemed to like it OK but geese not so much on the slick water.......we're happy to be getting stubble back around us this year reportedly.
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Re: Season log

Postby Ericdc » Mon Jun 05, 2017 6:56 am

Yea our farmer doesn't disc the fields, just a light chop around the blind area then leaves bean, rice, or milo stubble standing in rest of field.

I don't like the heavily plowed look.


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Re: Season log

Postby Darren » Mon Jun 05, 2017 8:17 am

Ericdc wrote:Yea our farmer doesn't disc the fields, just a light chop around the blind area then leaves bean, rice, or milo stubble standing in rest of field.

I don't like the heavily plowed look.


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When they said "field is in beans" I thought sure I'd see some leaves/stems and such, but no, just chopped up mud that the rain eventually flooded over. It was, however, seemingly ideal depth at about 3-5 inches. Just thought we'd see some bean plant remnant sticking up from the shallow flood
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Re: Season log

Postby Rick » Mon Jun 05, 2017 9:05 am

Bean stubble isn't much to begin with, and like the waste beans, themselves, is quick to rot. It's the new volunteer beans and other greens birds come to dry bean fields for, and I assume the security of big open floods when there's water. Though they've no way of knowing your congregation of decoys hasn't found food, as well. My favorite bean ground for ducks is barely puddled, which the geese like, too.
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Re: Season log

Postby Ericdc » Mon Jun 05, 2017 9:17 am

Rick wrote:Bean stubble isn't much to begin with, and like the waste beans, themselves, is quick to rot. It's the new volunteer beans and other greens birds come to dry bean fields for, and I assume the security of big open floods when there's water. Though they've no way of knowing your congregation of decoys hasn't found food, as well. My favorite bean ground for ducks is barely puddled, which the geese like, too.


It's not much, no, but it's something. Lots of invertebrates, plus the green sprouts like you mentioned. Ours will be really shallow around the blind with water playing out to the east of us about 75 yards or so. I've hunted beans once before and we did alright, especially late in the year when the gadwall started feeding on the funky green stuff growing in the water. That field was heavily disc'd after harvest though.

I've hunted north facing blinds for the last 7 years, so going back to a west facing blind will be a slight adjustment.


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Re: Season log

Postby Rick » Mon Jun 05, 2017 10:10 am

Ericdc wrote:Lots of invertebrates...


Your idea of good invertebrate habitat and mine are very different.
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Re: Season log

Postby Ericdc » Mon Jun 05, 2017 10:13 am

Rick wrote:
Ericdc wrote:Lots of invertebrates...


Your idea of good invertebrate habitat and mine are very different.


Nothing like what can be found in managed fresh marsh for sure, or well managed WRP.


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Re: Season log

Postby Rick » Mon Jun 05, 2017 10:39 am

Or fallow ground.
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Re: Season log

Postby Ericdc » Tue Jun 06, 2017 8:38 am

johnc wrote:fallow ground makes me think of those tiny black seeds that green winged teal must really like because it always seemed at some point during a given season in the past while cleaning i would find those seeds in their crawl.

never have known the name of those black seeds,forms almost a paste in their crawl


yea i've seen that too. A friend that hunts the Mississippi River backwater a lot kills a good many teal with all sorts of seed in them. didn't know this until i started hunting some public flooded timber about 11 years ago when i was in college, but green wings will fall in flooded timber as eagerly as a mallard if it looks good to them. we lit some huge bunches in some of the bigger timber holes we hunted.

We don't kill a lot of teal, or any birds for that matter with a lot of rice in them anymore.
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Re: Season log

Postby DComeaux » Tue Jun 06, 2017 11:01 am

If the ducks don't eat these new strains of rice, why are we?
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Re: Season log

Postby Rick » Tue Jun 06, 2017 11:03 am

Don't know if it's what you're thinking of, but they like the tiny seeds atop dwarf spike rush, which packs hard like fine sand in their crops. Don't have a good photo of the little pine cone-like top on each blade, but it's the hair like flotant in this photo:
Image

While it can be flotant, like above, it seems common rooted in frequently wet soils, too. Have it in the ditch out front in wet years.
Last edited by Rick on Tue Jun 06, 2017 11:07 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Season log

Postby Ericdc » Tue Jun 06, 2017 11:03 am

DComeaux wrote:If the ducks don't eat these new strains of rice, why are we?


Haha right.

We only buy Cajun country rice, so whatever y'all growing down there haha.


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Re: Season log

Postby DComeaux » Tue Jun 06, 2017 11:07 am

Rick wrote:Don't know if it's what you're thinking of, but they like the tiny seeds atop dwarf spike rush, which packs hard like fine sand in their crops. Don't have a good photo of the little pine cone-like top on each blade, but it's the hair like flotant in this photo:
Image

While it can be flotant, like above, it seems common rooted in frequently wet soils, too. Have it in the ditch out front in wet years.


Do you, or have you ever fished that marsh?
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Re: Season log

Postby Rick » Tue Jun 06, 2017 11:10 am

DComeaux wrote:If the ducks don't eat these new strains of rice, why are we?


It's said, but I certainly don't know, that the Roundup Ready hybrids have a rough, burr-like hull the birds don't like.
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Re: Season log

Postby Rick » Tue Jun 06, 2017 11:13 am

DComeaux wrote:Do you, or have you ever fished that marsh?


Lots of little bass in the runs, but little really accessible other fishable water. Cherry Ridge fishes a good bit - and does virtually all of their good in the blocked off location canal between us.
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Re: Season log

Postby DComeaux » Tue Jun 06, 2017 11:16 am

Rick wrote:
DComeaux wrote:If the ducks don't eat these new strains of rice, why are we?


It's said, but I certainly don't know, that the Roundup Ready hybrids have a rough, burr-like hull the birds don't like.



That would sure explain it..... I wounder if the walls of my colon is being lined with burr-rice?

edit
I missed the word "hull".
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Re: Season log

Postby Rick » Tue Jun 06, 2017 1:51 pm

Saw the inlaws' For Sale sign was down, did they sell your teal hole?
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Re: Season log

Postby DComeaux » Tue Jun 06, 2017 4:32 pm

johnc wrote:........his cousin hunts the farm on 14 between Klondike and Gueydan in which you can see the big snow spread from the hwy



I've seen this... we slowed down and watched snows and blues work the spread in late morning with no one there, and on another occasion, specs working beautifully over the top of the spread. They eventually landed in the field just to it's south.
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Re: Season log

Postby Rick » Wed Jun 07, 2017 4:58 am

Don't know Brad or Chad. Do know the cut south of that spread was the first place I saw specks in numbers last October.
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