2017-2018 Season Log

[DComeaux]

24 from Rollover to the red gate, and 16 from Josephs Harbor puts you past the Mermentau Bridge. But it is confusing with the rec center in the mix.

[Ericdc]

Second to none!


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[Rick]

We were all well behind Issac yesterday. Clear skies and a hopefully meaningful south wind this morning could mean teal over more of the marsh...

[Rick]

Date: 12/22 Fri

Time: morning

Location: mudhole

Cloud Cover: Dense ground fog from the time we started until after 9 - when we were finished.

Wind Direction and Velocity: Southerly moderate

Temperature: warm, around 70

Moon phase: waxing crescent 17%

Special Notes: Was clear as could be until the fog rolled in right at shooting time.

Waterfowl Activity: Precious little moving, or at least that could be seen, until the fog broke, when we saw bunches of mostly jacks moving. Wouldn't bet against my passage out with my crew and back to the back blind for another with a broke boat didn't stir the best shooting of the morning. Aside from our single mallard, I saw but one bunch of big ducks, and that while shuttling hunters.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Most teal would come back right, but jacks were being jacks with very few turning for burrs and most just passing high and/or wide.

Hunters: 2, father and grown son, Johnathon and Tyler

Guns:

Malfunctions: Matt's boat's Predator engine "...went 'pop' and covered the marsh with a big white cloud." So we had some pre- and post-hunt shuttling to do.

Dog(s): Marsh was aces and made some new fans.

Special Equipment: SOS

Curses: The hunt gods' sorry sense of humor put it to us for all the clear sky and good south wind happy dancing we and the Cherry Ridge crew were doing over coffee this morning. And, meanwhile, my guys' lease partners had 18 greenwings for 7:15 at one of their Big Pasture blinds.

Kudos: Both my guys were hunters who respected the birds' hearing in the fog and were very quick getting underway on passing birds most parties would have run of with loud talk and never gotten a shot at off, anyway, if they didn't. And Johnathon isn't just a shooter but genuine hitter. Don't often, or ever, see a man his size so quick and accurate, and my "good shots" were honest as could be. These guys made their own hunt, where most others would have had a skinny one.

Birds By Species: 2 bw teal, 7 gw teal, 1 mallard and 8 ringnecks

[Rick]

Date: 12/23 Sat

Time: morning

Location: mudhole

Cloud Cover: cloudy

Wind Direction and Velocity: NW strong

Temperature: chilly in the wind

Moon phase:

Special Notes: NO FOG

Waterfowl Activity: Saw a good many too tall to call to (which is very high at my blind) flights of big ducks flying north out of the marsh. Most big ducks I've seen all season, just going the "wrong" way. Very few teal and normal jack traffic or lack thereof.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Did my best to trip up the low local big ducks but was a booger with the wind direction channeling them dead over the heads of our crew.

Hunters: 3, father who hunted with me a few times in the "way back when..." and two grown sons apparently very new to the game.

Guns:

Malfunctions: Don't know how many times one son forgot to put a round in his Nova's chamber, but it seemed like a lot.

Dog(s): Had chipped birds all over the marsh, and marsh had a mottled, a mallard and a black-belly eventually beat him in big water he'd tracked them to.

Special Equipment: sos

Curses: Just the really tough conditions for a nice family that doesn't get to go much, with even the birds that we managed to trap against the wind over the pond usually getting missed. That and my guys were shooting dirty burning Federals into the stiff wind, and their unburned powder was blown back into my eyes time and again.

Kudos: Great folks who I hope will be back when it's easier.

Birds By Species: 6 gw teal, 2 mallards, 1 shoveller and 4 ringnecks

Photo Ops:

Lagniappe:

[Rick]

Date: 12/24 Sun

Time: morning

Location: mudhole

Cloud Cover: mostly cloudy

Wind Direction and Velocity: SES? nil to light

Temperature: cool

Moon phase: waxing 35%

Special Notes: Yesterday's high northward push seems to have been meaningful.

Waterfowl Activity: Elvis has left the building. But we did have the first goldeneye (drake) I've seen visit the mudhole, and it even made a second pass for positive ID.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Kids were doing most of the calling and may have blown most of their chances out.

Hunters: 2, grandson, Gauge and his buddy, Thad

Guns:

Malfunctions:

Dog(s): Marsh had an easy morning.

Special Equipment: sos

Curses: No birds for the boys, and Gauge who I've thought of as the most avid of my hunters called it early.

Kudos: His buddy took it better, "They didn't name it 'hunting' for nothing."

Birds By Species: 1 mallard and 1 shoveller

[Rick]

Date: 12/25 Mon/Christmas

Time: morning

Location: mudhole

Cloud Cover: clear

Wind Direction and Velocity: ENE fairly strong

Temperature: low 40s

Moon phase: waxing 38%

Special Notes:

Waterfowl Activity: Started out as slow as yesterday, but the big ducks started showing around 8 or so.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Sometimes too good, as we had some confusion as to which birds I was calling the shot on created by too many working at once and the guys focused on the wrong ones.

Hunters: 2, buddy hunt with Bobby and Roland

Guns:

Malfunctions:

Dog(s): Marsh was probably glad to have a busy morning after yesterday's long one.

Special Equipment: SOS

Curses: Love my buddies, but it sure is frustrating when you call the shot on close mallards by giving their location aloud, only to have them come up and wail away at something too far out in a different direction. Repeatedly.

Kudos: These guys were overdue for a good one.

Birds By Species: 2 gw teal, 10 mallards, 1 mottled, 1 pintail, 1 shoveller and 3 wood ducks

Photo Ops: Two near misses: Marsh's of a crippled mottled he tried to scoop up while bringing in a mallard, and mine of the mottled diving:

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"Miserable such-n-such."

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Roland and Bobby's hero shot:

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[Ericdc]

Great hunt and merry Christmas. I would have loved to go today but we stay home Christmas morning with the family. Just hoping I can catch sunshine at some point between tomorrow and next Monday.


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[DComeaux]

What a nice hunt that was. I would have loved to be in the blind this morning.

[Ducaholic]

If my memory serves me right at the MH an ENE wind should put them feet down in your face. Very good hunt!

[Rick]

When is the last time the mudhole took that many mallards?

Haven't had mallards in the marsh like that since last January. Barely managed twice today's mallards all of this year's stinking first split.

[Rick]

If my memory serves me right at the MH an ENE wind should put them feet down in your face.

We face NW, so it helps put them where most parties need them. But the forecast is showing NE winds every day for at least the next ten, which could be way too much of a good thing unless it somehow keeps carrying new birds. Most any wind tends to stale after a couple or three days, unless something else shuffles the deck again. Like next week's big chill?

[Ericdc]

Yea speaking of that big chill


We’ll have a nice ice rink for several days.


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[Bud]

Merry Christmas to the Mudhole and friends. Great straps.

[Rick]

And to you and yours, Bud.

[Rick]

Date: 12/26 Tue

Time: morning

Location: Mudhole

Cloud Cover: off and on rain and drizzle

Wind Direction and Velocity: Strong easterly to moderate

Temperature: mid 40s

Moon phase: waxing 46%

Special Notes:

Waterfowl Activity: few teal but good flight of HIGH big ducks

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Have been using the squacky DC most of this too calm season, but yesterday and today have been MVP days. Especially today when most birds had to be drawn from higher than yesterdays. Lots of "contest" hailing to impossibly high flights, which every now and then wouldn't just waver but touch their toes and drop.

Hunters: 2, Mark and JJ

Guns: We took their truck to the boathouse and found I'd left my 20 in my truck at the camp. Shot the spare 870 12 I keep in the blind and did OK with it. Mine's a beat to crap "truck gun," but it still fits just as it should.

Malfunctions: May have forgotten to pump a time or two and come up with an empty hull in the chamber, but not as bad as it might have been.

Dog(s): Marsh and I bumped handling heads a couple of times and could use some refresher but got the job done.

Special Equipment: Was too slow to kill the spinner on some power diving high birds that saw enough of what it is to keep right on going.

Curses: Other than Marsh's occasionally over-riding instruction, not a one.

Kudos: Great morning with great guys.

Birds By Species: 4 bw teal, 2 gw teal, 8 mallards, 3 mottleds and 1 pintail

Photo Ops: These guys are Basin hunters, and JJ's first pintail was a dandy:

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Plenty of orange:

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And a tailgate shot for brother Mike who was supposed to come too but wussed because of the rain forecast:

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[Ericdc]

Hunted with Corey this morning and did not see the first flight of big ducks all morning over their marsh. Thankfully some new acting green wings showed up and a few of everything else to make a decent hunt.


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[Rick]

Pretty much the same winds predicted through at least 1/4, so they could get mighty stale. But the high, presumably new, flights are encouraging. Guess we'll see...

[Ericdc]

I hope it picks up for us, it’s been really really slow since last Monday. Missouri should lock up this week. Really cold temps for St. Louis all week.


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[Rick]

12/26 Waterfowl Responsiveness Addendum: Has only now occurred to me that I had a louder bored-out MVP that has shown its worth on days like today in my pocket and a Stanley Deceiver that I bought specifically to audition on HIGH flight days like this in my box. I blame it on a season of mostly calm mornings lulling me into such forgetfulness. (But to quote my dad, "Don't get old.")

[DComeaux]

Very nice.

You and John are making me sad.

[Deltaman]

Love seeing that orange Rick, and not much more exciting than watching the birds lock up and drop down from the heavens!
Nice hunts

[Rick]

Date: 12/27

Time: morning

Location: mudhole

Cloud Cover: drizzly

Wind Direction and Velocity: NE STRONG!!!

Temperature: low 40s, chilly in the wet and wind

Moon phase:

Special Notes: Rained all day yesterday.

Waterfowl Activity: Not what it's been presumably because everything's worn out from flying in yesterday's rain or last night's wind.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Next to no teal seen: only a couple bluewings zipping by. Big ducks were super high, and most of those that would break apparently decided detouring to see who the fool tooting the horn so loud wasn't worth fighting the wind over. And, of course, there was the usual problem of getting them in front of our guns before those in one of a dozen upwind blinds went off. Did have the presence of mind to give the Stanley Deceiver a go, and it showed promise on the super high stuff, but lacked the MVP's handling versatility. Perhaps largely lack of familiarity on my part. Will be keeping it handy the next few mornings and see what we see.

Hunters: 2, Kent and Scott

Guns:

Malfunctions: Three wind bent barrels, and Scott's rain jacket had been left in the sun(?) somewhere so long that what was once Mossy Oak Shadow Grass literally glowed in the dim light of the first hour or so. Weird and probably no helpful.

Dog(s): Marsh had an easier morning than we'd of wished.

Special Equipment: SOS Spinner pole is badly enough bent to merit replacement that will have to wait for calmer weather.

Curses: Just a tough morning all around especially for getting caught by birds with plenty of time fighting their way in to study the blind.

Kudos: Good guys and a good time.

Birds By Species: 4 mallards, 4 ringnecks and 1 shoveller

[DComeaux]

It's chilly out.

Some that hunt with me forget they have reversible blaze orange hats and other garments and need reminding. Sometimes these garments need little adjustments during the hunt.

[Rick]

Some that hunt with me forget they have reversible blaze orange hats and other garments...

Glad I don't have such problems:

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Wish I could have grabbed a shot of Scott's coat without making him feel bad about it, as he said he'd "resurrected" it, I wonder if he didn't use the same Rustoleum waterproofing this guy did:

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[Rick]

Date: 12/28 Thur

Time: morning

Location: Mudhole

Cloud Cover: heavy and sometimes dizzly (and even some snow earlier)

Wind Direction and Velocity: NE moderate

Temperature: low 34-35

Moon phase: waxing 68%

Special Notes:

Waterfowl Activity: Much better than yesterday, with some of each around, but we took what came for a fairly quick hunt and didn't wait on big ducks.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Didn't have to holler nearly as loudly as in yesterday's super wind, and what didn't catch us or get banged out (as one huge group of teal did) generally worked well.

Hunters: 2, Kent and Scott again

Guns:

Malfunctions:

Dog(s): Marsh did a job Nonk Peake would have been proud of on a tipped mallard we had to boat such a long, roundabout course to that I almost wrote it off. Had where it went down marked better than I and chased the paddle-wheeling and diving bird all over the broken marsh well north of us until he finally snagged it.

Special Equipment: SOS with little enough wind I could stake the boat and straighten the whirligig pole I bent the heck out of in yesterday's wind. (Bought a 10' piece of galvanized conduit to replace it, but may not have to.)

Curses: Only that I would have liked to wait on some more big ducks - that may never have flown.

Kudos: Good time with good guys.

Birds By Species: 9 gw teal, 3 mallards, 1 ringneck, 3 shovellers and 2 wood ducks

Photo Ops: Kent (rear) and Scott (front) and miscellaneous ducks:

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A photo that doesn't begin to tell its story, but I'll remember it:

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[DComeaux]

Good to see Rick.



Got a call an hour or so ago from a guy that hunts south of us on the same property. He hunted solo this morning and told me on the way out the duck rise in the last mile of marsh around our blind was amazing. He took Pintail, grays and GW. He's a retired gentleman, who sounded like a kid at Christmas.