Preseason 2017

[Darren]

What is this mung bush you speak of?
Always entertained by the common names of trees/plants that people here or use
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Good point! It's actually "saltbush" or generically, baccharis. A woody shrub that grows throughout the area on points of higher ground. Grows plentiful and thick, so plenty to harvest for brushing. Only downside is the "fuzzies" it makes in fall that blow with the wind and usually end up all in your clothes and stuff, but it's thick and even after losing it's leaves provides decent cover.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baccharis_halimifolia

PCR_IMG0460.JPG

Baccharis_halimifolia,I_TQBH6832.jpg

IMG_2492.JPG

IMG_2807.JPG

[Darren]

Here's latest rain projections for what's forecast to be TS Harvey:

Capture1.JPG

[Rick]

Just heard that European model has it being pushed eastward back out into the Gulf and strengthening again...

They're all clueless at this point.

[Darren]

Co-worker's wife works for the state, he just passed along a briefing from her that included this one:

Capture1.JPG

Always somethin' ......

[Darren]

Very familiar with baccharis, which is what I assumed you were talking about . But now I will call it mung bush haha.

Rain does not look good. Our marsh levels are actually great, maybe the 3 or so weeks before teal season will be 0% chance of rain


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It's not hunting season until I'm covered up in those fuzzies. We've made some big hauls of it in the past but just got a lil cordless sawzall with a long nasty blade on it....we're going to need bigger boats. Gave it a good trial in the yard over the weekend and ended up with a huge pile at end of driveway for city to collect. Its a winner so far

Maybe I could get in the biz of brushing blinds for others

[DComeaux]

An earlier plot had shown the path a little further north and stationary. This latest 4 PM update shows movement NW @ 2 mph.
I don't wish this thing on anyone, but I sure hope it doesn't move this way.

20170823_161407.jpg

[SpinnerMan]

ouch ouch ouch. That doubling back on its self is not good especially right there where the wind will keep hammering the shoreline. That's ugly.

[Rick]

Very familiar with baccharis, which is what I assumed you were talking about . But now I will call it mung bush haha.

Would think it a corruption of the Cajun "menguilié".

[aunt betty]

The problem with that for us---turns brown fast---have to constantly replenish to keep some green---like cut and put on blind beginning of week,totally different color in few days is what we fought

So what happens when the rest of the marsh is green and blind brown? Looks very good now,but how long does the green last?

I'm not so sure that waterfowl is one tenth as intelligent as we think.

Example:
One day I did the spot n sneak on about around 500 mallards at "Big Rock".
Has high steep banks. It's a borrow pit.
So I snuck up, jumped the ducks, shot three and then sat down and waited for them to return.
It was a white-out (blizzard). I was wearing green army camo. Sort of hid by a naked bush and I'll be damned but them ducks all returned to where they'd just been shot at despite me literally glowing in the snow.

They could have easily flown a quarter mile east to a pond or 3/4 mile west to a different one but they wanted the shelter that the high bank gave them. Funny thing is I picked out a nice close drake on the water, yelled HA!, and jumped them again. Missed the drake but there were other birds all lined up. (doh)
Oh lord not with the counting again.
So a guy who can't count past four outwitted them ducks twice in the same day?
They're really not all that bright.

[Darren]

The problem with that for us---turns brown fast---have to constantly replenish to keep some green---like cut and put on blind beginning of week,totally different color in few days is what we fought

So what happens when the rest of the marsh is green and blind brown? Looks very good now,but how long does the green last?

Marsh browns during the season so ends up as a wash. We replenish occasionally with some cane and the referenced "filler grass" but not typically with the bushes unless we have some break in the wind, etc. For the planned new blind going to really scale back on the overall height of the blind and rely heavily on the bushes to be about eye level when seated

[SpinnerMan]

This is not cool in the slightest. That's a 3 they are showing before land fall and doubling back toward the gulf so it can suck more water and heading along the coast to make a bad situation worse.

[Darren]

Yea think it's surprised some people today by the change in forecast intensity; not to be taken lightly. Just hoping it dissipates instead of regenerating after the weekend

[Darren]

Made it out to the marsh yesterday morning for just after LST to see what might be out and about. Hung out at one location a while watching the woodduck flight that was hot and heavy, few mottleds mixed in, and did confirm a small handful of teal. There were others that were likely teal but couldn't confirm from distance without binoculars.

Decided, just for kicks, to go have a look at another area that had been good in the past but had fizzled with habitat change and found good many teal, squealers, and all kinds of wading birds using some large swaths of some died off standing grass that had flooded up with the rains and slightly elevated tides. This would certainly be the proverbial "X" given the habitat is absolutely "tealy" to the T with water less than ankle deep, but I'm figuring this area will get some pressure so may opt for original location when we open in a couple weeks.

Thoughts and prayers for all those in Texas dealing with ongoing Hurricane Harvey, it's impacts far from over here in Louisiana as well given it's not heading out or disipating anytime soon.

[aunt betty]

Remnants of Harvey are giving me some much needed wetness.

In general it's usually remnants of a hurricane that really get the ducks moving around up here in the early parts of regular duck season. If we could arrange for hurricane remnants and an Alberta clipper to collide at Paxton, IL.
I'd be happy happy happy.

[Darren]

Remnants of Harvey are giving me some much needed wetness.

In general it's usually remnants of a hurricane that really get the ducks moving around up here in the early parts of regular duck season. If we could arrange for hurricane remnants and an Alberta clipper to collide at Paxton, IL.
I'd be happy happy happy.

Nothin' happy, happy, happy about anything going on down this way.

Here is latest track, still a long way to go

Capture.JPG

[DComeaux]

Track with current radar. We'll have the winds throughout the day tomorrow, and we'll get a little surge at the blind.

Doc1111111.jpg

[aunt betty]

When it quits raining
the sun will come out
then you'll start grinning
and forget how to pout

You'll get out the guns
and forget about betty's puns
then rub it in his face every duck you shoot.
It'll get better after it gets worse.
Better check your boats if you can.
Good luck

[Darren]

Track with current radar. We'll have the winds throughout the day tomorrow, and we'll get a little surge at the blind.

Doc1111111.jpg

Dave it looks like, while I'm getting the hammering rain at the house, the SW La area getting fairly spared for the moment with that big gap between me and TX, so maybe that's some positive news. Know the local met was excited about some dry air entering the storm yesterday evening and cited it as being good news for our projected rainfall totals.

[Darren]

When it quits raining
the sun will come out
then you'll start grinning
and forget how to pout

You'll get out the guns
and forget about betty's puns
then rub it in his face every duck you shoot.
It'll get better after it gets worse.
Better check your boats if you can.
Good luck

We're all hoping you're right, especially those on here with properties (or homes) in SW La

[DComeaux]

Track with current radar. We'll have the winds throughout the day tomorrow, and we'll get a little surge at the blind.

Doc1111111.jpg

Dave it looks like, while I'm getting the hammering rain at the house, the SW La area getting fairly spared for the moment with that big gap between me and TX, so maybe that's some positive news. Know the local met was excited about some dry air entering the storm yesterday evening and cited it as being good news for our projected rainfall totals.

That gap up the middle you see in the radar is the dry air influence, and it happens to be over us. I think you and the west side will get the heaviest rain, but we'll have the wind..... I hope I don't lose any trees! If I do, I'll have pecan wood for ya.

[Rick]

Just got chased inside by hard rains for the umpteenth time, but the Mermentau was still in pretty good shape this morning, according to a drainage board friend who is my "time to worry" gauge. When he and Ivy, our sheriff (and Isaac's dad), miss our morning coffee gathering, it's time to batten down...

[Darren]

Just got chased inside by hard rains for the umpteenth time, but the Mermentau was still in pretty good shape this morning, according to a drainage board friend who is my "time to worry" gauge. When he and Ivy, our sheriff (and Isaac's dad), miss our morning coffee gathering, it's time to batten down...

Good deal! In the duration of a conference call (with a colleague in Houston) it went from storming, to sunshine and blue skies, back to storming here at my office in BR. East of me, back home, and at the camp in Shell Beach have been getting the bulk of it this AM. I'm hoping the teal I found are enjoying the fresh floods where I left them Saturday

[Darren]

Water levels have receded back to about normal over on the hunting grounds so will hope to have a look around on Sunday and/or Monday. Will be at False River watching the local mallards fly by until Sunday AM, though. Also have some pre-fab work in mind for a second blind on the Delacroix lease to reduce work to be done when we make it out to the site in a couple of weeks.

This morning's models on Cat 3 Irma out in the atlantic are looking promising, but still a long way out. Nonetheless, it's September, and we've hit the 2 week mark for the teal opener! Hoping to get some decent photos if we do have any birds to be seen later this weekend.

[Darren]

Made a few rounds in a couple of areas of marsh yesterday PM and this morning. Yesterday's outing was mostly a habitat assessment since we usually don't teal hunt here. Marsh looked great, and sure enough jumped two nice wads of blue wings. One headed high and south, the other swung around and came back in. Neat boat ride for the afternoon and the unexpected birds were a huge bonus.

This AM hit another area dark and early for right around LST. Again plenty of woodduck traffic, some mottleds and squealers, though not much for teal early but later on ended up seeing quite a few, including some nice big groups. Was even able to crouch and coax a pair to darn near spitting range on a borrowed DC teal call.

They're not holed up anywhere so has me figuring that a number of places could be productive in the vicinity. Harry had an absolute blast and is worn out sleeping as I type, was a great conditioning trip for him. Northerly breeze was wonderful to be out and about in.

He's loving the shallows, though had to be UNtangled from a nutria run-in after he rooted it out of its hiding. Also found a large area of dead marsh just crawling with nutrias, so may have to make a pass there with the guns before long.

IMG_4906.JPG

IMG_4908.JPG

That's probably a wrap on teal scout missions. Plan is to head down to Delacroix sometime Thursday the 14th for the Friday opener and just see how it goes. Boat is all loaded up so we should be about set. Now just need to keep Hurricane Irma out of the Gulf.

[Darren]

Last year we had several acres of tall , green marsh that turned into a big mud flat because of those dang rats. By January it looked like a golf course with short green grass sprouting every where. But they must've cleared out because the marsh grass is growing back but it's not the same species of grass that it was

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Really hoping to see that come back. Unnerving for now, though, in that if we had a storm that whole area would turn into a "new" pond. Will make an effort to get out there to do my part in nutria control.

[Darren]

Had to go into the office during yesterday's holiday to get a new office mate squared away

IMG_4921.JPG

Hadn't realized that the wings had some damage but makes a lot of sense given he was shot a couple of times, and with large shot size, think it was BB. Taxi was able to replace one of the primaries that had the most damage.

[Darren]

Made it out to lease late this morning to throw a half decent brushing on our main blind. No teal to be seen, but a disturbing number of 6-7 footers were out and about in the canals.

Mid afternoon headed out on some nearby public land to poke around just to say I did and scratch that wild card off our list if needed. Saw whole lot of nothing for almost entirety of trip, but then one band showed and best of all let me in on where they were hanging. Not thousands or anything like that, but a few to make it look like we should try them. Cut some cane, loaded the boat, we'll try 'em guerilla warfare style on a pirogue blind in the AM.

Good luck guys !