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Note to log:
Phil and three others hit the Bunkie rice blind this morning. Ended up putting together a pretty strap, 12 ducks and a speck. Said there would have been more birds on the strap with less hangovers in the blind.

Yesterday, and today in particular, had quite a few blinds with us on the SW coast wondering where birds had run off to. Likes like Bunkie has a few.

I think by mid January a lot of reverse migration is happening. Lack of food or low water in coastal marshes makes them head back into ag country and even all the way back up here and into Arkansas


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DComeaux wrote:Yesterday, and today in particular, had quite a few blinds with us on the SW coast wondering where birds had run off to. Likes like Bunkie has a few.

These have been here every hunt for last few weeks, just with varying success of getting them to the guns. Only "new" faces I saw on Friday up there were more spoons but even with those I was seeing them at some farms down the road on way home most hunts.

Looking hard at going tomorrow if nothing comes up today

We struggled with low water here over the weekend too.................in all the years I've hunted here, it got as low as I have ever seen it, and turned hunts into delta mud grinds. I ended up scouting mostly, walking to secluded holes and clear cuts most of the weekend.

Ericdc wrote:I think by mid January a lot of reverse migration is happening. Lack of food or low water in coastal marshes makes them head back into ag country and even all the way back up here and into Arkansas


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I agree with you on this, and it wouldn't of hurt my feelings one bit if the coastal season would have closed two weeks ago. I've said that often in years past, and as I did yesterday in the blind. The grind is long in that marsh, especially in January. It's like we've overstayed our welcome. It also seems to dim the memory of the awesome hunts we've made early on. Seems we never finish on top, just tired and going through the motions.

Maybe we need an extreme coastal zone... .... or we just need to shut down earlier on our own.

That’s why I like hunting up here, we usually peak in January. Our lull is usually always in December either early middle or late.


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DComeaux wrote: It's like we've overstayed our welcome. It also seems to dim the memory of the awesome hunts we've made early on. Seems we never finish on top, just tired and going through the motions.

Can agree with you there, same goes for my marsh stompin grounds. Rarely is it good hunting to the closing bell, usually just us going to say we went and not regret it when it's been over a few weeks and we're not as tired and weathered.

DComeaux wrote:

Ericdc wrote:I think by mid January a lot of reverse migration is happening. Lack of food or low water in coastal marshes makes them head back into ag country and even all the way back up here and into Arkansas


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I agree with you on this, and it wouldn't of hurt my feelings one bit if the coastal season would have closed two weeks ago. I've said that often in years past, and as I did yesterday in the blind.

Some years I'm ready for it to be over and others I hate to see it end. Might go entirely to seed tomorrow and never recover, but just now I'm hating that its over this coming weekend and wouldn't trade our last two weeks for my whole sorriest-since-the-late-'80s first split.

And that is why the whole world shows up at big lake for the final weekend of duck season. I mean Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, Texas, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, and the list goes on. Every plate you can imagine and might even see one from Oregon. Louisiana Plates? I've seen a couple but that one's rare.

Tues 1/16/2018
S. Bunkie rice
Just Harry & I
Wind 15-30+ from NNW, 30's, sleet then to snow, nasty frontal passage

Couldn't rope anyone into braving the roads and hunt conditions with me so Harry and I went about it on our own. Thought I might be one of the few silly enough to go but was in good company on arrival to the gas station stop down the road, lots of hunters, especially for a Tuesday. Decent early flight but hard to see with such heavy cloud deck, and when ops presented I flat shot like hell. Wind had to be playing with my pattern as I missed a number of reasonable shots that should have fallen. Even on my last bird of the day I barely chipped him down, even from pretty close range, had to have been behind them all morning in the wind.

Not as many low working ducks but ended up seeing quite a few and eventually saw a whole lot of goose traffic, including low snows, some were lighting in ponds around me.

2 spoons, 1 snow goose; and a whole lot of shells emptied for naught



They're getting awfully perty


icy seat for the ride out


Left 'em flying for work obligations, otherwise I'd likely still be out there. Despite my shooting frustrations, was really neat morning to be in the field. Blind just to my north put together a pretty good pile, they had 3 or 4 shooters and seemed to be getting after it, which boogered more than a few ops for me being downwind. A partner in my blind would have gone a long way to help spot birds and hopefully bail me out from poor shooting. Likely will be frozen up for next few days, eyeing Sunday to give it another go.

I wish I was out there now. We shut it down at work around 11:30 and I'm home now. My son was on his way home and passed some ricefield/crawfish pounds near here. He called me to say that they were full of pintail and mallards, and the sky above them had cupped birds. I saw a flock of teal on my way home working a local pond. I may walk to the back of our property in just a bit, once it starts snowing. I know we have a lot of wood ducks, and they may have had friends of other species join them.

Yea 2 of my guys put a pretty good whooping on them this morning. I just didn’t feel up to an icy 200 mile round trip.


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Ericdc wrote:Yea 2 of my guys put a pretty good whooping on them this morning. I just didn’t feel up to an icy 200 mile round trip.

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What day you think will be first huntable one? (thawed ice) We are planning on Sunday, though saturday might be do-able. Monday looks like good wind too

I’m going Saturday.


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Was passed along the Jan 18, 2018 survey that LDWF just compiled, though looks like it has some areas not yet completely surveyed.

Few interesting observations:

The estimate of 3.07 million ducks on this survey is essentially the same as December’s estimate of 3.02 million. It is 50% higher than last January’s estimate of 2.05 million, 17% higher than the most recent 5-year average of 2.61 million, and slightly higher than the long-term average of 2.98 million.

To no one's surprise The largest concentrations of ducks in SW LA were seen in the marsh between Little Pecan Lake and Grand Lake....... Man do they have it goin' on down that way at the LPI club


Snow geese in SW LA were observed on the mudflat extending one hundred or more yards beyond the typical shoreline out into the Gulf of Mexico.


Those increases were countered mostly by a large decline in ring-necked ducks (797,000 to 334,000, mostly in SE LA)

Where would ringers leave to? Know that pins and BW's head south to central america, etc. but what do the ringnecks do if and when they leave here in such harsh weather?


As most of us suspect down in my SE la stompin grounds, puddlers and divers alike are piled up on coastal lakes and bays, likely using the ponds primarily at night, grrrrr.

.....a large number of gadwalls were noted on the open water of Lake Borgne between transect lines 25 and 26 in SE LA.

Darren wrote:Was passed along the Jan 18, 2018 survey that LDWF just compiled, though looks like it has some areas not yet completely surveyed.

Few interesting observations:

The estimate of 3.07 million ducks on this survey is essentially the same as December’s estimate of 3.02 million. It is 50% higher than last January’s estimate of 2.05 million, 17% higher than the most recent 5-year average of 2.61 million, and slightly higher than the long-term average of 2.98 million.

To no one's surprise The largest concentrations of ducks in SW LA were seen in the marsh between Little Pecan Lake and Grand Lake....... Man do they have it goin' on down that way at the LPI club


Snow geese in SW LA were observed on the mudflat extending one hundred or more yards beyond the typical shoreline out into the Gulf of Mexico.


Those increases were countered mostly by a large decline in ring-necked ducks (797,000 to 334,000, mostly in SE LA)

Where would ringers leave to? Know that pins and BW's head south to central america, etc. but what do the ringnecks do if and when they leave here in such harsh weather?


As most of us suspect down in my SE la stompin grounds, puddlers and divers alike are piled up on coastal lakes and bays, likely using the ponds primarily at night, grrrrr.

.....a large number of gadwalls were noted on the open water of Lake Borgne between transect lines 25 and 26 in SE LA.

Capture.JPG

Wow, never realized how many more ducks SW LA got in comparison to SE LA..................no wonder Rick left OH for the boot heel of LA!

Deltaman wrote:

Darren wrote:Was passed along the Jan 18, 2018 survey that LDWF just compiled, though looks like it has some areas not yet completely surveyed.

Few interesting observations:

The estimate of 3.07 million ducks on this survey is essentially the same as December’s estimate of 3.02 million. It is 50% higher than last January’s estimate of 2.05 million, 17% higher than the most recent 5-year average of 2.61 million, and slightly higher than the long-term average of 2.98 million.

To no one's surprise The largest concentrations of ducks in SW LA were seen in the marsh between Little Pecan Lake and Grand Lake....... Man do they have it goin' on down that way at the LPI club


Snow geese in SW LA were observed on the mudflat extending one hundred or more yards beyond the typical shoreline out into the Gulf of Mexico.


Those increases were countered mostly by a large decline in ring-necked ducks (797,000 to 334,000, mostly in SE LA)

Where would ringers leave to? Know that pins and BW's head south to central america, etc. but what do the ringnecks do if and when they leave here in such harsh weather?


As most of us suspect down in my SE la stompin grounds, puddlers and divers alike are piled up on coastal lakes and bays, likely using the ponds primarily at night, grrrrr.

.....a large number of gadwalls were noted on the open water of Lake Borgne between transect lines 25 and 26 in SE LA.

Capture.JPG

Wow, never realized how many more ducks SW LA got in comparison to SE LA..................no wonder Rick left OH for the boot heel of LA!

Rice rice rice


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Its almost exclusively like that, year after year. The only time we see a comparable total ducks estimate is when the Terrebonne area is loaded with ringers and Lakes Pontchartrain and Borgne are stacked with scaup. Other than that, more everything in SW La......"rice rice rice" even though there's far less than there used to be.

Sun. 1/21/2018
S. Bunkie rice
Beau, Johnny and I with Harry
Wind 5-10+ from ESE, 50's, cloudy with light fog

Wasn't much going on to start, had me wondering if our streak had run out and they'd moved on. Others were doing some shooting but we just listened for first 30 minutes or so, looked like scratch in the making. Fog rolled in pretty good and birds started moving, though seemed the fog was helping to keep them low. Worked out well for us as we pecked away and found ourselves with 18 beaks on the strap a little after 9:00a. Had one or two iffy chances on specks but didn't try them, hard to judge distance in the fog.

(18) 13 GW teal, 1 BW teal, 1 spoon, 1 woodie, 2 mallards

Pretty yesterday evening out there


rice woodie


Harry & I after looong trek on the two downed mallards. I chased the livelier of the two with full paddles






Post-hunt the neighbors' shooting was picking back up after early shooting then long lull. Watched a few land in and around dekes while we cleaned our haul. Had planned to try tomorrow, weather permitting, but waiting to see what local met says this evening and will see how mad at 'em I am at that time.

I’d try em tomorrow, supposed to clear out pretty early and big wind.


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Ericdc wrote:I’d try em tomorrow, supposed to clear out pretty early and big wind.


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Had been expecting a big wind too but latest forecasts I’m looking at show it relatively tame once the rain passes by, and thats looking to be somewhere around 7-730 in that area. Think I’ve made my mind up to just stay put and rest up for next weekend which looks to have some promising weather.

Don't know about there, but it would be a mistake to not hunt rain in our rice. Flight too often ends when it does...

Nice hunt, Darren.

Rick wrote:Don't know about there, but it would be a mistake to not hunt rain in our rice. Flight too often ends when it does...

It's been usually good in and around rain, even after just ending, which is what we've had a few times this season (oh, and sleet and snow too). Woke up feeling much better with regard to health and not upset with my decision to stay put. Instead will rest up and get ready for heading back up there Friday afternoon. Looks like some weather this weekend so looking promising for us to close it out.

Glad they showed up for ya'll, nice hunt

Sat. 1/27/2018
S. Bunkie rice
Phil, Corey, Thomas and I with Harry
Wind 0-5+ from ESE, 50's, off and on light rain, heavy rain overnight ended right about LST

Saw we had a window right about LST went ahead and gave it a shot hoping it would give us an hour or so. Ended up being reasonably pleasant with only light sprinkles off and on until after 10:00a or so when we were cleaning up around the camp. There were a lot of birds, ducks and geese both in the area yesterday afternoon so hoped they would show today. Had sporadic flights from the start and ended up putting a good few together and leaving a few to try tomorrow. On way out saw a whole lot of birds on a few fields that hadn't been holding much in recent weeks, 'tic 'tic today.

(16) 6 GW teal, 6 spoons, 2 BW teal, 2 woodies







Looks like rain ending later today and decent north wind tomorrow AM. We'll go try them and then pick up the dekes

Harry doesn't look nearly as happy about being out there as you guys do.