2018-2019 Season Log

[DComeaux]

We usually do better after Christmas through the end. Thanksgiving to Christmas is always a struggle


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From now to the end of the season is usually our dead time and we haven't had any birds to speak of yet this year. We're going to be looking at empty skies in the near future. Two blinds hunted in our marsh this morning taking (4) per blind.

What you think, February?

If that's when the snow finally gets deep enough to push them out of the fields to our north.

We'd need a 7 foot minimum depth to cover the stalks.

[Ericdc]

Yea our seasons are opposite. We start slow and finish strong


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[Ericdc]

Our halfway point is after Christmas, so I’m optimistic if we start getting some good fronts.

2 specks at mine today. No ducks to speak of they said.


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[Rick]

We'd need a 7 foot minimum depth to cover the stalks.

Won't take but a few inches to cover the vast, vast majority of what's holding them.

[DComeaux]

Our halfway point is after Christmas, so I’m optimistic if we start getting some good fronts.

2 specks at mine today. No ducks to speak of they said.


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I wish you luck, sincerely. I hope you guy's finish strong.

We'd need a 7 foot minimum depth to cover the stalks.

Won't take but a few inches to cover the vast, vast majority of what's holding them.

I wish I could still know and believe that's all it'll take to move those birds but that hope has long been numbed in my mind. The many refuges with tons of feed coupled with private feed lots is making a stronger case as this plays out.

[Rick]

Dave, I've not seen or heard a robin in years, so maybe they've all converted to flooded corn, too. But I'm still enjoying some sweet duck hunts when much of the north is snow covered.

[Ericdc]

We had a huge push of robins in November up here. Enjoyed them from my box stand


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[DComeaux]

Dave, I've not seen or heard a robin in years, so maybe they've all converted to flooded corn, too. But I'm still enjoying some sweet duck hunts when much of the north is snow covered.

I actually have a bunch around home this year for a change. I flushed a big flock from my trees when I went home for lunch yesterday.

[Rick]

They still haven't made it to our area, but we shot the most bluewings ever in November...

[Ericdc]

We had them up here last weekend, the bulk is yet to come for sure.


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[Ericdc]

My friends in McGehee Arkansas are still killing mostly teal.


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[Duck Engr]

Yeeeeeeowch! I’m hearing better reports from our area, but not by a lot. Hope this Christmas Weather maker across the heartland sends some down to you!

[SpinnerMan]

There's still open water probably all the way to Canada. It was upper 40's to 50 the last couple days in northern Illinois.

[Rick]

Date: 12/22 Sat

Time: morning

Location: mudhole

Cloud Cover: clear

Wind Direction and Velocity: nil to moderate SE

Temperature: cool

Moon phase: full

Special Notes:

Waterfowl Activity: Saw two small batches of teal, next to no high flight and mostly locals yet again.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Had a big mixed group of mallards and pintails break down and work pretty only to be banged out by another blind's shooting on what should have been the last pass for the lowest three sprigs which I wanted LOW over the plate after my guys were too slow underway for our only working teal. Then broke another good bunch of mallards and lost it at "woulda, shoulda, coulda" range to crowd control problems. Finally had a half dozen mottleds fresh off the buss that didn't care for what was in the blind, either, and stayed behind us, where my guys couldn't find them in the sun.

Hunters: 2, father and young son, BJ and Tristen

Guns:

Malfunctions:

Dog(s): slept

Special Equipment: SOS, but left the spinners off most of the time after it was clear teal weren't around.

Curses: BJ's had some jam-up hunts with me, but I'm sure Tristan found no consolation in that.

Kudos: They took our beating well, I enjoyed at least getting to work some big-for-now bunches of big ducks.

Birds By Species: Scratched like a red-assed ape.

[Duck Engr]

When was the last mudhole scratch rick?

[Rick]

Last, and first I recall there, was last season's first split.

[Rick]

Dave, I've not seen or heard a robin in years...

If nothing else, Marsh and I broke that streak while trying to teach him about woodcock. Heard the first one holler as we spooked him from his tree and watched three or four more follow him out. They should have headed to my place, as it's the night crawler/"cold worm" capital of the known universe now that they've quit thinning them. Remind me of "up home" and I miss them.

[Ericdc]

Tough

[Rick]

Date: 12/23 Sun

Time: morning

Location: mudhole

Cloud Cover: clear to cloudy and back

Wind Direction and Velocity: SW light

Temperature: warm

Moon phase: bright, bright, bright

Special Notes: Heard geese overhead when I aired Marsh at 3:30, again when I got to the camp and again before we left camp for the marsh.

Waterfowl Activity: Barren skies again with even less up high than yesterday.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Had four silent black-bellies from south bounce off the spinner about as soon as we saw them, killed the spinner and got them to come back with chatter but not buy into the spot. Pair of jacks actually turned for burring and come to the guns with spinners off and MMM splashing. Lone spoon that pushed off spinners made a tour of the marsh came to the guns with them off and me trying in spoon type kacking (distinct individual kacks) for the first time.

Hunters: 2, BJ and Tristan again

Guns: Took the Model 12 so BJ could check it out.

Malfunctions: Struggled to find its front safety when the jacks came.

Dog(s): Marsh did an outstanding job of hunting down a chipped jack that initially beat him in deep water well behind the blind.

Special Equipment: Spinners did more harm than good, but MMM splashing may have helped trip the jack pair.

Curses: No ducks.

Kudos: Tristan hit the spoon.

Birds By Species: 1 ringneck and 1 shoveller

[Rick]

Issac just got back from a week with "Team Towhead," a private, super-duper ag corporate camp(s) with several farms, serious sweet setups, including tons of flooded corn, in Central Illinois, and said they shot more specks than ducks, which were mostly absent.

[DComeaux]

Where the heck are the ducks?

[Rick]

Know some Wisconsin guys are saying they have them - now that they're closed.

[Rick]

Then, too, there's this I shot when something raised a few goose bodies on Dixie as I drove home this morning:

025a.jpg

(click on the photo to enlarge)

Given the distance I was from them, I wouldn't bet the whole farm those are ducks swarming above the geese but wouldn't bet a nickel they're not.

[Ericdc]

No reason to move around if they are eating good with the weather.


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[DComeaux]

Then, too, there's this I shot when something raised a few goose bodies on Dixie as I drove home this morning:

025a.jpg

(click on the photo to enlarge)

Given the distance I was from them, I wouldn't bet the whole farm those are ducks swarming above the geese but wouldn't bet a nickel they're not.

Good Lord! that's a mess of ducks. What a screwed up season.

[Rick]

Date: 12/24 Mon

Time: morning

Location: mudhole

Cloud Cover: clear

Wind Direction and Velocity: Right brisk from the ENE

Temperature: cold in the wind

Moon phase: full

Special Notes: Aside from the full moon, it was my idea of perfect big duck weather.

Waterfowl Activity: All but completely dead on our end of the marsh, with even the locals all but absent.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Tripped a pair of "local" mallards into a should-have-been plenty close enough pass. (Preston's gun hung on his coat, and by the time we were underway one was scarcely chipped and not finished by the "pro".) And a lone lost woodie came low from behind us and lit in the decoys about as soon as we saw it. Two high mallard flights broke down and worked pretty, only to be banged out by others shooting to our east.

Hunters: 1, grandson Preston. His cousin was supposed to come but bailed at the last minute - likely to hunt one of Oak Grove's two best blinds.

Guns:

Malfunctions:

Dog(s): easy morning

Special Equipment: SOS

Curses: Listening to the more easterly blinds do what little shooting there was made a long morning for an eleven-year-old. And especially so when "Someone always seems to shoot when we're about to."

Kudos: He took it well and eventually saved us from a scratch by hitting the woody in the air after I flushed it from the decoys.

Birds By Species: 1 wood duck

Photo Ops: Our hero:

025a.jpg

[Johnc]

Got him a Drake. Should be fired up for while

[Rick]

Later learned there was appreciably more shooting than hitting in the marsh to our east, but it had to be horribly discouraging for him to listen to it while we weren't even seeing game for such long periods. Especially since I've lost the confidence to reassure my hunters that we'll catch up when the big ducks fly. But it's good to see him getting the knack of hitting what comes.

[Duck Engr]

But it's good to see him getting the knack of hitting what comes.

Lack of game helped me to become a better shot as a kid. I learned quickly that I might not get many more opportunities that day (not that I’d chose that for any young hunter). Well that and my dad finally making me buy my own ammo. That’ll help a kid become a better shot too.

[Bud]

My long-time hunting partner invited his boss to hunt with us one season. The guy had a problem seeing, and it took me a few times to realize this. Six teal flying upwards over our heads and I'd shoot one. He would shoot about a second later while my bird was falling and say, "I got him." I usually called the shots.

One morning, the largest wigeon drake I have seen to date was slowly flying to the decoys. Before he was over our killing area, I jumped up and dusted him. "Did you get that one?" was my reply. He helped me be a quicker shot. The wigeon has been on my wall since taxidermy work was completed, and I always remember our friend. I knew the range of my gun well.

We hunted a WMA and had to listen to all the shooting coming from one blind. It felt like a horrible morning. When the truck came around to get us, we found three guys with three coots.

Merry Christmas, Rick and all else. I hope Santa sends more mallards and sprig your way, with early teal to keep you busy.