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Was very surprised to see a couple dozen ducks on the Intacoastal Waterway near Clearwater, FL today. Even more surprised when I got close and they were mallards. These apparently didn't get the message to stay north.

They flew to the side of the corn zone.

DComeaux wrote:Either way they have a whole lot of ducks for this time of the year, and are giddy about it.

Shame on 'em. Feds oughta outlaw Missouri.

Rick wrote:

DComeaux wrote:Either way they have a whole lot of ducks for this time of the year, and are giddy about it.

Shame on 'em. Feds oughta outlaw Missouri.

I figured you'd take it that way but I'm pretty sure you get my drift or smell what I'm stepping in. I could have elaborated more but I'm tired of talking to myself.

Rick wrote:Don't you suppose the Arkansas counts are just made along standardized transects, rather than the every-duck-on-the place estimates of the Missouri sites?

I’ll admit to not knowing the method behind their aerial counts, though I do understand it’s quite scientific. They present their numbers as an “estimate” for the Mississippi alluvial valley in Arkansas, so I assume the science behind it somehow averages it out.

12/29/2018

Temp - low 50's ? - heavy overcast with occasional misty conditions Wind brisk NNE.

Me and Blake

Birds - (4) 1 green wing 1 shoveler 2 scaup

Not much seen high or low. We have no birds. The guy we lease from took a two man limit in his blind which is the furthest south, and the one north of him took 3. It all depends on where the few that are here are located on any particular day. The weather we're having today is what would have been considered prime time back in the day. Today you just get wet.

12/30/2018

Temp - low 50's ? - heavy low overcast with occasional misty conditions early with fog rolling in later in the morning. Wind 5 to 10 NNE

Me and Bennett

Birds - (7) 1 gadwall 1 shoveler 5 scaup

Saw next to nothing this morning and was happy to get what we did. My shooting was terrible this morning and we may have gotten our limit if I had made my shots I should have. Some scaup have moved in, but it's far from the numbers we had last year.

We were supposed to go into the office tomorrow but I got a call halfway home telling me the boss gave us the day off. I'm contemplating going back to the camp after church this evening but I can't find anyone to go with this short notice. My regular crew has to work.

Interesting read.

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-12-31/martin-armstrong-coming-mini-ice-age

That would make me a happy duck hunter.

Good read Dave, and glad to see some refuting evidence of the "global warming trend" that the tree huggers keep screaming about.

1/5/2019

Temp - 48 - Clear and no wind

Me and Blake

Birds - (8) 6 scaup 2 GW teal

Very quiet with empty skies. The scaup are becoming more plentiful though, and we have a hand full of grays and teal around. We did hear a pintail or two as well. Very little shooting heard this morning. The guy we lease from in the furthest blind to our south took 3 and the other blind north of him scratched. It is eerily quiet down here.

Blake with the birds.


We collected a bakers dozen of crabs this morning.

Like to think you're catching reds as I type.

We gave that a look in some of our drive up spots, but as we expected, way too much fresh water. Looks like root beer coming out of the marsh.

1/6/2019

Temp - low 50's? - Clear with very light NE wind

Me and Blake

Birds - (4) 2 scaup 2 GW teal

Very few ducks seen is an understatement. Just a bit of GW and scaup around with a pair or two of gadwall. Very quiet with not many shots heard. Three blinds just to our west on controlled, well managed marsh scratched this morning. The two blinds that hunted on our place shot 8 and 3, mostly scaup with a GW or two.

Tough sledding, DC, but beats the "DNS" entries of mine. I'm not done quite yet!

Dave, glad you are at least getting some action! I was surprised to see only male crabs in your basket. We typically catch 95% males from May thru early fall, but start seeing more females mixed in late fall/early winter, and by Christmas, our local harvest is over.

I did notice these were mostly males. The haul before this one we had just over 3 dozen and it was mostly heavy females.

My Ellie, waiting impatiently in the blind. She is a mess when it comes to steadiness and it's all my fault for not doing the proper training early on. This has been intensified this year by the lack of birds for her to play with and my frustration with it as well. I've mentioned this a time or two, but I didn't start her until she was over two years because I had no Idea if she was worth it.
My son got her from a litter that was an unwanted oops by a street lab on a registered female. After the second year I began to test her skills and was impressed with her nose and the fire she had to retrieve. She's now on her 8th season with me this year and she's my best bud and blind partner, though at times I don't show it. I've been getting agitated with her more than normal this year and I'm sure it's due to the lack of retrieves she's making and definitely my frustration of the same. Little things she does, those things she's done for years set's me off. But it's my fault, MY FAULT!

I was looking at pictures on my phone and came across this one I took this year of my blind partner. She's a mess but I'll keep her. I just need to keep her busy with a mouth full. I stand next to her in the blind and she'll reach in with her nose and flip the calls around my neck in the air. Blake gets a laugh out of it, and he doesn't have to see it anymore to know what happened. The sound of clanging calls says it all.

" she'll reach in with her nose and flip the calls around my neck in the air"
That is funny as shet Dave..........call''em in dad, call'em in!!!!!!!!!
Great pic too!

A dog makes the hunt much more enjoyable, but at times can be frustrating - I think they are worth the frustration

MARSH BEAR wrote:A dog makes the hunt much more enjoyable, but at times can be frustrating - I think they are worth the frustration

They most certainly are.

MARSH BEAR wrote:A dog makes the hunt much more enjoyable, but at times can be frustrating - I think they are worth the frustration

Absolutely. I bit a whistle in half a couple years back from frustration and I don’t know why, but that definitely made me calm down and try to take the little bit of bad with all the good my pup provides me.

DC it seems the other side of the lake around Holly beach and JB have been doing OK compared to your area. I would expect it to be closer in waterfowl activity since Rockefeller is right there


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Love the picture of Ellie and glad I've gotten to see her work first hand. Poor Harry's not had hardly anything to retrieve in weeks

BGkirk wrote:DC it seems the other side of the lake around Holly beach and JB have been doing OK compared to your area. I would expect it to be closer in waterfowl activity since Rockefeller is right there


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Rockefeller numbers have dropped substantially as of late, according to a very good source.

Thanks for sharing that trophy pic of Ellie and thoughts on her. Keepers both.

Duck Engr wrote:I bit a whistle in half a couple years back from frustration and I don’t know why...

Sure am glad I've never done that.

(Always knew exactly why: POed at the dog's trainer.)

Rick wrote:

Duck Engr wrote:I bit a whistle in half a couple years back from frustration and I don’t know why...

Sure am glad I've never done that.

(Always knew exactly why: POed at the dog's trainer.)

A couple more commas in there might have better conveyed the “why” I didn’t know, but there was no doubt where the frustration was directed, and that was right back at her trainer.

LWFC Adopts Notice of Intent for Hunting Regulations, Hunting Seasons and WMA Rules





Jan. 9, 2019 - The Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission (LWFC) adopted notices of intent for the 2019-20 and 2020-21 hunting seasons, 2019-20 general and Wildlife Management Areas (WMA) hunting seasons and rules and regulations, 2020 general and WMA turkey hunting season and rules and regulations, and 2019-20 migratory bird hunting season and rules and regulations at its January meeting Tuesday (Jan. 8) in Baton Rouge.

The notices of intent include proposed hunting season dates and regulation changes from the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) for the upcoming hunting seasons and provide for a public comment period.

Some of the proposed changes include:
• Ban of the use of natural deer urine as an attractant for hunting purposes. This is proposed as a cautionary measure to stop the potential importation and spread of CWD.
• Language to include Louisiana lands east of the Mississippi River in East Carroll, Madison, Tensas and Concordia parishes in the state Cervid Carcass Importation ban. This will make it illegal for persons who harvest a deer on those aforementioned properties to transport a whole deer back into Louisiana.
• Requirement that self-clearing permit must be utilized for all activities on WMAs.
• Reducing the daily bag limit of teal from six to four for the early September teal season.
• Prohibition on the use of motorized turkey decoys.
• Removal of all of Pointe Coupee and West Baton Rouge parishes and parts of Avoyelles, Iberville, St. Landry and Upper St Martin parishes from Turkey Area A to Turkey Area C, which results in a reduction of 14 days of hunting opportunity.
• Allowance to hunt nuisance animals and outlaw quadrupeds at night year round and the elimination of the permit needed from September-January.
• Defining ‘drones’ as ‘unmanned aerial vehicles’.
• Addition of airboats as an allowable vehicle on Maurepas Swamp WMA pursuant to RS:56:109.4.
• Removal of ability to commercial fishing on Wonder Lake on Pointe-Aux-Chenes WMA.
• Expansion of the limited access area at Joyce WMA.
• Prohibition of all nighttime activities at Pointe-aux-Chenes WMA.
• Change in the closing time of waterfowl hunting from noon to 2 pm at Pointe-aux-Chenes WMA, making it consistent with other WMAs.
• Reduction of seven days to the turkey season at Richard K. Yancey WMA.
• Reduction of the number of open turkey days from five to three at Sherburne WMA.
• Closure of Tunica Hills WMA when turkey lottery hunts are taking place.
To view the full notice of intent and all proposed hunting season dates and regulations changes for the upcoming hunting seasons, please visit http://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/action-items .

Public comment will be accepted at LWFC monthly meetings from February through March and/or can be submitted in writing by mail to: Tommy Tuma, LDWF Wildlife Division, P.O. Box 98000, Baton Rouge, LA 70898-9000, or via email to ttuma@wlf.la.gov until 9 a.m., March 7, 2019.

LDWF will also collect public comment at public hearings to be held Feb. 25-March 2 throughout the state. The locations and times for those meetings include:
• 25 (Monday) at 6 p.m. at the Ponchatoula High School Library, 19452 Highway 22, Ponchatoula.
• 26 (Tuesday) at 6 p.m. at the LDWF Lafayette Field Office, 200 Dulles Drive, Lafayette.
• 27 (Wednesday) at 6 p.m. at the LDWF Minden Field Office, 9961 Highway 80, Minden.
• 28 (Thursday) at 6 p.m. at the LDWF Monroe Field Office, 368 Century Link Drive, Monroe.
• March 1 (Friday) at 6 p.m. at the Alexandria Convention Hall, 915 3 rd Street, Alexandria.
• March 2 (Saturday) at 10 a.m. at the LSU Ag Center Building, 7101 Gulf Highway, Lake Charles.
For more information, contact Tommy Tuma at 225-765-2349 or ttuma@wlf.la.gov .

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries is charged with managing and protecting Louisiana’s abundant natural resources. For more information, visit us at http://www.wlf.la.gov. To receive recreational or commercial fishing email and text alerts, signup at http://www.wlf.la.gov/signup.


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DComeaux wrote:• Reducing the daily bag limit of teal from six to four for the early September teal season.

Any notion what that's about?