WaterfowlForum.Net

Glad to see we're officially in PRE-season now after plenty of POST-season banter. Got in some good preseason action yesterday with an overdue boat port roof re-do. Johnny thankfully helped out and when done we were off with Harry to the marsh to poke around a bit and test out the new trim tabs on the flat.

Just as I was about to back down the boat noticed a wad of birds cruising fairly low, and fast over the marsh. Too uniform to be shorebirds, too small and fast to be mottleds, and same for squealers. Didn't have my binoculars to 100% confirm but just might bet something I like that they were bluewings.

We did go poke around in some places the teal WILL be at some point soon, but it was just mottleds, woodies and shorebirds for now.......lots of mottleds in the big family groups many report to be early arriving grays year after year.

Found a pretty safe looking spot for Harry to get some work and let him get after it a bit with good results, seems as if he's ready to rock. Stopped by a hole we'd prepped to hunt last year but never did, and found it to still look as tealy as ever, really need to give it a go sometime next month.





Got some paint on the new Lucky Duck poles and also got my conduits ready to host them in the deeper marsh ponds that call for deeper setting while still needing height.



New tabs on the boat surely have it running much more controlled with throttle with zero of the previous porpoising despite our very light load of two guys, 1 dog, no pirogues or other gear. Went ahead and slapped some paint on them as well to wrap up the work day

Been wondering if that was enough tab to be significant. Glad they turned the trick.

Rick wrote:Been wondering if that was enough tab to be significant. Glad they turned the trick.

Re: enough tab. Surprisingly our 22 ft bay boat's tabs are about the same proportions oddly enough, only maybe 2-3 inches long and similarly wide, and they work very well.

If anything I may be bending the weld-on's slightly upward to get just a hair more bow lift back, but sure was nice to not be bouncing all over as soon as I got to trimming up.

Pretty sure you knew Bob Kline, and thought I'd let you know he passed yesterday.

Rick wrote:Pretty sure you knew Bob Kline, and thought I'd let you know he passed yesterday.

Very sorry to hear of it; had the pleasure of sharing the blind with both he and Francis on multiple occasions at Oak Island, and he seemed in tough shape at that time years back.

Thanks for letting me know, I'm sure Henry passed it on to Mike.

He'd been rough shape so long that it was surprising he outlasted Francis.

This week's flyway moisture update. Some areas got a little rain, some got drier



Starting to hear of a few more teal sightings among my periphery of contacts, which is about right on timing.

Made it down to the shell beach camp friday morning and headed on out to the lease between the thunderstorms. Was able to visit all three of our blinds and even a buddy's place not too far away.

South pond - marsh looks great, though SAV fairly thin which isn't unusual for this location for whatever reason despite being the shallowest one we have





Harry got in a few short retrieves before we moved on


Kidney Pond - marsh is grown up into blind, this being it's first offseason. SAV a bit thicker here on shallow flats




Happiest to see that this blind just doesn't really appear to be as such from just across the pond, especially upon removal of last season's remnant bushes



North Pond - has the most SAV year after year and here too the marsh is overtaking the new blind structure in its first offseason





With time on my hands for once and no storms encroaching, went check out a buddy's place I'd liked a lot on a map but never have visited myself. Turned out he had left a few decoys out after low water late season hunt and hoped I might recover a few.

This is one of the ones in better condition, some others had half-sunk, so were far more encapsulated



Managed a few nice crabs in the traps and a decent haul of fish with trout, redfish and black drum in the box. Good time down there


Ran around plenty but no teal seen, though didn't go in area we found them last year. Did see one wad of squealers and occasional mottled pair but that was it.

Not all sunshine and rainbows this year:

https://deltawaterfowl.org/2018-waterfowl-survey/

Numbers were up last year....weather weather weather!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Better enjoy the second pintail op while we can this year.

That marsh looks wonderful.

Rick wrote:Better enjoy the second pintail op while we can this year.

Good point, have to figure that's a goner, and likely our third dosgris just the same. Which reminds me of a photo/observation I left off of weekend overview, and that was a dosgris sighting right near the camp in Lake Borgne. Have to figure he's a crippled carryover. Sorry for poor photo, he wouldn't let me get close and all I had was a cell phone's zoom to make up for it

Just because I want to take scaup for sausage this year we'll have none.

BGcorey wrote:What blinds? Those look excellent


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

thanks! Excited to have the kidney and north blinds IN at this time of year so the grass is taking them over instead of beating it down trying to build them. They'd look better without the remnants of last year's bushes in place, but we'll pull all that when we go to brush at end of Oct.

Pretty sure no one will teal hunt these blinds but they could just show up and throw dekes without brushing

Also found out last week from farmer in Bunkie that they do no intend to plant anything on our field or surrounding cuts. Currently just leveled and plowed dirt. No crawfish rice, no flooding from what it sounds like.

We've been kicking around ideas of what our options are, with worst case being what we had season before last when beans were planted and plowed before flooding so we just had a flooded mud field. Buddy was going to contact farmer for input on any half-hearted planting effort we might undertake with millet, etc. if anything at all.

It stinks for this year, but like my situation on our farm we lease, it’s good to see farmer investing in the property and doing leveling work.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

BGcorey wrote:

Darren wrote:

BGcorey wrote:What blinds? Those look excellent


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

thanks! Excited to have the kidney and north blinds IN at this time of year so the grass is taking them over instead of beating it down trying to build them. They'd look better without the remnants of last year's bushes in place, but we'll pull all that when we go to brush at end of Oct.

Pretty sure no one will teal hunt these blinds but they could just show up and throw dekes without brushing

do you replace with newer brush? Figured the old would blend in just fine , or are you going for the greener look?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

We go with new bushes right before season starts to match the bushes that are growing out there. The marsh grass helps break up outline but doesn't give us the height we need or anything over the top

johnc wrote:plowed with light flood

see if can hold sheet water or rain water,just a couple of inches---should be in business for geese,especially second split

even with blind on wide levee,as long as cuts big in front and behind,and nothing coming in perpendicular to blind levee close to where the blind is,,should work

Yea i think if mud with puddles it would be in the game for geese for sure since we've already got the flight that's usually at a very workable height.

Ducks liked the big flood of two seasons ago just fine, though this time around I think we would take on water level management ourselves, pulling boards as needed. Of course we've got to get water on it first.........

Upside to not having a crop in it awaiting to be beaten down by the birds, we would be in business for first split too if somehow we got enough rain on it to float dekes

Our best years are when we have lots of rice stubble and then some plowed slick in the pit area. The stubble opens up more and more as season progresses.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk