2019-2020 Season Log

[Johnc]

I really think that arctic front killed us duck wise

[Rick]

Date: 11/18 Mon

Time: morning

Location: mudhole

Cloud Cover: ground fog to clear

Wind Direction and Velocity: zip to very light westerly

Temperature: pleasant

Moon phase: still better than half and bright

Special Notes:

Waterfowl Activity: Saw a little group of BB whistlers, a very few mottleds and distant jacks, plus the first wigeon I could ID as such (which surprised us well in range, got out and wouldn't return).

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Whistlers turn and came to the whistle, got shot up and came to the whistle and got shot again, and one survivor dang near made a third mistake. Mottleds turned to the call and crossed us plenty low enough for us each to kill one - but I flat missed mine thrice.

Hunters: 2 in the blind, Deena observing and Tom shooting.

Guns: My 20s and 12s were on loan to the corporate group, so I shot the Model 12 16ga.

Malfunctions: Tom's Berreta wouldn't cycle on the whistlers, but oiling cured it.

Dog(s): Marsh wore himself out trying to sort out a crippled whistler that apparently dove under the flotant's edge behind the blind.

Special Equipment: sos

Curses: Just the lack of birds seen and loss of one shot. Tom and his son had always done well with me over the years, and I'm sure he had his international "team building" group (from as far away as Canada and Germany) pumped up for something that just didn't happen.

Kudos: Super nice folks who made a pleasant day of it.

Birds By Species: 3 BB whistling ducks and 1 mottled

[DComeaux]

Curses: Just the lack of birds seen and loss of one shot. Tom and his son had always done well with me over the years, and I'm sure he had his international "team building" group (from as far away as Canada and Germany) pumped up for something that just didn't happen.

Helpless feeling.

But this helps some.

Kudos: Super nice folks who made a pleasant day of it.

[Ericdc]

If it’s any help, report from our farm today is we are loaded


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[Rick]

If it’s any help, report from our farm today is we are loaded

Helps every bit as much as the report I got that Arkansas was loaded after the front prior to our opener.

[Ericdc]

Well they aren’t sitting in a corn field in Missouri


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[SpinnerMan]

Well they aren’t sitting in a corn field in Missouri

I saw a pond stacked with mallards just across from some picked beans and standing corn. The picked beans had geese pouring into them as I drove by around 2PM. It's not uncommon for the ducks to feed later, so they were probably waiting to hop across to the fields.

It was a small pond, so it's not a ton of ducks, but it was impressive how seemingly all the ducks in the county were jammed into this little pond.

[Rick]

11/18 Photo Op addendum:

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[DComeaux]

Frame worthy.

[MARSH BEAR]

Too bad there has not been more of those retrieves to take pictures of.

[Darren]

Missed some beautiful mottled retrieve photo ops on Saturday in the sun shine, failed to bring along the big camera.

[Johnc]

If it’s any help, report from our farm today is we are loaded

Helps every bit as much as the report I got that Arkansas was loaded after the front prior to our opener.

Gross savanne had 2 blinds that scratched today

Bill Daniels is struggling at the plant

Nathan Wright has killed 39 birds in 10 days—-worst he has ever seen and he is 65—vermillion waterfowl just north of white lake

The report from cherry ridge was not much beyond 5 shots today

Rod Haydel and Bryan Harris are not even hunting big pasture

I sincerely hope it changes for us down here Rick,or a lot of clubs are in major trouble

[BGkirk]

The only good reports I’ve heard/seen are coming from one blind that borders Cameron prairie north of creole, holly beach, and some hunters out of sabine refuge.. scary to watch all this talk actually come about.. maybe the east zone will give us coastal guys a push to hold us over thanksgiving week..


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[Rick]

Date: 11/19

Time: morning

Location: mudhole

Cloud Cover: clear

Wind Direction and Velocity: zip

Temperature: pleasant

Moon phase: 'bout half?

Special Notes:

Waterfowl Activity: Got to see a speck, two bluewings, a very few jacks, a pair of mallards, a pair of woodies and a very few mottled. Just incredibly dead.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Wood ducks came and were polite enough to land for my guys, and I was able to call the hen back for another chance after they hit her mate. The mallard pair and speck worked pretty only to be banged out by others shooting on their final approaches, which was even more frustrating than usual with so very little shooting going on.

Hunters: 2, Cal and Bruce(?) from the corporate "team building" group.

Guns:

Malfunctions:

Dog(s): We chipped the woody hen down in a place I couldn't get the boat near and about wore out the bug's handle getting him to through thin dwarf spike rush flotant - then she got up.

Special Equipment: sos

Curses: no birds

Kudos: Nice folks who thankfully had to leave early for flights.

Birds By Species: 1 wood duck

[DComeaux]

I'm in a daze.

[Rick]

Me. too, Dave, me too. Cherry Ridge's super teal blind did shoot 18 of those in a hurry yesterday (for its first limit, I believe), but the guys who then moved in didn't fire another shot, and 760 yards away Clark's blind, which is generally as good as any our area has to offer, shot one bird that morning. Scariest thing has been the complete lack of traffic suggesting that we're just not where they want to be.

Did hear that Oak Grove's doing better, but they've 13 sections of prime marsh to move eight parties around.

[BGkirk]

Me. too, Dave, me too. Cherry Ridge's super teal blind did shoot 18 of those in a hurry yesterday (for its first limit, I believe), but the guys who then moved in didn't fire another shot, and 760 yards away Clark's blind, which is generally as good as any our area has to offer, shot one bird that morning. Scariest thing has been the complete lack of traffic suggesting that we're just not where they want to be.

Did hear that Oak Grove's doing better, but they've 13 sections of prime marsh to move eight parties around.

8 parties over 8300 ish acres! Wow... wish they’d do some more banging and send them on over down the road


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[BGkirk]

I’ve got an invite to hunt with a friend in Thornwell this weekend. I’m trying to get a more exact location to possibly confirm with you guys if it’s nearby one of these other farms ya have spoken of that are holding birds. He’s a pilot and did fly over it today and saw snow geese but claimed he was too high to see ducks


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[Duck Engr]

Chin up fellas. The cache, white and Mississippi are all falling out pretty quickly. That and seasons opening adjacent to you should help!

[Johnc]

We have killed 8 ducks both of the prior first splits,no ducks is nothing new where I am

Goose wise,I am used to nothing but high traffic so business as usual

December is the best month and they screw that with the split. But that’s easier for me to swallow then this insane early goose wasted days situation

Arkansas special 5 day season I get,geese in abundance

[Rick]

Date: 11/20 Wed

Time: morning

Location: mudhole

Cloud Cover: clear

Wind Direction and Velocity: nil to light easterly to Southeasterly(?)

Temperature: warm

Moon phase:

Special Notes:

Waterfowl Activity: Didn't see much beyond what we shot and a handful of wide jacks. Even the local pond-hopping mottleds seemed grounded.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Everything worked, and we've no excuse for not dropping more grays, which dropped in in a bunch, though too fast for my older fellow's gun.

Hunters: 1, Carl from Kentucky

Guns:

Malfunctions:

Dog(s): Marsh saved our bacon with outstanding searches and tracking on 3 chipped birds.

Special Equipment: SOS

Curses: Only the lack of opportunity for "first hunt in two years" guest.

Kudos: Beautiful morning in good company and I couldn't be prouder of the bug's work.

Birds By Species: 1 gadwall, 1 mallard, 1 mottled and 1 pintail (all drakes, so at least it was a pretty little string)

Photo Ops: Our hero:

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[Duck Engr]

Are times so tough you’re counting ducks twice?

[Rick]

Are times so tough you’re counting ducks twice?

Good catch. Edited to reflect that the last one was a sprig.

[Duck Engr]

Pretty stringer indeed

[Rick]

Date: 11/21 Thur

Time: morning

Location: mudhole

Cloud Cover: clear to partly

Wind Direction and Velocity: east to southeast light to moderate

Temperature: warm

Moon phase: 30% waning

Special Notes:

Waterfowl Activity: Saw a few more big ducks early on than we had been seeing. Few small groups of mallards and a big one of grays, but only a pair of bluewings and no greenwings whatsoever. The later of which being my hope for this wind shift.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Birds responded a whole lot better than we did.

Hunters: 2, Carl again and John from GA

Guns:

Malfunctions: John's gun wouldn't cycle on our first mallard op, but oil "fixed" it.

Dog(s): Mash couldn't find a gray that went down at the edge of the west boat run and left no scent in the bordering cattails or marsh grasses. Must have swam down the run.

Special Equipment: sos

Curses: We were so slow getting underway again, that most birds were only chipped again, and the bug and I spent way too much time out hunting them down while the "flight" (such as it was) was on.

Kudos: Nice guys had a nice time, anyway.

Birds By Species: 1 gadwall, 3 mallards and 1 ringneck

Photo Ops: Bug and bird:

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[Rick]

Date: 11/22

Time: morning

Location: mudhole

Cloud Cover: cloudy

Wind Direction and Velocity: light southerly

Temperature: t-shirt

Moon phase:

Special Notes:

Waterfowl Activity: Other than a couple sweet bunches of grays, still not much. Even the pond hopping mottleds were conspicuously absent.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Thankfully, the grays all touched there toes and fell in, albeit too quickly for my once-a-year guys. Wigeon pair came to die, as well.

Hunters: 2, Frank and SIL, Lee

Guns:

Malfunctions:

Dog(s): The bug's on a role and did a really sweet job of hunting up a "lost" wigeon.

Special Equipment: sos

Curses: just the continued lack of game

Kudos: nice folks and a pleasant hunt

Birds By Species: 3 gadwall, 1 ringneck, 1 shoveller and 2 wigeon

Photo Ops: lost wigeon:

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[DComeaux]

If Blake and I can do that in the morning I'll be more than content.

[Rick]

Hope you guys do much better than that. You're due a sweet one.

[Rick]

Date: 11/23 Sat.

Time: morning

Location: mudhole

Cloud Cover: cloudy

Wind Direction and Velocity: NW mod to strong to light

Temperature: Chilly in the wind

Moon phase: darkest boat ride to date

Special Notes:

Waterfowl Activity: Still disappointing.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Most of what was called came.

Hunters: 2, Troy and Jason

Guns:

Malfunctions:

Dog(s): easy morning

Special Equipment: sos

Curses: Just that little or nothing seemed to have been sent our way by the East Zone opener.

Kudos: Experience hunters helped make their own hunt.

Birds By Species: 1 gw teal, 1 mallard, 3 mottleds and 4 shovellers

Photo Ops:

Lagniappe: Maybe tomorrow...

[Darren]

Nice work on the mottleds !