2019-2020 Season Log

[Rick]

Boy, what a feeling! Any man with a retriever knows that when the beast does something we amazed by, it can be the best feeling in waterfowling. Props to both Bug and his trainer/handler!

I deserve the rap when his training falls short, but this morning's minor miracle was all on the bug. Have always been blessed with dogs that were my betters, and Marsh is no exception.

[Duck Engr]

Date: 1/5

Dog(s): The bug made what will almost surely be the blind of the season on a mallard chipped down closer to the ICW than the boat run west of us. Took him as close as I could with the boat, then handled as best I could though through line-of-sight opening in the vegetation to its general area, where he eventually managed to scent and run the winged bird down. Wouldn't have given a nickle for his chances, just gave it a shot to have done so, and

Boy, what a feeling! Any man with a retriever knows that when the beast does something we amazed by, it can be the best feeling in waterfowling. Props to both Bug and his trainer/handler!

I got the warm and fuzzies just reading the description of the chase.

[Rick]

Date: 1/6 Mon

Time: morning

Location: mudhole

Cloud Cover: clear

Wind Direction and Velocity: dead calm to light southerly

Temperature: warm

Moon phase: 76% waxing

Special Notes:

Waterfowl Activity: Marsh was stone dead, which turned out to be a great thing for us when high mallards occasionally showed.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Not one of our chances was spoiled by gunfire, even though some seemed to take forever to break down, around and around and in.

Hunters: 1, long time annual regular, Bruce

Guns:

Malfunctions:

Dog(s): Wore marsh out searching for a tipped mallard north of the blind without reward.

Special Equipment: sos

Curses: Would have had our eight mallards if Bruce didn't shoot as poorly as I did.

Kudos: Bruce had a mask and the blind discipline to sit still while birds worked, and we got to shoot (or miss) our mallards pretty as could be.

Birds By Species: 5 mallards and 1 shoveller

[DComeaux]

Would love 5 mallards and a shoveller.

[Darren]

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Not one of our chances was spoiled by gunfire, even though some seemed to take forever to break down, around and around and in.

Hunters: 1, long time annual regular, Bruce

Sounds like Bruce packed his lucky rabbit's foot, sorry I missed him this year, enjoyed our visit with him last season. Looks like NW/N winds for you tomorrow with a small front passing through, hope it works out for him.

[Rick]

Sounds like Bruce packed his lucky rabbit's foot, sorry I missed him this year, enjoyed our visit with him last season. Looks like NW/N winds for you tomorrow with a small front passing through, hope it works out for him.

Helped that he packed his mask. Which could prove all the more important if the wind is, in fact, NW in the morning. Sure helps when hunters can watch where the birds are without getting caught. Now, if we can only work out our shooting kinks...

[Darren]

Sounds like Bruce packed his lucky rabbit's foot, sorry I missed him this year, enjoyed our visit with him last season. Looks like NW/N winds for you tomorrow with a small front passing through, hope it works out for him.

Helped that he packed his mask. Which could prove all the more important if the wind is, in fact, NW in the morning. Sure helps when hunters can watch where the birds are without getting caught. Now, if we can only work out our shooting kinks...

Yep, if they weren't falling when presenting "pretty as could be".....NW wind doesn't bode well....but it'll be fun working birds all the same and that's the point of going anyway! Best of luck

[Rick]

Date: 1/7 Tue

Time: morning

Location: mudhole

Cloud Cover: clear

Wind Direction and Velocity: NNW fairly strong to plain strong

Temperature: 40s

Moon phase: 85% waxing

Special Notes:

Waterfowl Activity: More like the norm with guys to our east getting some early shooting, while we saw one teal. Blinds to our east also enjoyed a show of working pintails, while if we saw any they were too distant to ID. Did, however, see another scattering of mallards and a few mottleds.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Had an op or two banged out by other blinds, but otherwise very good again. Rub being wind direction and speed sometimes made the gunning too sporty for us.

Hunters: 1, Bruce again

Guns:

Malfunctions:

Dog(s): Generally easy morning, but did think the bug and a hawk might come to blows over a greenhead they both marked.

Special Equipment: sos

Curses: Darren pegged it: "if they weren't falling when presenting "pretty as could be".....NW wind doesn't bode well..." And I wasn't as good as I should have been at biting my tongue.

Kudos: Still a pleasant morning.

Birds By Species: 3 mallards and 1 mottled

[Rick]

Date: 1/8 Wed

Time: morning

Location: mudhole

Cloud Cover: clear

Wind Direction and Velocity: dead calm to moderate east late in the hunt

Temperature: 40s

Moon phase: full

Special Notes:

Waterfowl Activity: Saw one good bunch of green-wings early and a precious few pintails and grays later. Only mallards were a couple plainly local pairs.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Greenwings bought in - and nearly all got out. Didn't do well on overhead pintails flying the length of the blind, so I messed around with a joint flight of pins and grays trying to get them low, front and center that would get what should have been plenty close enough but not that. Then passed another shoulda-shot at a bunch of pins and thought that I'd finally got it right as they swung out front to come straight in - only to watch them reach for the sky when another blind shot. Killed a lone blue-wing that plainly knew the blind and passed wide a couple or three times while stretching his wings around the blind by killing the spinners and momma calling when he made his one-too-many pass and tolled to that cadence.

Hunters: 2, Bruce again and John who's hunted with me in years past.

Guns:

Malfunctions:

Dog(s): Easy morning

Special Equipment: sos

Curses: No birds and some poor judgement calls on my part.

Kudos: Still a pleasant morning in good company.

Birds By Species: 1 bw teal, 1 gw teal and 1 pintail

[Rick]

Date: 1/9 Thur

Time: morning

Location: mudhole

Cloud Cover: cloudy

Wind Direction and Velocity: easterly brisk

Temperature: 50s

Moon phase: full

Special Notes:

Waterfowl Activity: Saw one or two distant flights of teal and just a much-too-occasional high flight of big ducks.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Oddest thing was the mottled breaking out of a mile-high pintail flight I was hailing, touching its toes and dropping straight in.

Hunters: 1, Bruce's last morning.

Guns:

Malfunctions:

Dog(s): Wore the bug to a nub in the same boated-to area well NW of the blind, where he couldn't locate a tipped greenhead two(?) mornings ago, without success again. At least not until I made a "What the heck?" stop much closer to the boat run to check about the only other cut grass clump out there, and he came up with the bird in short order. Holy crap does my marking sometimes suck!

Special Equipment: sos been quick to kill the spinners for big ducks, as even the few local teal have been pushing off them, but I put them on for Bruce when Marsh and I took off to find the mallard, and a group of grays nearly landed on the west one before Bruce, who was watching me, noticed them and killed one.

Curses: Given how dead the marsh has been, I'm not griping.

Kudos: Especially since Bruce is such good slow day company, and we were blessed with a pretty big hunt by current standards.

Birds By Species: 1 gadwall, 4 mallards, 1 mottled and 1 shoveller

Photo Ops: "This stuff would sure be easier if you could mark, boss."

001a.jpg

[Darren]

Nice to shoot the big birds, and even a for variety spoon to close Bruce out the way he started his week.

[DComeaux]

Not a bad strap. Are you going to brave the stormy conditions on Saturday morning?

[Rick]

Not a bad strap. Are you going to brave the stormy conditions on Saturday morning?

Well, yeah. Assuming my guys are game, wouldn't miss it.

[Ericdc]

I plan to be just behind the squall line hunting the big wind and dropping temps


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[DComeaux]

Not a bad strap. Are you going to brave the stormy conditions on Saturday morning?

Well, yeah. Assuming my guys are game, wouldn't miss it.

Just don't end up like Dorothy...

[Darren]

Hoping I can get out while we're ahead of it, and be in during it, and not some combination thereof.

Not much for winds on the backside of it forecast for me, huge south winds in front though.

[Rick]

Seems way too soon to know how or when the front will come through.

Darren, I passed your greeting to Bruce, and he sends regards back to you and your dad. Not sure but what the man remembers everybody he's ever met and something about them. Makes me ashamed of what's left of my gelled mind.

[DComeaux]

Seems way too soon to know how or when the front will come through.

I plan to wake up Saturday morning looking at the radar. We'll definitely be in the blind right behind it, but the NW wind it's bringing will suck for us, though.

[Duck Engr]

I plan to be just behind the squall line hunting the big wind and dropping temps


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I definitely would be if my lease was closer! I love those days.

[MARSH BEAR]

I also plan to hunt Saturday after the rains pass, based on present weather forecast that should be about 7:00 for us, but we all know how wrong the weathermen are.
I will be hunting Friday morning also, SE wind 10 - 15 - you can't kill em if you don't go, and this is my last weekend to hunt for this season.

[Ericdc]

Our hunt might extend well into the afternoon, just gonna get their after the severe stuff passes and ride it out.


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[Bruce Yerkes]

My only complaint when I come to Doug's each year, is my time is too short and next thing I know it is time to head back to Maryland...….until before you know it, I am back the next season. Wouldn't miss my time down there. Great hunting with you Rick, and I got to visit with Jenny on the way out yesterday. As we say 'up here', don't get no better. Thanks again.

Bruce.

[Rick]

Always a good time, Bruce. Glad you caught Jenny Rose. Will look forward to seeing you again next year.

[Rick]

Date: 1/10 Fri

Time: morning

Location: mudhole

Cloud Cover: low overcast with more of a haze than fog

Wind Direction and Velocity: Variable from SE, but pretty good most of the time

Temperature: T-shrt

Moon phase: big

Special Notes:

Waterfowl Activity: Couldn't see if there was anything at the altitude many of our big ducks have come from, so they may have been up there. Did see the best little duck show in some time, albeit mostly high and jacks.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Couldn't do pecans with most of the high teal, though some of that may have been fear of blowing something more promising out if I stayed after them too loud and long. Big ducks came to die.

Hunters: 2, Gerald and Jeff, younger guys but with little successful waterfowl experience.

Guns:

Malfunctions:

Dog(s): Marsh showed me how bad my eyesight is when I boated him down the run to once I wasn't sure he's marked. Turned out I stopped well short, and he bee-lined the remaining 80 or so yards to it.

Special Equipment: sos

Curses: No complaints from me other than a poule d'eau decoy at the end of my island got centered by a shot aimed at a crip well out on the west end of the pond.

Kudos: Nice guys and nice to have some teal gunning.

Birds By Species: 1 bw teal, 3 gadwall, 8 gw teal, 2 mallards, 1 ringneck and 1 wigeon

[DComeaux]

Good to see you had some birds

[Duck Engr]

I’m impressed Marsh can mark even with a boat ride.

[Rick]

I’m impressed Marsh can mark even with a boat ride.

He's turning out much the same as his uncle, Peake, in that even after long circuitous rides that disorient this driver to marsh that looks far different than it did from the blind's angle, he'll often take off in what I'm thinking the wrong direction with the wind working against him, then quickly come up with birds he'd marked. Or on long marks from the blind without my cutting the distance by boat, he'll look lost while swinging wide to avoid large pitfalls but end up all but stepping on his bird.

Not always, mind you, but often enough to make me believe they've some sort of dog GPS we humans can't begin to muster.

[Rick]

Date: 1/11 Sat

Time: morning

Location: mudhole

Cloud Cover: raining at LST, then just cloudy

Wind Direction and Velocity: Westerly strong to moderate

Temperature: cool

Moon phase: big

Special Notes: serious storm and high wind event passed just before LST

Waterfowl Activity: Nothing but a brief high jack flight and a few plainly localized birds around.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Tripped a pair of initially wide swinging blue-wings by turning spinners off and momma kacking. And single-quacked a pair of puddle-hopping mallards to what should have been both their deaths.

Hunters: 2, Tim and Dennis, the elder of which had hunted a fair bit but been slowed by age.

Guns:

Malfunctions:

Dog(s): The bug worked a nice long blind on a mallard that eventually bled out SW of the pond.

Special Equipment: sos

Curses: no ducks

Kudos: nice people

Birds By Species: 1 bw teal and 1 mallard

[BGkirk]

I’d sure like to get you In our marsh to see if your bwt momma hen call would work on our locals


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[Johnc]

Serious wind. I got too blind. Orange sticks. Decoys all over