Looking ahead...

[Ducaholic]

Case in point lol

[Johnc]

Pfft... you can have the best hatch ever, means nothing if they don't make it here.

Lately I've been searching for a duck lease for a friend and have come across a few younger guy's with rice land that they lease. We've heard stories told of how good it was last year. After hearing details of their experiences their "GOOD" is not on the level of mine. Memory tends to get in the way.

This friend will be in for a rude awakening with price per blind compared to the blinds we had in the 80's, and also with what today's "good" looks like.

Exactly

Duck hunting is dead in agriculture here. Accept it. Sure their will be some good days but as far as consistent limits from the same pits duck wise,it’s done

[Darren]

Case in point lol

BIG difference in most divers and a spoon when it makes it to the table. A spoon eats wing to wing with a pintail, teal, mallards. The dogs, cans, etc. usually do not.

[Ducaholic]

Case in point lol

BIG difference in most divers and a spoon when it makes it to the table. A spoon eats wing to wing with a pintail, teal, mallards. The dogs, cans, etc. usually do not.

I've seen good and bad in all species. Given a choice spoons won't be anywhere near the top of my list for the table or the strap but lately I haven't been afforded that choice. Shovelers have earned their name honestly.

[Darren]

Case in point lol

BIG difference in most divers and a spoon when it makes it to the table. A spoon eats wing to wing with a pintail, teal, mallards. The dogs, cans, etc. usually do not.

I've seen good and bad in all species. Given a choice spoons won't be anywhere near the top of my list for the table or the strap but lately I haven't been afforded that choice. Shovelers have earned their name honestly.

.......from the shape of their bill, not specifically their preferred food sources. In Bunkie we shoot teal full of rice, and spoons full of rice......one just happens to have a shovel-shaped bill, they spent all night/morning eating together.

[Ducaholic]

Case in point lol

BIG difference in most divers and a spoon when it makes it to the table. A spoon eats wing to wing with a pintail, teal, mallards. The dogs, cans, etc. usually do not.

I've seen good and bad in all species. Given a choice spoons won't be anywhere near the top of my list for the table or the strap but lately I haven't been afforded that choice. Shovelers have earned their name honestly.

.......from the shape of their bill, not specifically their preferred food sources. In Bunkie we shoot teal full of rice, and spoons full of rice......one just happens to have a shovel-shaped bill, they spent all night/morning eating together.

Shoot all you care to. They won't be anywhere near the top of my list given a choice even if they were eating filet mignon.

And not only for the shape of their bill but also it's use:
Northern Shovelers often have their heads down in shallow wetlands, busily sweeping their bills side to side, filtering out aquatic invertebrates and seeds from the water.

[Ducaholic]

My point to all of this is the Average Joe duck hunter given the choice in most cases would shoot the most preferred species both for the table and the strap. Having to shoot spoons and divers at least in the circle of hunters that I rub elbows with is a sign of having to lower the bar for the reasons previously mentioned.

I also don't view hunting as a means to subsidizing my grocery bill. I hunt purely for the thrill of putting quality ducks over my decoys, killing a few, and then the dog work that follows. Lately I haven't done enough of either one and have chosen to shoot less than desirable species more than I care to admit just so my dog would have some work. That's another aspect of having to lower the bar in my opinion.

In the end it's a personal choice. My first choice may in fact differ from your own.

[Rick]

"Its flight resembles that of the Blue-winged Teal; and in tenderness as well as in flavour, it rivals, as an article of food, that beautiful bird. No sportsman who is a judge will ever pass a Shoveller to shoot a Canvass-back." - John J. Audubon

[Rick]

T'is the season, and yesterday my first day out looking:

015a.jpg

Hatchling market is way down, but it's still sweet to hike the more-semi-than-acutually-wild countryside for nests and other treasures, large:

002a.jpg

and small:

006a.jpg

[Ducaholic]

"Its flight resembles that of the Blue-winged Teal; and in tenderness as well as in flavour, it rivals, as an article of food, that beautiful bird. No sportsman who is a judge will ever pass a Shoveller to shoot a Canvass-back." - John J. Audubon

Beauty as they say is in the eye of the beholder.

[Ericdc]

I appreciate their late season plumage and the challenge of getting them to decoy. 5-10 years ago I gave them a pass most days because I could, but that hasn't been the case lately.

Flying fajita meat.


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[Ducaholic]

I appreciate their late season plumage and the challenge of getting them to decoy. 5-10 years ago I gave them a pass most days because I could, but that hasn't been the case lately.

Flying fajita meat.


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Lowering of the bar is the reality we all face! I’m right there with you!

[Duck Engr]

The average spoonie IQ has dramatically increased the last 7 or 8 years in my area. Used to we couldn’t shoot the things off of us. Now they’re acting like gadwall. I too have succumbed to shooting them to keep the dog from biting me.

In a somewhat related note, I saw a property advertised for sale for SIX THOUSAND dollhairs per acre today with attached duck kill log. Never thought I’d see a spoonie/teal hole for sale for 6k an acre. Granted it’s also an ag income producer but sheesh.

[DComeaux]

That is today's "good". Better hope the rice crop does well, or your pockets are really deep.

[DComeaux]

T'is the season, and yesterday my first day out looking:

015a.jpg

Hatchling market is way down, but it's still sweet to hike the more-semi-than-acutually-wild countryside for nests and other treasures, large:

002a.jpg

and small:

006a.jpg

How are the deer flies?

[Rick]

How are the deer flies?

Some are fatter than they were the day before. Many are flatter...

[Darren]

How are the deer flies?

Some are fatter than they were the day before. Many are flatter...

Nice to be out given the weather is abnormally "cool" this week for this point on calendar.

Let the record show that I will stack spoons with the best of them, ideally not in my home marsh though, just the rice fed ones of SW and central La, dont care if his bill is shaped like a spoon or a saw.

DSC05264.JPG

DSC08014.JPG

[Ducaholic]

Duly noted

[Rick]

The coyote knew how to handle spoons:

IMG_3451a.jpg

Then once they'd passed through the camp's kitchen, no one knew they weren't plump teal.

[Ducaholic]

Cool shot...lol

[SpinnerMan]

How are the deer flies?

Some are fatter than they were the day before. Many are flatter...

I'm going to steal that one.

[BGkirk]

How are the deer flies?

Some are fatter than they were the day before. Many are flatter...

Is there a known repellent for those? They are vicious. I’ll take skeeters all day


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[Ericdc]

Putting in proso millet where it was too wet for sunflowers.


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[Rick]

Is there a known repellent for those? They are vicious. I’ll take skeeters all day

If there is, I'm unaware of it. But the most "interesting" ploy I've heard to date came from Lacassine NWR, where I was told they put stickum on (has to be) blue solo cups stuck on their hats that the deer flies attracted to the blue then got stuck to. Haven't tried it.

[BGkirk]

Is there a known repellent for those? They are vicious. I’ll take skeeters all day

If there is, I'm unaware of it. But the most "interesting" ploy I've heard to date came from Lacassine NWR, where I was told they put stickum on (has to be) blue solo cups stuck on their hats that the deer flies attracted to the blue then got stuck to. Haven't tried it.

We can probably get away with that during teal season.
However being on the water is the best place to be.
Best be wearing long sleeves once you get near land. May give it a try


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[Duck Engr]

Is there a known repellent for those? They are vicious. I’ll take skeeters all day

If there is, I'm unaware of it. But the most "interesting" ploy I've heard to date came from Lacassine NWR, where I was told they put stickum on (has to be) blue solo cups stuck on their hats that the deer flies attracted to the blue then got stuck to. Haven't tried it.

Similarly I’ve seen guys put a blue 5 gallon bucket with spray adhesive on it on a pvc pole and attach to their ATV. They swear by it.

[Duck Engr]

Putting in proso millet where it was too wet for sunflowers.


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We planted proso this year for the first time. Hasn’t rained since so I’m afraid I’ll have to go behind it with trusty brown top.

[DComeaux]

Looks like the ship is still sailing.

Screenshot (2).png

[Rick]

We'll see...

[Rick]

Saw, and glassed to confirm, a flight of wood storks this morning, which was surely an earliest ever stork sighting for me.