2019-2020 Season Log

[Darren]

That's one legit stew you had there, DC. Got me thinking on doing another one myself for CZ 2nd split opener.

It was sooooo good. I'm ready for more.

Does it have any tomato base at all or just a brown/roux-based gravy? I've been doing kind of a hybrid of that

[DComeaux]

That's one legit stew you had there, DC. Got me thinking on doing another one myself for CZ 2nd split opener.

It was sooooo good. I'm ready for more.

Does it have any tomato base at all or just a brown/roux-based gravy? I've been doing kind of a hybrid of that

Stick or two of butter melted depending on pot size, add chopped onions and saute until clear, add desired amount of roux and thin with water, add tomato paste and thin with water, add tomato sauce and simmer for as long as you can, stirring often, before adding sea food. I like it thick so I'm light on the water.

[DComeaux]

I think I had posted the teaser on here ealier this year.

In the Blind features an immersive “day in the life” perspective for duck hunters, while also tracing the unique traditions and rich culture of waterfowl hunting in Louisiana’s Sportsman’s Paradise. Watch the premiere at 7PM this Thurs, Dec. 12 on LPB!

[Darren]

That's one legit stew you had there, DC. Got me thinking on doing another one myself for CZ 2nd split opener.

It was sooooo good. I'm ready for more.

Does it have any tomato base at all or just a brown/roux-based gravy? I've been doing kind of a hybrid of that

Stick or two of butter melted depending on pot size, add chopped onions and saute until clear, add desired amount of roux and thin with water, add tomato paste and thin with water, add tomato sauce and simmer for as long as you can, stirring often, before adding sea food. I like it thick so I'm light on the water.

Yea sounds about what Im doing, which originated from your ideas anyway.

[DComeaux]

Sent a text to our local duck guy near the camp to check on the water levels and duck numbers. His response was that the duck numbers are "weak" but the water levels are low. He did text a seconded message saying that the geese had disappeared over the last couple of weeks but he could here a "party" going on in the marsh at that moment. Said it may be due to the approaching front.

It will be what it will be. I hope the red fish have moved in.

[Rick]

He did text a seconded message saying that the geese had disappeared over the last couple of weeks but he could here a "party" going on in the marsh at that moment. Said it may be due to the approaching front.

Heard geese when I aired the bug at dark-thirty this morning, which has been rare this year, and there were lots of geese moving while he and I were out in Klondike cutting wax myrtle and stretching his legs this morning, as well as a few more over the house when we got back. But nearly all of the daylight movement seemed northerly, "go figure"...

[DComeaux]

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[DComeaux]

Date: 12/21/2019

Hunters: Me and Blake

Cloud Cover: Overcast

Wind Direction and Velocity: Light NNE

Temperature: 47 on the drive out

Waterfowl Activity: Very few ducks seen this morning. Few high flights of pintail coming from the north and a few bunches of vocal GW and BW siting to our east all morning.

Waterfowl Responsiveness:

Birds total and by Species: SCRATCH

Our water level is very low (perfect) but with the sustained high water this year we have nothing for food. We'll keep going out until it closes. The lease holders blind got their two man limit of GW, and the other two blinds south of us took 2 each. We turned 3 pintail during the morning, circling twice they eventually headed to the north blind where we watched them commit and die.

[MallardBay]

Waterfowl Activity: Very few ducks. Few high flights of pintail coming from the north and a few bunches of vocal GW and BW siting to our east all morning.


I think you are right. Today, there were many ducks around that just didnt move for whatever reason. I think there may be a much better flight ahead for you guys. Just got to be in the blind when they decide to. Good luck.

[DComeaux]

Date: 12/22/2019

Hunters: Me and Blake

Cloud Cover: Mostly clear

Wind Direction and Velocity: 5 to 10 NW

Temperature: Upper 40's

Waterfowl Activity: Less than yesterday, which was next to nothing.

Waterfowl Responsiveness:

Birds total and by Species: (3) 2 GW 1 gadwall

The area is void of ducks with a few getting lucky with a pass or two of GW and making the shots count. Other than that it sucks.

[DComeaux]

I stole this from the internet (FB) today. From the post I'm assuming this group is from SE LA. They've pulled out the old saints bags.

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[Duck Engr]

Hahaha had a nice laugh at that one

[DComeaux]

Pulled out my chickens on Christmas eve to let them air out. I'd sure like to use em again one day.

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Had plenty of help deploying the spread.

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[Rick]

Looks to me, and those girls, like you're putting them to good use.

[DComeaux]

Date: 12/28/2019

Hunters: Me and Bennett

Cloud Cover: Overcast with fog lifting as the morning progressed

Wind Direction and Velocity: 5 to 10 SE

Temperature: Upper Low 60's

Waterfowl Activity: nothing.

Waterfowl Responsiveness:

Birds total and by Species: DNS

Very few GW and grays to our east not moving. Very vocal all morning.

[DComeaux]

Date: 12/29/2019

Hunters: Me and Bennett

Cloud Cover: Overcast with distant Lightning to the W and NW

Wind Direction and Velocity: SE 10 to 12?

Temperature: 69

Waterfowl Activity: nothing.

Waterfowl Responsiveness:

Birds total and by Species: DNS

Nothing sitting in the marsh around us this morning. Saw just a couple of teal and a few grays, with a few flocks of Pintail coming slow from the north. I did get the attention of a couple of flocks of grays that cupped and broke but didn't commit. A few pintail seemed just a bit interested as well with the same outcome. Had an over the decoys, cupped, slow pass of the only scaup we saw this morning. I had a good bead on it from right to left but lowered my gun and decided to just watch it fly away.

We were the only blind to hunt on our place this morning, and we heard only 4 maybe 5 distant volleys around us in different directions.

We had these in our traps...

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…and they were delicious.

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[Deltaman]

Look at those pretty male blue crabs .............maybe not as much fun to harvest as ducks, but they sure do eat good. Sorry the birds didn't cooperate, but I always love your back up plan Dave

[DComeaux]

Date: 1/04/2019

Hunters: Me and Blake

Cloud Cover: Clear

Wind Direction and Velocity: NW 5 to 10

Temperature: upper 40's

Waterfowl Activity: nothing.

Waterfowl Responsiveness:

Birds total and by Species: (1) Gadwall

That gadwall was my only shot this morning, and Blake fired his only shot at that dead gadwall seconds after it folded. Same nothingness in the area. What's puzzling is the absence of divers and shore birds (Black neck stilts, avocets, skimmers, etc) in the area as well. We'll push to the end of this season with hopes that the next will be different. Hoping for a dry,stormless spring and summer.

I have the wife and two granddaughters with me this weekend as well. We took a ride to check the crab traps. Sure wish I could have shown them some ducks.

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Even after this disappointing year I couldn't help myself.

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Couple of dozen nice crabs for the boil.

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[DComeaux]

Wanted to add that the furthest and last blind, about a mile to our south (guy we lease from) took a two man limit (Pintail, mottled, GW teal and black bellies) and the first and most northern blind took 8 just a little of over a quarter of mile from us. Gut punches really hurt.

[MallardBay]

Curious if your lease allows afternoon hunting?

[DComeaux]

We can but never have. When we're holding birds we want out as early as possible. We've actually talked about doing this as of late.

[Rick]

Wanted to add that the furthest and last blind, about a mile to our south (guy we lease from) took a two man limit (Pintail, mottled, GW teal and black bellies) and the first and most northern blind took 8 just a little of over a quarter of mile from us. Gut punches really hurt.

That's a mighty tough spot to be in. Mornings when my guys are listening to what seems like everyone else in the marsh shooting up a storm, while we're looking at empty sky or straining to make ducks out of grackles and rain birds, absolutely eat my lunch. But at least I've memory of and hope for better days at my spot.

Has to be misery to have your time and money investments in a new location where you don't know whether your duck drought is anomaly or routine.

[DComeaux]

Wanted to add that the furthest and last blind, about a mile to our south (guy we lease from) took a two man limit (Pintail, mottled, GW teal and black bellies) and the first and most northern blind took 8 just a little of over a quarter of mile from us. Gut punches really hurt.

That's a mighty tough spot to be in. Mornings when my guys are listening to what seems like everyone else in the marsh shooting up a storm, while we're looking at empty sky or straining to make ducks out of grackles and rain birds, absolutely eat my lunch. But at least I've memory of and hope for better days at my spot.

Has to be misery to have your time and money investments in a new location where you don't know whether your duck drought is anomaly or routine.

3rd year in that area with the first blind just a mile west. First two years had fairly similar flight patterns and bird numbers but the absence of divers of all species this year is mind boggling. I feel those, like the coots, are live decoys in large numbers and may help attract the dabblers. We'll see what happens next season.

[DComeaux]

Date: 1/05/2019

Hunters: Me and Blake

Cloud Cover: Clear

Wind Direction and Velocity: ESE light early turning SE and increasing substantially

Temperature: upper 40's?

Waterfowl Activity: Pushed many from the decoys pulling up to the blind at twilight and the marsh was noisy all morning with peeps, quacks and whistles.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Damn things don't listen.

Birds total and by Species: (1) Green Wing

We stayed alert most of the morning with birds buzzing here and there but its far from the numbers we had last year. The last blind (south) took 5 and got bored so they left at 8:00. We sat till 9:45. The GW seem to be moving in so we'll put out two spinners next weekend to see if we can't pull what's trafficking to our east, those that can't see the main decoys in low level flight. It sure as hell won't hurt anything. I'm going to place a few decoys to our SE as well. We've never had any on that side and those will be near the spinners. I'm hoping to get them close enough to see the bigger spread out front (west) and pull them over a small strip of tall marsh grass...….. I still have GW peeping ringing in my ears.

[Rick]

... I still have GW peeping ringing in my ears.

One of my favorite sounds. Not quite up there with a quail covey's small talk, mind you, but a great favorite.

Never here it in our marsh. Or at least not my part of it. Well...unless I'm doing it.

[Darren]

DC: "No ducks here"

Waterfowl Activity: Pushed many from the decoys pulling up to the blind at twilight and the marsh was noisy all morning

They have the hunters patterned and/or are just using that acreage at night??

[DComeaux]

DC: "No ducks here"

Waterfowl Activity: Pushed many from the decoys pulling up to the blind at twilight and the marsh was noisy all morning

They have the hunters patterned and/or are just using that acreage at night??

They stay there all day long and just hop pond to pond. I have never sat out here in the evenings, and for me duck hunting the afternoons in my life I could probably count on one hand.

I used the word many but it should have been a few. I saw silhouettes rising in the twilight and the sounds were coming from a hundred + ? fowl spread out to our east. We had the same scenario last year but the numbers were much, much higher. As other hunters to our east ran out of the marsh they'd flush, so I got a good look at what we had, or didn't have out there. A few blinds around Chenier area are doing okay at times and seem to be holding wads of what little actually migrated down here. The traditional ponds along the road to Cameron and Pecan Island are for the most part, empty. I read where some of the camps in PI shut it down last weekend. Heard talk from a few that this is their last season. One trying to get his son started in waterfowl hunting and made a big investment last year is on the fence. It's going to be an interesting spring and early summer with many grappling with waterfowl hunting decisions. Our passion is not cheap, especially to those that have to maintain marsh.

[Darren]

Yea i think that's a great point, many are giving some deep thought to how they invest time, money, energy into it. I got asked a similar question on radio show Saturday, basically, what's my cut off for harvest vs. keeping up with the sport? At what point in my harvest (or lack thereof) do I give it up?

Given I'm still killing some birds and enjoying it, I'm not having that conversation any time too soon, especially given that as recent as the 2017-2018 season was very strong. There are guys hunting brackish marsh around the corner from my camp hammering the grays this season so that's also encouraging after so much discouraging news on the La waterfowl scene.

[Ducaholic]

Not to add to anyone's misery in particular but I haven't had a good season by my standards since 2013/14. That very good season was preceded by a decade of good seasons by any standard. I had multiple good days in 14/15, 15/16, 16/17 and 17/18 but my over all seasons success has been in decline.

I thought last year might be an anomaly but I was wrong. This year has been equally bad and yes I understand that the weather patterns in both seasons have lacked a true winter's touch. We haven't had one single solitary true arctic air mass blow through since early November. Luckily it hasn't taken a toll on my desire to chase them as hard as ever but at 59 it's getting harder than ever to do what I have always done as relentlessly as I always have.

With that said early on Tuesday morning I am driving 3.5 hours north for a chance to shoot a limit or two. Call me crazy if you must but don't call me lazy. That I'm not...

[DComeaux]

I got asked a similar question on radio show Saturday..

Care to elaborate?

I'll be back out there next year and hope it's not like this one, or worse.