WaterfowlForum.Net

Rick wrote:While checking on my tarps this morning, I snapped a shot of a Laura issue my neighbor was still whittling away at yesterday:

001a.jpg

More than a little glad it fell the direction it did. But I've a couple big oaks...well one and a half, now, and an old hackberry that can still make more of a mess

Damn, what a tree, and as you said, sure glad it fell where it did. The lone chair speaks volumes, and I'm sure, used for rest in between bouts with that monster. Gritting my teeth for y'all

Was on a storm cleanup crew a few years ago and an older fella showed up that couldn’t get around too well. He reached in the bed of his truck and grabbed an electric chainsaw sharpener. He was a very good with it. We made sure he was well fed and taken care of every day that week. We’d drop our saws on his tailgate and take a little water break and he’d have us sharpened up about the time we were ready to go back for more.

Even more surprising to me is that tree looks solid all the way through.. I would’ve thought it to be rotten in that center with the looks of it’s size/age


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I don't think that blue tarp will be there very long when Delta arrives.
Good luck Rick, hope you and yours get through this storm OK

MARSH BEAR wrote:I don't think that blue tarp will be there very long when Delta arrives.

Ye of little faith: they're tight and held down with 1"x slats along the edges, so I think there's hope. 'Least for a while, unless or until, something rough hits and tears them. But I've tupperware tubs and gumbo pots on standby. ("Trust in God, but tie up your camels." and all that.)

Anyway, thanks to all for the well wishes. Chereaux will be with her son in his built-like-a-rock place for the storm, and while I gave serious thought to going with her, the bug and I will spend the worst of it where interior walls should prevent getting conked by most possibilities. Maybe stupid, but I'm no possible good to our place or the neighborhood's anywhere else.

Most important tarp made it though Delta, and, unlike many, we sustained no substantial additional damage. Even got power back yesterday, much sooner than expected.

The bug and I walked to the oat house yesterday and found it wasn't so lucky:




But Marsh found the roof:


Grounded boats (that didn't to camp or my place) and left plugs in so rain would help keep them from flipping, and all survived.

Water's high, but no blinds popped - as of yesterday.

And near the end of the bug and my country hike this morning we saw these characters heading NE along the Mermentau river:

Great to hear all around Rick, except for the poor boat shed; though from your previous reports sounds like parts of it were on its last leg anyway.

Bummer to see the boat house, know she's hung on by a thread a long while, and still recall that morning when the wall blew out.

Nice to see the first specks, hoping maybe we see a few this weekend.

Forgot to note that the bug and I moved exactly six ducks, three pairs of mottleds, on our marsh tour, all at the back blind.

Rick wrote:Forgot to note that the bug and I moved exactly six ducks, three pairs of mottleds, on our marsh tour, all at the back blind.

"Gueydan stacked with specks and ducks"

print it!

Rick at least you know what needs to be done in the marsh. Our lessor is telling us maybe by Nov 1 we will be able to access the property to see what our damage is, not much time to fix what I think will be a major rebuilding of blinds and boat dock.

Darren wrote:

Rick wrote:Forgot to note that the bug and I moved exactly six ducks, three pairs of mottleds, on our marsh tour, all at the back blind.

"Gueydan stacked with specks and ducks"

print it!

We'd expect no less from the LA Sportsman.

MARSH BEAR wrote:Rick at least you know what needs to be done in the marsh. Our lessor is telling us maybe by Nov 1 we will be able to access the property to see what our damage is, not much time to fix what I think will be a major rebuilding of blinds and boat dock.

Alas, knowing what needs done and getting it done are very different things. But, you're right about us at least hopefully knowing where we stand.

MARSH BEAR wrote:Rick at least you know what needs to be done in the marsh. Our lessor is telling us maybe by Nov 1 we will be able to access the property to see what our damage is, not much time to fix what I think will be a major rebuilding of blinds and boat dock.

How many pits vs platform blinds do ya have ? What did ya do after Rita?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

We only have pit blinds (8), after Rita we had 3 blinds destroyed and damage to some degree on the other 5. One blind was on an island in the middle of our largest pond - the whole island was gone along with the blind, we have since rebuilt that island and put the blind back. Don't know yet if our man made island survived Laura.

MARSH BEAR wrote:We only have pit blinds (8), after Rita we had 3 blinds destroyed and damage to some degree on the other 5. One blind was on an island in the middle of our largest pond - the whole island was gone along with the blind, we have since rebuilt that island and put the blind back. Don't know yet if our man made island survived Laura.

Fingers crossed your island(s) made it, those are some sweet setups.

Set gator lines in the fog at Cherry Ridge this morning in the company of rafts of poule d'eay:


Which was pretty weird, given their near absence last season.

They also had some ducks:

"some" indeed , good deal!

“Some” seems a little over the top Rick. I’d call those just a handful....

Darren’s dream conditions have arrived. Dry Iowa, Missouri, and water is falling out in north arkansas. Supposed to get downright chilly across the Midwest next week. “Coldest this early in 75 years” if “Snowbird Bob” is to be believed.




Just a month too early. Long range is calling for a mild November.

Remember Darren, you predicted a nice cool weekend for weekend Laura hit.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It came soon after if I remember right. I'm all over this next one, buddy in Iowa had plenty snow on the ground today. Models getting colorful with fronts next week and following.





Warm this week down here BUT doesn't mean it's not right to our north that will be helping us out so I'm optimistic. Some of the fronts just aren't quite pushing through Ark/La

Needed a hot and dry week to dry out after Delta.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Ericdc wrote:Needed a hot and dry week to dry out after Delta.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Could not believe the water along 49 Sunday, can only imagine its same deal up by you.

Not as bad, they got 20 inches south of Alexandria.

Our farm had dried out by last Saturday, as far as the roads.

Did see some fields where water was still backing up into them, but ours is dry.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Warm weather brought the tatailes out on Cherry Ridge. This one came from their #4 blind, where we caught an 11 a couple years ago:


Had two more just like him, except one was missing a leg, before we finished this morning's loop and several smaller, so our fears that the cooler water may have put them off were unfounded.

Rick wrote:so our fears that the cooler water may have put them off were unfounded.

Maybe they were and just think what you would have caught if it were warmer

That would definitely put a hurting on a wayward retriever or person that steps in the wrong spot.

I do like mucking around in the water up here knowing about the worst thing I have to worry about is stepping on a nail in a board and having to pull it out yourself because there's no way to walk out with a board nailed to your foot Ouch that hurt. Some antibiotics and a tetanus shot and I was on my way. No snakes of concern and definitely no gators even though I do think they are a cool critter.

I ran into a cotton mouth this afternoon. Wasn’t big but was big enough. Probably the farthest away I’ve ever seen a snake without it being in the water. Coiled up on a bare spot on the levee.

Rick wrote:Set gator lines in the fog at Cherry Ridge this morning in the company of rafts of poule d'eay:

001a.jpg

Which was pretty weird, given their near absence last season.

They also had some ducks:

Sigh....

Was mostly black-bellies, and there weren't near as many there yesterday. Were popping out of bulltongue. More poule d'eau than ducks elsewhere in the marsh. Which is surprising this early. Hope to get back in ours to spray and weed-eat sometime this afternoon.

Was back in Cherry Ridge executing alligators and mostly squealer, teal and poule d'eau watching again yesterday morning. Would love to know exactly what the squealers are finding so attractive in the spot on video above, as that's far and away their greatest concentration. Still not seeing much that can be identified as "big season" migration except all the coots. But we were treated to a couple hundred bird flight of relatively low pintails heading south.

Sprayed canes and weed-ate a spot for speck decoys at the mudhole in the afternoon and found no ducks or poule d'eau anywhere in our marsh until I got to the back blind and put up thirty or so big ducks. Didn't get close enough to be sure, and thought mottleds when they started bugging out, but were so many I'd not bet a mess of grays hadn't settled in with the locals.

Couldn't help but wonder for the hundredth time why marsh so close was holding birds while we weren't.