WaterfowlForum.Net

Rick wrote:I'm no botanist, but wigeon grass sure seems to like some salt.

I thought I had read something of this nature over the years. But in terms of pure marsh building I'm not sure how much is too much?

For perspective, my delacroix lease is fairly salty at times but only our most interior of ponds has wigeon grass....and the grays cant get enough of that.

Darren wrote:For perspective, my delacroix lease is fairly salty at times but only our most interior of ponds has wigeon grass....and the grays cant get enough of that.

The year before we got in our current lease it was covered in wigeon grass. I would pull up dead pieces of it on the push pole and paddle the first year we were in there. I assume it's been too salty for regrowth ever since.

I’m no expert either, but one thing I’ve noticed is I’ve never seen it growing where it can get pounded by waves


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BGkirk wrote:I’m no expert either, but one thing I’ve noticed is I’ve never seen it growing where it can get pounded by waves
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yea same here, hence the growth in our most interior of ponds where there's none. So it's calm, less-saline water, but not fresh.

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries has public comment available from the Feb. 24 virtual public meeting on the proposed 2021-22 and 2022-2023 resident game hunting seasons, 2021-2022 general and WMA hunting seasons, rules and regulations, 2022 general and WMA turkey hunting season rules and regulations and the 2021-2022 migratory bird hunting season rules and regulations.


Click on the following links for that information; public meeting chat comments, emailed and chat questions during the meeting and chat window during the meeting.

To view the full notices of intent and all proposed hunting season dates and regulation changes, visit https://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/resources ... tion-items.

Public comment will be accepted through Thursday (March 4) at LWFC monthly meetings or may be submitted directly to Tommy Tuma, LDWF Wildlife Division, P.O. Box 98000, Baton Rouge, LA., 70898-9000 or via e-mail to ttuma@wlf.la.gov by March 4.

For more information, contact Tommy Tuma at 225-765-2349 or ttuma@wlf.la.gov.

LDWF is practically begging people to comment. I don't think I have seen this type of concerted effort prior to this year.

Ducaholic wrote:LDWF is practically begging people to comment. I don't think I have seen this type of concerted effort prior to this year.

I think most duck hunters have given up.

I sent an email and was very surprised to get a response, quickly at that.


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BGkirk wrote:I sent an email and was very surprised to get a response, quickly at that.


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Spill the beans

Story was always exponentially more whining than participating. Their only hope is to beg and plead to get as many to chime in on their preferences as possible, and still most won't, just complain.

That said there was a time I was more vocal and attending meetings only to see disheartening practices by the commission, kind of gave up on that front.

Hard to get excited about season dates when so much depends on random factors. Easier just to go with the flow...

Rick wrote:Hard to get excited about season dates when so much depends on random factors. Easier just to go with the flow...

Come on. Don't you know there are the magical perfect dates that even in the coldest most nasty winters and the warmest most mild winters will yield 60 days of limits.

I really am growing on my 4x15 day spit season all the same dates from northern Illinois to southern Louisiana. Everybody gets a piece of what they want no matter the winter. Of course, that will never be the magical perfect 60 days of limits.

Of course, I had a guide say something that has really stuck with me and I think is sadly all too true. Hunters, and I think this is especially true of waterfowl hunters, are the greediest people. Obviously, not true about everybody, but far too many people that it leads to a lot of fighting over really stupid things and insane behavior when hunting, especially in proximity to others.

I think it ties into a statement, I believe it was Larry on the series of videos that Dave posted, about how happy pheasant hunters are with a 2 bird limit and how unhappy duck hunters are with a 6 bird limit. I think they tie together.

Great points, you two above.

Coming off my past uber-interest/uber-focus on the minutia of season dates, just going with the flow has proven far more enjoyable. Would certainly agree that no set of magical dates will appease all, or even myself year to year.

Last season I hunted like it was the end of hunting.
I hunted 80+ days for ducks.

The year before I thought I was smart enough to just go when it's ducky.

Last year I killed ~20 ducks
Year before 14 I think.

Point? I dunno but it seems like I know when to not go.
I call bs on myself.

Those extra six ducks were species I never kill because I'm not there.
Goldeneye?
I shot some oddballs I never see
Scaup?
Why. I was there the day they came thru.

Don't ever know if you don't go. Log keeping has driven home the exceptions to perceptions.

Trey Iles
(225) 765-5115
riles@wlf.la.gov

For Immediate Release
March 4, 2021



The black-bellied whistling duck avian cholera mortality event that started in the New Orleans area in early December 2020 continues to kill birds, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries announced Thursday.
The mortality event has killed more than 1,000 black-bellied whistling ducks in New Orleans and surrounding areas, including the Audubon Park, Audubon Zoo, Lafreniere Park, and private ponds. Park and Zoo personnel are assisting with carcass removal in an effort to reduce the spread of the disease.
This naturally occurring circumstance is caused by the bacteria Pasteurella multocida and can result in waterfowl death. Comingling of waterfowl spreads the infection within the population.
“Avian cholera outbreaks are not an uncommon occurrence in waterfowl and occur throughout the country nearly every year,” said Dr. Jim LaCour, LDWF’s State Wildlife Veterinarian. “Mortality events in the wild can be limited to a few birds or can cause mortality in many thousands of birds and can be short-lived or endure for months. Luckily, the setting for this outbreak allows some mitigation of natural spread which should help to minimize the mortality effects.”
Many species of birds and mammals, including pets, are susceptible to infection from the bacteria that causes avian cholera, but the waterfowl strain does not commonly infect those other species. Pets should not be allowed to come in contact with dead or dying waterfowl.
According to the Field Manual of Wildlife Diseases by the United States Geological Survey’s National Wildlife Health Center avian cholera is not considered a high-risk disease for humans. However, there have been some rare cases documented of avian cholera in humans. People are warned not to handle dead wildlife.
Common signs of avian cholera are erratic flight, loss of head control (floppy necks), mucous discharge from the nasal openings, and death.
For more information or to report waterfowl mortalities, please contact Dr. Jim LaCour at Jlacour@wlf.la.gov.

Perhaps ironically, I just got off the phone with the fellow managing Cherry Ridge who called to say that dropping water levels have them absolutely covered in squealers: "...more and more every trip out there". (As well as good numbers of other species, including mallards, so they apparently didn't all split with warming weather.) Have to wonder if that kind of crowd isn't an invitation to some sort of outbreak.

Crowding those right now I would think to not be a good thing.

Neat ducks! They nest here along the coast in Alabama in surprising numbers, but by the time duck season rolls around in the fall, they are nowhere to be found.......the teasing bastages!

Ducaholic wrote:

BGkirk wrote:I sent an email and was very surprised to get a response, quickly at that.


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Spill the beans

I was impressed to see that LDWF published all the questions and comments from the Chat window and e-mailed from the Zoom public meeting, as meager as they were. I was required to answer all questions, and you can see there are some comments without questions. If you go to the press release Dave mentioned above: https://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/news/ldwf ... ns-changes

You can see some of my short, and not so short answers to questions about white-fronted goose seasons, veterans hunt days, hunting until February 15, etc. in the links to Chat and e-mailed questions.

I was tickled at the total public comment that Tommy Tuma presented at the Commission meeting yesterday on our proposals: they were all AGAINST. 100% of the comments were against our proposed actions, season dates, etc. Unfortunately, not all of the comments are against our proposals for the same reason. For season dates it's always a few wanting earlier seasons, and a bunch wanting later seasons, and the 2 groups of people are usually surprised to learn that the other group exists. I honestly wish everyone could sit at my desk for a while just to hear how universal their opinions are not.

Lreynolds wrote:I honestly wish everyone could sit at my desk for a while just to hear how universal their opinions are not.

Nope, ain't gonna do it.

Lreynolds wrote:

Ducaholic wrote:

BGkirk wrote:I sent an email and was very surprised to get a response, quickly at that.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Spill the beans

I was impressed to see that LDWF published all the questions and comments from the Chat window and e-mailed from the Zoom public meeting, as meager as they were. I was required to answer all questions, and you can see there are some comments without questions. If you go to the press release Dave mentioned above: https://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/news/ldwf ... ns-changes

You can see some of my short, and not so short answers to questions about white-fronted goose seasons, veterans hunt days, hunting until February 15, etc. in the links to Chat and e-mailed questions.

I was tickled at the total public comment that Tommy Tuma presented at the Commission meeting yesterday on our proposals: they were all AGAINST. 100% of the comments were against our proposed actions, season dates, etc. Unfortunately, not all of the comments are against our proposals for the same reason. For season dates it's always a few wanting earlier seasons, and a bunch wanting later seasons, and the 2 groups of people are usually surprised to learn that the other group exists. I honestly wish everyone could sit at my desk for a while just to hear how universal their opinions are not.

Haha
Once I processed a poll.
About half the participants rewrote their own questions turning analysis into a nightmare.
Gun control was not the topic yet 60 percent of replies were.
California. Go figure.

SpinnerMan wrote:I think it ties into a statement, I believe it was Larry on the series of videos that Dave posted, about how happy pheasant hunters are with a 2 bird limit and how unhappy duck hunters are with a 6 bird limit. I think they tie together.

Greed...Always more, more, more.

I would be content just to know that they're around and we at least have an opportunity. Open the season in coastal/west zone the second week of November for 45 days. Arrange splits so it's open during the thanksgiving and Christmas/New Years holidays. Bag limit would not matter to me. Three ducks per man, hunting mostly two hunters and getting two to four birds a hunt, with at least the opportunity for more would be just fine.

This is what years of liberal seasons and limits have produced. They want to maximize the kill numbers.

DComeaux wrote:

SpinnerMan wrote:I think it ties into a statement, I believe it was Larry on the series of videos that Dave posted, about how happy pheasant hunters are with a 2 bird limit and how unhappy duck hunters are with a 6 bird limit. I think they tie together.

Greed...Always more, more, more.

I would be content just to know that they're around and we at least have an opportunity. Open the season in coastal/west zone the second week of November for 45 days. Arrange splits so it's open during the thanksgiving and Christmas/New Years holidays. Bag limit would not matter to me. Three ducks per man, hunting mostly two hunters and getting two to four birds a hunt, with at least the opportunity for more would be just fine.

This is what years of liberal seasons and limits have produced. They want to maximize the kill numbers.

156672163_101573045336744_5990048992867706204_n.jpg

And that’s a small group. Saw photographic proof of multiple 28 (yes, twenty-eight) man limits of specks this season by guide services.

DComeaux wrote:and getting two to four birds a hunt, with at least the opportunity for more would be just fine.

I've never expected 2-4 birds per hunt in my life. That would be a dream. I was happy when I averaged one opportunity per hunt. I didn't had three opportunities at ducks all last season at my regular hunting spot and did not get one shot.

DComeaux wrote:I would be content just to know that they're around

They are around. The surveys show that. I believe the problem is too many safe havens. And I don't know practically what you do about it.

As I stated earlier, I think opening refugees for a fraction of the week and 4 season split, roughly 2 weeks on 2 weeks off, same every place. Birds get less stale, more weekends, early dayes, late dates, just a lot of little benefits and all birds are hunted 60 days unlike some that start getting banged on up north in September and don't get a break to the end of January while others stay north and their season is over almost 2 months earlier.

SpinnerMan wrote:I believe the problem is too many safe havens.

What happened here was plainly the opposite: too many unsafe places.

Rick wrote:

SpinnerMan wrote:I believe the problem is too many safe havens.

What happened here was plainly the opposite: too many unsafe places.

I agree with that statement.

Duck Engr wrote:And that’s a small group. Saw photographic proof of multiple 28 (yes, twenty-eight) man limits of specks this season by guide services.

I hate reading that.

DComeaux wrote:

Duck Engr wrote:And that’s a small group. Saw photographic proof of multiple 28 (yes, twenty-eight) man limits of specks this season by guide services.

I hate reading that.

It’s even worse when you’re within earshot of it.