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2020-2021 DUCK SEASON

PostPosted: Tue Nov 10, 2020 3:59 pm
by MARSH BEAR
As of 3:00pm Tuesday, Nov 10, 2020 - 87 hours and 08 minutes until legal shooting time in Holly Beach, LA

Re: 2020-2021 DUCK SEASON

PostPosted: Tue Nov 10, 2020 7:42 pm
by Ricky Spanish
MARSH BEAR wrote:As of 3:00pm Tuesday, Nov 10, 2020 - 87 hours and 08 minutes until legal shooting time in Holly Beach, LA

Hope you catch some ducks. :)

Today this fisherman asked me if I caught any.
Was wearing chest waders and camo...retriever 3 dozen decoys. Uhhh. Nope.

Re: 2020-2021 DUCK SEASON

PostPosted: Thu Nov 12, 2020 10:19 am
by SierraValleyLabs
MARSH BEAR wrote:As of 3:00pm Tuesday, Nov 10, 2020 - 87 hours and 08 minutes until legal shooting time in Holly Beach, LA

How long does your season run?
We've been open for weeks out here in California.

Re: 2020-2021 DUCK SEASON

PostPosted: Thu Nov 12, 2020 11:46 am
by MARSH BEAR
I hunt in the coastal zone in southwest Louisiana, our season starts Nov 14 closes on Dec 6, then reopens on Dec 19 and closes on Jan 24

Re: 2020-2021 DUCK SEASON

PostPosted: Thu Nov 12, 2020 5:20 pm
by MARSH BEAR
Good luck to all the coastal zone hunters this weekend.

Re: 2020-2021 DUCK SEASON

PostPosted: Fri Nov 13, 2020 5:11 am
by Rick
MARSH BEAR wrote:Good luck to all the coastal zone hunters this weekend.


And to you and your crew.

Re: 2020-2021 DUCK SEASON

PostPosted: Fri Nov 13, 2020 8:53 am
by Ricky Spanish
Good luck MB.
By any chance do you know a character who called himself rebelp?

Re: 2020-2021 DUCK SEASON

PostPosted: Fri Nov 13, 2020 11:23 am
by Rick
Don' know no "rebleb, but have it in my head that JohnC here has been "redleg" elsewhere.

Re: 2020-2021 DUCK SEASON

PostPosted: Fri Nov 13, 2020 11:59 am
by DComeaux
Rick wrote:Don' know no "rebleb, but have it in my head that JohnC here has been "redleg" elsewhere.


If I remember correctly the "rebelp" guy was a member on DHC a few moons ago that was banned from the site a time or two.

Re: 2020-2021 DUCK SEASON

PostPosted: Mon Nov 16, 2020 9:56 am
by MARSH BEAR
Date: Saturday, Nov 14, 2020 - opening day of Coastal Duck season

Hunters: Buddy and I with Abby

Weather: Warm, 72 degrees, light east wind turning southerly about 9:30

Skitters were bad this morning, gave the yard guard and mosquito spray a work out. Saw more than expected teal early, but none of the big flights came to our blind. One end of our blind was not brushed and it cost us some good shots on Greys. Buddy and I shot OK, not good, and Abby was a little rusty but not bad. There were 3 blinds to our south, not part of our lease, and I think they left after running our of shells.
It wasn't a fast and furious hunt, but I will take it every time.

Ducks: 6 - Greenwing teal, 1 - Bluewing teal, 5 - Gadwall

The lone bluewing teal came in with 2 greenwing teal (all stayed)

Re: 2020-2021 DUCK SEASON

PostPosted: Mon Nov 16, 2020 10:14 am
by MARSH BEAR
Date: Sunday, Nov 15, 2020

Hunters: Buddy and I with Abby

Weather: Warm, 73 degrees with light to zero south wind. Front came thru about 9:30, we were going to leave before the front but decided to stay. The wind had to be 35mph or better with rain when the front blew thru. I keep camo umbrellas in my gun box and they saved us. Temp dropped from 78 degrees prefront to 63 degrees 10 minutes post front.

Did not see the number of ducks Sunday that we saw on Saturday. The blind we were hunting is in the middle of a pond - thus we can hunt 360 degrees. The group the day before destroyed the brush on one side of the blind, I think his dog had a lot to do with that. Buddy was so pissed about the brush he wanted to go back to the camp - I ignored him. The lack of brush definitely cost some opportunities. After the front passed we saw a lot more ducks moving - mostly Greys, but they did not want to come to a blind in the middle of the pond without any protected area.
All blinds got limits on Saturday, no blinds got limits on Sunday.

Two boats left at the landing got swamped by the waves (back of the boats facing north) filled the boats with water then the straps holding them up broke - one boat sunk and only the top part of the air filter was above water. The other boat was full of water but the motor was out of the water.

Ducks: 2 - Greenwing teal, 2 - Gadwall, 2 - Spoonbill, 1 - Wigeon

Re: 2020-2021 DUCK SEASON

PostPosted: Mon Nov 16, 2020 10:23 am
by Deltaman
Thanks for the reports MB, and glad you were able to hunt the opener, given the storm damage and rebuilding efforts. Bummer about the boats going down, and hope the submerged motor can be brought back to life quickly, like an outboard. You "keeled" ducks, congrats!!!!!!!!

Re: 2020-2021 DUCK SEASON

PostPosted: Mon Nov 16, 2020 10:37 am
by Darren
Sure glad yall were able to hunt and did some killin'

Re: 2020-2021 DUCK SEASON

PostPosted: Wed Nov 18, 2020 5:06 am
by SierraValleyLabs
MARSH BEAR wrote:I hunt in the coastal zone in southwest Louisiana, our season starts Nov 14 closes on Dec 6, then reopens on Dec 19 and closes on Jan 24


In Cali we are open from the middle of October, until Jan 31. Except we can hunt Canada geese the first weekend in October with a 15 bag limit (I believe) , We're trying to lower the resident population. They're everywhere. Flocks of hundreds at schools and parks, They dont migrate anymore.

Re: 2020-2021 DUCK SEASON

PostPosted: Wed Nov 18, 2020 5:24 am
by SpinnerMan
SierraValleyLabs wrote:
MARSH BEAR wrote:I hunt in the coastal zone in southwest Louisiana, our season starts Nov 14 closes on Dec 6, then reopens on Dec 19 and closes on Jan 24


In Cali we are open from the middle of October, until Jan 31. Except we can hunt Canada geese the first weekend in October with a 15 bag limit (I believe) , We're trying to lower the resident population. They're everywhere. Flocks of hundreds at schools and parks, They dont migrate anymore.

The pacific zone has a 107 days season. I think all the rest have 60 days.

The giant Canada geese never migrated. They were thought extinct at one point. Obviously they were not. Their reintroduction has been beyond anyone's wildest dreams. So if you have the giants like the rest of the resident populations, they aren't migratory. They only move here when the snow gets too deep and forces them and then they come right back when the snow melts. They will roost on frozen lakes for long times. It usually takes snow and no open water to make them move south. The large number of resident geese along with other changes short stops most of the migratory Canada geese as they join the huge number of live Resident goose decoys.

Re: 2020-2021 DUCK SEASON

PostPosted: Mon Nov 23, 2020 9:05 am
by MARSH BEAR
Friday, Nov 20, 2020

Hunters: Buddy and I with Abby

Weather: Wind zero to 8mph from the east (grrrr), Temp warm 72, clear

Nothing was moving not even seagulls. We heard a few shots west of us, but not much. Buddy had a grey duck come in on his side, land and he still missed it 3 times, that was it. Abby slept most of the morning

Ducks: Zero, nothing

Re: 2020-2021 DUCK SEASON

PostPosted: Mon Nov 23, 2020 9:13 am
by MARSH BEAR
Saturday, Nov 21, 2020

Hunters: Buddy and I with Abby

Weather: A little cooler than yesterday with a NNE wind, Temp 68

More duck movement than yesterday, but still not great. A blind west of us on another lease shot all morning - they must have corn in the decoys. Buddy has a left hand gun (Benelli) and something in the trigger broke - I guess it was after he missed the grey duck 3 times on the water yesterday. His backup gun is a right hand gun - he had trouble finding the safety all morning. We should have had a limit, I missed 2 I should have bagged and Buddy missed some opportunities not finding the 'trigger.
Abby did a good job finding some downed ducks in thick cover.

Ducks: 6 - greenwing teal, 4 - Gadwall

Re: 2020-2021 DUCK SEASON

PostPosted: Mon Nov 23, 2020 9:19 am
by MARSH BEAR
Sunday, Nov 22, 2020

Hunters: Buddy and I with Abby

Weather: Wind NNE 5 - 8 mph, Temp 68 and clear

We hunted our southern most blind, all the ducks were north of us. We were not seeing any ducks and the northern blinds were banging away. On the boat ride back to the landing we saw lots of Greys in the marsh, just not where we were.
I am leaving tonight with 2 grandsons to hunt Tuesday and Wednesday, hoping the ducks will be there for them.

Ducks: 4 - Greenwing teal, 2 - Gadwall, 2 - Spoonbill

Re: 2020-2021 DUCK SEASON

PostPosted: Mon Nov 23, 2020 2:17 pm
by Rick
MARSH BEAR wrote:I am leaving tonight with 2 grandsons to hunt Tuesday and Wednesday, hoping the ducks will be there for them.


Fingers and toes crossed.

Re: 2020-2021 DUCK SEASON

PostPosted: Mon Nov 23, 2020 3:26 pm
by Darren
Good luck MB!

Re: 2020-2021 DUCK SEASON

PostPosted: Mon Nov 30, 2020 9:09 am
by MARSH BEAR
Tuesday, Nov 24, 2020

Hunters: William, Matthew (grandsons) Abby and I

Weather: Cloudy, wind 10 mph from the south, temp 68 degrees

Not a lot of ducks in our area, but the boys shot well and took advantage of what was there. William is 15 and Matthew is 14 this is there 5th year hunting and they know what to do, makes it easy on me.
Our normal teal and gadwall flights have mostly left our area.

Total: 5 - Gadwall, 4 - greenwing teal, 2 - Wigeon, 2 - Spoonbill

Re: 2020-2021 DUCK SEASON

PostPosted: Mon Nov 30, 2020 9:23 am
by MARSH BEAR
Wednesday, Nov 25, 2020

Hunters: William, Matthew, Abby and I

Weather: 68 degrees, south wind turning to north after the front with heavy rain.

I thought this would be our day, disappointed again. The rain started around 8:00 and lasted over an hour, temp dropped about 10 degrees after the front.
3 Greys came in perfect shortly after LST - I take the middle position in the blind, and I saw the duck on the left fall, then the duck on the right fall, I pick up my gun for the middle duck but it falls before I get a chance to shoot. A little later 2 Pintail drakes are crossing over the decoys, 2 shots from the boys and both are dead on the water, I have not fired a shot yet. Then the rain started, after the rain very little duck movement.

Totals - 5 - Gadwall, 2- Pintail

Re: 2020-2021 DUCK SEASON

PostPosted: Mon Nov 30, 2020 9:42 am
by MARSH BEAR
Friday, Nov 27, 2020

Hunters: Joey and I

Weather: Warm, south east wind 5 - 10 mph, mostly cloudy.

We have very few ducks in our area, and with the Sabine Federal Wildlife Refuge closed any ducks around are sitting safely there.

Total: 2 - Gadwall, 2 - Spoonbill

Re: 2020-2021 DUCK SEASON

PostPosted: Mon Nov 30, 2020 9:51 am
by MARSH BEAR
Sunday, Nov 29, 2020

Hunters: Joey and I

Weather: Raining at wakeup, saw a letup in the rain coming so we headed to the marsh. Wind N 15 - 20 mph, temp 60 degrees

It rained all the way to the blind, then it quit, the wind made shooting a challenge (correction hitting the target a challenge) Saw a few more teal than the last few hunts, but still no Greys. Pintail were in flights of 25 or more - could have killed 20 to 25 of them.
The rain started Friday about 2:00 and most of the day on Saturday and Saturday night, water is up over 4" in our marsh, and was high before that.
We woke up on Saturday to a hard rain, radar showed no letup in sight, went back to bed, but swore to go on Sunday no matter what.

Totals: 10 - Greenwing teal, 2 - Pintail drakes

Re: 2020-2021 DUCK SEASON

PostPosted: Mon Dec 07, 2020 9:06 am
by MARSH BEAR
Friday, Dec 4, 2020

Hunters: Joey, Jeff and I

Weather: NW wind 10- 12 mph, temp 58 kinda chilly

Joey wanted to go to our #9 blind was not my choice but he was driving the boat. Saw very little duck movement and what we did see was puddle hopping ducks, did not hear many shots from other hunters in the marsh. I only shot 1 (yes 1 finger) time.
My old back has not been feeling very good, and Friday was an uncomfortable morning in the blind. Got up Saturday morning, my back said no, so I went back to bed for a couple hours then drove home. Hoping the split will give the back a chance to get better.

Total: 1 - greenwing teal, 1 Gadwall

Re: 2020-2021 DUCK SEASON

PostPosted: Mon Dec 07, 2020 9:11 am
by Darren
Hope you are on the mend for the 2nd split!

Re: 2020-2021 DUCK SEASON

PostPosted: Mon Dec 07, 2020 10:36 am
by Rick
Darren wrote:Hope you are on the mend for the 2nd split!


Ditto.

Re: 2020-2021 DUCK SEASON

PostPosted: Sat Dec 26, 2020 9:30 am
by MARSH BEAR
Saturday Dec 19, 2020

Hunters: Buddy and I with Abby

Temp: Cool, SE 'wind 5 - 10 mph, cloudy to almost clear, back to cloudy

Friday in the marsh lots and lots of teal moving, trying to land in the decoys with us in them. Saturday opening day of second split totally different from the day before. Still saw 10 - 12 large groups of teal, but every group stayed clear of all our blinds - I did not hear 1 shot on all those teal. The big ducks were not around, saw some in a large pond as were went back to the boat landing. Abby did a great job on a wounded Grey duck.

Total: 2 - Gadwall, 8 - Greenwing teal

Re: 2020-2021 DUCK SEASON

PostPosted: Sat Dec 26, 2020 9:38 am
by MARSH BEAR
Sunday, Dec 20, 2020

Hunters: Buddy and I with Abby

Temp: Temp about the same as Saturday, wind still from the SE almost calm to 10 mph

Not as many teal moving as yesterday and the only larger ducks were Spoonbill. We passed on the spoonbill early then realized that was about all we had to shoot at, not much shooting around us from other leases either. We don't have many ducks in our area.
The water has dropped a lot since the first split, the guys in the lease next to ours use outboards and are having a hard time getting around

Totals: 6 - Spoonbill, 2 - Greenwing teal, 1 - Gadwall, 1 - Scaup

Re: 2020-2021 DUCK SEASON

PostPosted: Sat Dec 26, 2020 9:47 am
by MARSH BEAR
Tuesday, Dec 22, 2020

Huntes: Matthew, William (grandsons) and I with Abby

Temp: Warm 60 degrees, wind SE d - 10 mph, skeeters were bad

Nothing moving early, teal have mostly left our area. Saw more big ducks than I saw all last weekend. The boys shot well on the few opps we had. We (mostly they) killed 4 Greys in one flock, 3 Greys out of 4 in another group, and 2 Greys out of 2 on the last opportunity.

Total: 9 - Gadwall, 2 - Greenwing Teal, 1 - Spoonbill