2021-2022 Season Log

[Rick]

Date: Our new three split regular season was as numerically disappointing as the past few have been: the first yielding only 3.64 birds per gun, the second barely better with 3.79 and the last dropping to just 2.69 birds per gun.

Time: Mornings only, due to severely limited ag land options.

Location: Mudhole

Cloud Cover: Nothing happened to shake my preference for clear skies...

Wind Direction and Velocity: ...and winds from the right half of the compass. Would still rather at least enough wind to give finishing birds a sense of direction, but we still enjoyed some good calm days. Frontal flights were conspicuously absent - unless we're talking about squealers trying to get back to Cherry Ridge.

Temperature: Seemed an awful lot of t-shirt days.

Moon phase:

Special Notes:

Waterfowl Activity: Largely the mudhole norm of listening to more easterly (more broken marsh) blinds shoot little ducks and squealers early while we watch empty skies - then too often falling short of the old norm of catching up with big duck traffic later.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: An awful lot of what we saw had that "been there, not doing that again" attitude of localized ducks: flying relatively low but swinging way wide of us. 'Course an awful lot of what we saw were blue-wings and spoons that may have been around for months. They and, of course, the mottleds that survived my tricks for them. Lacking others in any numbers or, more often, altogether, high pintails became our most commonly callable big ducks. Though their habit of traveling in bunches and working slowly too often gave them ample opportunity to spot the tourists in our blind. Did more purring than in years past to break over those we, or other blinds shooting, didn't run off. Fighting over food chatter remained our best bet for black-bellies, and their little single kacks seemed the best trick when spoons were stand-offish.

Hunters: Lots of really nice folks through the blind and relatively few I'd rather not see again. But it sure seemed that as our opportunities dropped off later in the season, more and more first time or not-in-years hunters showed up.

Guns: Shot my 16ga Model 12 more this season than any previous because it's what I started with the most shells for. Enjoyed it but shot my 20 more after procuring more ammo for it.

Malfunctions: Al's Browning O/U's failure to fire the second barrel on overheads reminded me of an old buddy's that did likewise. Otherwise, nearly all were op errors.

Dog(s): Marsh had a good season and made me proud - except when he perhaps intentionally nearly cut a couple teal in two. Rough treatment can be expected when he's snagging healthy crips, pulling them from thick cover, straining against bad marsh muck or falling through thin flotant. The later causing what our "back hat" Airborne instructors called the "pucker factor": "when you can't drive a ten-penny nail up your ass with a ten pound sledge." But chewing for apparent pleasure was met harshly - and with lots of time carrying our homing pigeons around the yard.

Special Equipment: Believe the spinners I've long turned off for big ducks also hurt us more on teal and black-bellies than ever before. But the Blindgrass I started experimenting with last season is proving its worth.

Curses: The hunting just keeps getting tougher, while guests who can and will help hide themselves keep getting fewer and farther between.

Kudos: I fear I'm adjusting to our slower hunting.

Birds By Species: We shot 944 birds (2 banded) of 15 species.

Photo Ops: Hunting was so slow that I seldom dared break the camera out prior to "hero" shot time. Of which this one of my Sweet Chereaux's uncle Franklin watching birds before posing was my runaway favorite:

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Lagniappe: I'm fat-headed enough to think I have my blind, spread and calling all about as good as can be, so I was reading and rereading the log looking for ways to improve our poor hunting, and the shortcoming that kept rearing its head (I kill me) was guests who fail to respect the birds' eyesight and help hide themselves. So next season there will be a reminder pinned to the blind in front of each guest reading: "Some of our ducks are afraid of hunters. Please help hide yourself." I think it might actually help...

[DComeaux]

Kudos: I fear I'm adjusting to our slower hunting.

Sad, but I think I'm doing the same. if we keep the low water long enough and have no storms I have hope for this upcoming season.

[BGkirk]

Bring back the Roseau cane! Let the tourists fight the brush on their way up….. or while they apparently are already standing


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[Rick]

Bring back the Roseau cane! Let the tourists fight the brush on their way up….. or while they apparently are already standing

Exceptionally high water last spring and early summer left our marsh's cane looking like a 14yr-old boy's mustache: mighty sparse where at all present. So if I had a lot of it at my blind, more cane would largely serve to raise suspicion, rather than blending with the surrounding marsh and, like a good blind, hiding itself.

The guys cultivating cut grass around their blinds may have had the best plan this year - except for the part about increasing the odds of dog pad slices. Which I can't afford to risk, given my need of a dog's nose and mobility to recover much of what we drop.

Sure hoping our marsh cane makes a strong comeback.

But even with more of it, birds at altitude are still going to see down the hole if folks aren't willing, or able, to use my Blindgrass bundles to fill it in around them and be more face conscious.

[Ducaholic]

You know what works Rick and you are smart enough to know what don't. I personally like the mudhole blind with more natural stuff around it but my sample size is small so If I do come again I'll just heed whatever it is you tell me because like I said you know what works!

Thanks for the ride!

[Rick]

You know what works Rick and you are smart enough to know what don't. I personally like the mudhole blind with more natural stuff around it but my sample size is small so If I do come again I'll just heed whatever it is you tell me because like I said you know what works!
!

If the cane patches were stronger around me, I'd be right there with you guys on wanting/using more - though never again to the point where they completely blocked my view of low birds to our south, as the case once became.

[Rick]

Bring back the Roseau cane! Let the tourists fight the brush on their way up….. or while they apparently are already standing

Been transcribing my log to Word and was reminded of your suggestion by these entries from our second split's first Sunday:

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Couldn't get nearly enough to land. (Even our few mallards got out without shots fired.)

Curses: Embarrassed myself by begging "Someone please shoot." so often.

And having experience with the party over past seasons, that was without a single stick of tall cane in front of the blind - except on my end. Awful lot of my folks struggle to get underway without any potential cover complications to slow them even more.

[Deltaman]

Know it's gotta eat you up inside when a party won't hide and they are flaring the only birds to look at your spread, and can't imagine the umphhh in your chest when there are no risers to shoot birds in the decoys. Some of the older folks have to get a pass, but those younger and just not paying attention arghhhhhh

[Darren]

Know it's gotta eat you up inside when a party won't hide and they are flaring the only birds to look at your spread, and can't imagine the umphhh in your chest when there are no risers to shoot birds in the decoys. Some of the older folks have to get a pass, but those younger and just not paying attention arghhhhhh

Sounds like phones continue to be a growing problem in that realm per some notes in past hunts on his log.

[Rick]

Sounds like phones continue to be a growing problem in that realm per some notes in past hunts on his log.

Doesn't help a lick to casually observe that "The cell phone is the greatest conservation tool of the modern era." after the first time or two one has proven that, either.

[Ducaholic]

Sounds like phones continue to be a growing problem in that realm per some notes in past hunts on his log.

During lull's in the action of which there are plenty these days the phone has cost me several one swoop and gone ops over the course of the season. A sure fire distraction no doubt about it.

[SpinnerMan]

I bought a new car in Florida from a rice paddy in Arkansas.

When I heard grumbling down the line, I realized I needed to take a walk down the levy

There's pro's and con's to them that is for sure.

I will use it as a distraction some times when out for all day hunts, especially deer hunting. Where in the past, I might go roam around for a bit. I can take a break and read something. I used to call my parents when I was spending a long time alone hunting geese. My mom asked me one time why I didn't shoot the geese. About 40 passed over just outside my comfort zone making a lot of noise. I shot back to back singles with my Dad on the phone. "There's geese. Cluck, Cluck, Cluck, ..." Bang. "Got him." "Oh wait, there's another one, Cluck, Cluck, Cluck, ..." Bang, Bang. "Got him too." I think my Dad got a bigger kick out of that than I did.

But paying a lot of money to duck hunt for a few hours? I don't get that. That's addiction or I guess people just not really that interested. I have nearly all my notifications turned off. I've used airplane mode when I really don't want to be distracted.

[Rick]

...I've used airplane mode when I really don't want to be distracted.

What does "airplane mode" do? (Asks a guy who recently drown the last of a long line of candy bar and flip phones and is being dragged kicking and screaming into the smarter-than-he phone era.)

[SpinnerMan]

...I've used airplane mode when I really don't want to be distracted.

What does "airplane mode" do? (Asks a guy who recently drown the last of a long line of candy bar and flip phones and is being dragged kicking and screaming into the smarter-than-he phone era.)

You cannot send or receive calls or texts or anything that uses the cellphone signal.

It's also useful when you are out in the middle of nowhere and the cell signal is sketchy or nonexistent because some phones will use a lot of battery scanning for a signal. In airplane mode, they are not looking.

It's called airplane mode because if you take your phone on a plane, you either need to turn it off completely, or stop it from transmitting in the cellphone frequency. It will literally say airplane mode on/off. Should be in the options when you pull down from the top that shows you some of the more common functions.

You can still use the wifi and bluetooth in airplane mode, but usually not near any wifi hotspots while hunting So that's why with a smartphone you can use the internet on the plane or wireless headphones and that kind of thing to watch movies or whatever. For someone like me that used to spend around 40 hours or more a year on an airplane, using the smartphone to watch movies and TV helps pass the time.

For me personally, this pandemic has made my life better. I think I've flown twice since it all started and both trips were hunting trips. I hope the new normal involves very little work travel.

[Rick]

Thanks. I just leave the phone at home.

[5 stand]

like....

[Rick]

Addendum to 1/30/22: Looks like Paul's getting caught up on the clerical part of banding, as the e-certificate showed up on my guys' banded spoon showed up today. Was, indeed, one we banded, in her case, at Rockefeller Refuge the evening of 1/12. (The evening I spoke with Courville about DComeaux's "sewage pond worms," according to a log sidebar.)

Perhaps should also note that while one of them has the band, the guys, who were apparently only there for a family outing, couldn't say which of them shot her, and I only did the reporting, with their permission, to make sure that got done. Which otherwise seemed unlikely, given the extremely casual nature of their interest.

[Duck Engr]

That’s a shame that what I assume was their newness to the game didn’t allow for full understanding of how rare the band was, especially on a spoon.

Had a similar occurrence in college when taking my roommate on one of his early career duck hunts. “Hey dude what’s the funny bracelet on this duck’s leg that I just shot?” He didn’t understand my freakout, as I’d been hunting ducks since 10 years old and never even seen a banded duck shot. Said he was going to mount it. Years later admitted it was accidentally thrown out of his freezer instead of going to the taxidermist.

[Rick]

Was my fortune to get serious about waterfowling in a time and place when and where resident Canadas were a relatively new thing, and it seemed like every third one was banded. So instead of being prized as rarities, bands were a sign that someone had already handled the bird, which made it seem less wild to me. Didn't trash my bands but kept them in a cigar box that I eventually gave to a Memphis banker who acted like he'd won the lottery. Had I only known Ebay was coming...

Anyway, I've not kept a band since: those I've shot while alone went to the first youngster I saw fooling with a call until I had grandsons to pass them to. Guest guns need not worry about this guide "skinning" their bands, as seems all too customary. Though I do like to mess with them when I see a band before they do. Fun to angrily demand, "Who shot that bird? I need to know who shot that damn bird." as if it's something protected.

[SpinnerMan]

That’s a shame that what I assume was their newness to the game didn’t allow for full understanding of how rare the band was

Well not exactly that rare.

Was my fortune to get serious about waterfowling in a time and place when and where resident Canadas were a relatively new thing, and it seemed like every third one was banded.

We're about 1 out 10 for local goose bands.

I was really happy when my wife was really happy with her first local goose band. She actually has it hanging over our "junk" desk, you know that desk everyone has near the living room where you throw all those little things that you don't have anywhere better to look. Need a pen, paper clip, scissors, tape, ... "In the junk drawer."

He didn’t understand my freakout, as I’d been hunting ducks since 10 years old and never even seen a banded duck shot.

I've been extremely blessed with good luck when it comes to duck bands. I know people that have gotten 10 times as many ducks as I that don't have any duck bands. I've gotten 4. Three out of state and one park duck from about 15 miles away. I also have a "real" Canada goose band that wasn't banded at a nearby park, but actually up near Hudson Bay. I was also party to shooting a banded snow goose. We all shot at it about 50 yards up. I lost the draw. I even got a banded fish bowfishing

[Duck Engr]

Sounds like I need to hunt with you.

[Darren]

November 27, 2004, my one and only band.

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Had no claim to this speck in 2008 but was in the blind, Hayes, La

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[SpinnerMan]

I also have a band report for the endangered Snail Kite

SnailKiteReport.jpg

And no I didn't shoot it, but I was able to read the colored leg band with my spotting scope.

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[Deltaman]

Damn Spinner, you've got a good spotting scope and great vision!!!!!! Never heard of anybody getting a band number off of a live bird, very cool!

[SpinnerMan]

Damn Spinner, you've got a good spotting scope and great vision!!!!!! Never heard of anybody getting a band number off of a live bird, very cool!

It's a colored band, basically like a collar on a goose, except on his leg.You can vaguely see it in the blurry picture I took through the scope. They are designed to be read through a scope.

If I remember right, I needed band color, letter colors. whether the numbers were above or below the letters, and what the number and letters were.

So on the report, the 26A is what I read in big letters.

The actual metal band. No I didn't read those.

[Rick]

Never heard of anybody getting a band number off of a live bird, very cool!

We do it all the time with "recaps" (recaptures). Not that spinner's isn't the first such I've heard of, too, not counting plastic tarsal bands. Neat trick.

[Darren]

"And no I didn't shoot it"

Would one say anything otherwise on the internet?