Preseason 2021 - 2022

[Darren]

In teal season prep, kind of panic-bought a few boxes of Boss 20 gauge No. 5's since they were available. Thought being I'd conserve my 12g shells on hand for regular season, and I'd been wanting to shoot my O/U during teal season since I bought it so hoping this is now a legit commitment to doing just that. In doing so, kind of brings a new element of sporting to it so there's that, just a new take on my approach.

3 inch shells, 1-1/8 oz. payload, 1350 fps, pellet count of 221 which is on the higher end of even 12 g hulls and would do just fine in most of my regular season settings as well.

In my quick browsing, Boss is one of the few manufacturers that has inventory, with the usual folks like Mack's and Rogers mostly out of stock still. This situation is reportedly going to improve in September......but that's not a gamble I'm interested in at the moment.

[Rick]

I've shot some 15/16oz Boss 16ga 5s without issues. 'Bout the same as the steel I've been running through the Model 12, as is most anything (without enough recoil to dizzy a fellow) at the ranges we shoot.

[Ducaholic]

I’d also add the long anticipated drought on the PPR may be here. All we can do is look to the benefits we know are coming once the moisture returns.

Like all of the farmer having their drain tiles in?

You know like I do it's inevitable. And yes unfortunately this time around CRP is no where as near as prevalent to save our ass when it comes to farming expansion. Still I think the positives will out weigh the negatives this time around if it comes to another dry spell.

[Darren]

if anyone's hard up for some shells, place where Johnny works is getting a few boxes/cases in. They're a relatively small volume ammo dealer so you'd figure that the bigger names we're accustomed to should be getting some in as well.

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[Darren]

Reporting from Omaha, NE area today, this evening it feels like October back home.

Also noted far less water on the landscape than my last couple of trips up this way, specifically the rivers that had been outside their bank flooding up all kinds of nice stuff. This trip they're within their banks for once, won't complain about that with teal season on the horizon. Interestingly, you're hard pressed to find much for decoys at the local Cabela's store, and definitely struggle to find any camo that's waterfowl related.

Yet YouTube has plenty of videos of people smashing ducks in Nebraska

[Darren]

Looks like the weeks of Aug 15th and 22nd will be some of your first significant migrations.

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Looks like it sets up well for us in September too, much of the season has significant moon light......and will help navigation in the marsh on the way out!

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[Deltaman]

Cool moon cycle chart Darren

[MARSH BEAR]

Darren - are you watching the weather - Invest 94L based on ALL the spaghetti lines is headed to the Gulf of Mexico - not what I want to see. Hurricane Laura hit southwest LA on 8/27/20.
Thought you might have an interest in this one, and Dave does not want to hear about it I am sure.

[Darren]

Darren - are you watching the weather - Invest 94L based on ALL the spaghetti lines is headed to the Gulf of Mexico - not what I want to see. Hurricane Laura hit southwest LA on 8/27/20.
Thought you might have an interest in this one, and Dave does not want to hear about it I am sure.

You better believe I'm watching. That said, model runs are showing it running up florida. This is latest run available right now, I believe. Will be interesting to follow along to see how these evolve......hopefully not westward.

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[Deltaman]

Tis the season, dammit! Best make basic preps now, and avoid the crazy rush of idiots the impending storm will bring out of the woodwork as it gets closer.

[Darren]

Yep, just need to buckle up and take it a week at a time since so little certainty beyond that. Think we'll put the fishing boat on the trailer and park under the camp until Labor Day wknd to save me some trips down that way.

[Darren]

So far so good, knock wood

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[DComeaux]

I have a bullseye set up in Grand Chenier.

[Darren]

I have a bullseye set up in Grand Chenier.

I thought that was just for 2020? (sure seemed to work)


Models this morning still doing OK for us but the storm is struggling to keep its act together so there remains a lot of uncertainty on its future/path, well could change.

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[MARSH BEAR]

Darrin don't look now but another Invest is following TS Fred - BR weather at noon showed the new invest following the same path as Fred, but when it hits the Gulf of Mexico it does not turn north like Fred

[Darren]

I'm all over it, models I'm watching aren't showing it doing much actually. Still a looooong way to go on that one.

Fred's barely holding together today, this morning's GFS shows it as barely even a storm of any kind by the time it gets near south Florida.

One week at a time!

[DComeaux]

I look at the often updated satellite images throughout the day and found that the thunder storms over SE Louisiana yesterday afternoon looked way more impressive and probably had more wind that this puff of clouds they've named Fred. IMO The global warming scientists name storms quickly to add numbers to the stats. Lots of tabs to click on and play with in these links.

https://www.star.nesdis.noaa.gov/GOES/floater.php?stormid=AL062021#navLink

https://www.star.nesdis.noaa.gov/GOES/sector_band.php?sat=G16&sector=taw&band=GEOCOLOR&length=24

[Darren]

Cool links, thanks for passing along.

[Ducaholic]

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So while the PPR is still painfully dry the mid-west is also drying out.

[Darren]

Sure hoping for a lot of snow in the dakotas this winter and spring 2022 rains.

Have tentative plans to get out on our lease at some point this weekend, anxious to see how its looking coming off the brutal storm season last year. Usually sprouts back with a vengeance after storms.

[Darren]

Yesterday the camp neighbors were catching me up on the fish they'd caught at an area I'd referred them to....most importantly, they reported a 20-pack of bluewings cruising by when they were out there. While I was envious of their teal spotting, we'd opted to chase trout elsewhere and had a nice haul ourselves, just not anywhere near teal would likely be save for very high passing flights.


As hoped we headed out to the lease this morning to assess the overall condition and see what we had ahead of us to get the south pond teal-season-ready. As I figured coming off of a rough storm year, the marsh has exploded in growth. The grass and shrubbery around the pond is far more dense and tall than I've ever seen in the past, and indeed our roseau patch nearly doubled. No teal seen in the area or en route, just a few mottleds and squealers, and also one of my favorite indicators of where teal will congregate....a herd of egrets in a nearby pothole/broken marsh.

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On arrival after tunneling through the forest

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And after some tidying up

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Will need to trim off a good chunk of cane behind the blind so we have a larger window to see in the back, and the front of the blind will need extensive "thinning" to even think about seeing a decoy, much less seeing a live bird and shooting at it. But that's a problem I'll gladly take over having no cover to work with naturally in place there. With the blind now squared away, we'll manage the roseau to our liking labor day weekend.

With tropical storm Fred seemingly finally decided on Pensacola area tomorrow PM, all eyes now on Grace headed to the Gulf later this week.

[BGkirk]

Fine Roseau patch….


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[DComeaux]

Looks good! I can see myself in there.....

[Darren]

Looks good! I can see myself in there.....

Come on with it, point your truck east! Warning, though, if we can't get them in front of the comfy blind and see them dropping into puddles, be prepared for guerrilla warfare and setting up in the bushes.

[Deltaman]

Looking good Darren, and I was dang sure happy to see that Fred is now projected to make landfall to our East. Hopefully, Grace will move West across the Gulf as currently predicted.

[Darren]

Get the coats out!

https://firsthandweather.com/say-it-ain ... -out-west/

A rather cool storm system will bring the first flakes of the season to parts of the west over the next 36-hours. Peaks in Montana, Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado can expect snow, some of which will accumulate.

The first flakes will begin to fly tonight in Montana with the flakes eventually falling in Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado by Thursday. By the time the flakes stop flying, accumulations are expected. The best chance for accumulations will be above 10,000 feet where a few inches will fall. A light dusting is possible down to 9,000 feet with the rain/snow line as far down as 8,000 feet.

Knock wood here, there and everywhere, tropics look promising for now.

[Duck Engr]

I’m already itching for that first “cool” front!!

[Darren]

I’m already itching for that first “cool” front!!

Been watching for it on the model runs, nothing noteworthy on the horizon just yet.

[Darren]

I guess the details of this had escaped me from the Delta report on the breeding grounds status/fall flight preview released August 10th:

Blue-winged teal, Delta believes, had a decent production year relative to other ducks. While they tend to attempt only one nest, they do so sooner than most species, in late April and early May — a period in which a smattering of wetlands was still available in their core breeding range across the Dakotas.

“Anecdotally, as I’ve driven across the prairies I’ve been impressed that there are way more bluewing broods than I expected,” Rohwer said. “For ducks that rarely renest following nest destruction, drought has less of an impact.”

Green-winged teal nest farther north in the upper tier of the Canadian parklands and the boreal forest, where wetland conditions fluctuate far less year to year. Delta forecasts that their production was stable.

“I think teal hunting should be better than anything else,” Rohwer said. “Mallards and gadwalls will be a decent second.”

Interestingly, the North Dakota survey indicated that the seemingly unflappable gadwall population continues to boom, increasing 47.4 percent to 649,216 ducks — an incredible 109.5 percent above the long-term average.

“Gadwalls are challenging to predict,” Rohwer said. “I suspect they did better than mallards because they’re less dependent on renesting. However, they also tend to nest late — as far as into early June — and that’s when wetland conditions really deteriorated. They’ve definitely proven a very resilient species.”

So blue wings likely OK, green wings OK, grays doing well......works for me.

And on the goose forecast front:

North Slope of Alaska

This area produces good numbers of black brant and Central Flyway white-fronted geese, plus a small number of snow geese. Notably, the Ikpikpuk River Delta colony — which usually has 20,000 snow goose nests — appeared to have been destroyed by brown bears, according to North Slope Borough biologist Brian Person.

Vijay Patil, who works for the U.S. Geological Survey at the Colville River Delta and Teshekpuk Lake areas, reports well above-average production of snow geese and brant. These conditions suggest that production of mid-continent specklebellies (which migrate along the Central and Mississippi Flyways) should also have been strong.

Just like your favorite football team, it's the preseason so we can all be optimistic.

[DComeaux]

Just like your favorite football team, it's the preseason so we can all be optimistic.

I'll have my paper bag on standby.