Duck Season 2022-2023

Re: Duck Season 2022-2023

Postby Rick » Sun Jan 29, 2023 4:37 am

Darren, I'm gonna miss opening this thread and seeing your son's smile.
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Re: Duck Season 2022-2023

Postby Darren » Sun Jan 29, 2023 12:53 pm

Rick wrote:Darren, I'm gonna miss opening this thread and seeing your son's smile.


Well hope to have more of that next season as he asks to go about every day, and wanted to know all about yesterday's action he missed; that includes hope I'm holding that he makes a visit to the Mudhole in September.
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Re: Duck Season 2022-2023

Postby Darren » Sun Jan 29, 2023 1:23 pm

This morning's extremely heavy rain has made for a great chance to transfer photos to computer and crunch log numbers. Can't help but smile more and more at the thought of closing out our season yesterday with a good one, having opted to forego today fearing the rain's impacts on getting all our decoys out the field and hung in the camp.

The 200-duck season tally has long been my mark of a solid season, given comparable numbers of hunts. Indeed, for first time since the 2017 season, we surpassed that benchmark, though haven't been too far off for most seasons in between, thankfully. This year's average of 8.9 ducks/hunt ranks among the top 3 of all seasons since I began keeping a log for the 2002 season.

Perhaps even more telling of our success is that our strong season tally omits what would easily be another 20+ birds in the dosgris and buffleheads that we had the luxury of giving a pass this season, a first for me. Overall species tally below:

grays 49
GW Teal 54
BW Teal 35
spoons 32
pintail 8
mallard 7
woodies 3
mottleds 6
ringnecks 11
205 ducks & 12 specks on 23 hunts

My hunts in SE La salt marsh accounted for 54 ducks on 8 hunts. Bunkie farm hunts accounted for 113 ducks and 11 specks on 12 hunts. Other places accounted 38 ducks and 1 speck on 3 hunts.

Marsh blind was strong, especially early season and first part of 2nd split, though overall numbers in that area are down and variety has plummeted. We literally killed the lone green wing we saw all season there, after years past where they often made up a quarter to even a half of a day's bag. That said, people hunting not far from us in more teal-friendly habitat had plenty of them. We just have nothing to offer a bird that needs shallow and prefers broken marsh over our deeper, open ponds that offer them no options to feed. Lease renewal will be TBD, as the vast public land nearby with so little pressure and seemingly fairly consistent bird numbers has our wheels turning on new approaches for fall '23.

Bunkie field blind's production was just a little below last year's success but still plenty strong to keep our interest. Blind behind us had their far-and-away best in the 5 years they've had it, no doubt due to the wide open floods they started with from Day 1. I predicted as much when I first saw it on opener-eve....."they're going to do well with that, wish we had it!" And sure enough, they did, as we watched birds all season eat it up whether they were hunting or not. We do better with the specks than they do given our stubble, however. No indications from farmer yet of what crop might be in for this summer and into fall, though possible its beans if we're on a rotation....hoping for it.
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Re: Duck Season 2022-2023

Postby 5 stand » Sun Jan 29, 2023 2:54 pm

Top three, couldn't ask for more... Mighty fine... :beer:
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Re: Duck Season 2022-2023

Postby BGkirk » Fri Feb 03, 2023 12:18 am

Darren wrote: the vast public land nearby with so little pressure and seemingly fairly


Brave brave man to advertise that. Almost makes me nervous for you. But that’s awesome ya have it figured out and apparently no one else wants to try it


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Re: Duck Season 2022-2023

Postby Rick » Fri Feb 03, 2023 4:27 am

I was thinkin' he needs to write about it for the LA Sportsman.
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Re: Duck Season 2022-2023

Postby Ericdc » Fri Feb 03, 2023 11:27 am

BGkirk wrote:
Darren wrote: the vast public land nearby with so little pressure and seemingly fairly


Brave brave man to advertise that. Almost makes me nervous for you. But that’s awesome ya have it figured out and apparently no one else wants to try it


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Most people aren't willing to hunt like that...


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Re: Duck Season 2022-2023

Postby Darren » Fri Feb 03, 2023 12:00 pm

As someone who cut their hunting teeth in the public game, I know darn well when to keep tight lipped. Literally the problem out on this place is not enough hunters, and massive habitat quantities. I of course won't go out of my way to point out where we're going out there on it's 30 some odd thousand acres, but yea, it's no secret, it can produce for those willing to put in effort.

Sportsman has covered it at length through various stories, one I even did that showed it as one of the top in the state as an untapped resource......that was years ago.

2011
https://www.louisianasportsman.com/hunt ... o-problem/

2016
https://www.louisianasportsman.com/hunt ... k-hunting/
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Re: Duck Season 2022-2023

Postby Ducaholic » Fri Feb 03, 2023 2:09 pm

It's a haul and can be dangerous. Kudos to those that go the distance :beer:
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Re: Duck Season 2022-2023

Postby Ricky Spanish » Fri Feb 03, 2023 2:26 pm

Ducaholic wrote:It's a haul and can be dangerous. Kudos to those that go the distance :beer:

It ain't a secret where the best public shooting in Illinois is.
It's a long way south from me.
Used to go there.
If you've heard of the otter pond then you know where it is exactly.
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Re: Duck Season 2022-2023

Postby Deltaman » Fri Feb 03, 2023 2:47 pm

Nothing wrong with those duck numbers Darren :thumbsup:
"It ain't what you don't know that gets you in trouble. It's what you know for sure, that just ain't so"
Mark Twain
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Re: Duck Season 2022-2023

Postby 5 stand » Fri Feb 03, 2023 5:29 pm

I enjoyed your article Darren... It makes it more interesting when you kinda sorta know the person... :lol:


I think this is crucial when scouting:
Campbell also recommends minimizing disturbance of resting or feeding waterfowl while scouting to help keep birds in the area and increase the odds you’ll find them there on your next hunt. Binoculars are your friend...
I'll say it again Binoculars are your friend...
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Re: Duck Season 2022-2023

Postby Rick » Fri Feb 03, 2023 6:00 pm

Naw, if'n ya gots a mud motor, you can get right into 'em.
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Re: Duck Season 2022-2023

Postby 5 stand » Fri Feb 03, 2023 6:09 pm

Rick wrote:Naw, if'n ya gots a mud motor, you can get right into 'em.


So true Rick... I will keep my mouth shut...
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Re: Duck Season 2022-2023

Postby Darren » Wed Feb 08, 2023 2:00 pm

That's today's hunters, see birds in remote spot........has small trenasse of accessibility? Just plow on in and run em up!

So what further makes Biloxi WMA tough is they've put restrictions on surface drives (the faster of the two mud motor types), and the long tail guys dont want to make the loooong runs that can be required....so it keeps pressure down on the further extents of the property.

But a bay boat with pirogues will get us there !
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Re: Duck Season 2022-2023

Postby Ricky Spanish » Wed Feb 08, 2023 2:09 pm

Darren wrote:That's today's hunters, see birds in remote spot........has small trenasse of accessibility? Just plow on in and run em up!

So what further makes Biloxi WMA tough is they've put restrictions on surface drives (the faster of the two mud motor types), and the long tail guys dont want to make the loooong runs that can be required....so it keeps pressure down on the further extents of the property.

But a bay boat with pirogues will get us there !

I know two spots like that where a creek spills into a lake and created a mud flat.
It's always looks so good and tons of waterfowl.so I motor over that way. It gets where you have to push the boat so you hop out. DO NOT LET GO OF THE BOAT you will die. Quicksand.
Ducks and geese love it.
I do not.
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Re: Duck Season 2022-2023

Postby Darren » Thu Feb 09, 2023 8:54 am

ya need webbed feet
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Re: Duck Season 2022-2023

Postby Ricky Spanish » Thu Feb 09, 2023 9:29 am

Darren wrote:ya need webbed feet

Yep. Scuba flippers or something.

Where I'm describing is churned by wind and waves pretty bad. If the lake drops the muck spreads.
I think when it goes from 4 feet deep to 2 or 1 the waves turn the what was somewhat hard bottom into soup.
I've got a pintail but no Longtail yet plus the pintsil has no title it never had one.
Put an engine on it and the state requires a title.
Kind of in limbo there.
It'd be a blast to put a Longtail on it.
It looks like this. Mine has a motor mount.
16759529277082764470483492703947.jpg


Zoom in and examine that boat. It has holes for poles to "stake it". The holes go clean thru.
There's one in the bow by the curve on the "cockpit".
One in the back too but I don't think it's visible.
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Re: Duck Season 2022-2023

Postby Darren » Thu Feb 09, 2023 12:10 pm

Zoom in and examine that boat. It has holes for poles to "stake it". The holes go clean thru.
There's one in the bow by the curve on the "cockpit".


Commonly referred to as "spud holes" around here. Come in handy if hunting from a pirogue, you can "spud down" in chosen shallow location using wooden, pvc, etc. poles as pole anchors stuck in the mud down through your boat. Actually got one put into bow of my flat boat this year when had the floor and welding work done, comes in handy.

DSC_0190.jpg


41992156_1999840613639521_6936965060325539840_n.jpg
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Re: Duck Season 2022-2023

Postby Rick » Thu Feb 09, 2023 2:27 pm

That's something once common that I've not seen in some time. Nearly had one glassed in back when I hunted from my pirogue a good bit, but ended up just sinking it in shallow stuff and hunting off a stool on its then-stable hull.
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Re: Duck Season 2022-2023

Postby Ricky Spanish » Thu Feb 09, 2023 4:11 pm

Rick wrote:That's something once common that I've not seen in some time. Nearly had one glassed in back when I hunted from my pirogue a good bit, but ended up just sinking it in shallow stuff and hunting off a stool on its then-stable hull.

I'm tempted to try and figure a way to tow my pintail close to good hiding and hunting spots. It's easy to hide.
Paddles like a canoe then you can lay in it.
I've seen a guy use one effectively but it was 20 years ago when we had ducks and well managed public areas to use it at.
Things changed.
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Re: Duck Season 2022-2023

Postby Darren » Tue Mar 07, 2023 2:04 pm

Snow extent departures from normal, through February 2023


snow coverage.jpg


Not upset to see the blue shading in the Dakotas and eastern Montana. Canadian prairies look to be getting some help but likely need quite a bit. Guess most importantly no significant deficits below the average rates in the key areas. Hope the spring rains come through
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Re: Duck Season 2022-2023

Postby Duck Engr » Tue Mar 07, 2023 5:13 pm

Certainly better than previous years.
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Re: Duck Season 2022-2023

Postby Darren » Fri Apr 07, 2023 1:20 pm

Just returned from a quick trip to the Des Moines, IA area and enjoyed seeing all the ducks around dabbling in farm ponds big and small. Mostly mallards, grays, misc. divers and Canada geese but also saw one small bunch of blue pretty blue wings. Amazes me to see how much activity of man they'll tolerate in those settings but were plainly wild as any efforts to get near had them flushing.
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