Pre Season

[Deltaman]

Glad to see that you are still catching crabs

[BGkirk]

Ya have some food for them DC? Is that why they are hanging around ?


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[DComeaux]

Ya have some food for them DC? Is that why they are hanging around ?


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They are in there every year mid to late season. A teal can stand in the ponds and walk around. There must be something there to eat. We've noticed a tiny shrimp like creature or larvae covering the crab traps as the season progresses. They are thick and could be something the teal and other ducks are feasting on. I am going to take a close-up photograph of those this weekend.

[Rick]

Could be what, I believe, you called "sewage pond worms," or some such when I found one of our green-wings stuffed with them last year. Courville told me they're what the teal are eating on his Miami piece down there.

[DComeaux]

I took this off of Ricks log. Didn't want to clutter it up.

Have been hearing of massive gatherings of mallards and pintails in safe (private land) places - just waiting to come out of hiding when the shooting stops.

In Louisiana? Can't be, ducks dont come here anymore, they say.

Or could it be possible, that we still do get quite a bunch of them, our habits and habitats have just forced them into hiding, thus less likely to fly in the mornings to play our games.

Left farm couple weeks ago with very little "flight"....then went down the road and found a set of fields I know not to hold blinds.......wall to wall with every species one could hope for, in numbers all we could hope for. They were just smart enough not to play our games that day.

So your theory is that we still have a great number of ducks making it down to Louisiana but they've found these hiding areas?

Let's say we do still get a robust migration, are there truly enough areas like you mention throughout the State to contain the majority of waterfowl without a major spill over?

Are we getting mostly adults? If so, where are the young birds?


I participated in the wing survey again this year which will provide some age data. I think the last report I received showed a higher percentage of adult birds in my small sample. I did post it here but just haven't found where.

[Ricky Spanish]

I took this off of Ricks log. Didn't want to clutter it up.

Have been hearing of massive gatherings of mallards and pintails in safe (private land) places - just waiting to come out of hiding when the shooting stops.

In Louisiana? Can't be, ducks dont come here anymore, they say.

Or could it be possible, that we still do get quite a bunch of them, our habits and habitats have just forced them into hiding, thus less likely to fly in the mornings to play our games.

Left farm couple weeks ago with very little "flight"....then went down the road and found a set of fields I know not to hold blinds.......wall to wall with every species one could hope for, in numbers all we could hope for. They were just smart enough not to play our games that day.

So your theory is that we still have a great number of ducks making it down to Louisiana but they've found these hiding areas?

Let's say we do still get a robust migration, are there truly enough areas like you mention throughout the State to contain the majority of waterfowl without a major spill over?

Are we getting mostly adults? If so, where are the young birds?


I participated in the wing survey again this year which will provide some age data. I think the last report I received showed a higher percentage of adult birds in my small sample. I did post it here but just haven't found where.

There just plain aren't a lot of young ducks they're all dead before they get very far south.
This year was so dang dry. There was no wave of stupid mallards that came thru pre-thanksgiving. It simply didn't happen. Maybe next fall.
Allegedly the duck factory is wet n sloppy so I'd assume spring will be fertile for the returning migrators and I mean ducks not Mexicans.

[DComeaux]

I took this off of Ricks log. Didn't want to clutter it up.

Have been hearing of massive gatherings of mallards and pintails in safe (private land) places - just waiting to come out of hiding when the shooting stops.

In Louisiana? Can't be, ducks dont come here anymore, they say.

Or could it be possible, that we still do get quite a bunch of them, our habits and habitats have just forced them into hiding, thus less likely to fly in the mornings to play our games.

Left farm couple weeks ago with very little "flight"....then went down the road and found a set of fields I know not to hold blinds.......wall to wall with every species one could hope for, in numbers all we could hope for. They were just smart enough not to play our games that day.

So your theory is that we still have a great number of ducks making it down to Louisiana but they've found these hiding areas?

Let's say we do still get a robust migration, are there truly enough areas like you mention throughout the State to contain the majority of waterfowl without a major spill over?

Are we getting mostly adults? If so, where are the young birds?


I participated in the wing survey again this year which will provide some age data. I think the last report I received showed a higher percentage of adult birds in my small sample. I did post it here but just haven't found where.

There just plain aren't a lot of young ducks they're all dead before they get very far south.
This year was so dang dry. There was no wave of stupid mallards that came thru pre-thanksgiving. It simply didn't happen. Maybe next fall.
Allegedly the duck factory is wet n sloppy so I'd assume spring will be fertile for the returning migrators and I mean ducks not Mexicans.

I was able to find my post and it is the opposite of my thinking. There are a good number of "Immature" reported in this list.

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[Ricky Spanish]

There will be more this fall.
They will have freshly applied bands and respond to calling and decoy at 20 yards.

[DComeaux]

Jut talked to Randall who hunted this morning at our place and he DNS. Said the guy's on our property south of him we're 3 and took 12. Pintail, GW and gadwall. Our decoys on the west side are all on the bank at the blind from the wind but our east pond is okay.
I had hung up without asking about the bird situation so I called back. His response to if we had any in the marsh near our blind was "OOOOH YEAH, HUNDREDS. They were all over the blind". We'll see if that translates into anything in the morning. We'll have to get out well before LST to straighten out everything and bail the blind.

We're still undecided if tomorrow will be our last hunt for the season or if we'll do another "lite" hunt on Sunday. Another deciding factor will be the rain that's forecast for that day. I do not want to be packing up in the rain.

[Deltaman]

Hope they bomb you in the morning Dave!!!!!