Duck Season

[jrock75]

Date: November 19

Time: Morning

Location: East Flats (freshwater marsh)

Weather: Mid-40s with 10-15 NE wind. On and off rain that was more on than off

Special Notes: First hunt of big duck season for me. I missed the first two weeks/weekends of the season with family/kid obligations. First time I can ever remember that happening.

Waterfowl Activity: Pretty consistent flight all morning heading in all directions.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Not as responsive as you would hope.

Hunters: 2 me and Dad (Grant had his gun but only shot once)

Malfunctions: None

Dog(s): None

Special Equipment: None

Curses: Grey day with low clouds and first day in the blind had us questioning our bird ID ability. Grant had a teal centered up early but was too slow to get off the shot before it flew off.

Kudos: Our island blind vegetation survived the lack of rainfall better than I thought it would

Birds By Species: 5 GWT, 3 Shovelers, 1 redhead, 1 scaup, 1 pintail, 1 gadwall

Lagniappe: Nice to be back in the blind with Dad and Grant

[jrock75]

Date: November 22

Time: Morning

Location: East Flats (freshwater marsh)

Weather: Upper-40s with 0-5 ENE wind. It wasn't supposed to rain but it sure did.

Special Notes: None

Waterfowl Activity: Not much flying. Teal were nowhere to be found after an early group came in nicely

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Pairs of mottled ducks and gadwalls wanted nothing to do with our hole

Hunters: 2 me and Dad

Malfunctions: None

Dog(s): None

Special Equipment: 2 wonder ducks got their first use and made the spread look better to my human eyes, but the ducks were apparently not impressed.

Curses: None

Kudos: None

Birds By Species: 2 BWT, 1 Shoveler

Lagniappe: None

[jrock75]

Date: November 23

Time: Morning

Location: Jackpot (saltwater marsh)

Weather: Upper-40s with 5-10 N wind. Sunny

Special Notes: None

Waterfowl Activity: Teal were nowhere to be found but the gadwall came and saved the day

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Gadwall wanted in our pond but we couldn't get them to finish. They would hang up at 40 yards and we never found our shooting rhythm. We should have easily finished our limits but called it a day as breakfast and Thanksgiving meal prep were calling.

Hunters: 6 me, Dad and some friends (Grant came too but didn't want to shoot)

Malfunctions: None

Dog(s): Friend's dog did a great job. With Roux passing this summer and Jake only 4 months old I have been the retriever thus far this season. Very happy to not have to walk all over this soft bottom marsh.

Special Equipment: 2 mojos that we used and then pulled with no difference in effect

Curses: None

Kudos: None

Birds By Species: 25 gadwall, 2 GWT, 2 shovelers, 1 ring neck

Lagniappe: None

Jackpot - 11.23.jpg

[jrock75]

Date: November 27

Time: Morning

Location: East flats (freshwater marsh)

Weather: Upper-50s with 10 W wind. Sunny, beautiful day to be in the marsh.

Special Notes: None

Waterfowl Activity: Teal were all over the place for the 20 minutes before shooting time. They slowed quite a bit but were still around in enough force to make for a fun hunt. Still no gadwall in this marsh. Not a good sign for the rest of the season as that is an important bird for this blind. Not surprising though given the summer drought allowed all the blind work but left us with no widgeon grass.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Teal decoyed well. The gadwall we saw wanted to go elsewhere.

Hunters: 3 me, Dad and David

Malfunctions: None

Dog(s): None

Special Equipment: None

Curses: Poor shooting and coordination among hunters kept us from what should have been limits of teal

Kudos: None

Birds By Species: 7 GWT, 4 BWT, 1 gadwall, 1 ring neck, 2 shoveler

Lagniappe: None

[Rick]

Looks like you've done a fine job of catching up on a late start.

[Ricky Spanish]

Curses: Poor shooting and coordination among hunters kept us from what should have been limits of teal

I always blame my team-mates too and that's why I hunt alone. So I don't get blamed.

[Duck Engr]

Nice start jrock. Banner day on the gadwall!

[Deltaman]

Great reports, and that big gadwall hunt in the salt marsh sounds like it was a humdinger!!!! Too bad you lost your grass in your FW hole in the drought, and hoping it comes back in force. Thanks for sharing!!!!!

[Darren]

25 grays in a day, stackin'! Nice hunts

[MARSH BEAR]

Sounds like you have ducks in your area, you must have ours too

[5 stand]

Mighty fine !!!

[jrock75]

Date: December 11

Time: Morning

Location: Rolltop Blind (rice field)

Weather: Mid-60s with 5-10 NW to variable wind. Started raining right at shooting time and continued pretty consistently but not hard. Big thunderstorm system north of us had the wind switching around.

Special Notes: Mosquitos were epic

Waterfowl Activity: Flushed a huge bunch of teal on the way to the blind. They came back but wanted the other side of the field. We had several hundred ducks sitting on the fields north and south of us but they were not moving around. Saw more "flight" pintails than we had all year. We are holding a lot of water (and thus birds) on the farm so that bodes well for the near-term hunting.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Nothing wanted to decoy. Big groups of teal would buzz wide and then move on. Pintails would spin us a couple of times and then gone. Blind was just re-brushed and they weren't flaring, just wouldn't commit.

Hunters: 4 me, Will, Ryan, Grant

Malfunctions: None

Dog(s): Will's dog Gigi

Special Equipment: Two Wonderducks

Curses: Hunting on Saturday was much better but I had to cancel at the last minute due to my wife battling either a stomach virus or food poisoning Friday night.

Kudos: None

Birds By Species: 4 GWT, 1 gadwall, 1 shoveler, 1 specklebelly, 1 snow goose

Lagniappe: None

[jrock75]

Date: December 17

Time: Morning

Location: Jackpot (salt marsh)

Weather: Low 50s with 10-20 N wind.

Special Notes: None

Waterfowl Activity: Good movement and decoying.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Good response. No complaints.

Hunters: 4 me, Will, Ryan, Jack - Grant came but didn't shoot

Malfunctions: None

Dog(s): Will's dog Gigi

Special Equipment: Two Mojos

Curses: None

Kudos: None

Birds By Species: 24 - mix of GWT, gadwall, widgeon, a couple of scaup, and a spoon

Lagniappe: None

2023.12.18.jpg

[jrock75]

Date: December 20

Time: Morning

Location: Pontoon (mitigation bank on the farm)

Weather: Mid 50s with 15-20 N wind.

Special Notes: None

Waterfowl Activity: Nothing flying. Had ducks in the decoys before shooting time and then it was really slow.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Nothing flying to even respond.

Hunters: 2 me and Ralph

Malfunctions: Somehow even with a big north wind the tide had the water super high in the mitigation bank. I fell in and swamped by wader pants and got wet and was cold the whole hunt even though the temps were in the 50s.

Dog(s): Ralph's young dog Karen

Special Equipment: None

Curses: None

Kudos: None

Birds By Species: 2 - GWT

Lagniappe: None

[jrock75]

Date: December 27

Time: Morning

Location: Flooded timber off Hwy 15 in Richland Parish

Weather: Clear, mid 20s to start and ice still forming when we left

Special Notes: Since Dad and his group no longer get a lease, a guided trip has become an annual Christmas tradition

Waterfowl Activity: One of the wildest wood duck shoots I have been on in years. Reminded me of shooting roost ponds in my youth. The woods and fields were all frozen for days but the ducks kept this hole open. Mallards were somewhat sparce.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Had some wood ducks decoy like mallards. Had some mallards decoy perfectly through the trees, but most circled and wanted another hole. Wood ducks were mainly skirting the hole through the trees.

Hunters: 5 me, Dad, Mark and two guides (Grant came but didn't shoot)

Malfunctions: Dad forgot his waders at home. Luckily the guide had an extra pair but they weren't neoprene and Dad was really dreading standing in the ice cold water.

Dog(s): Guide's dog

Special Equipment: Two mojos

Curses: Lots of ice everywhere. Hard shooting wood ducks from the blind setup. Small window of opportunity given how they were bobbing and weaving through the trees. I am not used to waiting on others to call the shot and by the time the guide called it a couple of times the ducks were out of the hole up in the trees.

Kudos: When we pulled up to the hole, Dad saw that we would be in a blind and not wading in his borrowed uninsulated waders. Said he was as happy as he has been in years.

Birds By Species: 14 - 12 wood ducks + 2 mallards

Lagniappe: Was really special being back hunting the woods similar to my days of stomping through Russell Sage WMA.

2023.12.27.jpg

[jrock75]

Date: December 28

Time: Morning

Location: "the Point" at D'arbonne Refuge - cypress brake in Ouachita parish

Weather: Clear, Upper 30s to start rising to 50s; 5-10mph south wind

Special Notes: Back to within a mile of where I went on my first duck hunt where i brought a gun back in 1991 or 1992. Started hunting regularly at D'arbonne when I was 14 (1995) and have been at least once most of the last 27 years.

Waterfowl Activity: Few big ducks as expected, but the wood ducks were flying in big and small groups and continued somewhat until 8:00-8:30.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Wood ducks doing their thing and presenting difficult put possible shots

Hunters: 3 me, Dad, Grant

Malfunctions: Grant tripped and fell in picking up a duck but was a real trooper about it and wanted to stay. Power of neoprene waders. I fell in on my first ever hunt here and the rubber hip waders had me wanting to leave immediately. Also not lost on me that he is a more agreeable kid in general than I was.

Dog(s): None

Special Equipment: None

Curses: I forgot how fast you can wallow out a mud hole wading next to buck brush. I blame footing challenges on not getting my 3 wood duck limit. Also I chipped a wood duck but couldn't find it in the brush.

Kudos: The last 10 years we have tended to hunt a huge beaver pond brake that we usually have to ourselves because boat access is very hard and only a few people have access from surrounding acreage. I was determined to to go "the Point" which is better hunting with more big ducks and a major spot for the refuge boat crew. We got there just in time any by the time the boats arrived we had our decoys out and lights shining. They moved over several hundred yards into a much less desirable spot.

Birds By Species: 4 wood ducks

Lagniappe: Grant had a great shot on a pair of wood ducks that seemed to be decoying but he didn't connect. After that he was determined to stay until he shot one, which unfortunately didn't happen as the flight was pretty much over by then. He is building confidence though. Some offseason sporting clays will be good.

2022.12.28 Grant.jpg

2022.12.28 group.jpg

[jrock75]

Date: December 21

Time: Morning

Location: Jackpot (saltwater marsh)

Weather: Upper-40s with 5-10 NE wind.

Special Notes: Tim and Luke are from Dallas and don't get to experience the marsh hunting much. They had a blast on the Marsh Master ride.

Waterfowl Activity: Lots of teal and gadwall flying.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Teal decoyed well. Gadwall not so much but we got a few.

Hunters: 6 me, Grant, friend Tim and his son Luke, Will, and his son Ryan

Malfunctions: None

Dog(s): Will's dog Gigi

Special Equipment: None

Curses: None

Kudos: None

Birds By Species: Twenty something. Mainly GWT mixed with Gadwalls

Lagniappe: None

2022.12.21.jpg

[jrock75]

Date: January 1

Time: Morning

Location: Rolltop (rice field)

Weather: Cloudy and warm. 60s with 5-10 south wind.

Special Notes: None

Waterfowl Activity: Head several hundred (presumably teal) leaving the field as we walked in on the levee. Big groups came back but wanted to land in another corner and in and adjacent field. Duck flew well all morning. Pintail were thick and fun to watch.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Big teal groups were elusive but the other ducks decoyed very nicely.

Hunters: 3 me, Will, Josh

Malfunctions: None

Dog(s): Will's dog Gigi

Special Equipment: Two mojos and two wonderduck swimmers

Curses: None

Kudos: None

Birds By Species: 15 ducks (6 GWT, 2 mallards, 3 pintail, 3 gadwall, 1 spoon) + 4 snow geese

Lagniappe: None

2023.01.01 gigi.jpg

[Duck Engr]

Some nice hunts to close out 2022. Really cool that you get to hunt with your son and Dad. Seems the little fella really likes it if he wanted to stay after he fell in!

[5 stand]

^^^pretty much sums it up^^^^
Glad we got a picture of Gigi...

Mighty fine !!!

[jrock75]

Date: January 4

Time: Morning

Location: Jackpot (salt marsh)

Weather: Sunny and warm. Mid-60s with 5-10 NW wind.

Special Notes: None

Waterfowl Activity: Really awesome day to watch birds. They were flying early and often. Watched them in the dark for 15 minutes before shooting time. Teal slowed after sunrise but gadwall were steady out of the northeast which is their typical flight pattern for this blind. Several times, we looked up and were absolutely covered with several species of groups flying multiple directions at multiple altitudes. Many times we just watched the show before picking off one or two when it was clear the show was ending. Lots of scaup.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Really good responsiveness. As the morning progressed, gadwall were funny acting and wanted to land west of the blind but enough got close to get us our fair share. Teal would sneak us and be gone by the time we confirmed they were not scaup and then not give another pass.

Hunters: 5 - 3 friends from Louisiana plus guide Adam (I typically don't use a guide but I don't like the responsibility of taking the Marsh Master on and off the trailer)

Malfunctions: None

Dog(s): Adam's dog who did a great job hunting some long cripples

Special Equipment: None

Curses: I don't have a good excuse but we shot 5 out of a big group of scaup at first light that we thought were teal. Made us very cautious with ID on groups after that and we missed the opportunity on a lot of teal. Worked out great though as the gadwall came to play after the teal flight slowed.

Kudos: Nice to hunt with experienced hunters who really appreciate how special days like this are.

Birds By Species: 30 ducks (15 gadwall, 8 teal, 5 scaup, 2 pintail)

Lagniappe: None

2023.01.04.jpg

[Duck Engr]

Those are the days we dream about all off-season! Very nice!

[Darren]

Some nice hunts for sure ! Thanks for sharing

[jrock75]

Date: December 22

Time: Morning

Location: East Flat (freshwater marsh)

Weather: Mid-50s with 5-10 N wind.

Special Notes: The big freeze front of 2022 was due to roar in that afternoon/evening with 30+ MPH wind with temps dropping 40+ degrees in a matter of hours.

Waterfowl Activity: Decent flight, not the huge influx of new birds I was hoping for though.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Not all that responsive.

Hunters: 4 - Me and Grant and Vince and his son Ben

Malfunctions: None

Dog(s): None

Special Equipment: None

Curses: Not hunt related, but we couldn't buy a fish the afternoon before the hunt. Tried the salt-checks, mitigation marsh, and the pier back at the house. Really wanted to see Ben's reaction to catching a big red.

Kudos: Ben shot his first duck. He is a really nice kid who is completely eaten up with hunting and fishing so it was great to see him get the trophy he so badly wanted.

Birds By Species: I can't remember exactly but I think we ended up with 8-10. Mix of teal, gadwall, scaup and a spoon.

Lagniappe: None

[Deltaman]

Thanks for the reports, and glad to hear of your success on the birds with friends and family!!!!!!

[jrock75]

We have had a good year, but after that January 4th hunt it has slowed materially for me. Have only made two hunts due to other commitments. One day they teal are there (usually Saturday when I can't hunt) and the next day they are gone (usually Sunday when I am in the blind). Not many big ducks getting shot at any blind though. Also have not seen a big push of blue wings back north yet.

[jrock75]

Date: January 15

Time: Morning

Location: East Flat (freshwater marsh)

Weather: Cloudy, Mid-60s with 10-15 S wind.

Special Notes: None

Waterfowl Activity: There were some birds flying around but it was not what we typically see at this blind. Boys were ready to go at 9:00 and that was fine with us.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Ducks that were flying worked pretty well, but we didn't make much of our best opportunities. Had a couple of groups of teal come an go unscathed. Not sure how I bent my barrel. We shot as much as anyone else out in that area that day.

Hunters: 2 + 2 kids - Friend John and his son Oakes and Grant

Malfunctions: We get to the blind after the 3 mile ride on the tracked ranger through the muddy mess that is now that road and I realize that my blind bag is back at the truck. I drop off John and the boys to put out decoys and when I get back Oakes has his waders off and John is dumping water out of them.

Dog(s): None

Special Equipment: None

Curses: For some reason I didn't make the shot call on the 20+ pintails that were passing directly over the blind several times but then when a gadwall diving in caught the corner of my eye, I called that one which as expected blasted off the pintails. To boot, we missed the gadwall.

Kudos: Wasn't sure how Oakes would like it but after the hunt he told his mom it was his favorite outdoor activity that he could remember.

Birds By Species: I can't remember but I think it was 6 - 2 GWT, 2 BWT, 2 scaup.

Lagniappe: None

[jrock75]

Date: January 22

Time: Morning

Location: East Flat (freshwater marsh)

Weather: Sunny, Mid-50s with 10-15 NW wind. Beautiful day.

Special Notes: None

Waterfowl Activity: The wind completely died at sunrise and there were no birds flying around at all. Probably the fewest birds I have seen at this blind in the 3 years I have been hunting it.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: We had 2 groups work in pretty good but only got one out of each group.

Hunters: 3 + 3 kids (Brian and Vince and their 9 year-old boys plus Grant)

Malfunctions: None

Dog(s): None

Special Equipment: None

Curses: None

Kudos: None

Birds By Species: 3 - 1 pintail, 1 GWT, 1 scaup

Lagniappe: Boys had a great time Saturday afternoon playing in the rain while the dads solved the world's problems over bourbon inside. Boys caught had two good bites off the pier that stripped line and broke off. Surprising given the chocolate milk water quality. Had a great time fishing the mitigation marsh on a beautiful Sunday afternoon after the hunt.

2023.01.22.jpg

First Duck - 2023.01.22 - Grant fish.jpg

[jrock75]

Date: January 29

Time: Morning

Location: Rolltop (rice field)

Weather: Cloudy with on and off rain. mid-60s and wet but not near the 2-4" that was forecasted

Special Notes: Last hunt for the 2022-2023 season. Had several guys stay at the lodge because of the rain and poor bird numbers over the past two weeks.

Waterfowl Activity: Tremendous number of birds flying around. Big groups of teal and pintail pretty consistently all morning.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: The really big groups stayed away but we had plenty of smaller groups make it happen.

Hunters: 3 - Dad and David

Malfunctions: None

Dog(s): None

Special Equipment: 3 Wonderducks

Curses: As is typical I was late making the shot call on some pintails that in hindsight were well within range.

Kudos: Though the rolltop has long quit working on this blind it sure does make for a nice spot to get out of the rain. We shot pretty well on some long-range wary ducks. Shots I probably wouldn't call if not for this being the last day of the season.

Birds By Species: 18 ducks plus a bonus speck - 13 GWT, 2 spoons, 1 pintail, 1 wigeon, 1 gadwall

Lagniappe: None

2023.01.29.jpg

[DComeaux]

Nice strap! GW seem to be the dominant bird on straps in the south.