2023-2024 Season Log

[Rick]

Are they in full plumage now?

I've yet to see a male that looks like the photos of their breeding colors. Have white cheek patches but more dull/hen brown than chestnut, and this one's bill was still more gray/black than blue. Didn't photograph it, but was much like the only other I've had in hand (while Peake and I picked up on the ice for Clyde's blind in 2009):

P1010380a.jpg

[DComeaux]

We have ruddy ducks till the end of the season and have never seen the breeding colors on the drakes. It must happen on their way back up north. Believe me, Blake and I are always looking for it.

[Rick]

Date: 1/5 Fro

Time: morning

Location: AW's

Cloud Cover: big rain coming

Wind Direction and Velocity: E STRONG

Temperature:

Moon phase:

Special Notes:

Waterfowl Activity: Saw the most big ducks we have in a while

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Excellent until they'd get to the spinner that wouldn't quit slow rolling in the wind

Hunters: 1 Mike

Guns:

Malfunctions:

Dog(s):

Special Equipment: Spinner that wouldn't die killed us repeatedly.

Curses: Lost a number of birds that were knocked down and that dang spinner

Kudos: Mike was a good hunter and dog man who I eally enjoyed my time with..

Birds By Species: 2 bw teal, 1 mallard and 1 mottled (lost a pintail and some spoons)

[DComeaux]

I hate losing birds.

[Rick]

Date: 1/6 Sat

Time: morning

Location: AW and Neil's

Cloud Cover: light to med fog

Wind Direction and Velocity: west light to moderate

Temperature: 40s

Moon phase:

Special Notes:

Waterfowl Activity: Saw next to no birds that weren't squealers of cormorants.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Early squealer flight that has learned to pass AW's high and wide to avoid it were apparently confused by the fog, and a dozen had tripped up by the time Neil's call that they'd finished quickly. Guys were getting the hang of hitting the squealers, so we made to move to give them more ops.

Hunters: 2, Shep and young son, Ryan, on his second hunt

Guns:

Malfunctions:

Dog(s):

Special Equipment:

Curses: Only that something unseen decapitated one of our birds well out in the open water by eating a chunk out of its neck and shoulders. Otter, maybe. Don't begrudge anything needing it the bird, but sure would have liked to have seen what it was.

Kudos: The guys had a big time and even got past Forrest Gumping most of them. ("in the buttocks")

Birds By Species: 18 black-bellies

[Rick]

I hate losing birds.

Was a whole lot of chippin' going on, and I'm a piss-poor dog with limited range in the grass and no nose at all.

[Duck Engr]

Hahaha forest gumping them. Gonna have to add that to my arsenal.

[5 stand]

I'm a header, not a healer, but sometimes you have to go through the heal to get to the head... So I have Forrest Gumped some (and even unintentionally), but I understand Rick...

[Rick]

[quote="Rick"]Right up front (where it's easy for me to copy), here is the template I will be using:

Date: 1/7 Sun

Time: morn

Location: AW's, Byron's and North Blind

Cloud Cover: clear with light fog early

Wind Direction and Velocity: nil

Temperature: cool

Moon phase: sliver

Special Notes: last day of second split

Waterfowl Activity: Absolutely dead at AW's: shot once. Moved to Byron's east end of the body blind, who finished quickly while fog was onm but squealers were HIGH when we got there, so we moved to North(east) blind, aka squealer central, when Wayne finished there and were covered up in them.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Poor where the birds were high at Byron's and great at the north blind.

Hunters: 2, Eddy and Ben

Guns:

Malfunctions: Eddy's borrowed Stoger wouldn't cycle until I oiled it, and Ben's gun, or flinch, was hitting way left of crips on the water.

Dog(s):

Special Equipment:

Curses: Just that the guys had to sit through the barrages to our east while we watched empty sky at AW

Kudos: Made up for it at the North blind, and they had a big time.

Birds By Species: 18 black-bellies

[Deltaman]

Those Black-Bellies are awesome, and glad you have that resource, given the low number of migrators to date.

[Rick]

No question they've been a season saver for Cherry Ridge.

[Rick]

Date: 1/13 Sat

Time: morning

Location: North blind

Cloud Cover: clear

Wind Direction and Velocity: SE light to moderate

Temperature: frosty

Moon phase: 7% waxing

Special Notes: third split opener

Waterfowl Activity: Several big flights of greenwings from the east that were certainly new to me, but that was it for "new" birds. Later learned no one benefited from those flights, so maybe they've been here all along... Still a bazillion or two black-bellies in the area.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Our loan pintail came (and almost left) pretty, all the big bunches of teal blew through without a look, and when my guys finally decided to shoot squealers, they were obliging.

Hunters: 2, Robert and Bobby, no relation

Guns:

Malfunctions:

Dog(s):

Special Equipment: New style Mojo with small, too fast to see in dim light was no help at all with the teal.

Curses: Only that we were sent to the squealer capital of the known universe only to sit there until after 9 before the guys decided to shoot them, while others who could and would have benefited if we'd made a quick hunt struggled in the other blinds. Well, that and the lack of new working ducks.

Kudos: Nice guys eventually got their birds.

Birds By Species: 13 black-bellies, 2 bw teal, 2 gw teal and 1 pintail

[Deltaman]

Given the lack of duck variety in the area, know you were gritting your teeth on that one, and glad the local birds kept coming!

[Rick]

What's really got me gritting my teeth is sitting here instead of being in the blind to greet the front thanks to some wienies canceling - which is something I fear more of as temps drop. Grrr...

Didn't help that young Call and I made a first light lap of one of his exercise spots and heard the most shooting on one such to date. Been back indoors for all of 5 minutes and already ready to go back out just to at least be out.

[Bud]

Hope you learned of that before driving over there. Thanks for the reports.

[Rick]

Date: 1/17 Wed

Time: morning

Location: Wayne's and Byron's blinds

Cloud Cover: clear

Wind Direction and Velocity: light to moderate easterly

Temperature: upper 20s

Moon phase:

Special Notes:

Waterfowl Activity: The guys shot our few greenheads at Waynes but didn't see a lot of ducks (as opposed to squealers) until we moved to Byron's at the eastern edge of the marsh, where huge concentrations of teal and pintails were splendid eye candy that only served to draw what little was in the air their way.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Too many calls.

Hunters: Daniel, Byron and I on a guide's hunt.

Guns:

Malfunctions:

Dog(s):

Special Equipment:

Curses: Saw nary a flight bird.

Kudos: Had a fun morning.

Birds By Species: 1 gw teal, 4 mallards, 1 ringneck, 1 shoveller and 1 speck (only shot I couldn't resist this morning)

[Rick]

Addendum waterfowl activity 1/7: "didn't see a lot of ducks (as opposed to squealers) until we moved to Byron's at the eastern edge of the marsh, where huge concentrations of teal and pintails were splendid eye candy that only served to draw what little was in the air their way."

Should have read "at the eastern edge of the body" not marsh, as the expanse serving as refuge and called "the body" is in the middle of the marsh and surrounded by the blinds. We actually began at the marsh's eastern most blind, Wayne's, before moving closer to the body. I find myself bitching about the blind I'm most apt to get to hunt facing away from the body (and sunrise) because the great majority of movement is behind us and much of it shielded from view by the boat hide. But it might not be much fun to have Byron's view the body and having to compete with it. Not that I wouldn't like to try...

Might also note that Clark and Neil had a splendid hunt in Clark's blind with 8 mallards, 2 pintails, a mottled and a green-wing - all drakes. (Took a picture of Daniel holding their and our combined straps to poke DComeaux in the ribs with after he teased me with photos of greeheads near one of their tower sites above Eunice.)

Expect/hope to make a solo hunt at AW's this morning to straighten things up after our big winds and see what I might do there. Maybe even toll some birds without other callers muddying that water.

[Deltaman]

Good Luck this morning Rick!!!!!

[Rick]

Date: 1/18 Thur

Time: morning

Location: started at Daniel's blind and ended at Clark's

Cloud Cover: cloudy

Wind Direction and Velocity: light easterly

Temperature: 40s

Moon phase:

Special Notes:

Waterfowl Activity: Saw high flight ducks everywhere we went and tons of teal in the body and on the west end, but Dainel's blind one the east side was dead as was Byron's, where he and Neil started. Clark and Wayne shot 8 mallards early at Clark's blind and waited for pintails that never worked. Called us to hunt it when they gave up on that, but the easy mallards were done.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Was a battle to break any of the high flight - and then we'd booger it.

Hunters: Daniel and I

Guns:

Malfunctions:

Dog(s): Daniel's Lab Maggie did a good job and we'll not fault her for the chipped gray that beat here.

Special Equipment: spinners on and off

Curses: Couldn't break and finish the flight. And when I finally got to my blind post hunt, it was a decoy disaster with poorly rigged decoys either blown all over the pond or sunk where their hot glue plugs gave in to weather related forces. Likely contraction and expansion.

Kudos: First real flight morning of the season brought hope for the weekend, if little elsel

Birds By Species: 2 bw teal, 1 gadwall, 2 gw teal, and 1 mallard

[Duck Engr]

Flight ducks! Great to hear Rick.

[Rick]

Flight ducks! Great to hear Rick.

Kinda hope they all went to DComeaux's lease.

[Darren]

Sounds like some promise of what's supposed to be, on this bleak season. Hope it closes out sweet for you

[DComeaux]

Flight ducks! Great to hear Rick.

Kinda hope they all went to DComeaux's lease.

I'll find out in the morning. Looks like I'll be hunting solo.

[Rick]

Date: 1/19 Fri

Time: morning

Location: AW's

Cloud Cover: clear

Wind Direction and Velocity: Screaming out of the north

Temperature: 45 and dropping

Moon phase: waxing 58%

Special Notes:

Waterfowl Activity: very slow early but some of everything moving as the sun rose

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Could break most all but the highest stuff only to watch most all stall and be pushed off by the whitecaps, dancing decoys and/or spinner that couldn't be kept from spinning in the wind.

Hunters: 2, Danny and Dustin

Guns:

Malfunctions:

Dog(s): Remarkably, I found everything we managed to down.

Special Equipment: wanted to shoot my own spinner

Curses: Just the wind.

Kudos: Great guys who got far more shooting (if not hitting) than they were accustomed to and had ball.

Birds By Species: 1 bw teal, 4 gw teal, 1 mallard, 1 mottled, 2 pintails and 1 ringneck

[Deltaman]

Those gale force winds can sure booger up a pattern, and give the birds not hit seem like they have afterburners bugging out!
Thanks for the report Rick!

[Rick]

Bummed that there will be too few hunters in camp the last two mornings of our season for me to work, so I'll miss seeing how it goes when the wind lets up. May well make a play hunt Sunday afternoon.