Preseason '26-'27

[Darren]

About right to kickoff preseason happenings with a thankfully-weak storm in the Gulf, with landfall imminent near Venice, La. So far north winds have dominated at Shell Beach so water has risen a bit but largely kept in check so far. We got the bay boat out Monday morning and duck boat was already out from a weekend spent at False River dragging tubes and kneeboards.

221145_5day_cone.png

Johnny then took it to work with him Monday for a full shakedown on the motor for scheduled maintenance.

Interesting note below for Arky rice, not sure what this year's figure is for La rice but assume it too is on the lower end:

Despite a rice reference price increase from $6.30 to $7.60 per bushel under the One Big Beautiful Bill, Arkansas farmers planted less than one million acres of rice for the first time since 1989. Low commodity prices, rising input costs and global conflict contributed to less acres.

https://uaex.uada.edu/media-resources/n ... eport.aspx

[Darren]

Update, jogged north to make a landfall at the camp:

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Currently blowing 25-30+ kts from the north/NW down there on scene.

[Darren]

Water levels back down significantly overnight, should be done with this one on our end thankfully.

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Guessing we got a foot or two over the dock, maybe a foot over much of the slab under camp. Hopefully drifted away more debris than brought in for us to clean up.

[Darren]

Big fan of the pellet count high density shot has brought to my patterns, 4s and 5s resulting in much less crippling than my old days of 2s and 3s steel. Ballistic performance upgrade, sure, but regardless of that, a sheer cloud of pellets seems to be dispatching birds cleaner and I'm spending less time chasing in the marsh.

Interesting analysis here from Boss. As an engineer, I err toward trusting numbers so these kats speak my language whether its sales propaganda or not.

[Rick]

Long time fan of more chances to win, here.

[Darren]

Well, some good news for once, we'll take it !


https://gf.nd.gov/news/9515?fbclid=IwY2 ... YfSgeUw3WA

Mon, 07/27/2026
Duck brood numbers are up 55% from 2025, and North Dakota Game and Fish Department migratory game bird biologists expect a fall flight of ducks about 9% higher than last year.

The fall flight forecast is based on information collected during the department's annual May breeding duck survey and July duck brood survey, which together estimate the number of adult ducks and ducklings expected to enter the fall population.

John Palarski, department migratory game bird management supervisor, said timely rains during late May and June greatly improved brood-rearing habitat across parts of North Dakota.

"The 2026 mid-July water index was up 36% from last year, creating favorable habitat during much of the nesting and brood-rearing period," he said. "Far northwestern North Dakota received considerable rainfall and was noticeably wetter than last year. Additional precipitation in the Devils Lake area created excellent wetland conditions in northeastern North Dakota, where intact seasonal and semi-permanent wetlands provided high-quality brood habitat."

Palarski added that although temporary water was abundant in some areas this year, North Dakota's long-term duck production continues to depend on intact prairie wetlands.

Blue-winged teal and gadwall were the most common broods recorded during the survey, accounting for nearly 53% of all identified broods. Most duck species showed increases in brood numbers compared to 2025, with notable increases in gadwall (97%), northern pintail (76%), and redheads (76%). The redhead brood count was the highest recorded during the survey's 62-year history.

Actual photo proof of said broods below Grays and redheads for days this fall

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