2016-2017 Season Log

[Ericdc]

Way more than I expected


The estimate of 3.06 million ducks from this survey is 2.5 times the 1.21 million from last November and is similar to the 3.12 million estimated in 2014 when early freezing weather in the Flyway pushed large numbers of birds into Louisiana. This estimate is 80% higher than the most recent 5-year average of 1.73 million and 50% higher than the long-term average of 2.04 million. More of all species except mottled ducks, blue-winged teal, and pintails were seen compared to 2015, and gadwalls (LTA=795,000), greenwings (LTA=258,000), shovelers (LTA=93,000), bluewings (LTA=183,000), scaup (LTA=46,000), and ring-necked ducks (LTA=100,000) were far above their November long-term averages. The relatively high survey total is surprising given the lack of cold weather typically associated with migration events to this point in the year and recent communications from colleagues in Saskatchewan, North Dakota, and Minnesota reporting warm temperatures and delayed migrations.


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[Darren]

Their survey discussion does not include the drought factor, taking many of the birds that would otherwise be scattered across arky, Mississippi, west Tennessee, etc. and puts them here sooner than they'd figure otherwise.

[DComeaux]

Their survey discussion does not include the drought factor, taking many of the birds that would otherwise be scattered across arky, Mississippi, west Tennessee, etc. and puts them here sooner than they'd figure otherwise.

I'm okay with this.

[Rick]

Date: 11/14

Time: afternoon

Location: Gueydan SE

Cloud Cover: clear

Wind Direction and Velocity: light ENE

Temperature: t-shirt

Moon phase: super

Special Notes: A guide who knows his business had readied this blind and it didn't look like one when I turned it over to two subleters for the weekend. Thankfully, I checked it out prehunt, because they had done their best to make it look just like a place with guns - and had, according to Douglas, killed but one bird out of it. Fixed that.

Waterfowl Activity: A fair number of specks passing high on their way to a major body a mile or so east of us. But other than a pair of spoons that buzzed the farm, the ducks were all very late in the day and VERY high.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Surprisingly good, given the birds' altitude and apparent travel plans, but while our blind was well blended into the levee, the land owner had left an old blind and stand of cut grass close enough to it to make the birds nervous and most came either quiet or grumbling.

Hunters: 4, same as yesterday afternoon

Guns: (apparently crooked)

Malfunctions:

Dog(s): Marsh broke on one long crip.

Special Equipment: 5 Deceptions

Curses: Just that we didn't shoot straight enough to fill - or perhaps didn't shoot position in the blind.

Kudos: Finally got them some specks.

Birds By Species: 5 specks

Photo Ops: Marsh got a little goose work:

[Rick]

Date: 11/15

Time: morning

Location: Mudhole

Cloud Cover: partly

Wind Direction and Velocity: zip most of the morning then mod from west near curfew

Temperature: warm

Moon phase: still super

Special Notes:

Waterfowl Activity: much better than yesterday early on but flight was all but over by 7:30

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Aside from local mottleds, most of what came by tried to come in.

Hunters: 2, favorites: Harold and grown son, Mark

Guns:

Malfunctions:

Dog(s): Marsh had a very good morning.

Special Equipment: SOS

Curses: Just that the guys were having trouble knocking the rust out of their barrels while crowd control problems often kept me from making it as easy as it might have been. (Mark said, "I'm shooting like a little kid." and wasn't too all that far off.)

Kudos: Harold finally made a double on teal, Mark smacked a 100mph fastball blackjack and I greatly enjoyed our visit.

Birds By Species: 1 gadwall, 7 gw teal, 1 mallard, 2 mottleds, 1 ringneck and 2 woodies

Photo Ops: Mottled that made it to the flotant before being snagged:


which he wasn't too happy about:


And our lone mallard:

[Ducaholic]

Not a bad day. How's Ole Peake accepting retirement?

[Rick]

How's Ole Peake accepting retirement?

Not as well as I might wish, but not terrible, either. He still gets plenty of me-and-he time, enough to seriously retard the young gun's training.

[Rick]

this consistent wood duck action may stay a while with little rain.

Seems like we'd have 'em all trained by now, but some still keep turning for squeals through a speck call. And most still get shot at, rather than shot.

[Rick]

Date: 11/16

Time: morning

Location: Mudhole

Cloud Cover: clear

Wind Direction and Velocity: none to nil

Temperature: warm

Moon phase: 93% waning super

Special Notes:

Waterfowl Activity: Slow enough to have been pee-poor for most parties.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Excellent across the board, other than for local mottleds. Seemed everything, regardless of altitude, heard the call and responded. Was especially tickled by a dozen or so woodies turning inside-out to get back to squeals from a speck call.

Hunters: 2, Joey and Bill

Guns:

Malfunctions:

Dog(s): Marsh did a fine job on the flotant.

Special Equipment: SOS

Curses: none at all

Kudos: The guys shot well enough that most everything fell in bunches and saved their own morning from a light flight. All of our woodies, grays, bluewings and blackjacks came from just one op at each species. Took two chances to get the pins.

Birds By Species: 3 bw teal, 4 gadwall, 4 pintails, 2 ringnecks and 5 wood ducks

[DComeaux]

Rolling along at the mud hole! I wish I had more time to get out to the blind.

[Ericdc]

Rick, what kind of decoy spread are you using this year? Like species and numbers, if you don't mind sharing.


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[Rick]

Was my Morgan City shooters did the rolling today. Had a little trouble holding them down on the kind of high passes they were accustomed to taking, but when the birds got in tight where I wanted them, they didn't get back out.

[Rick]

Rick, what kind of decoy spread are you using this year? Like species and numbers, if you don't mind sharing.

Pretty much the same as the past few seasons: just under two dozen mallards, dozen and a half(?) bw teal, 3 pintail drakes, a handful of goose floaters and FBs (on and behind blind island) and some four dozen coots. Coots mostly rafted on the far bank going west, ducks in little, mixed groups, mostly tight to the blind or on the east end of the pond. Lots of open space. Pretty puny by local standards.

[Ericdc]

Rick, what kind of decoy spread are you using this year? Like species and numbers, if you don't mind sharing.

Pretty much the same as the past few seasons: just under two dozen mallards, dozen and a half(?) bw teal, 3 pintail drakes, a handful of goose floaters and FBs (on and behind blind island) and some four dozen coots. Coots mostly rafted on the far bank going west, ducks in little, mixed groups, mostly tight to the blind or on the east end of the pond. Lots of open space. Pretty puny by local standards.

If I hunted the marsh, I would use a smaller spread of high quality highly visible decoys, and I would probably pick them up if I was only hunting a couple days a week.

We use a smaller rice field spread compared to the norm around us but it's a big variety of puddle ducks. Around 9 dozen total with FB specks. It's easier to change up for the win direction that several hundred decoys.


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[Ericdc]

My app says 20-30 mph north wind for Cameron parish Saturday. That should be fun.


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[Ericdc]

Accuweather doesn't show north wind in Gueydan until Saturday evening. Calling for 15 mph south with 20+ gusts


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Gotcha. Well weather channel, storm, and NWS all say north, but we'll see.

You'd prefer a south wind?


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[Ducaholic]

Accuweather doesn't show north wind in Gueydan until Saturday evening. Calling for 15 mph south with 20+ gusts


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My advice is to be prepared for a strong NNW wind by shooting time Saturday morning.

[Rick]

Site I use (https://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=70549 has backed up a day, which is common, and is currently showing southerly winds the next couple days and hard north at shooting time Sat. But it'll do what it does. I've not found any rule of thumb terribly reliable but expect the greenwings to show in force with the southerly breeze.

[Rick]

If I hunted the marsh, I would use a smaller spread of high quality highly visible decoys, and I would probably pick them up if I was only hunting a couple days a week.

I doubt we're missing much by not picking up for ducks in a spot they only traffic, aside from tripping a relative few more locals. But don't mind admitting the number of duck decoys I'm using is a nod to convention, as I fear fewer would be viewed as lack of effort on days when little or nothing is moving and we struggle. Have had a whole lot of fun on play hunts over my little carved spread of two pairs of mottleds and a pair of greenwings.

[Ericdc]

If I hunted the marsh, I would use a smaller spread of high quality highly visible decoys, and I would probably pick them up if I was only hunting a couple days a week.

I doubt we're missing much by not picking up for ducks in a spot they only traffic, aside from tripping a relative few more locals. But don't mind admitting the number of duck decoys I'm using is a nod to convention, as I fear fewer would be viewed as lack of effort on days when little or nothing is moving and we struggle. Have had a whole lot of fun on play hunts over my little carved spread of two pairs of mottleds and a pair of greenwings.

Right, like I said, hunting every day like you do there is no point.


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[Rick]

Precious few are stopping there, whether we hunt or not. Well, other than the mottleds in the broken marsh out front and blackjacks in the big ponds in back. Used to note that I'd been going out there for ten years, in season and out, and could still count the number of times I'd moved ducks from the mudhole (or near enough to call it so) on one hand with a thumb to spare. But last year, four wigeon left my poule d'eau decoys as we pulled in and used that thumb.

It's just, as Ronquest would say, "a place they don't mind coming". Which is plenty good enough, and I'm blessed to have it. Least wise now that Marsh is proving himself a solid hand at recovering what falls in the misery outside the little hole.

[Ericdc]

Yea, we've never had a pile of ducks roost in my field up here, geese have a couple times but it's rare. It's just a place the birds trafficking in and out of SE Arkansas and NE Louisiana don't mind going.

Like you, very thankful and I make sure to let my landowner know that. Bringing his wife some fresh tomatoes in the summer doesn't hurt either.


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[Rick]

Holy moly, there was an actual breeze when I aired the dogs this morning. I swear it.

[Rick]

Date: 11/17

Time: morning

Location: Mudhole

Cloud Cover: clear to partly

Wind Direction and Velocity: SE strongest of any to date

Temperature: cool to warm

Moon phase: 85% waning

Special Notes:

Waterfowl Activity: Zzzzzz. Literally none of the teal I'd expected with southerly wind, and next to no big ducks.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Focused mostly on tripping up blackjacks, and had some luck burring like all get out.

Hunters: 2, Howard and Bill Super nice older fellows, but very tall and very white.

Guns:

Malfunctions:

Dog(s): Marsh did some fine work on chipped jacks, losing just one tracked to open water.

Special Equipment: SOS, killed spinner and just worked splasher for jacks

Curses: No new ducks.

Kudos: Still managed to get some shooting and pass a good time.

Birds By Species: 1 gadwall, 6 ringnecks, 2 shovelers and 2 wood ducks