2016-2017 Season Log

[Ericdc]

Date: 1/17
Dog(s): Marsh's looong mark and chase of a tipped greenwing that made it to open water to our north had us celebrating - until a (POed?) gator started popping off where he'd just been and sobered us up. So there'll be no more long retrieves near, much less in, open water this season.

I'd noticed, and made a comment to Blake on the shake water from Ellie being warm last weekend. I was nervous on one of her loooooong search missions. I got up on the blind seat watching her, thinking it would be such a helpless feeling.

Saw a show a couple days ago where they were diving with crocodiles that wouldn't feed when the water was under 66 degrees, which jives with something I'd read some time back from Texas Parks and Wildlife about alligators not feeding once water temps hit the low 60s. Don't know what our water is now, just that I didn't send him for a long, tipped gray he'd marked across one of the big ponds to our south after the teal gator's wake-up call. He'll not be going far near deep water without the boat and armed guard from here on out.

This January weather has been disappointing since the big freeze last weekend. I know it helped you guys out a good bit for a few days at least.


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[Rick]

Certainly for this split, but I think there were one or two about like it in the first split. Was happy just to squeeze past the dreaded scratch.

Now you have gone and done it,I have been thinking this WHOLE season "he has not scratched one time"

Thought for a good while that this would be it. Maybe in the morning...

Scanned the first split and see that I had an afternoon goose scratch, but none at the Mudhole. Did have one three duck hunt and one two duck and one speck hunt there, though.

[Rick]

This January weather has been disappointing since the big freeze last weekend. I know it helped you guys out a good bit for a few days at least.

Given over a week of essentially the same wind and September weather, we were blessed that the bottom didn't fall out sooner.

[Rick]

Date: 1/18

Time: morning

Location: Mudhole

Cloud Cover: Fog, again, and again, and again...

Wind Direction and Velocity: SE moderate to light to moderate

Temperature: warm

Moon phase: waning 61%

Special Notes: I am sooo tired of looking at fog no birds come out of

Waterfowl Activity: Saw a few high, edge of visibility ringneck flights diving overhead for the open water to our south and only one lone teal plus two little bunches of mallards, one plainly "local" and one naive.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: First bunch of four mallards couldn't have worked prettier, but had to employ a raucous, fighting over food feed to peel a pair off another little local mallard bunch of six or eight just stretching their wings and pushing off our location on their first two passes through our area. Lonely little teal came straight in to the "momma call".

Hunters: 2, Brooks and Gordon's last day

Guns:

Malfunctions:

Dog(s): Marsh couldn't locate one of the three mallards we clipped from the first four in, but didn't get to try for it until after a spooky long chase for one of the other two. Thought I had it marked dead on the west end of our pond, but there was nothing but a lily clump where it splashed in and I saw no further motion. Worked both edges like a champ but never hit on scent, so it must have made its escape down the trail in open water(?) Later when I thought I'd marked one of our last pair down halfway to the back blind, he got birdy in the boat before we got to what turned out after a long and thorough search to be a probable miss-mark, I looked back toward where he'd been birdy and saw a landmark that might have been the right one, motored downwind and let him make a short search and retrieve that would have been a whole lot quicker and easier if I'd payed attention to him the first time we passed downwind of the bird. Good dog, bad handler.

Special Equipment: SOS (on for the teal and off for the mallards)

Curses: Freaking fog and lack of wind change for so many days running.

Kudos: Good company who took it well.

Birds By Species: 1 gw teal and 4 mallards

[Ericdc]

Like you, it's been a while since I've seen the sunshine while hunting. Next week is looking better but that's too late for coastal zone unfortunately.


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[Darren]

............retrieve that would have been a whole lot quicker and easier if I'd payed attention to him the first time we passed downwind of the bird. Good dog, bad handler.

Nose knows! Hope the weather shakeup or at least some rain around helps your cause for last few mornings

[Rick]

Sure hoping the rain stirs the pot, but afraid to count on it. Maybe Sunday's west wind...

[DComeaux]

Sure hoping the rain stirs the pot, but afraid to count on it. Maybe Sunday's west wind...

Last I saw, the forecast is west at 20 to 30 for that day....

[Rick]

Would like to say "Couldn't hurt." But am afraid to.

[DComeaux]

Speaking of gators, this is a post from Breaux Bridge today.

Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2017
D. Destroyer reported Declining numbers
Time: Not Provided
Weather: Not Provided
Temp: Not Provided
Wind: Not Provided Not Provided
Comments: Ducks coming from north of blind will work , ducks coming from south of blind not a shot at them , saw a lot less today but got 12 , big gators out today , the dog eating size

[Rick]

The one between us and the back blind that I'd hoped lightening would strike before the first split was spotted again, and I saw a dandy laying up by Cherry Ridge's south trail while over there the other day. Just part of it in this part of the country.

When in doubt, have Ellie send Blake.

[Rick]

Date: 1/19

Time: morning

Location: Mudhole

Cloud Cover: rain of varying densities all morning

Wind Direction and Velocity: variable from SE to W and back, mostly moderate

Temperature: warm

Moon phase:

Special Notes:

Waterfowl Activity: The rain I'd had fingers and toes crossed for turned out to be a bust.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: What little came by mostly tried to work but usually ran into crowd control issues.

Hunters: 2, one who'd not duck hunted in four or five years and one brand new to it.

Guns:

Malfunctions: Our new man had "Benelli click" issues with his borrowed gun until he called it to my attention and learned not to ease the bolt forward after loading.

Dog(s): Marsh made a long, otherwise sweet, mark out the back that very nearly saw him called back when he pegged his mallard at the edge of big water a gator had been popping off from.

Special Equipment: SOS

Curses: Lots and lots of crowd control problems while we worked through the hows and whys of hiding from birds and not tipping our hand by standing and shouldering a gun early.

Kudos: Great guys and we still had a big time regardless.

Birds By Species: 2 gw teal, 1 mallard and 1 ringneck

Photo Ops: Our more experienced man models the special hat he made for the trip, while the brand new waterfowler practices the sneak peek we spent the morning learning:

[Ducaholic]

Lol...You are a better man than me Rick.

[Rick]

Just part of it. Though I may have whimpered, OK growled, a bit over some of our too few sweet chances squandered to remarkably elementary screw-ups, they're such nice guys that the worst of it was not having enough opportunities for them to get the bugs worked out and enjoy better shooting. Maybe tomorrow...

[Ericdc]

That hat as bright as it looks in picture?


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[Rick]

'Fraid so. But at least I had a more subtle rain coat to go over the black windbreaker jacket below it.

[Ducaholic]

'Fraid so. But at least I had a more subtle rain coat to go over the black windbreaker jacket below it.

It's the hat I was referring to....

[Ericdc]

Where were they from?


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[DComeaux]

Oh my! I picked up my phone twice to text you it was raining, but put it down with a smile... I wish I would have, now...

[Darren]

New fella needs $2K to get the new SBE3 which has reportedly been redesigned to prevent the click.

Just never know who's coming into camp. Sounds like they had a good time though

[Rick]

Where were they from?

Near Destin.

[Rick]

:lol: Oh my! I picked up my phone twice to text you it was raining, but put it down with a smile... I wish I would have, now...

Had a presumably sales call while working the first pair of teal we actually managed to shoot at and kill one of with the phone clamped between my thighs to dampen its ringing.

[Rick]

New fella needs $2K to get the new SBE3 which has reportedly been redesigned to prevent the click.

Did tell him they think they've conquered the "click," but he simply didn't know about the problem, much less that he was inadvertently creating it.

[Rick]

Hard to imagine what that bungled repair might have been. My own little Benelli is so full of mud from the dog shaking on its action that I had a very-rare-for-me click of my own yesterday but didn't have to bend anything giving the bolt rails a shot of oil. Probably should have broken down and cleaned it, with the current crew so in need of my participation, but didn't with its kinda, sorta traditional season-end cleaning so near.

[Rick]

Date: 1/20

Time: morning

Location: Mudhole

Cloud Cover: clear early but fog the last hour

Wind Direction and Velocity: SSW nil to light

Temperature: warm

Moon phase: 45% waning

Special Notes:

Waterfowl Activity: Most teal we've seen in a while both early on and again a little after 8.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Some mallards worked sweet and some had to be tripped up. Teal came as they should, as did the grays. Been using the teal cut DC much more than the MVP in recent times and had been having some sticking issues with the MVP's new, slightly longer reed, which is a new trick for that old reliable call.

Hunters: 2, Tim again and new man, Mike, who was a more experienced gun handler than TIm's partner yesterday.

Guns:

Malfunctions:

Dog(s): Marsh had another fine day, making me proud on a couple of tipped big ducks.

Special Equipment: SOS

Curses: Missed several teal flights while I was out boating Marsh to the AOF of a long chipped teal he had marked down in gator water I'd not let him work without me close at hand.

Kudos: Guys were great and Tim even took advantage of a end of season sale at G&H to replace his glowing hat and black windbreaker.

Birds By Species: 2 gadwall, 8 gw teal, 4 mallards, 1 ringneck and 1 shoveler

Photo Ops: Tim and Mike:

[Rick]

WARNING - Learned what made Tim's duck hat glow so:


Was a product many waterfowlers have hoped would prove a boon: Neverwet. Tim told me it wasn't like that before treatment, and that while it seemed to help early on in yesterday's rain, soon failed that test, too. Oh, well...

[DComeaux]

I like seeing you had birds to play with.

[Rick]

Probably not as much as we did. The previous four mornings had been mighty tough on folks who'd come a lot way in the hope of better waterfowling than they have at home. Ate my lunch not to be able to produce during Brooks and Gordon's time here, and sure was nice to send these guys home on a high note.

[Rick]

And speaking of "notes," I risked running my all time favorite duck call's toneboard over some 320 emery cloth a couple times without seeming to hurt it. So here's hoping that's all it takes to keep its new reed from getting sticky.