2019-2020 Season Log

[Rick]

Date: 11/15 Fri

Time: morning

Location: mudhole

Cloud Cover: cloudy to clear

Wind Direction and Velocity: NE moderate

Temperature: chilly in the breeze

Moon phase: 3/4? waning

Special Notes:

Waterfowl Activity: Nothing but a few locals pond hoping and a lost pintail. Did see several flights of blues headed north.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Pintail dropped in and landed to squacky quacks. Really bearing down on the "brrr"s brought one of a group of four plainly wise jacks that initially swung well wide over the top on their trip back to the open water behind us.

Hunters: 2, Scott and Gerard

Guns:

Malfunctions:

Dog(s): Easy morning.

Special Equipment: sos, off for what we shot as has been the case for all but gw teal.

Curses: NO ducks!

Kudos: Nice guys one of which was a carver who knew another who's a dear friend, so we had stories to share during the long morning.

Birds By Species: 1 pintail and 1 ringneck

[Duck Engr]

Wow. Still silent elsewhere in the marsh as well?

[Rick]

We had 2/5 of what I saw of our marsh's 6 blind total, CR couldn't have done much better and I heard from Robert this morning that Darren's friends' Oak Island (MB) camp marsh has been even grimmer. Pretty unreal.

[Johnc]

I am afraid the new reality is firmly in place

[Darren]

We had 2/5 of what I saw of our marsh's 6 blind total, CR couldn't have done much better and I heard from Robert this morning that Darren's friends' Oak Island (MB) camp marsh has been even grimmer. Pretty unreal.

WOW

[Duck Engr]

Holy cow

[BGkirk]

I am afraid the new reality is firmly in place

i agree, as I’ve always felt better reading Ricks posts as a feel good that ducks are still in the area.


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[Johnc]

My friends are having issues with specks already. Big time callers who know how to hunt. People that know their stuff as in when to shut up on the call as well

It’s going to be a rough road

Specks not finishing this early on

Very easy to be fooled by social media. They not saying those geese were scraped down instead of decoying,really decoying

[Duck Engr]

Rick have you ever had an opening week this poor at the mudhole?

[Rick]

A weak opening week isn't surprising, it's a weak opening week with this weather that has so many of us shaking our heads. But I can recall sometimes being disappointed by seemingly "sure thing" weather going well back into my ag land years, too. May just seem extra befuddling because it's current.

[Rick]

Date: 11/16 Sat

Time: morning

Location: mudhole

Cloud Cover: clear

Wind Direction and Velocity: NE nil to mod

Temperature: 30s?

Moon phase:

Special Notes:

Waterfowl Activity: Seemed a few more first light little ducks, presumably courtesy of weekend activity, and east blinds had a better morning. Next to zip other than high blues on our end, though.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: A little batch of both blue and green-ing teal and a spoon cooperated, and a jack turned and buzzed us without slowing for burring.

Hunters: 2, Brent (from Arkansas) and Paul

Guns:

Malfunctions:

Dog(s): Marsh wasn't sent for a chipped jack that went in way the hey out in the big water out front, and worked his butt off trying to catch a tipped blue-wing that hit shoulder-high water behind us without success.

Special Equipment: sos turned spinners off for jack

Curses: No birds despite weekend activity.

Kudos: Super nice guys made a pleasant morning of it, anyway.

Birds By Species: 1 bw teal, 1 gw teal and 1 shoveller

[Rick]

We had 2/5 of what I saw of our marsh's 6 blind total, CR couldn't have done much better and I heard from Robert this morning that Darren's friends' Oak Island (MB) camp marsh has been even grimmer. Pretty unreal.

I may have lied about the marsh total, as someone said Issac had some that must not have gone to our cleaners - though I sure thought I saw his name on a mallard...

[Johnc]

I am finishing up my blind. I drove all over on the way home and realized I did not see a solitary duck

Down big four,around where my in laws used too live,talens,Thornwell


Did see a surprising number of blues and pretty good flight of specks while digging grass—- all high but at least something

[Rick]

Date: 11/17 Sun

Time: morning

Location: mudhole

Cloud Cover: clear

Wind Direction and Velocity: N/A

Temperature: 30s

Moon phase: 75% waning

Special Notes:

Waterfowl Activity: Next to none, big or little.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Had a dozen or so specks coming to die but an east blind shot and blew them out and same with a pair of mottleds that must have been new to the marsh. Also worked a lone mallard down a long way before he pushed and I realized the spinners I thought were off were on. Dos gris flew in and lit - not long after I'd told the guys that anything looking like a jack that actually came to our pothole would be a dos gris.

Hunters: 2, Paul and Brent again

Guns:

Malfunctions:

Dog(s): easy morning

Special Equipment: sos

Curses: no birds

Kudos: pleasant morning, anyway

Birds By Species: 1 scaup (Tooks, Clyde and Isaac also had one each, don't know about Ed's east blind, but Gabe did better, thanks to jacks, in his big east-end pond.)

[Duck Engr]

I imagine (hope) things will improve for you once Arkansas, Mississippi, northern LA open up.

[Ericdc]

Really disappointing because in 2014 we had really cold weather in early to mid November and the coast was flush with birds.

East zone opened a week later and we had great hunting too.

Really hope the green winged teal show up for us and y’all next weekend.


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[Bud]

I imagine (hope) things will improve for you once Arkansas, Mississippi, northern LA open up.

I am at a loss for words. Timely mistake by USFWS? Experiment at your cost? Don't much know if an explanation would help me understand this.

Still good times to be had at the mudhole, with or without.

[Ericdc]

I imagine (hope) things will improve for you once Arkansas, Mississippi, northern LA open up.

I am at a loss for words. Timely mistake by USFWS? Experiment at your cost? Don't much know if an explanation would help me understand this.

Still good times to be had at the mudhole, with or without.

What do you mean?


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[Darren]

For the weather we’ve had, this is flat bizarre, at best. Given Ricks results, coupled with DComeaux’s empty skies, John not seeing anything touring rice country, and added in Mallard Bay’s surprising no flight.....what on earth!??


Last two hunts on my end we saw some grays but very little of anything else. Did get passed along a video of some massive numbers said to be on a Bunkie area farm but will see for ourselves on Friday.

[Johnc]

For the weather we’ve had, this is flat bizarre, at best. Given Ricks results, coupled with DComeaux’s empty skies, John not seeing anything touring rice country, and added in Mallard Bay’s surprising no flight.....what on earth!??


Last two hunts on my end we saw some grays but very little of anything else. Did get passed along a video of some massive numbers said to be on a Bunkie area farm but will see for ourselves on Friday.

They will be some geese to play with

2014 big front,Arkansas was much drier if I remember. Birds skipped over

It’s done here duck wise

All big front is push birds into already a ton in Arkansas and pushed the photo migraters out. The mid season lull is now

Done. Crawfishing sugar cane and second crops just barely getting out or not out

When the big boys are killing single digits,done duck wise

[Ericdc]

The crawfishing is a huge problem, I didn’t realize how bad it was until the videos with Larry and others talking about issues.


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[Rick]

I am at a loss for words. Timely mistake by USFWS? Experiment at your cost? Don't much know if an explanation would help me understand this.

The USFWS isn't to blame for our screwed up zones and dates, those are on an appointed commission of clueless Bozos listening to their buddies, ouija boards or Magic 8-balls, instead of our biologists and common sense. But it's still spooky that photo-period and favorable weather haven't had more discernible influence.

[Johnc]

The crawfishing is a huge problem, I didn’t realize how bad it was until the videos with Larry and others talking
about issues.


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Its just about every field in stubble that is not hunted is crawfished down here---no rest area---hell some blinds are in crawfish ponds in 2 feet of water---total screw job---cant kill geese consistently in 2 feet of water and the ducks that use that are strictly nocturnal

as far as dates---speck wise down here all this time has been wasted because of the influence of NE Louisiana---crazy early opening---i know the main voices that made that happen--cant believe the comission listened but whatever

so IF any specks make it here,instead of being able to rest,,,baam instant pressure and retreat back to arkansas---and most seconds crops were not out so where were they going to go?

arkansas ----no crawfishing----still pressure,but places to rest also and way more habitat for living

i honestly think it would have been better if no arctic front duck wise---pushed what ducks you had out

so now maybe the calender can help as in birds just trickle in as the year gets later I guess

but as far as weather helping,only thing that will do is push more into arkansas----it would take a major freeze through north louisiana

[Ericdc]

I wanted to go back to 74 days on specks. I never wanted or voted for 88. It’s insanity. I can understand having a week or 2 before duck season in northeast LA for specks because we have so many then but 21 days before and 14 after duck season is stupid, plus that 7 days in mid December when goose season is closed for the first 7 days of east zone 2nd split.

U know how many geese will be killed that week and thrown in a ditch or get ticketed for?


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[Ducaholic]

Can’t kill em if they not here. The November survey was 1 million ducks shy. For every acre of crawfish pong here there is an acre or more of favorable habitat to our north. Ducks are being short stopped.

[Johnc]

I wanted to go back to 74 days on specks. I never wanted or voted for 88. It’s insanity. I can understand having a week or 2 before duck season in northeast LA for specks because we have so many then but 21 days before and 14 after duck season is stupid, plus that 7 days in mid December when goose season is closed for the first 7 days of east zone 2nd split.

U know how many geese will be killed that week and thrown in a ditch or get ticketed for?


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Screwed the rest of the state goose wise

Maybe now they will actually use the North and South zones

So that little corridor in NE Louisiana gets their early days and we are not stuck down here

[Johnc]

Can’t kill em if they not here. The November survey was 1 million ducks shy. For every acre of crawfish pong here there is an acre or more of favorable habitat to our north. Ducks are being short stopped.

Yes I agree

[Ericdc]

I wanted to go back to 74 days on specks. I never wanted or voted for 88. It’s insanity. I can understand having a week or 2 before duck season in northeast LA for specks because we have so many then but 21 days before and 14 after duck season is stupid, plus that 7 days in mid December when goose season is closed for the first 7 days of east zone 2nd split.

U know how many geese will be killed that week and thrown in a ditch or get ticketed for?


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Screwed the rest of the state goose wise

Maybe now they will actually use the North and South zones

So that little corridor in NE Louisiana gets their early days and we are not stuck down here

I agree the goose zones should be used. It’s nonsense to create them and not use them.


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[Rick]

i honestly think it would have been better if no arctic front duck wise---pushed what ducks you had out...

Would think that the case with most blue-wings, which ended up being our bread and butter last warm season. Strange times.

[Deltaman]

I just got back from our annual Venice trip for several days last week, and there were no ducks to speak of in the area.........never seen this area so barren of birds. Apparently, there were a decent amount of Blue Wings prior to the big front, which coincided with a full moon, and those birds must've moved on, and nothing replaced them. Saw a handful of grays, pintail and teal, but they were very skittish. Spent more time catching and frying catfish, drinking beer/whisky, and bullshetting. I did slip away and hunt with one of the locals on one of the mornings my crew slept in, and killed a bull drake Pintail, one of the 3 ducks we managed to kill that morning, and the sad thing is............that was the top hunt of the trip. Back in my delta (Mobile, AL) yesterday, and spent a half day fishing with the wife. Caught a fine mess of trout and reds, but did not see the first duck. Time will tell........