2025-2026 Season Log

[13051305]

You have the patience of Jobe,Rick.
Get ready some real winter weather up here in SD starting tomorrow.
Temps in the teens for highs and snow.
Major migration push coming guys.

[Duck Engr]

Great hunt! And if it makes you feel any better, I wanted to do that to a 7 year old kid too on Saturday, except it was my son haha

[Rick]

Date: 11/24/25

Time: morning

Location: #3

Cloud Cover: light to party

Wind Direction and Velocity: east moderate

Temperature: just barely cool enough for a shell over my white T

Moon phase: still dark enough to worry my guys when we took off into it without a light

Special Notes: First party that's made it to the boat house well before ideal departure time.

Waterfowl Activity: Couldn't buy a teal or more than a couple black-bellies, but better than I've come to expect on an east wind.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Once we got lined out on how to ease down and watch without getting caught, excellent.

Hunters: 2, young men on their first duck hunts that were eager to learn as much as they could about it.

Guns:

Malfunctions:

Dog(s): Call had a fine morning

Special Equipment: SOS

Curses: Not a single hint of one.

Kudos: The guys listened and even shot fairly well. (Which is a lot easier when you're respecting the birds' eyes and not running them off.) Exactly the hunt I needed after yesterday's ordeal.

Birds By Species: 2 black-bellies, 5 gadwall, 2 mallards, 2 pintails, 6 ringnecks and 1 wigeon

[DComeaux]

I want to be in a blind right now.

[Rick]

I want to be in a blind right now.

Learned a couple days ago that we've been cut back to just one friends and family play day this regular season: New Years day. So there's no chance I can slip you into mine again before next September. Wish it were otherwise.

[Darren]

Sounds like a sweet bag of birds, those kids earned it with their willingness to listen.

re: mottleds

Just realizing that unlike last season, we're now 4 hunts in on the marsh lease and haven't yet had to give one a pass. The few we are seeing are sticking to the puddles on our periphery.

[DComeaux]

I want to be in a blind right now.

Learned a couple days ago that we've been cut back to just one friends and family play day this regular season: New Years day. So there's no chance I can slip you into mine again before next September. Wish it were otherwise.

I really appreciate the thought, but that comment was more about being afield rather than being in this office.

[Rick]

I want to be in a blind right now.

Learned a couple days ago that we've been cut back to just one friends and family play day this regular season: New Years day. So there's no chance I can slip you into mine again before next September. Wish it were otherwise.

I really appreciate the thought, but that comment was more about being afield rather than being in this office.

And that's how I read it, but the loss of our play days was on my mind.

[Ducaholic]

Nice Hunt Rick

[Rick]

Date: 11/25/25 Tue

Time: morning

Location: #3

Cloud Cover: Mostly clear w/rain to our NW

Wind Direction and Velocity: SW moderate

Temperature: warm

Moon phase: Waxing crescent

Special Notes:

Waterfowl Activity: Much poorer than expected: no squealers, teal or big ducks, just some passing jacks.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Hard to tell how much barking at them helped with so few ops.

Hunters: 2, Craig and Andres, the later a first time duck hunter from Chile, and the former down with whiskey flu.

Guns:

Malfunctions:

Dog(s): easy morning

Special Equipment: SOS

Curses: no flight

Kudos: Craig called it at 8.

Birds By Species: 4 ringnecks and 1 shoveller

[Duck Engr]

Maybe it’s because I get worse hangovers than most, but I don’t understand folks who drink heavily the night before duck hunting. I won’t have more than a beer with dinner because I know it’ll slow me down the next morning.

[jrock75]

Great hunt! And if it makes you feel any better, I wanted to do that to a 7 year old kid too on Saturday, except it was my son haha

Haha. Glad to know I am not the only one. I do way better tolerating other's kids poor attitudes and behavior than my own.

[Darren]

Maybe it’s because I get worse hangovers than most, but I don’t understand folks who drink heavily the night before duck hunting. I won’t have more than a beer with dinner because I know it’ll slow me down the next morning.

For sure I'll have more than that, but my head's always in the game so choices made the night before cannot risk my readiness for the morning. Sure there's been some exceptions to that, but for those that do it routinely......I just don't get it.


@Rick, hope new wind/front tomorrow turns it back on for you. Forecasts ahead surely look a lot more interesting than the last few days.

[Rick]

Craig told me he's an every day duck hunter who practices law on the side, owns a lot of good hunting land, so he may have just been there for the party.

One of the older fellows I took on the opener, Terrel, is hosting the group for our next two days, so I'm hoping the weather and birds are kind to them.

[Rick]

Date: 11/26/25 Wed

Time: morning

Location: #3

Cloud Cover: partly

Wind Direction and Velocity: NE moderate to brisk

Temperature: cool

Moon phase: waxing crescent

Special Notes:

Waterfowl Activity: No squealers, mallards or pintails whatsoever, precious few teal, and only a small handful of grays came by, so we eventually made do with ringnecks.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Barking on cutdown sometimes helped line the jacks up, and the grays did as bid.

Hunters: 2, 20-something brothers, Sam and Nick

Guns:

Malfunctions:

Dog(s): Call was stellar, so will probably eat a duck tomorrow.

Special Equipment: SOS

Curses: Just the general lack of game in my corner.

Kudos: None of the older party members got stuck with our "flight," and the guys who did were great once their cobwebs were cleared.

Birds By Species: 4 gadwall, 3 green-wings, 9 ringnecks and 2 shovellers

[Rick]

Date: 11/27/25

Time: morning

Location: #3

Cloud Cover: partly

Wind Direction and Velocity: ENE brisk most of the morning

Temperature: chilly

Moon phase: still small

Special Notes:

Waterfowl Activity: Little of this and little of that, mostly little.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Teal and pintail behaved, Jacks tried to get past.

Hunters: 2, Nick again and Augie the latter new to it.

Guns:

Malfunctions: Had to show Augie how to let his gun work as designed and not so-called "Benelli click".

Dog(s): Another good day, but is yet to retrieve more than one bird per trip, which is worrisome.

Special Equipment: SOS

Curses: Only that we had to shut down at 8 to get the guys back in Baton Rouge for T-day.

Kudos: Nick was shooting lights out.

Birds By Species: 1 black-belly, 5 blue-wings, 2 green-wings, 1 pintail, 3 ringnecks and 1 shoveller

[DComeaux]

Nice. Can't wait for Saturday morning. Hope we have enough water.

[Rick]

Can't wait for Saturday morning. Hope we have enough water.

I'm hoping you do, too. Though in part for selfish reasons, as we've been holding off cranking the pump again, and my boat hide is getting sticky.

[Rick]

Date: 11/28/25 Fri

Time: morning

Location: #3

Cloud Cover: clear

Wind Direction and Velocity: east moderate

Temperature: chilly

Moon phase: waxing crescent

Special Notes:

Waterfowl Activity: After a pretty sweet big duck morning on our last due east wind morning, my blind's east wind curse sontinued with little of anything coming by, and the bulk of our birds taken in groups (5 squealers from one of our only two ops on them)

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Had to scream, as hurt squealers sometimes do, to lure our only group op on them from way the hey downwind over their favored habitat. Seems they're like crows in that regard, as alarm chirps will also bring those that can hear them.

Hunters: 2, father, Al, and young son, Eli

Guns: Expecting more seasoned hunters, I gave the 1950 mfg (same as my own) 16ga Model 12 a long time regular blessed me with when he aged out a go.

Malfunctions: I was too slow getting used to its front safety and pumping it to be as much of the help my guys needed.

Dog(s): Call passed another easy chance to pick up multiple birds on a single trip.

Special Equipment: SOS

Curses: Just the lack of game in our corner of the marsh.

Kudos: My guys weren't much on hiding but otherwise good company.

Birds By Species: 6 black-bellies, 1 blue-wing, 4 ringnecks and 1 shoveller

[Rick]

Date: 11/29 Sat

Time: morning

Location: #3

Cloud Cover: cloudy

Wind Direction and Velocity: east moderate again

Temperature: chilly

Moon phase: around half waxing

Special Notes:

Waterfowl Activity: About as slow as I've seen it: next to no big ducks seen, precious few jacks and fewer teal passing through our corner of the marsh and absolutely no squealers within hailing distance.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: The teal, spoon and one jack worked as we'd hope.

Hunters: 2, poor Alan and Eli drew the short straw again.

Guns:

Malfunctions: Eli's new Montefeltro wouldn't chamber several Migra? 20ga shells, but I handled the Fiocchi shells I had as it should.

Dog(s): Easy day for Call

Special Equipment: SOS

Curses: Absolutely hated my guys having to sit in a dead zone and listen to everyone else shoot.

Kudos: Nice folks took it better than I did.

Birds By Species: 1 blue-wing, 1 green-wing, 4 ringnecks and 1 shoveller

[Rick]

Date: 11/30/25 Sun

Time: very late "rain delay" start

Location: #3

Cloud Cover: driving rain at LST steady light rain when we were out

Wind Direction and Velocity: ENE moderate

Temperature: cool when damp

Moon phase: half?

Special Notes:

Waterfowl Activity: Very disappointing for a rain day: spoons were the biggest real ducks even seen, and not many of they, teal or even jacks near us.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Enough black-bellies came close enough to hear my rendition of their distress screams to fill us out fairly quickly. Bless their curious hearts.

Hunters: 2, Todds, one a hunter, the other there for the party.

Guns:

Malfunctions:

Dog(s): Call is really coming on. Pound timber.

Special Equipment: SOS Been killing or just teasing with the spinners once most anything is coming our way.

Curses: Just that there's apparently precious little in our area for the rain to stir.

Kudos: A fine time was had.

Birds By Species: 10 black-bellies, 4 green-wings and 4 shovellers

[DComeaux]

I was outside in the back yard when I got home this morning admiring this awesome ducky weather. Just one thing missing. We had the sights and sounds of blue/snow geese along the coast for the first time this season.

[Rick]

We had the sights and sounds of blue/snow geese along the coast for the first time this season.

We've had a few flights of them pass our marsh most mornings for the past week or so, and I meant to note seeing a good sized body of light geese on the ground a couple days ago. Pretty crazy "first" for the season but a sign of our current times...

[Rick]

Date: 12/1/25 Mon

Time: morning

Location: #3

Cloud Cover: cloudy

Wind Direction and Velocity: NE moderate to strong and back

Temperature: chilly

Moon phase:

Special Notes:

Waterfowl Activity: Hoped for green-wings were a no-show, as was anything else new. Except that a couple BIG gangs of sandhills, perhaps a couple hundred, passed over the boathouse after the hunt Most I've ever seen over our marshes.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Thankfully excellent.

Hunters: 2, one of yesterday's Todds again and David

Guns:

Malfunctions:

Dog(s): Call had another good day

Special Equipment: SOS

Curses: Given the givens, none - other, of course, than the disappointing front.

Kudos: Good guys shot well and made their own good time.

Birds By Species: 6 black-bellies, 2 gadwall, 1 green-wing, 1 mallard, 3 pintails, 3 ringnecks and 2 wood ducks

[Darren]

Feel like tomorrow is the actual frontal passage, we're going to go see one way or another.

Rippin N/NW in AM

[Ericdc]

With all the snow in Midwest something should be moving you'd think.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[13051305]

Morning,

Report from SE S.D.
Artic front with 4 to 6 inches of snow through my area on 11/21 highs in the 20s lows single digits.All water froze up.

Heard some specs and honkers.Migration is well south of me.

My phez hunting has been a very cold one.

Rick and crew....all the best

[Rick]

Nice to hear from you, been wondering if you were down at your new camp yet or letting Darren have your share of the SELA gray bonanza?

[Rick]

Date: 12/2/25 Tue

Time: morning

Location: #3

Cloud Cover: heavy

Wind Direction and Velocity: strong northwesterly

Temperature: pretty crisp in the wind

Moon phase: 'bout half?

Special Notes:

Waterfowl Activity: Still no new ducks, not even teal. Which extended our hunt greatly, as I gave a lot of the squealers passing over us to their preferred spots a pass while that flight was on while hoping for teal or big ducks.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Finally had a crippled "squealer" come in singing the distress call that's been my key to reaching those too far out for more normal calling.

Hunters: 2, Mat and John

Guns:

Malfunctions:

Dog(s): Call wore his vest for the first time this season, which took a bit of getting used to.

Special Equipment: SOS

Curses: Just the lack of fresh birds

Kudos: Guys were still tickled.

Birds By Species: 13 black-bellies, 1 mottled, 1 ringneck and 3 spoons

[13051305]

Thanks goodness for the squealers!I haven't seen a bigger change in the duck hunting in S/W La. than tree ducks for mallards.. I've
Not observed a real migration to Louisiana in years.
Finally leave for my rebuilt Coot Camp in 3 weeks.Plan on staying for the rest of the Louisiana duck season.
Don't expect much for duck numbers but the spec and red fishing should be terrific.
My brother that put up the bucks for the rebuilding calls the new Coot the Ritz Carlson on Bayou Dosgris.... can't wait!