Better "luck" next time...

[Ducaholic]

Sounds like you got things mostly where you want them. Hopefully some refreshing showers are also in the cards.

[Rick]

Got to visit the fellow who runs the hunting for Oak Grove, one of our region's premier clubs, at one of my grand daughters' graduation party yesterday and learned they were covered up in black jacks (ringnecks) and thanks largely to that were up some, numbers wise, from the year prior. They also took some advantage of good squealer numbers during their first split, before they left the area. (For our marsh, which was below our recent norm early on but back up to par later?) Also noted more wigeon than usual.

In more local news, Call and I were in our marsh this week doing some long overdue hillbilly carpentry to shore up a "chicken or egg" boat hide issue we inherited. Not sure whether a predecessor had tried to repair a failing 2x6 roof support with a second 2x6 that fell short of making the whole span, then added on to it without splicing the two or, for some reason, decided to add those additional lengths of 2x6 as facing and the dip that was then in the metal roof there and channeling rain into the blind through their juncture, held enough of water to rot the original roof support. Regardless, the boat hide was constructed in manner precluding that supporting 2x6's replacement without taking out most of the hide's roof and framing behind the blind, which is a headache I'd rather put off until forced to by a need to replace the fiberglass pit it entraps.

So I finally addressed the issue by kinda-sorta straightening the span with a temporary 2x4 and hammer "jack":

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(Eye-ball measured twice or thrice before cutting and still fell a bit short of level, even after adding the only "shim" available.)

Then settled on a 1x6, instead of 2x, splice to avoid making it more of a potential head-knocker for the guy on its end:

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Went a bit overboard with the chainsaw when trimming the well warped 2x6 end out of the way, but better too much than too little, thought I. And, hey, it's done.

[Rick]

Might also note that all that banging and clanging brought fire ants, quite literally I fear, out of the woodwork, so Call and I were out there the following morning with a jar of the cornbread and borax mix that wipes out tiny black house ants in a hurry, suggesting they carry it home to their nest, as well. But subsequent test results with it on fire ant mounds in our yard were mixed - which offers excuse for another ride in the marsh with "fire ant" poison.

Will also note that more normal post rains water levels allowed us to back in and prop-wash muck from under the boat hide to the end of our "island" I'm trying to expand, as well as run the smaller intra-blind trails we want to maintain.

[Darren]

Glad to hear of your water!

Those ants literally come out our woodwork as well this time of year, also routinely taking up in our prior-season's roseau stalks. Thankfully we strip most all of those at end of season and toss elsewhere.

No planned heavy-structural projects on tap for us, just need to get a floor put down in the West Blind and hope the rest of her quite old structure holds for another season. I suppose all of this pending the lease renewal docs I'm anticipating any day now, though was at least relieved to see the map they're using is same from last season that gave us some new usable ground.

[Rick]

Call and I were back in the marsh yesterday to check the last of my planned artificial Blindgrass cover improvements for fit:

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Small section breaks up the top line and inside of the blind's far end in a way I hope guests can't destroy or screw up, and the large one is a one piece cover for the gap behind me and the corner of the boat hide I have to climb onto to see and finish off birds going down behind it both quicker and safer than the combination of natural and artificial stuff I'd been dealing with:

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Can't explain how I managed to take that last shot to make it appear the roof slopes toward the blind instead of away from it, but will explain that the hide "door" is backstop netting festooned with small Blindgrass bundles that wraps around that exposed corner post to hide it.

My drill is to remove all of the cover from the dog and my end of the blind at hunt's end to clear the way for my guests to exit and enter with solid handholds and nothing more to impede them than getting stiff legs over the end of the blind. Then, since we're nearly always running late, get the cover back in place as quickly as possible for the hunt.

Saw next to no ducks of any kind in the marsh and only this year's first squealer brood sighting of note there. Did have a "should have tried for a photo" op on the drive home when we came upon a roughly 7' gator crossing the gravel road apparently intent on a pair of mottleds we'd seen (getting grit?) there on a previous trip, as well. Can't imagine they'd have let themselves be got, but the gator appeared to think so.

[Darren]

Then, since we're nearly always running late, get the cover back in place as quickly as possible for the hunt.

I tend to err toward arrival to just finish setting decoys with 5 mins to go, just enough for me to get ears plugged, calls on, and gun loaded. Johnny and others usually good about uncasing my gun for me, getting me largely all set up aside from those small tasks. Just don't have much desire to simply sit in the blind in the dark feeding bugs. Our lease partner, Will, however, loves to be there and set up waayyyy out ahead of LST, and then he just sits, usually alone with his dog for quite a while awaiting shooting time. To each their own, that has its benefits too.


Lookin good though !

[SpinnerMan]

I tend to err toward arrival to just finish setting decoys with 5 mins to go, just enough for me to get ears plugged, calls on, and gun loaded. Johnny and others usually good about uncasing my gun for me, getting me largely all set up aside from those small tasks. Just don't have much desire to simply sit in the blind in the dark feeding bugs. Our lease partner, Will, however, loves to be there and set up waayyyy out ahead of LST, and then he just sits, usually alone with his dog for quite a while awaiting shooting time. To each their own, that has its benefits too.

I mostly hunt at two clubs with defined arrival times which pretty much precludes me from going on my schedule. I'm all with you for not showing up way early.

The one club has a jump time an hour before shooting time. If you are happy with your blind for the week, you still need to be there early to claim it and if your decoys are already out, you have nearly an hour to kill if you are in one of the drive up blinds. We are usually too cold to worry about bugs, but I usually hang out in the sign in shack shooting the breeze until I have just enough time to get out and be ready at shooting time. If you don't like your blind, you can jump unclaimed blinds. If you do that, some of them are a long boat ride with an electric motor, so you are hustling to be ready to go by shooting time.

This also applies in early goose. I put a small spread out of the back of my pick up in whichever field I get. The goose fields are all on the edge of one of the lakes. Still have to be early to draw, but I can be set and ready to go in about 15 minutes. Been doing it awhile, but don't know why I didn't always do it. I set up and then go fishing in the dark until I hear the first goose and then hop in the blind. Usually my best fishing all year.

The other club is for dry fields after everything is froze up. The birds can be quite predictable when they fly and it can be quite late but draw time is the same. So it's not unusual to go set up and then drive to a restaurant and have breakfast. One year, it was really cold. Canada geese tend to be nice. The colder it is. The later they fly. If you have your own field you can sleep in. When driving to the field on a very cold morning, we saw a sign for a pancake breakfast. We went and set out the spread and then drove to the all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast. They were probably wonder if we were ever going to leave. Finally somebody said we should probably go. It was still a couple hours before they started moving in any numbers.

[Rick]

Our lease partner, Will, however, loves to be there and set up waayyyy out ahead of LST, and then he just sits, usually alone with his dog for quite a while awaiting shooting time. To each their own, that has its benefits too.

On the rare occasion it's just the pup and I, I'm wit' Will. Love watching and listening to the marsh wake up.

[Rick]

In other news, another seasonal milestone: the rice is starting to head out, and crawfish ponds are warming up to the point that Call, like those before him, is shifting his self-exercise time from pushing driving water to messing around in the tall grass, where evaporating dew apparently does a better job of cooling belly and flanks.

Just a couple or three more weeks before he's stuck at the house, while I mug momma gators for their eggs. Thinking he's as ready to come out of that midsummer layoff in shape to ramp up for September teal as we could make him.