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Great posts, pics and video Darren

You done good!

thanks guys, glad yall are enjoying. Whether we kill a bunch or just a few for the next couple of weeks I'll be posting any worthwhile photos. good luck to close the season out!

Wed. 1/14/2015
SE La public marsh
Raymond & I
Wind N/NE @ 15, heavy cloud deck, temps in upper 30's to start

Back to same area from the weekend though adjusted to be a little closer to what had been the X; today of course it was not but we got our chances. Set up on south bank of large lagoon with wind largely in our face in attempt to be closest to where they've been wanting in and it worked out "ok". Saw a ton of birds again, almost entirely grays, with most wanting in just to our north a few hundreds yards but enough would drop in on us to give us some chances.....some good, some awkward at best. Ray had a tough shooting day so it made it a little tougher on us than needed, we also had two crip grays dive on us in the big water never to resurface . While Ray was out on a long retrieve I got a huge wad of buffleheads to give me a good pass and was able to score my first two drake buffleheads of the season. Rode around post-hunt and saw plenty of birds but no masses that would draw us too far from where we've been going. Will try 'em tomorrow if the forecast rain allows.

(11) 7 grays, 1 wigeon, 1 dosgris, 2 buffleheads

Good to see someone's on them.

SWEET!! Get em!

We'll try 'em again tomorrow tweaking our location just a bit. I'm sure they'll be back going to where we were today, ha!

Brought the mottled duck from 12-28-2014 to the taxidermist today, think we're going with a standing/preening mount
http://www.taxidermybykevinhynes.com/

Apparently he's also got the recent ringed teal taken in Delacroix south of here


Also check out this odd occurrence in same area:
http://www.nola.com/outdoors/index.ssf/ ... al_feature

That ringed teal must have got caught up with a flight of blue wing headed back up this way.



Private banding? That's a new one.

Sweet bird

DComeaux wrote:Private banding? That's a new one.

Yeaaaaa who knows where that might lead, seems awfully sketchy. I know FWS is all up in arms about it but I guess I can see the allure for this guy to do it just for fun. Federal birds come with federal rules....and federal penalties when broken.

Thurs. 1/15/2015
SE La Public Land
Raymond & I
Wind calm to maybe 10 from N/NE, temps in 40's, light rain all morning

Made a slight move from yesterday's set up based on where they were mostly headed yesterday morning but they didn't show up for us. Not much moving early in the low visibility and later when they moved the flight was really high with not a whole lot working us. Shot about all we had to scratch out four birds before picking it up early around 8:15 so I could get to work. That said a couple buddies hunted our blind from the weekend and had a good gray flight into there along with a lot of divers trafficking through. We watched that location yesterday and not much worked it, so its really a day to day thing right now. I'm sitting out this weekend so may get back at them mid next week.

2 grays, 2 mottleds (pair)

Ray and I scouted the areas of the last few hunts this afternoon under warm sunny conditions. Saw good many grays still around but they're scattered and also showing no loyalty to any one spot as the ones that would get up did not go back down where they came from. Didn't help that our nearby tidal lake was calm so they can sit out there all they want. Though there were a good many rafted up where we've made a few recent hunts, they definitely didn't go back when jumped and I'm wondering if our luck is running out there since they've been pressured there every hunt day be it by us or someone else. Think we might try a new set up a bit north where I know no ones been hassling them. Maybe the aspect of surprise will be on our side there.

Wed. 1/21/2015
SE La Public Marsh
Ray & I
Wind N/NE 5-15+, clear skies, temps in 40's to start

Had intended on a "new" spot to our north this morning but ditched it to go to what had been tried and true for last couple of weeks, primarily because we saw no one at the launch or anywhere near our area. Got all set up nice, had a lone drake gray dive into the dekes before LST, thought we were in the game. Wrong! That loner left and eventually came back after LST, joining a pair of GW teal we took, and that was IT. Lost one other crip GW teal that dove on us, and never even thought about shooting again, or even calling for that matter. There was zero flight of grays. Rode the initial plan location after the hunt and found a few birds scattered in area so may try that in AM for a quick hunt. Also rode our other areas to the east and found quite a few GW teal and even some BW's but very few grays. Going to stick to something close and easy for tomorrow instead of trying to scheme on the numbers of teal that may be gone with any change in wind direction overnight

(3) 2 GW teal, 1 gray

Thurs. 1/22/2015
SE La Public Marsh
Ray, Anthony & I
Wind ENE 10-20+, heavy clouds, temps in 40's to start

Gave what was supposed to be yesterday's Plan A a shot under what we'd typically call good conditions. With three of us we put out a nice big spread but the birds just aren't there right now. The strong daily flights of grays we enjoyed for a week or so have moved on, saw only a handful today, and a good many divers mostly trafficking some big water to our north coming off the lake. I was planning for a quick hunt to get back to work anyway but we were ready to call it before what was supposed to be my quitting time, just nothing happening.

1 dosgris (lesser scaup)








This was my final hunt of the season, going to pick up our new furry family member this weekend.....golden retriever pup just hitting 7 weeks. We picked him out and chipped him back on Dec 21 and have made a few visits with him since then but now ready to join us at home.....with his new big brother, an orange cat that's quite the hunter in his own right, and who will undoubtedly despise the pup for the foreseeable.

Young Harrison at about 5 weeks








I'll have a season recap post coming this weekend hopefully.

That is a good looking pup, Darren.

Good looking hound Darren, congrats!

Thanks guys, will be my first one, wifey as fired up or more than me about him. About a third through Water Dog right now, and hope to reach out on here if (and when) I get in a training jam. Whether he turns out to be a serious duck dog or not, he's going to have his paws plenty full with our outdoor activities year-round so really looking forward to getting him home.

Congrats and good luck with the pup!

Harrison has a big handle to grow into. I like it.

Great looking swamp collie!

Rick wrote:Harrison has a big handle to grow into. I like it.

Alternatively, "Harry" or some have already taken to calling him "H" or "Big H" ha! Can't wait to get him home

Got my hands full with Harrison since he made it home yesterday, at my feet as I type here. Report from our area was decent many grays moving about but my crew actually opted to hit a small hole I've been eyeing for a potential blind location next season and managed a couple of grays in there but no chances on the mallards that usually work it. A couple of other blinds of our buddies got on them pretty good, though, to our south just a bit.

Tallied up my season totals below, broken down by species:

80 grays
61 GW teal
27 BW teal (24 from early Sept season)
19 shovelers
12 mallards
5 mottleds
3 pintail
6 redheads
4 wigeon
5 ringnecks
4 dosgris/lesser scaup
3 buffleheads
1 woody

206 ducks regular season, 230 with the early teal season included

No geese taken this year, with the only chance on them on our end being the op from the youth hunt. Didn't make any goose-only hunts at all. (Rick, can still see that lone speck drifting in on the second morning with you before the untimely shooting....)

Overall, it was a good one, and much to our relief that our gray duck/gadwall harvest is back up and we saw that they didn't forget about our areas as it appeared last season. A couple of my random noteworthy points below:

-new blind hunted like an absolute dream but the birds just didn't take to that area as in years passed. I killed a few birds each hunt there but nothing too great after opening week. Have to believe its that algae/grass that's covering much of the surface that seems to be pushing the birds elsewhere nearby that doesn't have that same stuff; will have to decide whether to make the effort to maintain that blind in hunt condition for next season or take it apart and use floor deck elsewhere

-was nice to get back to hunting the area we first got started in which is a bit shorter drive in the truck and, nostalgic, if nothing else. The incredible flights of grays we saw were certainly reminiscent of 4-5 years ago there. While the old holes produced with similar patterns, some other buddies got into some other holes to the south a bit and really did well pretty consistently

-though they really didn't take to the area where the big blind was as in years passed, the mallards are still around in most of the usual areas and there for the taking should anyone commit to chasing them, we just don't! Considering a blind in a known mallard/mottled lair that is never hunted (except for our crew today) and was full of birds before opening day back in Nov 2014

With us breaching the 200 mark and logging just under 30 hunts, it was a good season with lots of new memories with good friends and lots of photos to document it all. Already working on plans for next season's blinds!

Glad you had a good one, and thanks for sharing the log. Wish more did. Maybe next year...

Rick wrote:Glad you had a good one, and thanks for sharing the log. Wish more did. Maybe next year...

Same to you, really enjoy following you and DComeaux, fellow Louisiana hunters. Wish a couple others would keep the logs so routinely; good, bad and ugly. I'm sure I'll be needing some dog handling input sooner than later.

Darren wrote:I'm sure I'll be needing some dog handling input sooner than later.

Me, too. Another coyote is should draw his first breath today.

Rick wrote:

Darren wrote:I'm sure I'll be needing some dog handling input sooner than later.

Me, too. Another coyote is should draw his first breath today.

Oh boy keep us posted.

Great job Darren. Thanks for sharing!