WaterfowlForum.Net

1/16/2015
Temp- upper 40's -Clear -5-10 NE wind?
Blake, Justin and I
Birds - 1 Speck

The speck was a gift from some skybusters to our NE. It came out of one of the few high flocks that they shot into and it landed in our north cut in the tall stuff. I got out and finished it off.

No ducks. This is ridiculous! The best part of the morning was the three over easy with hash browns and bacon at Johnny's in Gueydan.

Well dammit! Mine didn't show this morning either

Yeah, but Comeaux is cursed.

We didn't make a hunt this morning. I felt a tickle in my sinus yesterday morning and it came on with a vengeance last night. I'm just moving around now and feeling a little better, but damn! I felt really awful last night.

Blake got up this morning to go alone and when he saw the clear skies and no wind conditions he went back to bed. Some of the guys hunted the east blind this morning and took (1) teal, and they scratched yesterday afternoon.

Blake's out there now and he brought the decoys to the levee for easy pickins next weekend. He plans to sit out there till LST this evening. There's a bunch of specks on the ground in the area and he's getting to listen to a lot of ground conversation.

DComeaux wrote:We didn't make a hunt this morning. I felt a tickle in my sinus yesterday morning and it came on with a vengeance last night. I'm just moving around now and feeling a little better, but damn! I felt really awful last night.

Blake got up this morning to go alone and when he saw the clear skies and no wind conditions he went back to bed. Some of the guys hunted the east blind this morning and took (1) teal, and they scratched yesterday afternoon.

Blake's out there now and he brought the decoys to the levee for easy pickins next weekend. He plans to sit out there till LST this evening. There's a bunch of specks on the ground in the area and he's getting to listen to a lot of ground conversation.

Update:
He saw a couple of flocks of ducks headed south and the specks around him stayed on the ground.

Final numbers

Teal Season- 6 hunts 50 bluewing? (haven't been able to take advantage of the 6 bird limit but once since it's been in place)
Reason for the ? is I'm not sure if this might be a cinnamon


Regular Season 78 ducks on 25 hunts, of which (6) were scratch hunts.

28- gadwall
12-green wing
9- shoveler
4-wegion
14-mallards
5-mottled ducks
2- blue wing
2- pintail
2-scaup
8- Specks (White-fronted goose)

It's been a rough one for sure and I'm ending the season feeling unfulfilled. We just never had that hunt or two that would do the trick. With that said, I'm still looking forward to next season and what might be. Hopefully el nino takes a vacation.

Glad to have contributed to a few birds hitting your log, hope to do so again next season if you'll have me. I'd invite you to extend your season over on my end but it's pretty bad right now, as the log attests.

Your contributions were greatly needed and we'll make it happen again this season. I appreciate the thought of an extended season but I think I'm going to call this one done. It's a long wait, but I'm anxious to see this next fall and season take shape. With the lack of harvest as read through many reports we should have a bumper crop next year.

So far got 12 greenheads and 3 scaup in Illinois before Thanksgiving.
Brought home 24 greenheads, a pair of teal, and two wood ducks from Arkansas.

4 trips in Illinois for the birds I got up here. Easy 32 mile drive to boat launch.

Worked my A off for them Arkansas ducks. 25 days of hunting in Ark. lots of zero shots fired days.

Season ends Jan. 31 in Ar. I'll be going back for at least the last 4 days. It's usually crazy them last 4 days because they allow hunting all day long on certain WMA's. Lotta fun too. Meet people from all over.

Blake and I made it out to the blind this afternoon to get the decoys and button up the blind. We flushed a pair of mottled ducks on the way in and had one lone high speck come over in the hour or so we spent out there. Unbelievebly absent of any fowl in the area and didn't see any on the entire drive, in or out.

Would you mind if the hounds and I tried our hand on your piece from time to time? If nothing else, it's a sweet spot for them to play and train a bit while I take an armed walk. And should the specks decide to take it, we'll be careful not to run them off and let you know.

You're more than welcome to do what you'd like out there.

Blake and I were talking about the upcoming final weekend on the way out and how the pressure around us is keeping the specks from their"normal" routine. They can't seem to settle around us as they have in the past due to the disturbances they now have, especially on O's property to the NNE. It's seems that the property just across the canal to our west is busy now as well, and they are constantly being pushed from that piece.

There is another weather change on the way for early this week with a return to spring like conditions for the weekend. You may be able to take advantage of the mid week stir up, if they're still around.

Figured that would be your response and killed a quick pair off the blind levee this morning.





















OK, I lied. Took the mutts to Thornwell just to look and found our young guns still camping out there. May try your spot if the wind kicks up. Much thanks.

You dirty rat!

I had to grab the phone when I opened this and only read the first sentence at the top until I was done.....

Man, the season has been poor. Have only seen real numbers of em on private land along the floooded rivers.
Water fell pretty quick but it was miserable waiting. Once the skinny water froze I had it good but once it thawed out...bam it's over. This last week will be basically a bird-watching camp out scouting mission. Maybe I'll kill a duck or two but am not counting on it. Where they went? I'd say Bayou Meto, White River, Cache River or the Mississippi river.
Big Mo was looking pretty tame last time I crossed the bridge at Cairo.

We can only tell you they ain't in SWLA.

Everyone dreams while sleeping, and I'm one of those that never remembers dreams unless I'm awakened just at the right time. I usually remember or see a short piece of it before becoming fully awake.

Well, this morning right at my alarm going off, I remember the scene of grabbing for my gun while watching a BIG flock of grays through the blind brush, cupped, feet down over the decoys in perfect position on our north side, and there were more above them dropping in. This scene was playing out in slow motion for some reason. Then I woke up!

Can't even have a good hunt in my dreams this year. I guess my mind is trying to make up for the lack of adrenaline rushes this season.

Probably said "Oh, boy!"

Don't know if I dream of waterfowling but know I too often go to bed replaying a morning screw-up.

Rick, I made a trip out to a tower just north of Lake Arthur this morning and my route to the next one took me down 14 through Kaplan. I don't know that I've ever seen the skies void of fowl at this time of year, on that route as I did this morning. Had one little bunch of geese on the ground with a few working them near Mulvey, and that was it. I did see a plenty of crawfisherman with their boats loaded down with purple sacks, though. Cannon blast were numerous.

DComeaux wrote:I did see a plenty of crawfisherman with their boats loaded down with purple sacks, though. Cannon blast were numerous.

I've heard from Douglas that Vermilion Parish farmers can't get rice loans unless they're crawfishing, too. Sucks for waterfowlers, but crawfishing is plainly on the rise, whether the loan story is true or not.

Dogs and I took a spin around your piece this morning. Got there at 7:30 and "the usual suspects" across the road from the pump were the first geese we saw this morning, in the air or on the ground:


Spent an hour making our round, and it was flat eerie. Not so much as a mottled moving in the vicinity and all but four of the birds above gone somewhere when we got back to the truck. Did find a very few other groups on the ground by taking a circuitous route home, but saw next to nothing trafficking anywhere.

Been seeing extremely high flocks of geese heading northwest here. Heading into the storm...weird birds.

Don't know if they're gone or just screwed in tight to safe places. Whichever it is would seem to negate the usual rule that adding days increases harvest more than adding birds to the limit.

We're still well above normal temps and no snow on the ground. All moving water is still wide open and holding a lot of birds. This certainly cannot be helping you. We actually had a thunderstorm yesterday.

Rick wrote:Dogs and I took a spin around your piece this morning. Got there at 7:30 and "the usual suspects" across the road from the pump were the first geese we saw this morning, in the air or on the ground:

Spent an hour making our round, and it was flat eerie. Not so much as a mottled moving in the vicinity and all but four of the birds above gone somewhere when we got back to the truck. Did find a very few other groups on the ground by taking a circuitous route home, but saw next to nothing trafficking anywhere.

We didn't see the speck numbers this year as in the previous four years at that place, and none really got a chance to, or did settle in the area. I know the migration wasn't what it could've been, but I do believe the pressure is beginning to show.

DComeaux wrote:

Rick wrote:Dogs and I took a spin around your piece this morning. Got there at 7:30 and "the usual suspects" across the road from the pump were the first geese we saw this morning, in the air or on the ground:

Spent an hour making our round, and it was flat eerie. Not so much as a mottled moving in the vicinity and all but four of the birds above gone somewhere when we got back to the truck. Did find a very few other groups on the ground by taking a circuitous route home, but saw next to nothing trafficking anywhere.

We didn't see the speck numbers this year as in the previous four years at that place, and none really got a chance to, or did settle in the area. I know the migration wasn't what it could've been, but I do believe the pressure is beginning to show.

Give it ten years. All the hype and commotion will die down and so will the pressure (I hope).
Sure was a lot easier 25 years ago.
I've been seeing some awesome bargains on the boat group I'm in. People givin it up...brand new stuff. Crazy.