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Ericdc wrote:Not a lot changes in morehouse parish.....


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Not a lot of anything in Morehouse Parish.

12/1/2017 was the last shot over my duckling lease.....Try using the historical imagery feature, especially along the coast. It's sort of disheartening.

No fun at all to watch marsh disappear, but the historical feature has been a big help in spotting ag land blinds and teal ponds on and around potential leases. My biggest issue with Google Earth is that it doesn't always see familiar land or marsh as it's envisioned in my mind, but danged if it doesn't always win our arguments. Last such will change the way I set up the mudhole next season.

Noticed some of my public land stompin' grounds got new satellite coverage January 24, 2018. Shows results of a big restoration project that wrapped up late last year which will shake up a lot for the area. New water levels, new habitats, new access challenges, could really make some great habitat in the coming years.

Reminds me of when the ice storms messed up mine. They had to bring in big equipment to clear the boat lanes.
At the north end of WMA X they had extra cash or something so they opened up some huge areas of timber.
So big that you can see them from space and there are dozens. In general you can e-scout that WMA and you ain't going to find shit. You actually have to go out and scout hard. The blind sites are all gps'ed but once under the canopy your gps is worthless.

The fed opened up them huge areas. They're X's and O's like they were playing some sick game of tick tac toe with high hoes in the woods. I camp right on the road so I get treated like I'm some sort of resource officer for the WMA. I get asked about them "holes" and people ask if it's any good. I tell them sorry I never go to them places and say "why not give it a try?". lol

I lie. I have went to one of them holes once. Getting to it was hell. Had to abandon the boat and walk thru a mess of logs. You have to be crazy to try, Gave up really quick but I did get to see up close how large one of them X's is. Holy fuck.
Now if you can get to them and it's icy those places are actually real X's. You better bring Paul Bunyan with you.

Made it up to buddy's camp at the fields near Bunkie for a work day Saturday on a mission to build an awning. Was able to knock it out in about 5.5 hours, and that includes breaks to chat with the farmer and also watch the teal fly by.







No decoys in the pond, just the crawfishermen




And all done. Should extend life of the deck and protect front of house. Now just need some Simple Green & scrubbin'


Teal were all over, pretty drakes flying right by as we worked. Also was surprised to find a few alligators on the farm when we went riding after the work was done. Hoping to get back up there in couple of weeks for more cleaning

Hey Darren, is your pit in a permanent levee / turn row?


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I hope he doesn't mind me answering this , but it's on a turn row.

I’m sure he doesn’t. Ours might be getting put in a turn row this summer.

Pics look good Darren. We’ll meet up soon for the decoy exchange.


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Yea it's a big wide E-W levee, pit faces south.

Darren wrote:Yea it's a big wide E-W levee, pit faces south.

Tough on sunny days?


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DComeaux wrote:I hope he doesn't mind me answering this , but it's on a turn row.

Is or is not a "turn row" a strip of unplowed land left so field equipment can be turned on it without cutting ruts, as opposed to a levee (with or without a grass road)? Maybe my northern upbringing has me twisted.

Rick wrote:

DComeaux wrote:I hope he doesn't mind me answering this , but it's on a turn row.

Is or is not a "turn row" a strip of unplowed land left so field equipment can be turned on it without cutting ruts, as opposed to a levee (with or without a grass road)? Maybe my northern upbringing has me twisted.

In our case, it’s also slightly raised like a road would be.
I might getting terms wrong


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Ericdc wrote:

Rick wrote:

DComeaux wrote:I hope he doesn't mind me answering this , but it's on a turn row.

Is or is not a "turn row" a strip of unplowed land left so field equipment can be turned on it without cutting ruts, as opposed to a levee (with or without a grass road)? Maybe my northern upbringing has me twisted.

In our case, it’s also slightly raised like a road would be.
I might getting terms wrong


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He is on a permanent , larger road levee. It is a travel corridor....... and yes Rick, your definition of turn row is accurate, no matter where you're from.

Ericdc wrote:

Darren wrote:Yea it's a big wide E-W levee, pit faces south.

Tough on sunny days?


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No, it's to our left (east), and haven't noticed it SE enough to bother.

Darren wrote:

Ericdc wrote:

Darren wrote:Yea it's a big wide E-W levee, pit faces south.

Tough on sunny days?


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No, it's to our left (east), and haven't noticed it SE enough to bother.

Right, at my old blind we faced north but on sunny days birds approaching from the south on a north wind were kinda hard to see until sun got a little higher


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Our biggest hindrance is facing a dark tree line, that makes it tough in low light against that dark backdrop.

Darren wrote:Our biggest hindrance is facing a dark tree line, that makes it tough in low light against that dark backdrop.

Yea we have mature timber on all sides except the north... I hear you


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Darren wrote:Our biggest hindrance is facing a dark tree line, that makes it tough in low light against that dark backdrop.

That's most of the blinds I hunt.

I used to hunt with an old guy with cataracts. One morning we dropped a cripple on his side of the blind right after LST. My dog was going to get it, but it clearly needed to be finished off. Me and his son were telling him to shoot it as my dog is going to quickly close the distance before it wouldn't be safe. He never shot And we ended up losing it

Next morning he told me he had nightmares about shooting my dog and the reason why. In the dark, he couldn't tell the difference between my dog and the duck

Later that year he got cataract surgery and next season it was amazing how much his shooting improved. In hindsight, he drove himself to hunt when he couldn't tell the difference between a dog and a duck at about 20 yards in the dark.

Merriam-Webster defines Turnrow as: a strip of usually uncropped land at the side or end of a field upon which a plow may be turned at the end of the furrow.

Don't know how a levee or levee/road got lumped into that.

Yea, using the word turn row to describe a levee.


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If that's the worst thing you do this week, it'll be a great one.

A turn row for a mule pulling a single-row plow would be a bit smaller than one for a 24-row harvester.
Buy a newer dictionary.

I think betty's got it.

I'd say Darren, that your're on a semi permanent levee/field road. They're 2 service stations and a sonic on the way to his blind.

DComeaux wrote:I'd say Darren, that your're on a semi permanent levee/field road. They're 2 service stations and a sonic on the way to his blind.

If that were true, someone would have leased it out from under them.

Banked on the usual pre-hunt service station to provide me snacks to fuel Saturday's work agenda. Found it to be boarded up for renovations on arrival......i'm sure it'll be nice this fall but I sure was kicking myself for not packing something else to munch on. Made the stop at Kartchners for a link of boudin that much more critical for the ride home.

The place isn't mine, it belongs to a buddy's family. I just help to take care of it since I live closer than he does, and I enjoy that kind of stuff anyway.

Darren wrote:Banked on the usual pre-hunt service station to provide me snacks to fuel Saturday's work agenda. Found it to be boarded up for renovations on arrival......i'm sure it'll be nice this fall but I sure was kicking myself for not packing something else to munch on. Made the stop at Kartchners for a link of boudin that much more critical for the ride home.

The place isn't mine, it belongs to a buddy's family. I just help to take care of it since I live closer than he does, and I enjoy that kind of stuff anyway.

I had pulled off of the hwy the other day for a pit stop there and found it that way as well. That was quite a few weeks back.

DComeaux wrote:

Darren wrote:Banked on the usual pre-hunt service station to provide me snacks to fuel Saturday's work agenda. Found it to be boarded up for renovations on arrival......i'm sure it'll be nice this fall but I sure was kicking myself for not packing something else to munch on. Made the stop at Kartchners for a link of boudin that much more critical for the ride home.

The place isn't mine, it belongs to a buddy's family. I just help to take care of it since I live closer than he does, and I enjoy that kind of stuff anyway.

I had pulled off of the hwy the other day for a pit stop there and found it that way as well. That was quite a few weeks back.

It's a pre-hunt staple for much of the area, so hoping it comes back with a nice face lift. Those ponds across the street from it (north side) were absolutely stacked with birds on the ice/snow day I hunted solo.

Farm hand we talked to mentioned that plans for this field are up in the air for now. Mentioned crawfishing it a while longer before eventually getting the water off, then doing some leveling work and "plowing it up real good". May leave it fallow for the fall with plans to put it in rice again the following year, or may plant some "crawfish rice". He did mention flooding it in the fall so while what's in the flood could be better or worse, his mention of having a flood is at least at the core of our needs.

@ Rick, what's all that mean?

We might be in the same boat if they do the leveling work.






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