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I'm seeing a lot of days with a west wind influence. Not good. That includes Dec. 4th. At least for the next two weeks there will not be any true arctic air coming our way or so it appears currently.

The first couple of years hunting where we are now we had mostly E & SE winds with an occasional NE wind with the fronts. So far this season we haven't hunted in anything but N & NW winds with cooler than normal temps.

Where we hunt West wind is OK, just don't give me East wind nothing moves.
I like S, SW, WSW - you know the day before the front

If Arctic Fronts won't get them moving then Pacific fronts surely won't get it done. I like a sunny day with SW winds but not from a front that comes from the left coast.

Ducaholic wrote:If Arctic Fronts won't get them moving then Pacific fronts surely won't get it done. I like a sunny day with SW winds but not from a front that comes from the left coast.

I don't care if the front comes from the arctic, the antarctic or Midland, TX; a front brings "weather" and that from any direction beats the hell out of clear skies, mild temps, and light winds from a repeated direction for days on end. May not bring me "new" ducks from points northward every time, but they can be "new" to you/your area and thus workable from not having been seeing your same setup day after day.

Hunted very stale weather today, should have been fishing, but we are hunting an ideal food source and shallower than usual water depth so what little is around likes to be in the immediate area. Excited for a shakeup on friday-saturday.

Darren wrote:

Ducaholic wrote:If Arctic Fronts won't get them moving then Pacific fronts surely won't get it done. I like a sunny day with SW winds but not from a front that comes from the left coast.

I don't care if the front comes from the arctic, the antarctic or Midland, TX; a front brings "weather" and that from any direction beats the hell out of clear skies, mild temps, and light winds from a repeated direction for days on end. May not bring me "new" ducks from points northward every time, but they can be "new" to you/your area and thus workable from not having been seeing your same setup day after day.

Hunted very stale weather today, should have been fishing, but we are hunting an ideal food source and shallower than usual water depth so what little is around likes to be in the immediate area. Excited for a shakeup on friday-saturday.

If you got birds your right any weather change is good to shake things up. My point is valid as well.

The Dec 4-5th front looking legit still today, an arctic plunge. Mark calendars to be in the blind around that timeframe


Thursday Morning, Dec 5. May have to hunt for Harry's b-day

For what it's worth, lot of season left to go

http://firsthandweather.com/4725/2019-2 ... ceDPKMsSKs

Darren and I off great opening days are the eternal optimists.

Oh and I’m going back tomorrow to hunt the sun and south wind


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Ericdc wrote:Darren and I off great opening days are the eternal optimists.

Oh and I’m going back tomorrow to hunt the sun and south wind

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Have seen SOME glimmers of hope on my end of the coast over the weekend and elsewhere. Known of some nice hunts in EZ public land back home that included mallards, as well as some nice hauls of grays in places they're usually at around Lake Borgne. But what's got me excited is the number of early birds in the fields we saw, given that area/farm is known to start slow and get better as more weather trickles in. Maybe it will, maybe it won't, but I'm going to focus on the weather days and make as many as I can. Even just a few birds per trip knocks the hell out of last year's 17 ducks on 14 hunts in that blind.

For what it's worth, from over the weekend:

A buddy hunts Crowley area rice.....3 man limits both days, mostly teal and spoons.
Another buddy hunts outside Rayville area in some woods with fields as well.....huge haul over the weekend with a lot of mallards and teal, some woodies.

We got one report from Bunkie farm on Sunday, 16 ducks with reported terrible shooting, and it was clear as could be with no wind. Same blind had 22 ducks and 3 specks on Saturday.

Headed up to the lil camp tonight with a buddy to try them tomorrow AM.

Update: The big chill referenced previously? Aint happenin. In fact, GFS not showing any arctic plunges in coming weeks, most of it stays at the mid-latitudes and doesn't make it down to us, keeping our temps pretty moderate. Not particularly warm, just not the cold blasts we would hope for.

Maybe not, but thinking there will be a pretty good stir from the weather Saturday to Monday.


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Ericdc wrote:Maybe not, but thinking there will be a pretty good stir from the weather Saturday to Monday.


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Planning to go see about it!

With the choice of either a fair weather field hunt, or a foggy work morning in the marsh on Saturday, we opted to put more time investment into the marsh since we haven't killed a duck in the field since opening day.

Got after it with some blind work and brushing. Didn't see many ducks but a few teal and some mergansers in the thick fog but it was calm and warm out there, which usually has our birds sitting on calm open waters. Hoping tonight's big front brings in new birds for this weekend.







Think we may try the field tomorrow behind this front in the big north winds. Back down to Shell Beach on Friday for the CZ 2nd split opener this weekend.

Looks like we haven't been discussing the proposed 2020 season dates, but thought it had a few items of note:



1.) Coastal Zone will open when, in hindsight or otherwise, I would have preferred it to open this year....the second full weekend in November, two weeks from Thanksgiving. So that will keep East Zone on the traditional opener weekend before Thanksgiving, but at least West and Coastal will both be open.

2.) East Zone second split ducks AND geese will open on same day, unlike in 2019 which was ridiculous.

3.) I think the "hunt late" crowd still wants Coastal Zone to go as late as possible, but really would rather see us only close for one week in December and then take a week off the tail end to close more like mid-Jan rather than the 3rd week of Jan. The harvest data hasn't waivered, last I checked......a contingent of hunters wants to hunt late, but the bag checks say they're not doing very well in doing so.


Don't have a whole lot of opinion on the speck limits, guess it would be nice to shoot a third on those days we do have them flying well. Numbers I've seen in bunkie last few years would seem to support it.

So glad the dark goose season opens 2 weeks before ducks in EZ and closed when ducks close. That’s exactly how I would have structured it.


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I have been hunting the coastal zone for 36 years, and I can tell you that the later the season goes the less ducks we have. Our best hunting is the first split.
I also don't like the 2 days they propose for veterans to hunt in the coastal zone Jan 30-31, the season closes the week before and we will have picked up all of our gear. Deer hunting veterans get the same days as youth hunters, that would work well in my mind for duck hunters too.

MARSH BEAR wrote:I have been hunting the coastal zone for 36 years, and I can tell you that the later the season goes the less ducks we have. Our best hunting is the first split.
I also don't like the 2 days they propose for veterans to hunt in the coastal zone Jan 30-31, the season closes the week before and we will have picked up all of our gear. Deer hunting veterans get the same days as youth hunters, that would work well in my mind for duck hunters too.

No because kids would get the shaft most likely, keep youth days for youth only.


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MARSH BEAR wrote:I have been hunting the coastal zone for 36 years, and I can tell you that the later the season goes the less ducks we have. Our best hunting is the first split.
I also don't like the 2 days they propose for veterans to hunt in the coastal zone Jan 30-31, the season closes the week before and we will have picked up all of our gear. Deer hunting veterans get the same days as youth hunters, that would work well in my mind for duck hunters too.

Again, the bag check/harvest data that Larry consistently cites says that the coastal guys are doing most of their production early, but there's still a loud contingent that wants to hunt late.....blows my mind. As I've been sitting in a blind we've revisited for this season after a hiatus, I can't help but think of all the birds I saw pouring into there (and working the entire lease area in general) in first few weeks of season versus the sparse flights we have now. I'm not waiting on mallards to arrive in my area in early November, my grays are usually already there. The proposed Nov 14 should suit me fine, assuming I dont go out there to brush a week or two prior and find it full of grays which would not be uncommon. THEN I'd be a little perturbed having to wait, but given the weather variations year to year, I figure the 14th a safe bet.


I don't take issue with the veterans day(s) in that I think it will be low participation regardless.......end of season, many veterans have been hunting all season anyway, and they'll be hunting days I'd not care to be going as it is. If they want to go, more power to them, but will have to do all their setting up since many clubs will have picked up everything.