2022-2023 Season Log

[Rick]

Date: 9/17

Time: morning

Location: mudhole

Cloud Cover: clear

Wind Direction and Velocity: easterly moderate

Temperature: warmer

Moon phase: still big

Special Notes:

Waterfowl Activity: Hoped for weekend bump didn't happen.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Alan Stanley's Deceiver (LOUD-assed call), albeit teal tuned, gets the credit for the success we've had again today.

Hunters: 2, Gene and David.

Guns:

Malfunctions:

Dog(s): Marsh stood over a bird left out on the flotant a while and had to be ordered to retrieve it. My thought was "fire ants," but it turned out something had eaten much of its neck.

Special Equipment: SOS

Curses: Have been hoping our birds had only moved down to the Gulf for DComeauz and Marsh Bear, but had a ""Send me some teal please." text from Dave suggesting otherwise.

Kudos: Counting blessings.

Birds By Species: 18 blue-wing teal

[DComeaux]

Send more tomorrow, please.

[Rick]

Send more tomorrow, please.

Here's hoping...

[Rick]

Date: 9/18

Time: morning

Location: mudhole

Cloud Cover: clear

Wind Direction and Velocity: easterly light to moderate

Temperature: warm

Moon phase: bigish

Special Notes:

Waterfowl Activity: Much the same, as we were the only ones to fill. Still waiting on a second wave.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Enough came back if I stayed on them long and loud enough, but getting pretty stale.

Hunters: 2, Gene and Dave again

Guns:

Malfunctions:

Dog(s): Marsh was aces and snagged a long run-off just as I started to whistle him back from a danger zone.

Special Equipment: SOS

Curses: just the lack of new birds

Kudos: We were blessed to do what we did.

Birds By Species: 18 blue-wing teal

[PorkChop]

We are still seeing blue wings here. Tomorrow is supposed to be in the 80s but then after that another cold front comes through here. We will see mid 30s bye the end of the week. Your next push might come then.

F091CC5E-F648-4BE3-9F90-A9BD58199AA4.jpeg

[Rick]

Moon phase: bigish

Fell out of my habit of actually checking moon phase and looked up this morning to see only a third left. Time and moon pass.

[Rick]

We are still seeing blue wings here. Tomorrow is supposed to be in the 80s but then after that another cold front comes through here. We will see mid 30s bye the end of the week. Your next push might come then.

F091CC5E-F648-4BE3-9F90-A9BD58199AA4.jpeg

Ends here next weekend, so they better hurry. Mosquitoes were brutal in the yard this morning, so there's that and the heat to look forward to. (He says, "complaining with a full stomach".)

[DComeaux]

Mosquitoes were brutal in the yard this morning,

They're really bad in Chenier on the ridge. It's unbearable to be outside at dusk and dawn. At the blind it's not so bad, they're very light. I had to switch fuel tanks yesterday morning after the motor died when leaving the dock, and we were stalled there for a bit to prime the fuel line. It was brutal, to say the least.

[Ricky Spanish]

Mosquitoes were brutal in the yard this morning,

They're really bad in Chenier on the ridge. It's unbearable to be outside at dusk and dawn. At the blind it's not so bad, they're very light. I had to switch fuel tanks yesterday morning after the motor died when leaving the dock, and we were stalled there for a bit to prime the fuel line. It was brutal, to say the least.

I've been from Georgia to Nome, Alaska and believe it or not the worst mosquitos are in Alaska.
It's awful.

[Rick]

Date: 9/19 Mon

Time: morning

Location: mudhole

Cloud Cover: clear to partly

Wind Direction and Velocity: calm to light easterly

Temperature: warm

Moon phase: 1/3 waning

Special Notes:

Waterfowl Activity: Spooky slow initially but, eventually, enough.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Persistence with the loud-assed call paid off, as did the spinners' "off" switch in some cases.

Hunters: 2, Tracy and Tom

Guns:

Malfunctions:

Dog(s): The bug had another good day.

Special Equipment: SOS

Curses: Just that most parties struggled and I had to fuss Tom about not hiding. (Last part might have been kinda fun.)

Kudos: We were able to make due.

Birds By Species: 18 blue-wing teal (15 drakes and 3 hens)

[Darren]

Making it work !

Finding more and more these stale birds are pushing off the spinners?

[Deltaman]

Glad to see you making the best of it Rick, and Thanks for the reports

[MARSH BEAR]

Rick looks like you have the rabbit's foot in your pocket - don't loose it.

[Rick]

Making it work !

Finding more and more these stale birds are pushing off the spinners?

Yep, but as you know, they're hard-wired and easy to flip off when birds push. Then squalling bloody murder on the call brings them back around more often than not.

[Rick]

Rick looks like you have the rabbit's foot in your pocket - don't loose it.

My rabbits feet are two big spinners and the loudest teal call in the marsh. 'Least, they've been the ticket to date.

I've older father and son regulars tomorrow who booked too late to get me last week and really struggled in other blinds while my guys did well, and I'm scared to death the bottom will fall out on them. We'll pass a fine time, as old friends do, regardless, but I'd sure like to put them in birds...

[Anotherone]

If anyone can pull it off, it’s you. Hoping your clients limit out.

[Rick]

Date: 9/20 Tues

Time: Morning

Location: mudhole

Cloud Cover: clear

Wind Direction and Velocity: nil

Temperature: warm

Moon phase: waning cresent

Special Notes:

Waterfowl Activity: best it's been for a while - hopefully a trend rather than anomaly

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Excellent, just one bunch bumped.

Hunters: 2, father and son, Harold and Mark

Guns:

Malfunctions:

Dog(s): About overheated the bug with birds on the flotant.

Special Equipment: SOS

Curses: None from me.

Kudos: Got to ask Harold "How'd that go for you?" when he lost his water and shot at a power-diving bunch I wanted to bring back around for easier gunning. Really tickled me to show them the time we had after they'd had three slow hunts at other blinds last week.

Birds By Species: 18 blue-wing teal

Photo Ops: Harold's hero shot:

005a.jpg

Lagniappe: When Marsh Bear mentioned my "rabbit's foot," I forgot about our secret weapon for PhD ducks:

003a.jpg

[Anotherone]

Awesome!

[Darren]

"how'd that go for you!?"

Glad it worked out for them. Nice to read about some birds back home, from here on 18th floor of downtown Chicago hotel. Thank goodness headed back south tomorrow, I'm quite the fish out of water.

[DComeaux]

from here on 18th floor of downtown Chicago hotel. Thank goodness headed back south tomorrow, I'm quite the fish out of water.

YUCK!

[Darren]

from here on 18th floor of downtown Chicago hotel. Thank goodness headed back south tomorrow, I'm quite the fish out of water.

YUCK!

Tell me about it

[DComeaux]

Kudos: Got to ask Harold "How'd that go for you?" when he lost his water and shot at a power-diving bunch I wanted to bring back around for easier gunning.

That's some good stuff right there.

[SpinnerMan]

from here on 18th floor of downtown Chicago hotel. Thank goodness headed back south tomorrow, I'm quite the fish out of water.

YUCK!

Tell me about it

If it was fun, you'd be paying them.

I hate traveling for work. A while back I had back to back trips to Paris and Las Vegas. People that don't travel for work had no empathy for my bitching. The Marriott in Paris looks like the Marriot in Chicago. A conference room is a conference room whether in Vegas or in my office building. The only difference is one I get to go home at the end of the day. The other I have to put up with all kinds of hassles and disruptions to my life. They think gambling and the Eiffel Tower. I think airport, airplanes, tossing and turning alone in a hotel bed while all the stuff I need to do back home is going undone, so I'll waste more time catching up after I get back. Every once in a while I do get lucky and the trip is fun, but 9 out 10, I'd get out of if I could. I just begged out of a trip to Pittsburgh. Let's hope I don't get told to go.

[Deltaman]

Mr. Consistent!
Glad the birds showed up for you today!!!!!

[Rick]

]Date: 9/21 Wed

Time: morning

Location: mudhole

Cloud Cover: thick ground fog to clear

Wind Direction and Velocity: northerly moderate

Temperature: warm until the breeze came up

Moon phase: 16% waning crescent

Special Notes:

Waterfowl Activity: Ground fog shut us down completely for the first hour and change, then dribs and drabs until curfew.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Some groups most definitely knew the spot or spinners, but most did as bid. For the first time I can recall in September, I wished I had a teal whistle trill in the dense fog, and there's now one on the string.

Hunters: 2, Harold and Mark

Guns:

Malfunctions:

Dog(s): Wore Marsh and his faith in me flat out looking for a bird Harold felt sure he'd dropped.

Special Equipment: SOS

Curses: Only the fog.

Kudos: Made the most of most chances and recovered from a spooky slow start.

Birds By Species: 17 blue-wing teal

Photo Ops: Heros:

001a.jpg

[DComeaux]

Nice!

[Ricky Spanish]

Sorry but teal calling is something different.
Kenny is good at it.
He uses a mallard call and goes baa baa baa baa thru it fast. It works but feels weird doing it.
Does it work down there?

[Rick]

Sorry but teal calling is something different.
Kenny is good at it.
He uses a mallard call and goes baa baa baa baa thru it fast. It works but feels weird doing it.
Does it work down there?

Don't know nothin' 'bout no "baa baa baa". This (especially through the loudest j-frame money can buy, but with a teal-cut reed) works down here:


That, and a tealized "contest hail" to break the really tall or wide ones.

[Ricky Spanish]

Sorry but teal calling is something different.
Kenny is good at it.
He uses a mallard call and goes baa baa baa baa thru it fast. It works but feels weird doing it.
Does it work down there?

Don't know nothin' 'bout no "baa baa baa". This (especially through the loudest j-frame money can buy, but with a teal-cut reed) works down here:


That, and a tealized "contest hail" to break the really tall or wide ones.

Teal are just curious I guess. Comparing the two styles isn't possible but they work.

[Rick]

Teal are just curious I guess. Comparing the two styles isn't possible but they work.

Wouldn't bet on "curiosity," but the years of my thinking teal almost entirely visually oriented and calling little, if anything, more than an attention getter or compliment to visual attractions are behind me.