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First off, thanks a lot, Duck Engr. This may be a record over recent years for the earliest the upcoming season's logs were set up, but I'm not griping.

By this point I've long recovered from the miles and lost sleep of the past season, and now squarely looking ahead to September teal. Indeed, down at the camp last weekend, there were preseason efforts underway so I suppose that's as officially preseason as anything.

Lowes run


Pre-Fab shop; lil man's fired up to be of help now, and that means more than anything else in the world these days. He can't hammer or run a drill, but he can dang sure go grab a tool you forgot out of arm's reach and does so with enthusiasm. If I wasn't adamant of keeping him out the fumes, he'd be glad to paint too. Prefab work in the June heat has never been so enjoyable.




Deployment-Ready


For those maybe wondering how those pre-fab pieces come together on-scene, see below. The two "H-Frames" make up your ends, with a stand alone center to support the deck. Shelf is optional creature comfort, though handy to have. The lower legs of the "H" go in the ground, ideally 3-4 ft or more to combat a storm surge.



Just waiting on a good morning where the high tide is in the early part of the day so we can get the boat into, or very near, where the blinds will go. Hauling in lumber with pirogues isn't the easiest task, but we've done it plenty of times, even in the dark before a hunt nearby.

These new blinds have some storm-resistant design built into them, but given a storm or two is typically inevitable, I'm not in any hurry to test out the design if I dont have to. We're only about 30-45 days out from at least some 4th and 5th hand teal sighting reports down here

Happy to see that your son gets as excited about it as his dad does

Hunting tidal water sounds mighty sweet this dry summer.

Hauling wood in before a hunt… sounds all too familiar when we didn’t get all of our off season projects done.. yours truly is the king of procrastination


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Great to see the young fella getting in on the action!

BGkirk wrote:...yours truly is the king of procrastination

Naw, my gun is still dirty and decoys still un-patched and unwashed.

Rick wrote:

BGkirk wrote:...yours truly is the king of procrastination

Naw, my gun is still dirty and decoys still un-patched and unwashed.

Come on now ! Time to get in the game

I am one up on you Rick - my gun is clean, but the decoys have not been touched

Rick wrote:

BGkirk wrote:...yours truly is the king of procrastination

Naw, my gun is still dirty and decoys still un-patched and unwashed.

My gun is still dirty as well. It was its first season too. Lazy poc


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What a difference from last year's summer condition on the Dakotas/PPR. Hope it helps plenty, but likely can only guarantee that at the least it won't hurt.

Good to see, that’s for sure!

Darren wrote:First off, thanks a lot, Duck Engr. This may be a record over recent years for the earliest the upcoming season's logs were set up, but I'm not griping.

By this point I've long recovered from the miles and lost sleep of the past season, and now squarely looking ahead to September teal. Indeed, down at the camp last weekend, there were preseason efforts underway so I suppose that's as officially preseason as anything.

Lowes run

boat 1.jpg

Pre-Fab shop; lil man's fired up to be of help now, and that means more than anything else in the world these days. He can't hammer or run a drill, but he can dang sure go grab a tool you forgot out of arm's reach and does so with enthusiasm. If I wasn't adamant of keeping him out the fumes, he'd be glad to paint too. Prefab work in the June heat has never been so enjoyable.

graham blind 1.jpg

blind build 1.jpg

Deployment-Ready

boat 2.jpg

For those maybe wondering how those pre-fab pieces come together on-scene, see below. The two "H-Frames" make up your ends, with a stand alone center to support the deck. Shelf is optional creature comfort, though handy to have. The lower legs of the "H" go in the ground, ideally 3-4 ft or more to combat a storm surge.

IMG_2305.JPG

Just waiting on a good morning where the high tide is in the early part of the day so we can get the boat into, or very near, where the blinds will go. Hauling in lumber with pirogues isn't the easiest task, but we've done it plenty of times, even in the dark before a hunt nearby.

These new blinds have some storm-resistant design built into them, but given a storm or two is typically inevitable, I'm not in any hurry to test out the design if I dont have to. We're only about 30-45 days out from at least some 4th and 5th hand teal sighting reports down here

You son is Elliot size. I'm jealous. My diaghter over-protects Eliot so none of that stuff is happening but his big brother does get to touch power tools. Started with an air stapler and chicken wire.
Your boy looks like a great lil helper to me.

Picked your inlaws' marsh this morning and found it better than feared in that the duck ponds are still mostly there. Ponds are absolutely choked with hydrilla, which at least used to be rare for this area. Usual number of nests, but some no-goes due to button willow jungle without water.

Nothing but a few mottleds spotted there, but scads of squealers on neighbors across the west levee - where we left an airboat that threw its belt in the too-dang-spotty rain.

Rick wrote:Picked your inlaws' marsh this morning and found it better than feared in that the duck ponds are still mostly there. Ponds are absolutely choked with hydrilla, which at least used to be rare for this area. Usual number of nests, but some no-goes due to button willow jungle without water.

Nothing but a few mottleds spotted there, but scads of squealers on neighbors across the west levee - where we left an airboat that threw its belt in the too-dang-spotty rain.

Uh oh ! What's the recovery plan? Glad to hear of the ponds choked with hydrilla instead of something surface-bound that makes water not look as such.

Darren wrote:Uh oh ! What's the recovery plan? Glad to hear of the ponds choked with hydrilla instead of something surface-bound that makes water not look as such.

Start tomorrow replacing an outdated (no wonder) rimless pulley with a new rimmed one and a new belt, finish there at LA Reclamation, then on to Cherry Ridge and our marsh. Lucky as can be that it happened when we had two airboats in the area.

........else you'd still be out there !

Darren wrote:........else you'd still be out there !

Naw, we were the rescue party. This time...

Perhaps as significant as the improved breeding grounds water situation is the (not) improved drought situation in Louisiana (most of MO and a 30+% of AR in same boat too). While I curse the December to January rainy fronts that flood up all the backwaters and generate sheet water galore most seasons, I also saw last year that water being scarce had its downside too.




On the ag lands, too often the only flooded ground was pressured ground, thus not leaving much for the birds to hold in an area long term. When they did eventually find water that wasn't shooting at them, they often stayed put, even on days we'd thought the weather would move them.

Significant changes to the habitat in the heart of our flyway subsequent the June 28 graphic I posted previously. MO and AR trending much drier.



Louisiana remains much the same; the SE corner continues to be swamped with heavy, daily rainfall for many while most to the west and north of that corner struggle to get anything. Awfully cruel given SE La is mostly just known for some sugarcane farming whereas there's much more ag land in the areas starving for rain.

'Nother couple weeks, and the combines will roll out and the rains roll in.

Darren wrote:Perhaps as significant as the improved breeding grounds water situation is the (not) improved drought situation in Louisiana (most of MO and a 30+% of AR in same boat too). While I curse the December to January rainy fronts that flood up all the backwaters and generate sheet water galore most seasons, I also saw last year that water being scarce had its downside too.

Capture1.JPG

On the ag lands, too often the only flooded ground was pressured ground, thus not leaving much for the birds to hold in an area long term. When they did eventually find water that wasn't shooting at them, they often stayed put, even on days we'd thought the weather would move them.

We have gotten several timely rains for the farmers in Avoyelles but not so much in terms of over all rain fall. I like it dry to start the season but generally like to see backwater rising around the middle of December with good water in the woods by Christmas.

Ducaholic wrote:We have gotten several timely rains for the farmers in Avoyelles but not so much in terms of over all rain fall. I like it dry to start the season but generally like to see backwater rising around the middle of December with good water in the woods by Christmas.

Yea that's usually what we see on the I-49 corridor heading north to the farm, usually as the 2nd split is really getting going, ideally not sooner for sure. Last year, dry everywhere, all season long, dusty fourwheeler rides to and from the blind.

Darren wrote:

Ducaholic wrote:We have gotten several timely rains for the farmers in Avoyelles but not so much in terms of over all rain fall. I like it dry to start the season but generally like to see backwater rising around the middle of December with good water in the woods by Christmas.

Yea that's usually what we see on the I-49 corridor heading north to the farm, usually as the 2nd split is really getting going, ideally not sooner for sure. Last year, dry everywhere, all season long, dusty fourwheeler rides to and from the blind.

Dusty 4 wheeler rides don't feel right. last couple years it's been the norm.


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Ericdc wrote:

Darren wrote:

Ducaholic wrote:We have gotten several timely rains for the farmers in Avoyelles but not so much in terms of over all rain fall. I like it dry to start the season but generally like to see backwater rising around the middle of December with good water in the woods by Christmas.

Yea that's usually what we see on the I-49 corridor heading north to the farm, usually as the 2nd split is really getting going, ideally not sooner for sure. Last year, dry everywhere, all season long, dusty fourwheeler rides to and from the blind.

Dusty 4 wheeler rides don't feel right. last couple years it's been the norm.

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Yep, exactly. usually it's sloppy and the side of the bike is caked with mud at season's end, hasn't been that way.

Missouri drought woes rolling along, allowing for access to some places by foot or bike that hadn't been accessible in years.

Send em south like the old days and before the NAWMP/DU/AHM spawned all the managed habitat that exist today.

Based on all of the rain in central missouri yesterday that map will look a little different for its next release.

Duck Engr wrote:Based on all of the rain in central missouri yesterday that map will look a little different for its next release.

Yep 10 plus inches dangit and southern Illinois is now getting it

MO and ARK likely to benefit from this forecast for today through Sunday July 31:

Ducaholic wrote:Send em south like the old days and before the NAWMP/DU/AHM spawned all the managed habitat that exist today.

Spawned the habit or restored habit that was lost early in last century

https://www.fws.gov/wetlands/data/Water-Summary-Reports/National-Water-Summary-Wetland-Resources-Missouri.pdf

Missouri wetlands occupy 643,000 acres. about 1.4 percent of the State's area (Dahl, 1990). Before the arrival of European settlers, wetlands occupied about 4.84 million acres, about 10.8 percent of what is now Missouri, and were a significant component of the landscape

Careful you don't go back too far into the old days

An additional couple million acres of wetlands in Missouri would seem to paint a different picture.