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Fri. 9/15/2023 - La Teal Opener
SE La salt marsh
Johnny, cousin Kyle & I with Harry
NE winds 5-10, pt cloudy, low 70's

Saw no other boats in our morning travels, very few hunters out with the Friday opener. Heard few volleys to our distant east early but they soon fizzled. Did not see a teal until 8:00a when three came pretty for a nice pass out front that we fired on, and all got out. Saw no others. Will fired on and took a single a few hundred yards away from us, said he saw couple of other small groups but that was it. Fair bit of mottled duck and shore bird activity, just no birds. One other report we got from north of us was 1-bird hunt. Harry snoozed and loaded back in the boat just as dry as he started the morning.

SCRATCH


In any case, we're running Johnny's noodle lines in the camp canals this afternoon chasing blue catfish so things could be worse. We'll try em again in AM.

Dang...



Hope those noodles work out for ya...

Sat. 9/16/2023
SE La salt marsh
Phil, Johnny and I with Harry
West winds 5+, 70s, clear skies

Different wind direction today but same results as yesterday, there’s just no birds in SE La so far. A guide in a primo area well to our south even reported this morning that he’s just not seeing many, and he’s always hyping up the few he’s got so that’s really saying something.

DNS - Didn’t even see one.





Noodle report: one nice blue cat boxed, 12 sturdy hard heads thrown back. Need cooler weather to get the blues up into the camp canals. Won’t run em today given yesterdays results.

TBD for hunt plan tomorrow. Kyle hunted well east of us a good many miles and had no luck, Will 700 yards from us didn’t see a one last I heard. LSU kicks off at 11a so we at least have that.

Darren wrote:LSU kicks off at 11a so we at least have that.

Pretty nice consolation - so far. Still only halftime.

Bummer on the lack of birds for the opening weekend, and hoping they arrive soon!
Damn hardheads, hate'm! The little wire catfish flippers were a damn fine invention

Sun. 9/17/2023
SE La salt marsh
Johnny and I with Harry
N/NW winds 0-10+, low 70s, clear skies, "humidity front" passage over night, and you could tell

Pleasant conditions greeted us, but log tells me its usually not a good thing for the hunting. However we were in such dire need for new arrivals that we figured weather change had to do us more good than not. Will opted to go home night before so didn't hunt, and Kyle headed back to Dallas this morning so Johnny and I had to go it alone. Sure enough saw a good handful of nice bands moving through the area north to south, unfortunately too high to do anything with, though. Did get one nice group to do it for us just as we'd hope and also got to take a single. Harry finally got some much needed work in both exercise and sniffing around the gnarly marsh he is so critical to us for. One crip dove on him that was lost.

4 BW teal (all drakes)



Post-hunt checked on our favorite regular season lease blind nearby and found it with marsh grass all grown up around it and even some roseau appears to have taken. SAV around the lease is C-, seems the high salinities of this summer knocked it back throughout the area. Still some wigeon grass and little bit of coontail but not near what's the usual. But the marsh grass itself is in epic condition, taller and thicker than in many recent years, roseau patches all seem much thicker and healthier than recent years as well.

Glad y’all stuck it out and we’re rewarded with a few to play with!

Sat. 9/23/2023
SE La salt marsh
Will, Johnny, Graham and I with hounds Harry & Loki
N/NE winds 5-10, 70s, pt cloudy

Tried a makeshift spot with combined setups of Will and mine and even bold enough, or silly enough, to bring along both our dogs. Pulled flat boat in some tall grass off an area we had seen some traffic but they didn't show in numbers seen end of last weekend. Missed a few iffy chances and cashed in on the couple of easy ones which served the purpose of making the hunt for my son, mission accomplished.

2 BW teal (1h, 1d)



Marsh was quiet overall, just no numbers of birds around. Loki is as good as they come around the camp and blind, super sweet little female yellow-ish lab.

Sun. 9/24/2023
SE La salt marsh
Johnny, Graham and I with hounds Harry
S/SW winds 0-5, 70s, pt cloudy

Back to blind from last Fri and Sat but dead as a hammer, just not seeing the traffic this area has had every year we've hunted for teal season. Blind is in the location where all the past traffic would be but birds are just no-shows this year. Called it early to get in and head home.

DNS



Seriously thinking I may be done with the Sept season, given our time likely better spent prepping for the Nov 4 youth weekend and our opener to follow.

The birds might not have been there in numbers, but that smile on your son's face says it all dad

Deltaman wrote:The birds might not have been there in numbers, but that smile on your son's face says it all dad

And most importantly, no video games/iPad/dad's phone, etc. used to pass the slow times, he's also seen some really nice hunts so gotta take the good with the bad.

I do enjoy the pictures also, I can just hear him when he gets home hey Mama we got two ducks...