2024-2025 Preseason

[Rick]

Found myself thankful for a big-assed mother-in-law this morning. Speaking now of a giant economy-size version of "mother-in-law" used to drive fence "T" posts and, in this case, the 16' 4x4s Cherry Ridge is now using for blind anchors. The 1" steel rods welded to rice augers used to anchor the blind I'm hunting most were all but rusted through, so I wanted to set new anchors before they started breaking and made the job tougher - little doubt at the worst of times.

Asked Neil to show me where he was hiding the 4x4s and, great hands that they are, both he and his buddy, Carl, volunteered to help knock the job out much quicker than I'd have managed alone, for which I am also most grateful. Nothing left of the task to do but a bit of turnbuckle tweaking with the help a bucket we lacked to insure rain water will pool deepest in the corner with a bilge pump behind my seat.

Feeling blessed, I then tackled what's become "my" mudboat's chronic packing seep and may have learned a packing lesson, in that I found the "latest and greatest" Teflon packing apparently melted and welded to the back of the stuffing box and bent the heck out of my dogs' heavy duty stainless plaque pick digging it out in hard little chunks. Put the shining new Teflon packing I'd expected to use back in the equipment room and dug out some "good ol' fashioned" waxed flax that I trust won't put up as much of a fight next go-round.

Call, who'd not been too happily reacquainting himself with the camp's kennel facilities, helped test my work and got in a bit of work of his own, retrieving out of and being retrieved back into his spot behind my seat in the boat. Tickled that he's taken to the later process so readily.

[Darren]

Quite a day! Those old mud boats are something, somewhat glad to hear they're still in use versus all the new fangled surface drives.

Are there things you find those old setups can do that the surface drives (or long tails) cannot? Trenching out trenasses?

What's come of your old rig you ran at prior marsh gig?

[Rick]

Cherry Ridge's little (now) 23hp Honda powered mudboats are just a nod to tradition and not good for much more than hauling two guests back and forth to the blinds. That mid-engine makes them a PIA to work decoys or dogs from, and I found cutting ponds easier with my (Doug's) old "crawfish tail" Go Devil, which was also much better than their standard long-tail.

Can, however, put a lot of power in a mudboat format, which is beneficial for some uses, though they broke the drive shaft strut welds of both the V6 and V8 mudboats trying to reopen runs that required a marsh hoe last fall.

The Doug's Go Devil I used is still at my house for safe keeping until Mary gets ready to sell it.

[Rick]

Heard first reliable word of specks this morning, as a Thornwell area buddy said his cousin (Kevin B) had sent him video of them from where he was cutting on Coto Platte shortly before a group of around 40 passed his shop. Gave me hope of seeing or hearing some on Call and my morning Klondike area round, but no such luck. Yet.

Did see grackle swarms in numbers unseen for some months.

Going to take advantage of today's warmth to power-wash decoys, but may feel the "need" to meet tomorrow's front in the marsh...

[Darren]

Go have a look, just in case !

[Rick]

Jinxed our chances of encountering Klondike specks by pocketing a speck call before our ag land hike, and got so bummed by the barren sky, despite the date, bright moon and north wind that we went home, instead of the marsh.

Maybe tomorrow...

[Darren]

Tomorrow's the day, surely !

[Rick]

Tomorrow's the day, surely !

Call and i took advantage of the gator-chilling extra crisp morning to introduce him to working off my blind's dog stand and in the surrounding marsh and, despite seemingly perfect migratory conditions and passing through the heart of what once was early speck central on our course to and fro, saw nothing more interesting en route than the huge hunters' moon setting. Did see more teal and woodies with the squealers in the marsh. And most importantly Call couldn't get enough of what many unacclimated guest dogs balk at.

Bad news was that the marsh is getting mighty low again, and the boat barely moved in its stall when I boarded. And plans are being made to have a pump on standby.

Will also note that upon our return to camp and killing the boat engine, we were greeted by the sound of flight of specks nearb...nope, hold up. Just the camp maintenance hand's boom box playing a Mexican tune.

[Rick]

Feeding my LSU game nerves too much chili and cornbread last night cut Call and my morning country time to a quick couple mile lap, but I did get to at least hear honest to gosh specks for the first time this fall. Alas, too high or far over the Mermentau or Lake Arthur and headed south, rather than east toward us. But it's a start...

[Darren]

We'll take it! Hoping to catch a weather day in the next few weeks to spend a couple of hours on hand at the bunkie farm with hearing the same in mind. But when that next weather day might be isn't clear for now.

[Rick]

Have hunted it enough to begin to feel some "ownership" of AW's blind and been doing what I could to make it look less like what it is on Call and my visits there, but was told this morning that I'd probably only be hunting it again rarely, if at all: too close to Clark's blind. Have bent over backwards to keep from disturbing his ops by shooting when he was calling, or calling to anything headed his way, but he's the big dog and I'm on his porch.

Is, in fact, the closest at less than 600yds, and one of the other two "extras" is the next closest to him at 700. Only other possibility is a pothole in floating marsh at the farthest navigable point from him - and the big broken marsh reserve/"body" where most common ducks congregate. Though squealers, which would much rather stand than swim, were thick in the "north blind's" surrounding bull tongue last year, when it was only serving as an emergency squealer stash for the east end guys, Wayne and Daniel. Well, they and me and mine on two occasions. My hunting it regularly could screw that pooch for those buddies. Appears pretty much a "lose - lose" proposition, but "we'll see..."

[Ericdc]

So what blind will you be hunting?


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[Darren]

Bummer to hear, for sure, given the 600-700 yard spacing is miles on miles compared to what many others tolerate (and are successful with). Continuing to be reliable and of wide and varied use I'm sure will keep you in the game somewhere.

No chance for one of those coffee chats to sort it out?

[Rick]

So what blind will you be hunting?

Bummer to hear, for sure, given the 600-700 yard spacing is miles on miles compared to what many others tolerate (and are successful with). Continuing to be reliable and of wide and varied use I'm sure will keep you in the game somewhere.

No chance for one of those coffee chats to sort it out?

I'll be fine wherever. Ain't a blind in that marsh worse than not hunting. Just not keen on messing anyone up more than necessary.

[Rick]

[quote="Darren"]Quite a day! Those old mud boats are something, somewhat glad to hear they're still in use versus all the new fangled surface drives.

Are there things you find those old setups can do that the surface drives (or long tails) cannot? Trenching out trenasses?[quote="Rick"]

Lack of rain has the Cherry Ridge marsh getting very low, and the black dirt humus slurry "bottom" is now caking on the top of the shallower boat runs. So camp's two big mudboats have been showing this hillbilly (doing his best dead weight impression on the bow) a new trick:


Tethered stern to stern with both running in forward, with one more-so and slowly pulling the other, the propwash blender created is doing a fine job of cutting that cake and washing out much of the gas (CO2 bacteria farts) that makes it float.

Supposed to be a 24"(?) rental pump arriving from WVa today or tomorrow...

[Duck Engr]

Whoa!!! 24” pump?!

[Darren]

Wow, first I've seen of that method but love it! Guessing the ponds are scant on water to float decoys?

[Rick]

Wow, first I've seen of that method but love it! Guessing the ponds are scant on water to float decoys?

Ponds are OK, with some black dirt in a couple, but nothing too bad, yet. Pump, if it shows and runs, is to help insure that everything stays that way.

Still haven't seen a speck, but added a wad of over a dozen grays to the few migrant species in the marsh to date.

Videoed some squealers on my way to Daniel's blind this morning:

[Duck Engr]

Rick, I had my first experience with floatant this week. Not sure that it’s possible, but you’ve earned yet a higher level of respect from me for having to deal with that garbage. Thought I was going to need a helicopter rescue several times.

[Darren]

but added a wad of over a dozen grays to the few migrant species in the marsh to date.

Oh it's on now! (for my interests, at least).

[Rick]

Rick, I had my first experience with floatant this week. Not sure that it’s possible, but you’ve earned yet a higher level of respect from me for having to deal with that garbage. Thought I was going to need a helicopter rescue several times.

"Just one more damn thing..."

I walk enough of it picking eggs to have a pretty good idea what vegetation will hold me and what won't, but occasionally find myself breaking through over deep water and in "Call Coast Guard Air Rescue" mode. Thankfully, even a 5' gator stick (hoe handle) laid across it can offer enough leverage to get back on top -- 'least so far...

Wiser marsh hands don't leave the boat to walk floating turf without a push pole to both prob and belly up on when worst comes to worst. But a couple seasons back, this dumb hillbilly, who'd spared the dog a Christmas Eve morning family hunt with temps in the low twenties and donned waders to play dog himself, took off to fetch a bird without a push pole, stick or even gun for leverage and broke through both the ice and flotant in spot deeper than said waders. Way too much fun, but surviving to finish that fine morning has become family legend the ex-SIL then-present recounted at his son's football game just last Friday.

[Rick]

but added a wad of over a dozen grays to the few migrant species in the marsh to date.

Oh it's on now! (for my interests, at least).

You'll be pleased to know that I saw two more (exceedingly gullible) grays yesterday morning at "the north blind," an isolated hole well off the main body, where I currently seem most apt to end up.

Call and I previewed the route in dark predawn fog yesterday morning to check out possible navigational landmarks and made it there without incident, let along getting lost - that time. Found that whoever anchored the blind "secured' its back to the boathide's 4x4s, which aren't long enough for that intent. Though they probably would hold longer than the 1/4" fiberglass they're bolted to without so much as a washer. So adding a couple 16' 4x4 anchors and bolting they and the better anchors up front through 2x4 reinforced sections of the blind is on tomorrow's agenda.

A previous occupant also built what amounts to a wooden fence on either side of the boathide's approach that currently precludes a dog's access to anything behind the blind without sending him out the front and working him around the blind's island - or boating him there. So if the spot ends up "mine," a chainsaw will be joining me for blind prep.

Fog was a factor, especially early on, but we stayed until 9, and I was surprised by how relatively few squealers were in the area, perhaps because no one is currently shooting in places they'd rather be. But there were enough to show Call a half dozen close bunches and a few more lost singles, which he behaved in the presence of and eventually lost interest in. 'Course, none were shot for the potentially wild child.

Given my one morning of experience in that blind last season, however, I wasn't particularly surprised by how few non-squealers we saw: a pair of green-wings that blew past, a pair of blue-wings that thought a lot more of my "teal" on a cutdown style call, a gray pair that tolled to that call's version of their quacks and beeps and eventually lit close behind the blind and a lone woody I had no way of diverting from its course.

Not much to get excited about, but great fun to plot ways to improve the spot's productivity, in any event.

[Darren]

At least you're seeing a few migrators to make the blind chores a bit more enticing. Got third hand report of quite a few ducks toward the Pearl River mouth area which is but a stone's throw from where we hunt now, and a place we used to hunt quite a bit in past years.

[Rick]

Been talking with Clark about decoys, and he's decided that while I have to use the camp's but can add some of mine without so doing making them the camp's. Also going to replace some of the camp's really sorry ones with new.

Part about adding some of mine saw me power-washing my coots, and taking a fit to turn 17 1st generation Dakota mallards (I'd screwed up a mallard repaint attempt on and replaced with new) into rattle can mottleds to scatter hither and yon around the pond with them to help keep my setup from looking like one. Won't make a lick of difference if nothing sees it, and might not anyway, but lets me feel like I'm giving it my best, given the givens.

[DComeaux]

My decoy spread has more faded than not. They've been with us for so long they're recognizable and have names. I'm not investing in new ones until I see how this season pans out.

[Duck Engr]

Am I reading too far into it that it sounds like you’re getting gar-holed? Better than the couch I’m sure but still.

[Rick]

Am I reading too far into it that it sounds like you’re getting gar-holed? Better than the couch I’m sure but still.

Made me smile. I'm getting "new guy"ed, as the blinds are chosen by seniority, of which I've none at this camp, and the north blind is the farthest currently open that I can get from being a nuisance to my old friend and new boss. If it turns out that I can't make it work well enough to make my hunters happy there, I'll likely have to move back to where I'm more of a bother to him - and have to hear about it.

Anyway, given the freedom to do more with its setup than was its case the morning I hunted it last season, I ain't scared, or at least not "too" and look forward to being able to get after a lot more of what I do see without stepping on toes.

Cherry Ridgea.jpg

[Darren]

Oh yea, time to let it rip now. I'd figure that aspect alone being enough of a draw in itself. Know you'll make the best of whatever the hole can produce.

[jrock75]

It is a struggle to decide how close is too close. We had a blind at the far southern end of our marsh property that I used to hunt regularly and the guy that leases the neighbor's property put up a new one 450 yards away, across the property line. His blind was in a "better" hole and I sure hated hunting there when they were shooting and I was slow but oh well, they are well-inside their property lines. Fast forward a couple of years and I put a new blind in a marsh hole in a very similar setup, 450 yards north of one of their other blinds. Seems like everyone in the county knew how mad the lessee was at me for my new blind, well except me as he never said a cross word to me directly.

At the farm, our blinds are all at least 1,000 yards apart and even that far makes it sound like they are on top of you when the wind is right, but at that distance I think it is unlikely we are hunting the same ducks and a certainty we aren't working the same. You can't space blinds far enough to avoid flaring from shots if the wind is right.

[Rick]

It is a struggle to decide how close is too close. We had a blind at the far southern end of our marsh property that I used to hunt regularly and the guy that leases the neighbor's property put up a new one 450 yards away, across the property line. His blind was in a "better" hole and I sure hated hunting there when they were shooting and I was slow but oh well, they are well-inside their property lines. Fast forward a couple of years and I put a new blind in a marsh hole in a very similar setup, 450 yards north of one of their other blinds. Seems like everyone in the county knew how mad the lessee was at me for my new blind, well except me as he never said a cross word to me directly.

At the farm, our blinds are all at least 1,000 yards apart and even that far makes it sound like they are on top of you when the wind is right, but at that distance I think it is unlikely we are hunting the same ducks and a certainty we aren't working the same. You can't space blinds far enough to avoid flaring from shots if the wind is right.

Here it seems like others' shooting has less effect on getting birds it's bumped back on ag land than in marsh. But it's "just part of it" most anywhere with much pressure.

Learned today that I'm now one of the camp regulars and have the option of hunting where the fellow I'm replacing did, which is in the island shown at the end of the video I posted Friday. One of our least conspicuous blinds in what's historically been a good location. Only fly in the ointment being one of what was my prior camp's blinds on the property line 600yds to its south. (Gabe's old blind, Darren.) But as long as whoever hunts it a good neighbor, I will be, too.