2026-2027 Preseason...

[Rick]

Rick are you seeing any ducks on your morning strolls with Call.
Are there any real cold fronts coming our way anytime soon?

Call and I have been taking advantage of the water a friend has put on his crawfish rice but not seen anything but woodie and black-belly overflights there. Haven't been in the marsh since teal season cleanup, but have seen more birds using what's left of ag land teal floods on my past couple trips to work on my boat and pour another generator slab at the camp.

"Other stuff" has kept us from making a marsh round, but I hope to do so this morning, while there's still enough water in the main trails to do so without tearing something up.

Re: the weather, that's Darren's department. I'm just thankful for our cooler early morning hours allowing Call and I some exercise without stewing.

[Darren]

re: weather

update for yall on my preseason thread, showing some promise on horizon

[Rick]

Well, Marsh Bear, I tried:


Might have to enlarge it to see any ducks, and there weren't many to begin with. Will also note that the motor apparently flooded in the crap where I stopped and refused to start again long enough to be, shall we say "disconcerting" so far from hard ground.

Did get to fool a few blue-wings by getting as high a I could on a mallard-reeded Deceiver I'd brought in case a mottled showed and distress scream two strings of black-bellies over us with the Montana Lite whistle after swapping out a faulty spinner rheostat at the blind. Which was as close to a bird fix as I've had since teal closed. That, and took this of the summer's pond-scaping:

[DComeaux]

Your second video is private.

[Rick]

Your second video is private.

Grrr... Was actually "public" but somehow managed to put it on a "schedule" to be published 10/11. Not much of a video, anyway.

[Darren]

Enjoyed the tour of the hole and a few birds, thanks!

[Rick]

Have let this part of the log get away from me, but have been getting a lot done: broke down and rebuilt my boat hide properly, pressure washed my personal decoys, repaired those in need, touched up the pintails and ringnecks and repainted the bodies of my 30-some of remaining poule d'eaus. We cranked the camp's 30" pump Monday, tore out the rotting zero blind platform Tues and built a new one there yesterday.

The zero blind is a blue-wing favorite, and we were treated to a nice show there both mornings. Already had enough new water (albeit 300ppm salt) from the ICW to make the south trail to my blind passable (albeit with some strain), so I made that pass to help let more water through the black dirt and start my annual battle with the fourchettes. Saw lot of black-bellies en route and even at my now largely black dirt pond, but few other ducks.

[Darren]

Sounds like a lot happenin! Hopefully rains this weekend help out and offer some salinity-lowering dilution. Am hearing of many unable to pump from canals on to fields due to high salinity as well.

[Rick]

Ran to my blind again early this morning and found the south run much improved. Also took some video of black-bellles along the last stretch of it and around my pond:


Didn't see much other than they and mostly blue-wings, but was treated to a 20-30 bird knot of green-wings zipping by as I trimmed a bit around the blind.

[Darren]

Sure looks like a lot of fowl, hard to beat, and I bet the green wings were a welcome sight. Do you have a youth hunter for next Sat the 7th? Looking like we may have some weather in time and more to come thereafter.

[Rick]

Do you have a youth hunter for next Sat the 7th?.

We'll not pop a cap before the regular season opener.

[Darren]

Do you have a youth hunter for next Sat the 7th?.

We'll not pop a cap before the regular season opener.

Same for us. My son really just not there yet as far as really wanting to do it himself (shoot), but is fired up as could be to go brush blinds and join the guys on opening weekend while just being a spotter.