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Stumbled onto a video this morning that made me think of our man Darren and his pal, Harry, down in the tidal marsh. Know it's a Boykin in the video, but thinking of that pretty golden retriever when the water blows out tickled me all the more:

Memories for me of a time at the tail end of the 10 duck limit. Racing the tide to finish the limit, sometimes staying just a bit too long. Heading out in a very narrow, extremely shallow trenasse, loaded, turned into a good bit of work. We also had to fight the high bank in the ditch where we parked the main boat,once we got there.
This was always an issue when the fronts brought those big north winds later in the season, and we had to time our hunts before, and had only a day or two after the big push, depending on wind speed. Erosion at the natural drains and subsidence took its toll. That marsh today is pretty much dry most of the season. It was a really productive, mostly fresh water marsh in it's day.

Ohhhh man, nightmares with that, but kilin' ducks! God bless those Louisiana salt marsh grays

We're usually pushpoling across that slop, no mud motors for us.

End of the 2015-2016 season, low water with Harry:

One year the water was low and there weren't many ducks so I got the brite idea of "scouting new holes".
Spent weeks pushing my boat up beaver runs until I'd hit a log jam then hop out and walk to wherever the run ended. (usually a hole)
Most miserable season ever. Never used any of the new holes I found. What a waste. The brite side is that I came home skinny.
The tidal stuff would drive me insane and I'm betting that my M.O. would turn to saying eff it, set up the blind, and sleep in it till the tide comes in.
Pushing a jon boat any distance more than 25 feet sucks real real bad.

aunt betty wrote:One year the water was low and there weren't many ducks so I got the brite idea of "scouting new holes".
Spent weeks pushing my boat up beaver runs until I'd hit a log jam then hop out and walk to wherever the run ended. (usually a hole)
Most miserable season ever. Never used any of the new holes I found. What a waste. The brite side is that I came home skinny.
The tidal stuff would drive me insane and I'm betting that my M.O. would turn to saying eff it, set up the blind, and sleep in it till the tide comes in.
Pushing a jon boat any distance more than 25 feet sucks real real bad.

AB, that only works if the tide is actually coming in and will get high enough to give you relief. A hard cold front changes the dynamics, and as a buddy of mine once remarked to me on such occasion in the Venice marsh........"low tide is high tide today"

Deltaman wrote:...as a buddy of mine once remarked to me on such occasion in the Venice marsh........"low tide is high tide today"

Be interesting to know how many have croaked trying to push across mud flats down there when north winds changed the order of things.

Would like to try the tidal thing once before I'm done. One thing scares me though.
Louisiana jails. Can't be worse than Arkansas...or can it?

Got this in the mailbox today and after reading it came to the conclusion..."now how much will they want?".
Pic is too large. (rats)
Basically AGFC wants me to give a shit about their mismanagement of the greentree reservoirs and donate MORE of my money. They've got severe issues and are just starting to feel it. The next 4 years should be interesting as heck to watch but I'll do it from a distance. No more timber crap.
Big Water all the way!

"One thing scares me though.
Louisiana jails. Can't be worse than Arkansas...or can it?"

Have heard some horror stories from the past, so don't bet on it