Post-Season 2016

[Darren]

Spent the last two days playing with the new motor and getting a few hours on her in the break in period. Think I've got it propped right, going with same style as I used on the 40, a semi-cleaver shaped wheel that grips really well in "ventilated" applications......and we do a lot of that. So far so good with motor and prop, especially considering this weekend the water was low from the recent west winds.

On today's tour in same area as a couple weeks ago, got to see plenty of mottleds in small groups and a few woodducks, nearly all of which were absent on the last visit. Friday evening I also came across a squealer that has apparently taken up residence in a local woodduck box in the area. Not sure how common that is but apparently she favored the box instead of a tree?? In any case got to scope out a few potential holes for the coming season where we hadn't been much in recent seasons.

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Guess one plus of this heavy @ss cooler is that it makes for great dead weight on the bow to help simulate a hunting party load.

And occasionally run in by the usual this time of year

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[Rick]

Friday evening I also came across a squealer that has apparently taken up residence in a local woodduck box in the area. Not sure how common that is but apparently she favored the box instead of a tree?

I'm guessing it was a blackbelly, as the fulvous seem ground nesters, and one of the early complaints when blackbellies moved into our area was their displacement of woodies from folks' boxes.

[Darren]

Friday evening I also came across a squealer that has apparently taken up residence in a local woodduck box in the area. Not sure how common that is but apparently she favored the box instead of a tree?

I'm guessing it was a blackbelly, as the fulvous seem ground nesters, and one of the early complaints when blackbellies moved into our area was their displacement of woodies from folks' boxes.

Yep, just double checked their appearance, it was definitely this one:

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She flushed both times I passed the box on side the bayou, and just kind of made a small circle of a couple hundred yards before returning. Passed a good many other boxes but no sign of residents

[Rick]

One of my most memorable missed photo ops (no camera that day) was of a blackbelly sitting atop a wood duck box with it's mate sitting in its entrance hole while a big gator lay below, as if waiting for h'ordeurves.

[Darren]

Gators galore all over our marsh right now, feel like maybe more numerous than usual, or maybe I'm just rooting around in more places they're apt to be than I used to

[DComeaux]

The gator population seems to have risen substantially over the years. Places that I knew held gators that were never seen are now showing large visible numbers, almost to a point being a nuisance. They love top water baits, and while trolling down a bank for bass they ease just ahead of the boat along the bank, no doubt scaring away everything in their path. Some canals are loaded to a point that I'd not want to fall in the water.

[Darren]

I was crossing one of our shallower ponds the other day and caught what was likely a 7-8 footer plowing his way through the shallows, only 6 inches or so. Since he couldn't go down under the water this fella was just plowing his way toward the nearest bank, really something to see. Also seeing a ton of huge garfish throughout the marsh. All kinds of neat stuff out there right now this summer. The mottleds and woodies are lagniappe

[Rick]

...almost to a point being a nuisance.

Far as I'm concerned, they passed the "almost" point shortly after Rita. It's flat nuts that we're still doing the same percentage of farm returns as when that program began.

[Darren]

so is the answer a) issue more recreational tags, b) lower the returns, or c) other ?

[DComeaux]

...almost to a point being a nuisance.

Far as I'm concerned, they passed the "almost" point shortly after Rita. It's flat nuts that we're still doing the same percentage of farm returns as when that program began.

May be time to hit up the boys in charge. I know they see and know of the population explosion in Rockefeller. I wonder how the nutria population is doing with the gator population seeming to be so high?

[Rick]

Nutria have been a rarity here since not long after Rita, too.

[Darren]

Nutria have been a rarity here since not long after Rita, too.

Over by us as well, BUT, I should caveat that the feds went after them hardcore a few years ago.......think airboats at night. I think, though, the gator population is surely helping to keep the marsh rat numbers down, and I'm not seeing the areas of eaten up/beaten up marsh like I did when the rats were rampant.

[Rick]

Don't know if you've met Clark, who manages Cherry Ridge, but he was only half kidding when he told his guides that if their dogs got into it with a nutria, shoot the dog. The damage they do to vegetation that's harmed some parts of the marsh is sorely missed here where our marshes are trying to fill in.

[Darren]

Don't know if you've met Clark, who manages Cherry Ridge, but he was only half kidding when he told his guides that if their dogs got into it with a nutria, shoot the dog. The damage they do to vegetation that's harmed some parts of the marsh is sorely missed here where our marshes are trying to fill in.

Nah don't think I've come across Clark yet. The rats have absolutely hammered the tender roots of Spartina and other "soft" marsh grasses common to our area, such that their main stompin' grounds are typically just mudflats. We're losing some water to another type of tall(er) marsh grass lately but not in a manner that's threatening to overtake larger waters, though is closing up some sweet smaller holes; upside being bringing more stability to the marsh and hopefully long term sustainability and hurricane durability.

[aunt betty]

Am not from LA but have to say that nothing is static in nature. Things change and then they change some more.
Man's fiddling with things really messes things up imo.
Waterfowl migrations have been totally changed by our new modern forms of agriculture along with all the federal projects where they built lakes and refuges where there were none before.

Sorry about your holes filling in with silt and grass. Interesting to read about and I totally get it that places you've counted on as your honey holes for years are gone...just gone...or going. Sad to hear about it.

Up here it's gotten crazy too. Weekend warriors, young men, who walk in at LST and don't even notice my spread and duck blind and set up 40 yards away then shoot at me unknowingly drives me batty (er).

[Darren]

These particular pond losses are from an expanding species of grass that was planted during a restoration project; they turned what was some very large acreage of open water (used to be land years ago) back into strong land, so I'm A-OK with that, its for the long term good of the area for sure. We do have some coastal land loss that's not going to be reversed any time soon and that's sad, but like you said, ever-changing and also creates great fishing with those land changes.

Sorry to hear of the clowns showing up at LST, we deal with the same here as well.

[aunt betty]

Somehow I bet that their new grass species will suddenly fail. Have seen this kind of thing before. Something in nature flourishes a few seasons and then something else that feeds on "it, whatever it is, develops a massive population which decimates "it", and then things go back to normal. Give it ten or fifteen years and see.

[Darren]

Harry had a pretty big time July 4th weekend running with a pack of hounds at a friend's camp on the Tickfaw River.

This was the location we first learned of his affinity for dock jumping one year ago, and we kept that rolling this time around as well.

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Also had Nestle the chocolate lab; she isn't a hunter but can throw a wake out to a dummy and come straight back with it in a blink, swims noticeably faster than Harry, presumably benefitting from shorter fur??

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Then we have Ellis the Australian Shepherd, he literally learned to swim on this trip, and after starting off barely being able to keep his head above water, he was soon eagerly making short retrieves and returning to hand. At the end of the day, he'd rather go herd things (anything, really) on land, though.

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3 of what was actually 5 for most of the weekend

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Hoping to get back in the lil flat boat next weekend and get back to more ducky off-season activities

[Darren]

An excerpt from a piece in the new July-August issue of DU magazine reminded me of our "what happened" discussion earlier in this thread, and brought further credence to other observations already made.

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If it was off up in Minnesota, you better believe things weren't right further south.


Also found the graphic below interesting, never realized just how far north the snows traveled to breed, with some going well down into Mexico to winter.

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[Rick]

Was in your in-laws' marsh this morning and think it cursed: worst percentage of dud and poor nests anywhere to date and not so much as a single mottled or woodie. That after a best-ever tally of good nests and a fair show of summer ducks in the marsh to its west.

[Rick]

Did they use a wood duck box?

[Darren]

Was in your in-laws' marsh this morning and think it cursed: worst percentage of dud and poor nests anywhere to date and not so much as a single mottled or woodie. That after a best-ever tally of good nests and a fair show of summer ducks in the marsh to its west.

Uh oh! Alligators I'm sure they're OK without but would be nice to see a few feathers around.

[Darren]

Not sure if you speck guys have seen this but this particular story just came out today on Nola.com

http://www.nola.com/outdoors/index.ssf/ ... iver_index

Couple of notable excerpts:

As a result, specklebellies own the heart of every goose hunter, but unfortunately, Louisiana is overwintering a smaller percentage of the overall population than ever before. In the five winters from 1996 through 2000, Louisiana hosted 80 percent of the Mississippi Flyway's specks. That number declined to 32 percent by 2011-2015.

Link and his crew will be able to collect three to four years worth of data from the geese, assuming they live that long, but two birds have already produced interesting data. One, which the researchers named Sea Fly, got out of the Coastal Zone soon after the season opened there on Nov. 7. The bird flew up to the East Zone near Monroe, and hung around there until that season opened on Nov. 21. Then Sea Fly abandoned Louisiana for more northern states, and never returned.

Another bird, named GS365, flew non-stop to Stuttgart, Ark., spent one day there, and then returned to the exact same field where she had been trapped by Link and his fellow researchers.

[Darren]

Did some work with Harry along the shoreline of Lake P Friday afternoon; water still a little low but SAV along there is impressive this year. We historically have made some hunts along here just blinding up in the shoreline grass but haven't in a number of years, favoring the interior marsh ponds. However, the log says we had some pretty solid hunts over the years in that area, taking the usual divers but also mallards, grays, wigeon, teal, and mottleds.

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Have the boat over in BR with me for the week and have been working on some paint efforts with it. Got the interior done yesterday, may put a bit of a touch up on the exterior at some point. In the process of painting I've also discovered a fair number of cracked welds on the hull (interior only) so will have to get those addressed when I bring the boat to my welder to install the trim tabs. Aluminum welding always seems to cost more than one would anticipate......

[DComeaux]

by Darren » Mon Jul 11, 2016 11:47 am

Did some work with Harry along the shoreline of Lake P Friday afternoon

That water looks right for fishing. Did you?

Not sure if you speck guys have seen this but this particular story just came out today on Nola.com

http://www.nola.com/outdoors/index.ssf/ ... iver_index

Couple of notable excerpts:

As a result, specklebellies own the heart of every goose hunter, but unfortunately, Louisiana is overwintering a smaller percentage of the overall population than ever before. In the five winters from 1996 through 2000, Louisiana hosted 80 percent of the Mississippi Flyway's specks. That number declined to 32 percent by 2011-2015.

Link and his crew will be able to collect three to four years worth of data from the geese, assuming they live that long, but two birds have already produced interesting data. One, which the researchers named Sea Fly, got out of the Coastal Zone soon after the season opened there on Nov. 7. The bird flew up to the East Zone near Monroe, and hung around there until that season opened on Nov. 21. Then Sea Fly abandoned Louisiana for more northern states, and never returned.

Another bird, named GS365, flew non-stop to Stuttgart, Ark., spent one day there, and then returned to the exact same field where she had been trapped by Link and his fellow researchers.

If hunting pressure is high on the list of migration change for these birds, then SW La will eventually lose the specks. There is very little land left for these birds to rest anymore.... a gun on every levee.

[DComeaux]

I wonder how much the population has grown since 2000? I know that is a huge decline precent wise but I'd be curious to know the decline in actual number in the state.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'm not sure but I'm still looking....Thought this was pretty neat, though.

The oldest recorded Greater White-fronted Goose was at least 25 years, 6 months old when it was found in Louisiana in 1998. It had been banded in Nunavut in 1975. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Greater_White-fronted_Goose/lifehistory

Edit to add this link of a 2014 Alaska study. It's a long read..... for me anyway
tps://www.fws.gov/alaska/mbsp/mbm/waterfowl/surveys/pdf/ak_gwfg_projects.pdf

[Darren]

Did not fish but it was full of bait fish all over and thought I had a few reds swirl not far from us; water was a little dirty (and low) from the persistent west winds. Downside to the low water this summer has been the duck ponds are shallower and harder to run......upside for the new motor is being able to really test it out

Also the low water tends to allow neat stuff to grow on exposed mud flats that, once easterly winds turn around in September and re-flood, make great teal habitat.