2016-2017 Season Log

[DComeaux]

Such diverse flora in there this time of year.

[Rick]

Date: 9/20

Time: morning

Location: Mudhole

Cloud Cover: clear

Wind Direction and Velocity: light northerly

Temperature: saved by the light breeze and drier air

Moon phase: 3/4?

Special Notes:

Waterfowl Activity: very little teal. or other duck. movement over the marsh

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Fortunately good, or we'd have been screwed.

Hunters: 2 Ric and Sharon again

Guns:

Malfunctions:

Dog(s): Marsh lost the track of a tipped crip that was far enough out on the broken flotant that I'd not have let him follow it much farther anyway.

Special Equipment: SOS

Curses: Might have broken my friends of marsh hunting with me, as they have family with what's been strong ag land teal hunting.

Kudos: They shot well enough to make what came count.

Birds By Species: 7 bw teal (6 drakes and 1 hen)

Photo Ops: After being allowed to fetch a close one in the pond yesterday, Marsh was plainly frustrated by a farther one I'd not cut him loose on this morning:

[Ericdc]

Seeing any non teal migrants yet?


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[Rick]

Had a gray drop in on day one, some spoons have come by and some pintails, including a pair that came oh, so pretty this morning. Haven't heard or seen the first specks, which used to sometimes be the case during teal's second week in the "way back when...", something we were speaking of when today's pins showed.

[Ericdc]

yea I figured the specks wouldn't start showing for a month. Especially with this weather.


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[DComeaux]

For the first split of big duck I'd like to switch jobs with you. I think I could get you up to speed on my end fairly quickly and you could call with questions around 10:00 each morning after I've had brunch. Depending on whether or not I had an afternoon hunt lined up, I'd be free for questions all afternoon.




Not sure how long I'd last though.

[Rick]

If we're swapping retirement plans, too, I'm in.

[Rick]

Date: 9/20

Time: afternoon

Location: gueydan west

Cloud Cover: clear

Wind Direction and Velocity: moderate northerly breeze

Temperature: sweat dripping hot despite the breeze

Moon phase:

Special Notes: Having kicked back and watched my friends do what little good we could this morning, I thought it would be a good time to shoot a few for my old friend Peake this afternoon.

Waterfowl Activity: Teal were flying from the time we got there after 5 until we left after 6. Mostly diving into the middle of the farm from the west and southwest.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: We were too far west to interest the bulk of the flight but more than enough turned and came back to check us out.

Hunters: Just Peake and I.

Guns:

Malfunctions: Hiked in, tossed seven almost black decoys onto the duck salad, set up the Mojo, decided it would look more official with the wings I left in the truck and hiked back out for them. Also experienced my first shooting slump of the season.

Dog(s): Haven't dared to take my old deaf friend Peake to gator territory or wanted to risk others' safe ground hunts on his diminished handling, so this solo hunt was his first of the year. Have taken pains (to the detriment of Marsh's training) to keep up his conditioning over the summer, but his mileage is still showing, and I wore the poor dog to a nub chasing chipped fly-off birds in bad driving water with a sticky bottom. But he hung in and didn't let anything beat him.

Special Equipment: big spinner and big, dark decoys to contrast with the green salad

Curses: Just a shooting streak where the harder I tried the worser I got. Well, that, and on the wade back from getting the spinner's wings I somehow found a hole that put me over a hip boot top while following the same route I'd already taken in and out before.

Kudos: Great to be hunting with the coyote again.

Birds By Species: 6 bw teal (4 drakes and 2 hens)

Photo Ops: forgot camera

Lagniappe: When Peake was slowly trudging back after catching the longest of my chipped crips, I initially lamented having forgotten a camera to record his success. But the sight of him so worn out and plainly old might best be a private, bittersweet thing. Happens to us all, if we're lucky, but I hate it for him.

[DComeaux]

Bitter sweet.

[Deltaman]

Date: 9/20

Time: afternoon

Location: gueydan west

Cloud Cover: clear

Wind Direction and Velocity: moderate northerly breeze

Temperature: sweat dripping hot despite the breeze

Moon phase:

Special Notes: Having kicked back and watched my friends do what little good we could this morning, I thought it would be a good time to shoot a few for my old friend Peake this afternoon.

Waterfowl Activity: Teal were flying from the time we got there after 5 until we left after 6. Mostly diving into the middle of the farm from the west and southwest.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: We were too far west to interest the bulk of the flight but more than enough turned and came back to check us out.

Hunters: Just Peake and I.

Guns:

Malfunctions: Hiked in, tossed seven almost black decoys onto the duck salad, set up the Mojo, decided it would look more official with the wings I left in the truck and hiked back out for them. Also experienced my first shooting slump of the season.

Dog(s): Haven't dared to take my old deaf friend Peake to gator territory or wanted to risk others' safe ground hunts on his diminished handling, so this solo hunt was his first of the year. Have taken pains (to the detriment of Marsh's training) to keep up his conditioning over the summer, but his mileage is still showing, and I wore the poor dog to a nub chasing chipped fly-off birds in bad driving water with a sticky bottom. But he hung in and didn't let anything beat him.

Special Equipment: big spinner and big, dark decoys to contrast with the green salad

Curses: Just a shooting streak where the harder I tried the worser I got. Well, that, and on the wade back from getting the spinner's wings I somehow found a hole that put me over a hip boot top while following the same route I'd already taken in and out before.

Kudos: Great to be hunting with the coyote again.

Birds By Species: 6 bw teal (4 drakes and 2 hens)

Photo Ops: forgot camera

Lagniappe: When Peake was slowly trudging back after catching the longest of my chipped crips, I initially lamented having forgotten a camera to record his success. But the sight of him so worn out and plainly old might best be a private, bittersweet thing. Happens to us all, if we're lucky, but I hate it for him.

Great report Rick, and glad to see that you were able to get your old buddy Peake some duck work

[Rick]

Date: 9/21

Time: morning

Location: Mudhole

Cloud Cover: clear

Wind Direction and Velocity: "N 0mph"

Temperature: warm

Moon phase: 69% waning

Special Notes:

Waterfowl Activity: Saw three single and three groups of teal, plus a fair number of woodies and squealers and two mottleds.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Tolled every teal I saw.

Hunters: just Marsh and I

Guns:

Malfunctions:

Dog(s): Marsh still isn't as patient about teal on the water as he was before I let him retrieve one the other day, but is getting better at chauffeured retrieves.

Special Equipment: SOS

Curses: Burned eight shells killing five teal, so my sights, while better, are still a skosh off. And I passed shots on two otherwise easy groups, because they crossed on the side of hunters who weren't there. I may be a poor shot, but I'm well rained not to shoot across the blind.

Kudos: Still a mighty pleasant morning to be in the blind and witnessed a new to me wood duck behavior, as a number that landed almost immediately hopped up onto the flotant. But I couldn't tell what they were after.

Birds By Species: 5 bw teal (2 drakes and 3 hens)

Photo Ops: Woodies doing what they do:


and Marsh doing what no human could do on and in that stuff:

[Ericdc]

5 for 8 is not bad on teal.


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[Rick]

When you get to shoot as much as I do, it ain't good, either.

[Ericdc]

Guess it depends on the actual shots, did you land any?


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[Darren]

Nice morning Rick! Glad to hear Peake made it out yesterday, I feel for him and you, honored to have shared the blind (and boat rides) with him more than a couple times

And with that drake:hen ratio, the migration must certainly be ON!

[Rick]

Guess it depends on the actual shots, did you land any?

Only let a single that came in across the dog land. Jumped it and missed the first shot before hitting it. First bird was another single that floated in as if to land, but I aborted that landing with a miss before dropping it and did much the same when a good flock did the same, only that miss came on the third bird of what should have been an easy triple. None of it was at all tricky.

I just became too conscious of sight picture after chipping the long fly-offs for Peake, and that's not a good thing. Need to just focus on the birds and let the subconscious computer pull the trigger. Think wanting birds for my old buddy so badly started the slide.

[Ericdc]

Ok just curious. I remember we swatted a batch of green wingers on our hunt with you that lit and bunched up nicely. To quote you

"They f'ed up"


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[Rick]

Nice morning Rick! Glad to hear Peake made it out yesterday, I feel for him and you, honored to have shared the blind (and boat rides) with him more than a couple times

And with that drake:hen ratio, the migration must certainly be ON!

We are seeing more hens, but the new birds are plainly stopping short of our marsh. Am taking a couple rice hunters with good places to the marsh in the morning and will likely disappoint them. With the good news being that Peake should be ready for another afternoon go if I don't shoot, too.

[Rick]

"They f'ed up"

In the "way back when..." I hunted an elderly couple who had hunted with Clarence Faulk when he was guiding in Sweet Lake, and the woman told me he was a "brilliant conversationalist" who said little all morning except "Stupid." when ducks turned to his call and "F-it" when they didn't.

Cracked me up to hear that sweet old lady tell it.

[Ericdc]

Well it's a fond memory. I don't think we killed all 9 out of that one bunch but it was several.




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[Darren]

Just came across a seemingly plausible video on FB of small wad of working specks supposed to have been taken yesterday afternoon at Cormier Duck Farm over that way, think south of Bell City. Familiar with any Cormier's over that way?

[Ericdc]

That's north of sweet lake east of 27. Pretty good speck area.


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[Rick]

Just came across a seemingly plausible video on FB of small wad of working specks supposed to have been taken yesterday afternoon at Cormier Duck Farm over that way, think south of Bell City. Familiar with any Cormier's over that way?

Probably Damian Cormier's camp/farm on Gragg Rd. He's a Lake Charles chiropractor now but also a past state speck calling champ who guided for us some in the "way back when..." and knows a speck when he sees one.

[Darren]

Yea think that's him. His camp/farm has a FB page and they posted a video to it taken yesterday working a small lil wad. I'd try to link it but very low definition, still neat nonetheless !

[Rick]

Date: 9/22

Time: morning

Location: Mudhole

Cloud Cover: partly

Wind Direction and Velocity: SE light to moderate

Temperature: warm

Moon phase: 57% waning

Special Notes:

Waterfowl Activity: Saw some very high teal flights that couldn't be stopped doing what I was doing early on and others periodically until 8:30 or so, then nothing. Also saw the usual woodies, a sizable flight of spoons and a big for mottleds bunch of those.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: I apparently wasn't going crazy enough to break the teal early on, but got "lucky" when desperation set in enough to make me really amp it up. Also worked the ten or twelve mottleds that came in a knot oh, so prettily.

Hunters: 2 brothers, Bert and Carl

Guns:

Malfunctions:

Dog(s): Marsh did well and is a old hand at working the flotant now, but did get beat by a chipped bird in broken flotant.

Special Equipment: SOS

Curses: Had a kicking cripple snatched from under our noses in the middle of our spread by something none of us saw despite having been watching the crip at the time.

Kudos: Nice folks and nice to be seeing teal at least passing over the marsh again.

Birds By Species: 14 bw teal

Photo Ops: One of these times I'm going to catch a good shot of Marsh jumping back in the boat with a flotant bird, but not quite yet:

[Darren]

Also worked the ten or twelve mottleds that came in a knot oh, so prettily.

Well of course ! But you seem to have fair luck with them in regular season too compared to some. Ours are never to be worked and only seldomly stumble over the wrong spread at the wrong time