2016-2017 Season Log

[Rick]

...I hope they were headed southwest.

Matter of fact, many were.

[Rick]

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

Well of course !

I know, I know, it doesn't count. But was still an "Oh, my1" time.

[Rick]

Date: 9/22

Time: afternoon

Location: Gueydan west

Cloud Cover: partly

Wind Direction and Velocity: south moderate

Temperature: would have been really hot without the breeze

Moon phase:

Special Notes: Had intended to sit out on the shooting this morning but panicked about making up a decent strap for the guys when I couldn't break the tall birds early on and shot a couple with them when things started clicking. Could only shoot four for the big dog this afternoon.

Waterfowl Activity: The guys (guides, friends and family) have been hunting the farm in packs this week, and have about broken the afternoon flight by staying too late to fill out and not giving the birds a chance to take it during shooting hours. (But they've had a lot of fun.)

Waterfowl Responsiveness: As with our last trip there, Peake and I stayed on the west end, away from the other two parties and chipped at the few that dropped from high before they got over the middle of the farm, Again had best luck with the teal cut MVP. (While the teal cut Daisy Cutter again held sway in the marsh this morning.)

Hunters: Just the big dog, Peake, and I.

Guns:

Malfunctions: I remembered the spinner wings today, but forgot the decoys at the house, and Peake started his afternoon by spotting the mid farm's party going in and taking off in the wrong direction to meet them. So I we lost ten minutes or so to letting the old deaf dog discover his mistake and return to me.

Dog(s): The above malfunction was a reminder that I have no business using him with paying parties again, as was my inability to stop him to handle on the first long fly-off he didn't see go down and the hike out there with him.

Special Equipment: a standard size spinner

Curses: Just that my friend is old.

Kudos: Through it all we passed a fine time I'm hoping we'll find time and place to repeat throughout however many seasons he wants to go.

Birds By Species: 4 BW teal (2 drakes, 1 hen and 1 unk)

Photo Ops: Hot but happy:


A duck in duck salad, who woulda thunk it?


Lagniappe: The old coyote signed off on his official retirement from professional waterfowling in a way that would make his nick-namesakes proud when I chipped a third bird in a row. When he finally got to it, he picked it up and gulped it right down while I watched in shame, embarrassment, anger and, in the end, amusement. Proper behavior be damned, he's decided he can dang well be a dog if he takes a mind to. And I don't mind. He's earned it.

[Rick]

Addendum to 9/22 morning birds by species: 9 drakes and 4 hens

[Ericdc]

Hahaha he ate the whole thing?


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[DComeaux]

He does look happy.

[Rick]

Hahaha he ate the whole thing?

Not just the bill he's been known to occasionally clip, the whole thing. Saw he was working pretty hard on what I'd guess the head, started out there to meet him about it and watched it go down.

[Rick]

He does look happy.

Poor dog didn't seen the first bird bleed out and fall, and after we'd slogged 192 much shorter than yard-long steps of sticky bottom to where I was sure taking a decent line would put him on it without further handling, he was returning with it when another came by and I chipped it off, too. Eventually got that one in hand and back to our hiding spot, only to chip yet a third well out, which he may have eaten in protest.

Finally killed our last one dead as most should be, and he brought it to hand without hesitation and so gently that what had transpired five or ten minutes earlier might never have happened.

[Deltaman]

Great report and pics Rick! Love the pic of him sitting in the shadows, so attentive and ready for action. You can see the WANT in his eyes, beautiful!!!!!!

[Rick]

Great report and pics Rick! Love the pic of him sitting in the shadows, so attentive and ready for action. You can see the WANT in his eyes, beautiful!!!!!!

Thanks, but you're not making me feel any better about the need to leave him at the house when guiding. Not sure which of that hurts worse.

[Ericdc]

Well if he's eating your ducks that's fine, but not paying hunters.


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[Rick]

Date: 9/23

Time: morning

Location: Mudhole

Cloud Cover: partly

Wind Direction and Velocity: southerly moderate

Temperature: ok

Moon phase:

Special Notes:

Waterfowl Activity: Didn't see quite as many teal as yesterday but enough for a fun morning.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Still couldn't break the earliest high flights south and somehow lost a couple later ones that broke and power dove behind the blind arcing our way when I let off the call and told the guys to be ready. Assume they did as greenwings broken from high so often do in the big season and got over the chain of open water behind me and followed it on off. Can't say for sure, though, because I've left the canes behind too thick to see. (Will thin for better visibility in the regular season, but know weathering between now and then could leave it too thin if I do it now.)

Hunters: 2, brothers Bert and Carl again

Guns:

Malfunctions:

Dog(s): Marsh lost a tipped crip I should have handled differently and that a more experienced dog probably would have found, anyway.

Special Equipment: SOS

Curses: Just the lost bird.

Kudos: Pretty morning with nice folks who shot well enough to make their own hunt.

Birds By Species: 17 bw teal (13 drakes, 3 hens and one tiny bird showing no color on coverts at all.

Photo Ops: Took these just after D Comeaux texted me asking for a marsh picture to get him through the work day before he could go to camp:






Lagniappe:

[Ericdc]

I hope there will be a decent flight for us to close it out tomorrow north of creole. Forecasting sun and a SE wind...could be worse.


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[DComeaux]

Beautiful Bird

[Rick]

Funny how they seem to color up without a real eclipse phase. We've seen next to none without good color and those few that are lacking it are plainly small, very immature birds.

[Ericdc]

I figure they stay pretty hidden and low key when they are flightless during eclipse molt.


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[Ericdc]

But that bird is very colored for September. The ones we saw 2 weeks ago weren't that bright. He must have molted early.


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[Ericdc]

As you can see, 2 of my drakes are getting pretty colorful while the other is way behind.


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[Rick]

Date: 9/24

Time: morning

Location: Mudhole

Cloud Cover: clear

Wind Direction and Velocity: Easterly nil to nil

Temperature: warm

Moon phase: 37% waning

Special Notes:

Waterfowl Activity: Thought we'd see more birds courtesy of rice hunting activity, but that didn't happen. Heard next to no shooting from rice and saw the fewest birds of the past three days.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: When the first few high bunches blew over with little or no response to the call and nothing was flying low, I thought we were screwed. But getting serious rowdy on the call finally started working, and there were eventually even a few low birds working the marsh that could be talked into a mistake with momma calling.

Hunters: 1, Carl went back to MS, but Bert hunted again.

Guns:

Malfunctions:

Dog(s): Marsh had a really good morning.

Special Equipment: SOS

Curses: Just the disappointing flight, and the folks (Doug's great grandson and his dad) I put in what's normally our marsh's strongest blind scratched.

Kudos: Bert shot well, and we made a sweet hunt out of what could well have been quite skinny for most parties by killing our teal in bunches.

Birds By Species: 12 bw teal (8 drakes and four hens)

[Ericdc]

Wanted to try your power calling method but had next to nothing to call at and low singles and small groups didn't want to play.


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[Rick]

Date: 9/24

Time: afternoon

Location: Gueydan west

Cloud Cover: partly

Wind Direction and Velocity: SE moderate

Temperature: breeze was a blessing

Moon phase:

Special Notes:

Waterfowl Activity: Slower starting, but still a sweet flight when it came, and the birds had plainly been beaten out of the middle and east ends they'd favored by the heavy pressure there and were dropping on our west end for the first time since I've been out there.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: Birds came as they should for what should have been a quick shoot, but Mike was rusty and DOC was untrained...

Hunters: 1, Mike, my favorite partner for years until marriage cut out most of his field time

Guns:

Malfunctions:

Dog(s): DOC (Department of Corrections - Mike's a sheriffs deputy and was a jailer for some time) an untrained young Chessie that struggled with the new game. Didn't take Marsh for backup because DOC doesn't play well with others.

Special Equipment: big spinner and five big, dark decoys that stood out

Curses: Mike, who used to be an excellent shot, had the chips and killed but one bird cleanly, and DOC was totally unprepared for what that meant.

Kudos: Was great to be able to treat an old friend who so seldom gets to go any more.

Birds By Species: 6 bw teal

Photo Ops: DOC and Mike working out their kinks:


Was a whole lot of hiking:


And even some kinda-sorta retrieving:

[DComeaux]

Fine looking piece of water

[Ericdc]

Tough when you have an untrained dog wasting valuable hunting time.

So he got married and just enjoys spending more time at home or the wife doesn't want him hunting?


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[Darren]

Rick, this is flooded st land? What's with all that hyacinth? Am I mis-ID'ing?

[Rick]

Tough when you have an untrained dog wasting valuable hunting time.

So he got married and just enjoys spending more time at home or the wife doesn't want him hunting?

She keeps him busy with her family's stuff, but he seems happy. And it was his hunt and dog, and this being the last weekend, not being able to get in and out while the birds are still flying isn't as important as it might otherwise be.

[Rick]

Rick, this is flooded st land? What's with all that hyacinth? Am I mis-ID'ing?

It's the same mostly duck salad covered ag field in the photos of my old guy above. Don't know what the somewhat bigger and rounder leafed plants are, but they're not hyacinths. Though I guess it might look like hyacinth clumps floating loose in the part that's been buffaloed in an unnecessary attempt to make an open water show.

[Ericdc]

Tough when you have an untrained dog wasting valuable hunting time.

So he got married and just enjoys spending more time at home or the wife doesn't want him hunting?

She keeps him busy with her family's stuff, but he seems happy. And it was his hunt and dog, and this being the last weekend, not being able to get in and out while the birds are still flying isn't as important as it might otherwise be.

Yea that's true. I guess if they are paying and it's a field and not the mudhole it's not as big of a deal. He got his limit.


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[Rick]

Mike wasn't paying, just an old friend I wanted to share a hunt with. Expect to do so again this afternoon, and if another such can't join us, I'll leave my pup at home again and see if DOC doesn't do a bit better then.

[Rick]

Date: 9/25

Time: morning

Location: Mudhole

Cloud Cover: partly with rain cells to the south

Wind Direction and Velocity: southerly moderate

Temperature: still warm

Moon phase:

Special Notes: Last day of September teal.

Waterfowl Activity: Next to no other shooting could be heard and none from the rice around our marsh, so I wasn't hopeful, but enough flew to make it a nice morning.

Waterfowl Responsiveness: First few high bunches bore on by as has been happening, but eventually was able to start setting the hook. Also had more low, easily worked groups come by than expected.

Hunters: 2, Jay and Paul

Guns:

Malfunctions:

Dog(s): Marsh had a very easy morning with few on the flotant.

Special Equipment: SOS

Curses: none whatsoever

Kudos: That Jay and Paul made a lottery hunt on the White Lake Complex marsh yesterday had me worried about stinking by comparison, but we had a pretty shoot and big time. Great guys who would have passed a fine time regardless.

Birds By Species: 18 bw teal (13 drakes and 5 hens)

Photo Ops: Jay and Paul:


Woodies still helped pass the time between teal, with this one nearly coming in the blind with us:




And being a great fan of the September teal season, I found our last ride out kind of sad despite our success: