Preseason 2023

[Ericdc]

We started hunting over silo's last year and they are super easy to adjust each morning. Still used about a dozen FB's mixed in. Had very few speck ops last year, but the ones we shot were close.


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[Darren]

Know you've partners to contend with, but it's counterproductive over the long haul to put out any more speck decoys than you're willing to pick back up at hunt's end. End of sermon, do as you or they please.

Will be scaling way back this time around (thus no need for all those PVC poles I tossed), and from my early days hunting with E. Rue's crew learned that small spreads picked up and put out each day were undoubtedly the most productive. Then following along with your past afternoon outings (including one jam-up trip Beau & I attended) further cemented that concept. About every time I see Johnny lately something comes out along the lines of "We should STILL be back there trying to haul out all our specks from that afternoon trip after Christmas in Klondike." Adhering to your rule of thumb would have required all we had available to us to haul out our strap that evening.

We started hunting over silo's last year and they are super easy to adjust each morning. Still used about a dozen FB's mixed in. Had very few speck ops last year, but the ones we shot were close.

Likewise small sample size but I do have a dozen GHG silo's we tried out last season with some success, and loved how easy they were to move around, adjust for visibility, store away, etc. so that was much more conducive to picking up and putting out each hunt. Would like a concept you mentioned of the mix of them to be our main gig this year if possible, maybe 8-12 dekes at most, mix of silos and few of our best remaining FBs.

[Darren]

Another concept we're looking at is scaling back on the overall number of decoys, culling back to quality vs. quantity, emphasizing our growing collection of pins, spoons (bright, long distance show) etc. in favor of all the hodgepodge we've long been rolling with in large numbers.

What has long been something like 150 decoys, give or take 25 or so or more, may cut back in half or so, culling the weathered/older decoys we've been including simply for bulk. Saw some of our best success at season's end with fewest decoys of the season out.


Did note one fella off nearby road we drive regularly in that area......dekes still out in the pond as of Monday.

[Ducaholic]

Did note one fella off nearby road we drive regularly in that area......dekes still out in the pond as of Monday.

One thing is certain with them having been sun bleached for an entire year they will be noticed one way or the other good or bad

[Darren]

That's the new high-viz bright birds, kinda like those late-season mallard drake decoys some have peddled.

[Ducaholic]

That's the new high-viz bright birds, kinda like those late-season mallard drake decoys some have peddled.

I have seen em...they look nothing like this ole boy...

[Darren]

This week's drought monitor, getting ugly in the heart of the flyway, and down here in La getting colorful.

Lot of rain recently forecast, but its just not really showing up in significant volumes. The storms we get are often ugly/intense with severe winds and lightning, but they pass through too quickly to drop helpful quantities of precip. Rick's recent revelation of dry boat trails is evidence of just that and suspect my upcoming trip north to ag land will reveal much the same.

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[DComeaux]

This lack of rain is definitely helping our drying situation in our marsh. The water level at our boat launch is the lowest I've ever seen it, but the work that was done still leaves water in the boat runs. It will be an interesting season.

[Darren]

This lack of rain is definitely helping our drying situation in our marsh. The water level at our boat launch is the lowest I've ever seen it, but the work that was done still leaves water in the boat runs. It will be an interesting season.

The helping you condition is the hurting others condition, c'est la vie. Hope something in the middle shakes out so all can hunt who need the water to do so.

We're going to head north for a little work Sunday early AM, report back then.

[Darren]

Johnny and I headed up north to Avoyelles parish ag land dark and early with a list ahead of us. Started at pit to repair the lighting wire connections and immediately noticed the field is freshly levelled and levee raised about a foot from prior elevation, and all vegetation around pit sprayed. So no more rag weed but also likely killed any of what may have been successful transplants. In any case the entire levee is cleaned/scraped on the front cut side so its in good shape, we can easily bring in more cover when its time and hopefully some new grasses will grow in remaining timeframe. This grading change also puts the pit kind of on the slope of the levee so may help in our hiding efforts long term. Road used to be flush with levee top, now nearly a foot higher than it.

Went through all the decoys individually, probably 200 or so, and assembled an A-team of about 100 readied for deployment, and another 75 or so stored away (B Team), and threw away about a dozen and a half.

In pretty good shape overall up there now, decoys tagged and ready for deployment, blind is ready for brushing. New water control structure at far corner and new levees along woodline with a lot of cleaning up done along that tree line across from pit. Noticed overall a lot more beans in the region including in cuts that are usually rice. Maybe bean market is up??? Seems bizarre coincidence to have so much more of it than usual in the immediate area.

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new "sump" at southeast corner of field, complete with new culvert and control structure for boards to slide into

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dry dry!

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A-team lineup features more color overall with an emphasis on drakes; more spoons and pins, less mallards. Didn't realize just how many we'd had but they now mostly comprise the B squad.

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Given this condition here in mid-July, guessing no crop to be had here which is just fine. Should have quite a bit of slick water on and all around us

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Getting some wheels turning on a teal blind concept that will need to install next month in the marsh so now with the field gear straightened up, will turn attention to readying for Sept in the marsh

[Deltaman]

No mention of snakes? ha ha Glad to see that y'all are getting some of the prep work behind you, and hope Ma Nature treats you well with the moisture. Getting ready is almost as enjoyable as actually hunting, despite the work involved.

[Darren]

No mention of snakes? ha ha Glad to see that y'all are getting some of the prep work behind you, and hope Ma Nature treats you well with the moisture. Getting ready is almost as enjoyable as actually hunting, despite the work involved.

I've been packing along in the bike a new little knockabout .22 pistol I picked up back in the fall. Haven't seen an adversary since.

And you're spot on with the readying angle; it's year round enjoyment and takes the edge off of this countdown mentality I used to live by.

[DComeaux]

You have beans on the north side and nothing on the south?

[Darren]

You have beans on the north side and nothing on the south?

Beans to the immediate north, NE and NW, rice beyond that in the distant cuts. Front (south cut) has nothing and was plainly freshly graded. The farmer had long mentioned this field as having leveling issues and struggled with the levees against the tree line so they've apparently been putting in significant work in addressing those matters recently. An excavator was still on scene against tree line.

Not sure if those beans were planted later or what, but they didn't look so hot compared to some others on nearby farms. No matter for us anyway, not like we're reliant on the beans to be a food source for the birds, so that's why I'd just as well have a dirt field that gets flooded.

2016 and 2021 seasons were bean years, very good production for us, with the key being the big open flood instead of the dreaded 30-yard circle in front of pit on either side of levee grrrrrrrrrr.

[Duck Engr]

I would think that freshly leveled field would have time to sprout some natural grasses and millets if it gets sprayed for broadleafs

[Ericdc]

I hope the clean slick does better for you than us last year. I'm glad to be back in rice. I don't know if our field will be left in stubble post harvest or disked though. I've done well in both, but would like some standing stubble.


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[Rick]

I would think that freshly leveled field would have time to sprout some natural grasses and millets if it gets sprayed for broadleafs

May very well be planted in rice, which may or may not get headed out for duck feed, for crawfish propagation.

[DComeaux]

You have beans on the north side and nothing on the south?

Beans to the immediate north, NE and NW, rice beyond that in the distant cuts. Front (south cut) has nothing and was plainly freshly graded. The farmer had long mentioned this field as having leveling issues and struggled with the levees against the tree line so they've apparently been putting in significant work in addressing those matters recently. An excavator was still on scene against tree line.

Not sure if those beans were planted later or what, but they didn't look so hot compared to some others on nearby farms. No matter for us anyway, not like we're reliant on the beans to be a food source for the birds, so that's why I'd just as well have a dirt field that gets flooded.

2016 and 2021 seasons were bean years, very good production for us, with the key being the big open flood instead of the dreaded 30-yard circle in front of pit on either side of levee grrrrrrrrrr.

Many, many moons ago I had the opportunity to hunt the rice in Gueydan with whom I'll call my mentor. He was doing the blind and decoy set up labor for some lessors from out of town. He was allowed to hunt when the blind was vacant and I'd get the highly anticipated calls during the week to join him. I'd have to call in last minute, evening before to take off of work the next day. I think I would have quit my job if they would have given me a hassle. I was just out of high school joining the work force.

In these rice setups the decoys were placed in the combine ruts and small openings in the stubble, no manipulation of the stubble was done in large areas. Maybe a foot stomp to place a decoy. The flood level was held to nothing more than sheet water, with deeper water in the ruts. Standing in the blind at eye level with the water, the blind dressed in bundled rice stubble collected from an adjacent cut we could only see a handful of the nearest of the hundreds of the deployed decoys.
The blinds were placed in the middle of the cuts away from levees, and if not for the thicker bundled rice stubble for camouflage stacked from the previous hunt it was hard to find the blind. For some reason I seem to remember the stubble in those fields not as thick as it is today, possibly mid season stubble break down, but they defiantly had dirtier fields and levees. Todays farmers are way too neat and clean for fowl.

[Darren]

Getting planted strictly for crawfish purposes in the spring is a very real possibility, and we can roll with that in event it occurs.

Given my own observations in the area, I'd much rather have the big "show" of water than trampled down stubble of any kind. I've found the birds love to work and work far and wide on the big wide floods and can be brought to the decoys with calling. Just seems with the stubble they act like they're being forced into something they dont want to do. We've killed plenty with stubble, sure, but mostly after it's either flooded up over most of it, OR trampled by fowl, or most likely both, and that's not usually the case until well into January.

Give me wide open slick water that's but 2-3 inches all day long. How shallow? In season before last I witnessed a green wing walking in our decoys. Now that water got to be a bit too-skinny at times when rains were sparse but you get the idea, and it was productive as all get out. The dogs loved it, they could literally run down cripples that couldn't dive under and swim on them due to the shallows.

That said, a full foot deep is just about as fine with me. Deeper water shows ripples well with little wind, and the birds dont know it to be too deep until too late.

[Darren]

Just returned from quick business trip to Kansas. Looked to be a whole lot of farm potholes that were showing quite a bit of mud bank from my airplane window vantage point, same for some back-40 sloughs and other low areas, just puddles in the middle for some. Client contact up that way said spring and early summer were bone dry, little more rain lately.

[Darren]

Banded/GHG/Avery awfully hyped over these new splasher butts, but as I've already passed along to them, they're missing the mark and have failed to address the flaws of the Higdon design.......electricity doesn't like water, so stop putting the critical on/off power connection in a location that is submerged!!

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Their Instagram post announcing these was a circus show of adverse feedback basically stating "you copied what's already out there," so I opted to privately provide the feedback, of which was said to be passed along to design team. Other than the pump being oriented the wrong way (screen at bottom instead of against the decoy), the Lucky Duck versions are nearly perfect, with many improvements over the Higdon's.

[Darren]

Sure enough, it was August 2 when I got first report of teal for the 2023 season, a week or two earlier than usual for sure. If it weren't someone I knew I'd might question it but this is from a local guide that knows his birds and been at it in the area for over 5 decades. Delacroix area, and the particular area of it known to be teal haven (very shallow), much different from the part of Delacroix I hunt with deeper ponds.

"2 groups of four and a single on Saturday, group of 10 on Tuesday"

Maybe this week's big moon had a few on the move southward and the dry Midwest kept them going?

Speaking of leased ground, ours is still a bit up in air as we try to negotiate current terms for a 3-year extension, and/or adjust to a couple of tracts nearby that we know to be holding grays each year. Hoping to get this ironed out pretty soon, but we've also already committed to learning from the log, and the log says don't hunt the lease for teal season, so won't really need it for next month anyway.

[BGkirk]

Darren,
Brings that ya are tidal (I assume) do ya ever worry about water levels due to lack of rain?


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[Darren]

Nah, rain plays pretty much zero influence on our water levels, negligible influence compared to what the tide and wind do. We have been in a westerly wind pattern all summer so water levels have averaged lower than usual but only those that pay close attention would even notice. September we usually have an easterly wind pattern so that brings water in from outside (bays and sounds) so lil higher in the marsh typically.


Speaking of rain, none to be found here in La today so far, but “go rain go” up in the Dakota’s:

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[SpinnerMan]

Speaking of rain, none to be found here in La today so far, but “go rain go” up in the Dakota’s:

We've been rain pretty much nonstop since 7AM this morning. Boy did I screw up. I plowed one of the fall food plots earlier this week. I wanted to seed it before we got rain Sunday night so I didn't have to try to do that in the mud. Yesterday I agreed to go do stuff with my wife after work. Thought I could beat the rain today. Shouldn't take too long I was up and ready to start at 7AM

I don't see any way that I'm not going to have to wait a week, hope it dries out, and replow when I should have it in the ground, well rained in and probably sprouted by the time I get it in the ground now.

[Duck Engr]

It never fails!

[SpinnerMan]

It never fails!

It wasn't as bad as I feared. A little more work and a lot more mud on my boots, but I got it planted. Should be getting another good soaking tonight.

[Darren]

Forecast for the week down here is basically negligible rain chances each day, and highs hovering about 100. Very unusual, when a more typical summer pattern would be highs in mid to upper 90s with a daily 30-40% chance of rain.

The consistent wind direction of WSW to WNW tells me it's just the same dominant high pressure pattern in place for the foreseeable, well beyond this week. Ran some models this morning to find much of same temps well out 2-3 weeks from now, and very little rain passing through state of Louisiana.

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I wouldn't bet a whole lot that those (cooler) highs in the upper 90's shown for next week materialize, as this week was supposed to be one like that too, as of forecast a week ago.

[Darren]

But hey maybe some good news to pass along, though maybe a lil warm at the north end. This is for January

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[Ericdc]

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