Duck Season 2025-2026

[Duck Engr]

Nothing more rewarding than when a new plan comes to fruition!!

[DComeaux]

Awesome, Darren. I want to be in the blind.

[Darren]

The fog's been no fun for sure, was a welcome change to run the boat and be able to see. Looks like fog is back for next few days, I'm on a break until probably Saturday.

[Darren]

Sat. 12/27/2025
Bunkie area farm
Johnny and his son Cody joining my son and I with Harry
60's, fog light to moderate, light to decent winds from SSW

Usually the fog treats us well up there but I think the pattern of fog and light southerly winds has just gotten stale and lost its effect given it's been this way over a week now. Teal were largely no shows but did get to work a few groups of pintails mixed with spoons that was really enjoyable to watch, managed to scratch a couple of them. Otherwise, mostly had woodies tease us from their woodline preferred location, very little goose traffic. Of course while packing up a spoon dives into decoys and a lone speck comes looking low and talkative, grrrr.

2 pintails

drake was a good one

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We had a nice time, now scheming on next marsh hunt with Monday's weather turning, and also trying to build a new blind in the marsh at same time.

[Rick]

Neither Johnny or you can deny those are your boys.

[Darren]

Neither Johnny or you can deny those are your boys.

We get that plenty!

[Darren]

Sun 12/28/2025
HBFC - The Bend
Johnny and I with Harry
60s, winds SE 5-15, clear skies, fairly low water


Just a tad too low of water to hunt the new Roseau hole I hoped for, so tried a nearby area that has better water and a location that looked pretty strategic when I scouted the area last week. Despite it being so darned stale of weather, ended up seeing fair few grays in the same area they’ve been trafficking….including those dropping into the hole we wanted to hunt. Let a few get out that shouldn’t have but glad to have what we did. Wad of green wings bailed out just before finishing for us right as we were packing up. Big front coming in tonight so tomorrow is weather shakeup we are overdue for, but tides will be getting very low, very soon.

3 grays

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Three more for the sausage pile

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Will had two green wings in our West Pond.

[Darren]

Just got in from a late-afternoon new blind install at the roseau hole from the 12/23 hunt. We got to watch ducks work it all morning from our vantage point just NE of it, and sure enough bumped a few on arrival. Took advantage of temporarily-UP tide to get boat and lumber in there to get the build done before it starts falling out in earnest tomorrow. On way in, put eyes on quite a few birds here and there nearly all the way in, biggest concentration of a few hundred being just above our northern boundary....nice to have them in the area.

Tomorrow could be one of those too much wind days, but only one way to go find out and we're down here.

[DComeaux]

Good luck. Wish I was headed to my blind in the morning.

[Rick]

Tomorrow could be one of those too much wind days...

Today is trash pickup day, and the first thing to catch Call's eye when aired this morning were the blown over bins by the road. Ours was heavy enough to stand proud, but I righted some of the neighbors' - and will be interested to see if that was wasted effort. Know I'm wishing I'd gone back out and pulled my spinners yesterday morning.

[Darren]

Mon. 12/29/2025
HBFC South Roseau Blind (location of yesterday evening's build)
David B. joining Johnny and I with Harry
post-front sporty conditions, rippin North winds 25-30, gusting over 40, cloudy, 60s falling to low 50s during hunt, low water steadily falling on us

Front arrived at the camp with all its screaming winds just a few minutes before we shoved off, had hoped to maybe beat it for a smooth ride out but nope we caught spray off the bat, white caps in camp canal. Managed to get into the hole we wanted and settle into the new blind, saw some early grays but not much for teal. Overall not whole lot wanted to get right for us with all the wind, absolutely just too much. Saw quite a few birds overall, many on a line just south of us and staying there. The grays that got in wouldn't quite get close enough before bailing in the strong wind. Wad of green wings came mixed with, and led by, a wad of some kind of shorebird. Got out of there for 8:20a with mud flats growing.

(5) 1 gray, 3 GW teal, 1 dosgris
*lost one other gray

Blind largely unbrushed for now, knew it likely wouldn’t matter for today’s conditions

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I think it might be a while before we get to hunt down here again from forecasts I’m seeing between the tides and the predicted wind direction.

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Will had a solo limit of teal and a gray in our West Pond.

[Darren]

With the way the tide timings are later this week, wondering if an afternoon hunt might be worth a shot. We've never really done those at this place but when the water returns to the ponds, have to figure the birds do too. I know in Venice that's a common tactic.

[Darren]

Tides are still (very) inconveniently (very) low in the mornings down at the marsh for likely the next few days at least so we're planning for a field hunt tomorrow. With the warm up and the good south winds going on and forecast, hoping it shakes things up.

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[Darren]

Fri 1/2/2026
Bunkie farm
Johnny with my son and I, and Harry
South winds 5-15, cloudy, 50s to start

Birds were getting up in the field all around in the dark as we walked to the pit from the truck, wonderful sounds of fowl in the air as we got set up. As we caught some glow, could see hundreds of ducks working field. Mostly pins but lots of spoons and few teal. While they do want the field really bad, they do NOT want the decoy holes or the pit so had to scratch what we could. Started off with a speck and scratched at ducks thereafter. Really phenomenal sights all morning, though not many others shooting, was just apparently our turn. Left em flying

(12) 9 spoons, 1 pintail, 2 blue wing teal + 1 speck


Harry watching the pintails swarm

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Sounds like maybe some others are trying it tomorrow so may get a report. Still no water in the marsh so may just hold tight til late next week when our water is back.

[Ericdc]

Our spoons left during the split. You're welcome. Lack of teal is very troubling.


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[Darren]

Down at the camp this morning, 72 degrees clear skies and a stout SE wind that thankfully brought our water back. Will and I on a play hunt with both dogs, we'll go see! Looks like there are storms in Baton Rouge

[Darren]

Fri 1/9/2026
HBFC A51 blind
Will and I with our dogs Harry and Loki
70s!, wind SE 5-10, clear to pt cloudy

Great wind on boat ride out kinda fizzled on us during the hunt but didn’t end up mattering much. Green wings were out and about and mostly worked us well and we shot well with the ops given. I tripled on a group at 7 to finish my 6, Will got two, and we stayed another 10 whole minutes to wrap him up at 7:10 or so. Thankfully, as the gnats were showing with the winds not being as advertised. The grays we saw were plainly hip to our games and stale, the one we killed was the most friendly of a small group that stayed out on our edge. Post-hunt rode some other holes of ours and found good many hanging out at The Puddles and South Roseau. Storms tomorrow AM, TBD.

(12) 11 GW teal, 1 gray
*6 of the GWT were drakes, not so hen-heavy as weeks ago.


So warm I hunted in my Doug’s t-shirt from LST on

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Dogs being dogs

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[Ericdc]

Good hunt. Still rolling. Am hoping for teal tomorrow morning with the clouds and NW winds.


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[Rick]

Jealous of your green-wings.

[Darren]

Good hunt. Still rolling. Am hoping for teal tomorrow morning with the clouds and NW winds.
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Winds should be gettin it for yall! Not really turning for us down here till later in the day but looks decent from SSW for LST.

[Darren]

Jealous of your green-wings.

Just so thankful for them, and so much fun. And (so far) have found at least one nice blue catfish off the dock that liked the hearts we kept for bait.

[Rick]

Eat the hearts and use the guts for fish bait.

[Darren]

Eat the hearts and use the guts for fish bait.

Prob could/should just as well use all duck hearts toward our sausage batch, I'd figure?? Most of our duck meat goes there these days.

Last season's batch made by:

https://doubledsausage.com/

[Duck Engr]

And the Season of Darren continues! Well done

[Darren]

Sat 1/10/2026
HBFC-South Roseau Blind
Johnny, Raymond and I with Harry
70s, mostly to partly cloudy then storms approaching, stout winds from SSW 15-20+

Nice to have formerly-regular but now a rarity Raymond back at the camp, made it down just in time for the sautéed crab claws appetizer then Nola-style bbq local shrimp. Had window to hunt ahead of arrival of nasty storm line this morning so were closely watching that to ensure we got in ahead of it. Grays were tough, didn’t want to really work right and initially teal were pretty scarce. Eventually made most of what did work to put a stringer together before our 9:30a hard deadline to begin picking up. Sure enough while taking pics some green wings lit on us, they were really just getting going when we HAD to go….perhaps tempting us into making a poor decision. Made it back to the camp with but a couple of minutes to spare. It’s a lot of fun hunting that Roseau patch the way the birds whip around it, great time. For first time I can recall I turned three dosgris with the teal call like I was their long lost mom.

(9) 3 dosgris, 3 blue wing teal, 3 green wing teal

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Just in time

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Wished we could have sat another 30-45 mins. Will and a buddy had 10 in our Heart Pond, mix of grays teal and dosgris.