Post-Season Ramblings - Spring 2026

[Rick]

Call and I made it to the marsh earlier this week, and the water's pretty much where it needs to be for June gator nesting to be safe from all but a major storm's flooding. Which is a good thing for our coming egg season.

Saw more gators than ducks of any sort but still got the itch and finished the last of my remodeling projects. Well aside from installing some hooks in the boat hide's roof supports to hold a spare "blind gun" out of the way and weather.

[Darren]

Sounds like a nice spot for a spare gun!

In our fishing outings I'm seeing native roseau patches coming along nicely so will presume ours on the lease are doing same. We've got some minor blind work to be done and tides have been up, now would be the time to get boats to blinds and knock out those efforts.......but everyone just wants to fish. We are also now finally past spring gnat season so it's safe to get out there in the bushes.

[Darren]

Paperwork (and of course fees) went out via mail today to landholder for our little club in the SE La salt marsh.


Johnny and I and my son gave the fish a try with limited success, highlights being some big fish we landed and put back after photos

Graham started us pretty early with this one on a shell reef we were catching a few trout on

redfish May 2026.jpg

Then it was my turn, thought I had a rock, then it realized it was hooked:

rods May 2026.jpg

black drum May 2026.jpg

toothy trout

trout May 2026.jpg

Raised boats extra high in the hoists, expecting some elevated tides later this week from a little low pressure system that likely puts water over the dock. It's that time.......

We're supposed to head down the following weekend for a rodeo, but TBD on what the weather outlook is at that time.

[Darren]

Caught this episode of Standard Sportsman over the weekend while cooking. Had a few quotes of note:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/3izP0y ... EMrKUMrV6A



Guest, longtime hunting farm broker in the area, with the same outfit that Brent B now works for, no need to name on here as his name isn't critical to the premise:

Guest talking about potential of neighboring clubs being adverse to your own goals:

This guy's running a commercial hunting outfit, they sit in the pit every single day with the same decoys" implying that to do so is just the death of the hunting there and the areas surrounding it......

But this is the exact practice of some of the most long running/storied/successful of many of Louisiana's historic clubs. Yes the decoys were there all season, yes the blind was hunted every day, when it was like it should be/used to be, it didn't matter. And even in today's situation, success is still pretty danged impressive. See note from previous post on this: We are not playing the same game; what Ark knows of ducks, is very different from what La knows of ducks, historically speaking.

Another quote:

Guest:

Planting for ducks based on what they can afford to manipulate, or grow I should say, not for production. And I don't see that changing any time soon.

Cason S. immediately chimes in: "That's a word you try not to use a whole lot...."