Category: Texas

Posted By:
emcdonough
Web Member

Terrell 11-19-2011 22:24
Mostly Cloudy, No Precipitation – 45-50 Degrees
The opening two weeks have produce 4 limits of gadwall, teal and wood ducks. Can’t wait for the next big front before Thanksgiving.

Posted By:
dwilliams3
Web Member

SE TEXAS Marsh 11-19-2011 08:52
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Thanksgiving week means the start of the Duck hunting for us. I’ll have a report next Friday.

Posted By:
Swamp Gas
Web Member

Doun der 10-27-2011 23:52
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Heard there are tons of spoonies staging to the North. Be patient boys, they will be there soon.

Posted By:
DukGuy
Web Member

Extreme Drought Conditions across Texas 10-20-2011 14:23
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Check out the drought condition map at http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/ most of Texas is experiencing D3 and D4 level extreme and exceptional drought conditions. Wetlands will suffer terribly this year.

Posted By:
aussie05
Web Member

SE Texas 07-24-2011 17:38
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Everyone just ignore Click. There are no ducks in SETX. I hunt with him and all we really shoot are a few teal, but mostly coot. I shot a double banded bull coot last year, but didn’t mount it. I practice shoot and release when possible. Thank you.

Posted By:
folkenson
Web Member

Elcampo-Eagle Lake 12-03-2010 08:18
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 35-40 Degrees
Hunted Geese for two days. Day one only three specks and one Lesser Canada saw more dark geese but more Snows since the 15th when I last hunted. On day two got sven specks with very large numbers of Snows. Guys in the aera have reported large new numbers of birds from the last cold front with ducks coming in one fiels with water held 300-500 ducks a week ago and now has numbers in the 1000’s. They feel hunting ducks after the split will be great.

Posted By:
folkenson
Web Member

Garwood 11-15-2010 18:55
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 50-60 Degrees
Hunted two days last week one day for geese and one for ducks. We got 10 Specks and 7 mixed ducks. The specks are all over and very few Snows I would say I say under 500 in two days and lots of high flying ducks. Hoping with the bad weather up North the Snows make a push down. Four weeks and will be in the panhandle for great hunting.

Posted By:
mallardman314
Guest

10-28-2010 13:36
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how bout them giants or as u mexicans/texicans would say gigantes.

2nd place is like kissing your sister boys, it just aint he same,, unless your dwilliams3,, then its ok

Posted By:
Derek-McDaniels
Guest

Haskell TX 10-25-2010 14:36
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good numbers of birds in the area. Specs are also starting to show up. plenty of water also should be a good year.

Posted By:
John-Donelon
Field Editor

Lake Granger 10-01-2010 12:09
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Thanks D. Williams3,you are only one who I got a response from.Guess not too many duck hunters in Round Rock area.

Posted By:
dwilliams3
Web Member

10-01-2010 07:34
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John, My Son is an duck hunter and he lives in Round Rock. When he has the urge to hunt, he heads to the coast or the east Texas lakes. He’s never mentioned any real action on Lake Granger.

Posted By:
John-Donelon
Field Editor

Granger Lake 09-28-2010 11:32
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Update my post from 9-27.The name of the lake is Granger lake,is operated by Corps of Engineers,not far fcrom Round Rock.Thanks for any information.

Posted By:
John-Donelon
Field Editor

Ganger Lake 09-27-2010 14:16
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My son lives in Round Rock.Visited with him this past week,we went to Ganger Lake.He and I try to get together each season for a few days of hunting.He is new to the area,had lived in Wisugara Falls before.We were told duck hunting is done in this area,could anyone shed some light on this as a hunting spot we could use for a few days. Thanks for any help.

Posted By:
Derek-McDaniels
Guest

Haskell co 09-22-2010 20:17
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Been a slow start for the blue bommers they are all spread out with all the sheet water around. We have shot a 10 man limit every time but it’s taken a ton of miles to find a good shoot. Dove have been awesome and now the northern doves are starting to move into the area.

Posted By:
folkenson
Web Member

southwest of Garwood 09-11-2010 20:45
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – Over 70 Degrees
Eight hunters and got 30 Blue wings. Talked to a guy and they got nine limits in 30 minutes. Will do it again on Sunday.

Posted By:
khf55555
Guest

Crowell,texas 08-06-2010 17:52
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Does anybody hunt dove in this area? If so whats it look like up there this year?

Posted By:
CLICKSTER
Web Member

up your ass you would know it! 02-02-2010 15:03
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we smoked there arses this year! shot 287 ducks with my boat bringing out 568 total. we had a jam up year. rice or no rice they got to come south. and when they do i’ll be waiting on them with cold fast steel!

Posted By:
dwilliams3
Web Member

01-31-2010 15:12
– – –
Texas rice production this year was off by 87% from 5 years ago.

I guess that explains why waterfowl numbers were so pitiful this year.
If Texas doesn’t start feeding them again…
Texas duck hunting is history.
The birds go where the food is.

Posted By:
khf55555
Guest

cooper lake 01-21-2010 08:03
Cloudy, High Winds – 50-60 Degrees
Last hunt this season sucked just like the whole year. Not many hunters or ducks. MAYBE NEXT YEAR.

Posted By:
John-Donelon
Field Editor

Texas 01-18-2010 13:17
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Rerog27
This does not suprise me at all,had same problem a year ago when I was seeking some information on a certain area,the reply I got back was just “scout”

Posted By:
Rerog_27
Web Member

coming down this week 01-18-2010 01:25
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WOW! I can’t believe nobody hunt’s down here! LOL
No post’s since December 29,2009

Posted By:
CLICKSTER
Web Member

JD murphys wildlife refuge 12-29-2009 13:41
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 35-40 Degrees
been hunting this wildlife refuge all season! hunted it about 35 times so far. they have a north side which is leved compartments and the south side which is off of Kieth lake. Duck are plentyful on the south side. killing tons of teal bw and gw, gadwall and the occasinal pintail or mallard, or wigeon. like i said i have hunted it atleast 35 times with two or three guys and only once came out without the limit. and we are in the center of the flooding where the hurricane hit Port Arthur. we have hundreds of thousands of ducks here and they been here since before the split!

Posted By:
dwilliams3
Web Member

Central Texas 12-06-2009 10:17
Cloudy, Light Rain & Drizzle – 35-40 Degrees
This site has hurt ever since Hurricane Ike.
The majority of it’s hunters were/are in SE Texas.
Since the storm driving in all the salt water and killing the marshes, hunting in that area is almost dead.
It will come back, bit it will take several more years.

Posted By:
srdc/caller
Guest

12-02-2009 10:12
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recko33 did u send me a pm? I couldn’t open and deleted in error. If so try again. thx

Posted By:
srdc/caller
Guest

Trinity River bottoms private ground 11-30-2009 11:34
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The last ten days of the first split brought some mallards in, but still not a large amount of ducks around. A few large flats of water holding some pintails, but still need a real cold front on this full moon. It seems if the ducks get here, they will stay given all the water.

Posted By:
Derek-McDaniels
Guest

Haskell 11-29-2009 18:44
Cloudy, High Winds – 40-45 Degrees
Had another great weekend out west shooting geese. Had a good push of new geese hit the pond last night mostly lessers.not seeing many ducks. But have heard the guys are doing ok on the area lakes.

Posted By:
srdc/caller
Guest

Navarro/Henderson Trinity Bottoms 11-18-2009 13:05
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – –
Early season has been awful. A few woodies, a few gadwall..that’s it. Lots of water, no big ducks! It is so pretty that the ones that are here just sit in the sun and swim. We need the middle of the country to get real cold. Hell, its mild in Canada.

Posted By:
khf55555
Guest

11-15-2009 18:44
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SUCKS!!!!!!!!!

Posted By:
khf55555
Guest

11-15-2009 18:43
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not much reporting in texas. this site SUCJHS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted By:
khf55555
Guest

Toledo bend 10-27-2009 15:04
Cloudy, Light Rain & Drizzle – 50-60 Degrees
Saw 5 teal 7 woodies and thats its!! Water everywhere.

Posted By:
Derek-McDaniels
Guest

Haskell 10-25-2009 19:11
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Had a great weekend good number of ducks.Saw some new geese arriving this morning.

Posted By:
dwilliams3
Web Member

10-01-2009 16:25
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Derek…
Are the old peanut field lakes holding any water up there yet? Kyle Yeates owns one for hunting.. but it’s been dry the past 5 years.

Posted By:
khf55555
Guest

09-29-2009 11:56
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Hey Derek drop me a e-mail if you would. kylef@att.net would love to talk to you.

Posted By:
Derek-McDaniels
Guest

Haskell 09-27-2009 20:54
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 60-65 Degrees
Had another great weekend .Ended the weekend with a 9 man limit.Saw more big ducks this weekend and the first geese of the year fri.night scouting.Can’t wait till November and the geese.

Posted By:
khf55555
Guest

Crowell 09-27-2009 16:51
Mostly Sunny, No Precipitation – Over 70 Degrees
No doves!!! But 1 of our ponds had about 40 teal and 10 pins on it. Killed 8 teal that afternoon and killed 5 that morning.

Posted By:
Derek-McDaniels
Guest

Haskell 09-13-2009 21:44
Cloudy, Occassional Rain Showers – Over 70 Degrees
Had a great weekend ! and some good rains out west was good to see . There are still great numbers of doves . Plenty of teal also both days had group of 10 guys and were shot out by 8:15 .

Posted By:
Muddy Bud
Guest

Back marshes of Nueces Bay 09-08-2009 10:02
Cloudy, Winds Calm – Over 70 Degrees
Mottled ducks and black bellied whistlers seem to be the majority of birds, all though there are some teal and a few big ducks in the area they are not as present as last week probably due to lack of fresh water.

[Edited By Muddy Bud on 2009-09-08 10:03]

Posted By:
Derek-McDaniels
Guest

parker /wise co. 09-05-2009 14:18
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Had a good opener close to the house bird numbers were great even better than last year.BUT they were gone this morning don’t think I saw 20 birds.Have a friend out in Haskell says ther are still plenty of birds there.

Posted By:
dwilliams3
Web Member

Throckmorton County 09-03-2009 14:43
Mostly Sunny, No Precipitation – Over 70 Degrees
Great opening for dove season.
We had 39 hunters Tuesday morning.
Every one of them limited out by 9:30am.

Posted By:
Anthony-Santoli
Field Editor

08-05-2009 13:57
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Brian Donovan, Nat and Texas guys…..I was looking at the weather monitor and noticed that it is roughly only 110 degrees on Southern Texas right now. Furthmore on the drought monitor,,,, Texas is basically dark red/black which is terrible. What do you guys think this will do to the ducks and geese as they ship their way South this fall ????

Posted By:
brian j. donovan
Field Editor

North Texas 07-30-2009 09:36
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – Over 70 Degrees
TP&WD is currently conducting a survey of waterfowl hunters seeking input on the proposed season frameworks and elimination of the Hunter’s Choice program. You can find the survey here:

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/business/feedback/public_comment/proposals/200908_late_migratory.phtml

Posted By:
brian j. donovan
Field Editor

North Texas 06-29-2009 08:00
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – Over 70 Degrees
DOVE, TEAL SEASONS SET

AUSTIN, Texas — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service SRC (Service Regulation Committee) has approved the 2009-2010 Texas dove season, including a 70-day season and 15-bird daily bag statewide, and a 16-day early teal season.

Additionally, the SRC approved moving the Texas South Zone dove season opening the Friday nearest Sept. 20, but no earlier than the 17th. This year the season will open Sept. 18.

Texas dove season in the North and Central Dove Zones will run from Tuesday, Sept. 1 through Sunday, Oct. 25 and reopen Saturday, Dec. 26 through Sunday, Jan. 9, with a 15-bird bag and not more than two white-tipped doves.

The South Zone dove season will run Sept. 18-Nov. 3, reopening Dec. 26-Jan. 17 with a 15-bird bag and not more than two white-tipped doves.

Possession limit is twice the daily bag for all migratory game birds except light geese, which currently does not have a possession limit.

The Special South Texas White-winged Dove Area will open to white-winged dove afternoon-only (noon to sunset) hunting the first two full weekends in September running from Sept. 5-6 and 12-13 and reopen when the regular South Zone season begins on Friday, Sept. 18 through Tuesday, Nov. 3 and again from Saturday, Dec. 26 through Wednesday, Jan. 13. The Special White-winged Dove Area season takes four of the allowable 70 days, so when the regular season opens, this area most close four days earlier than the rest of the South Zone. The daily bag limit is 15 birds, not more than four mourning doves during the first two weekend splits and 2 white-tipped doves. Once the general season opens, the aggregate bag limit will be 15.

The Service also approved a proposal to give TPWD the option to adjust a portion of the boundary of the Special White-winged Dove Area. This change would remove portions of Jim Hogg and Starr counties.

Texas’ 16-day September teal season will run Sept. 12-27.

The season for rail and gallinule is Sept. 12-27 and Oct. 31-Dec. 23; for snipe, Oct. 31-Feb. 14; and for woodcock, Dec. 18-Jan. 31.

Posted By:
dwilliams3
Web Member

Hubbard 01-24-2009 18:35
Cloudy, High Winds – 35-40 Degrees
Hunted the Hubbard area for the first time ever. I was surprised with what I saw. The area has about 5 or 6 major flocks of snow geese that probably total around 75,000.
For central Texas, that’s a pretty fair number of geese.

We’ll try them again during the electronic call season in February.

Interested: Try www.HOTguidedhunts.net

Posted By:
rdwaterdog
Guest

North of Kemp,TX 01-13-2009 14:32
Mostly Cloudy, No Precipitation – 35-40 Degrees
high NW winds from the front that hit on Friday night, we didnt think we were going to do that good on a private ponds we have been hunting all season. Turned out we got two out of the three limits just had to be sitting in the right spot(we moved once to get in a better position). We have been killing a consent 9 or 10 birds in the split season. Before the break we were taking 4 limits of widgeon, woods, gadwalls and mallards. Now were are just taking ringnecks, goldeneyes and gadwalls. Have not seen any widgeons for three weeks. A first time was a black bellied whistling ducks came thru with two passes we took three of the four.

We have not been putting much repeated presure on these ponds, not more then once a week and I think this has been keeping the birds in there.

Good luck
from East Texas

Posted By:
brian j. donovan
Field Editor

North Texas 01-09-2009 17:16
Mostly Sunny, No Precipitation – Over 70 Degrees
Sorry I’ve been scarce this season, but there hasn’t been a whole lot to report.

North Texas has been feast or famine for the majority of the season, with current conditions leaning rather heavily towards famine. While large numbers of mallards were present on area lakes (and all over North Texas, for that matter) after the second split opener, those numbers have steadily dwindled over the course of the last month. The bird of the hour is the gadwall, which has been the staple duck on both large and small water for a number of weeks now. The one bright spot is the number of pintails being taken in the area for the last two to three weeks. Many pinnies appear to have short-stopped on their way to the coast to enjoy the mild weather we’ve been having. What birds remain in North Texas are extremely stale and the best bet is a small spread on a small piece of water with little to no calling.

To delight of winter wheat farmers and the irritation of hunters, snow geese have failed to congregate in the Whitesboro to Dorchester corridor the way they have for the last couple of seasons, though there are a few more Canadas around than there have been. On the whole, the goose outlook is dismal right now and absent some very heavy snowfall in the middle Plains states, the conservation season may be a bust in this part of Texas.

Low water conditions persist in near West Texas and have limited duck hunting opportunities for many hunters in that area. There are, however, good numbers of geese with heavy straps being taken both in the fields and over water. Large numbers of sandhills are also being taken from Benjamin all the way up through Lubbock and beyond.

Posted By:
tylersmcdaniel
Guest

Cedar Creek 12-28-2008 11:21
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 30-34 Degrees – Open Water
You couldn’t have had more of a blue-bird day. My last time to hunt this spot was 1 week ago. There were lots of birds last time but there wasn’t ANYTHING to speak of expect for one area about 1000 yards away from us bird were going in a straight line to the area and I had my ideas.

We only shot at 1 group of mallards (8 total in the flock) and missed. I scouted after the hunt in the area I saw all the birds flying to. It was loaded with ducks. I didn’t disturb them so that so pay big dividends. I’ve thought that a couple of times this season so I better be due.

This year has been awful. I know this year they said the bird numbers are down but they seem way down to me. I’ve hunted many spots and it’s close to the same story in all the areas I’ve hunted.

I’m headed down to Choke in a couple of weeks. It’s been about 6 years since I’ve had the chance to make the drive from Dallas down there.

Posted By:
John-Donelon
Field Editor

Crowell Tx 12-26-2008 19:32
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Anybody read posts on this state.?Anyone that hunts have any information on Water conditions and birds in Cromwell area.

Posted By:
John-Donelon
Field Editor

Crowell area 12-22-2008 16:25
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A few years ago,when I had son living in Wichita Falls Tx.,my sons and I would get together every January and hunt that area.Always had fairley good success.Sayed at the Motel in Crowell.How has the water conditions been in that area?Are birds using the area?May plan a trip later in January.Any information would be appreciated,my friends and I will driving from Missouri,helpful if we had some information on the area.

Posted By:
tylersmcdaniel
Guest

Cedar Creek 12-21-2008 13:24
Cloudy, Heavy Fog – 60-65 Degrees
Really warm and foggy morning. There was consistent bird activity all morning, but the birds were very wary.

I like the area we hunted, but even being as concealed (camo-wise) as we were, we still stood out too much. There’s just no cover where we were at. I’m going to have to build out a natural blind as that would have paid very big dividends yesterday.

We only managed to scratch out a greenhead and a hooded merganser. If I would have had a blind made we probably would have been able to get our limits.

I was surprised that we didn’t run into any other hunters. I guess many folks have given up on this season.

Posted By:
tylersmcdaniel
Guest

Cedar Creek 12-16-2008 20:01
Arctic Blast – 25-30 Degrees – Open Water
Many more birds in an area I have hunted in 3 weeks. I need to get back out there for the morning hunt. There are such goods numbers that I should be in for a good hunt next go round.

The weather is just perfect for it. I really should have gone out there this morning.

I took some shots tonight but they were passing shots. I had my full choke in for that very purpose but I wasn’t hitting squat.

Concealment will be the key for the morning hunt. They are pretty wary. A few minutes building out a temporary blind will go a long way. The next two mornings should prove productive will all of the cloud cover.

There many more mallards than last time. I would say that was the predominant duck. Widgeons, wood duck and teal were out there too.

Posted By:
Muddy Bud
Guest

Zapata, Texas 12-10-2008 20:43
Sunny & Clear, High Winds – 45-50 Degrees
Just got back to work this morning and every tank in the ranch was covered in ducks. Looks like the front last knight brought in more than sleet. I have never seen so many gadwalls in one place. Gads make up the majority of the birds but I also saw Canvas Back ”they have been down here since early November” blue and green wing teal, widgeon, blue bills and pintails. I could actually see ducks dropping in all day to the tanks from the rig floor. I think these birds are roosting in the big water at night on nearby Falcon and coming to the tanks in the late morning and through out the day.

Posted By:
dwilliams3
Web Member

12-07-2008 14:52
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Muddy Bud, that’s the problem this year, little or no pressure translates into the birds forming massive feeding colonies.

I had breakfast with a biologist for the state yesterday morning. He doesn’t work directly with the ducks and geese, but many in his department do. He told me the hunting pressure on waterfowl in Texas is off over 60% so far this season. Said they bought the licenses back in September, hunted the doves early, but have not shown interest in the ducks and geese.

Posted By:
Muddy Bud
Guest

Ricardo Texas 12-07-2008 11:07
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 50-60 Degrees
We went out and hunted a partially cut winter peas field in northern Kleberg county on Sat. morning. The morning sounded promising with a large number of geese roosted up on a huge lake on the nearby King Ranch. We had a spread made up of about 150 dekes most of which were rags. About 07:00 the geese decided to come off the roost at the same time as so commonly done down here. Well any way they came right over our spread on the fringe of our shooting range, so we waited to see if we had some younger ones circle lower. We did and dropped 4 snows and 2 blues. The next flight was a few specks that came over about thirty minutes later and we got two. The wind had completly stopped by this time and flare after flare continued till 10:00 when we decided to call it quits. But over all this is a typical hunt for South Texas. There lots of geese down here but they are staying together in huge numbers.

Posted By:
dwilliams3
Web Member

12-06-2008 15:04
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Here’s a possible idea for you and I think you would find the landowners agreeable.
Think West. Stephens & Throckmorton Counties have tons of tanks on the varoius farms & ranches. They are usually loaded with ducks, as most of these farmers/ranchers plant winter wheat.

They do hunt quite a bit, but ducks are not on the adgenda. They hunt deer, turkey, hogs, but mostly quail. Getting permission to hunt these tanks usually only takes a visit with the landowner. As long as you leave the quail alone, they say “have at it.” We took over 200 last year, and the local game warden said that probably made up 90% of the total kill. People just don’t hunt them up there.

With little or no pressure on them the ducks almost become barn yard animals.
It’s a 3 hour drive from the Metroplex, but well worth it.

Posted By:
tylersmcdaniel
Guest

12-06-2008 09:40
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I appreciate the candid feedback and it all makes sense to me.

Thinking back on it (circa 2002) there used to be many reports that would come out of Devers and SE Texas, so I certainly concur with you there. Not only that, but I used to see reports from all over the state.

Somebody must be asleep at the wheel if they aren’t responding to your applications to be a Field Editor. That’s disappointing.

I can understand how money issues can create problems but duck huntes like us who take the time to post for our fellow hunters doesn’t cost anything. I enjoyed some of the other perks of the site but this section is the main driver for why I became a member. If this aspect of the site was “healthy” then I would still frequently visit and post.

This has been a down year. I hunt around the DFW area and there are very few places holding “ducky” water. Every lake in the state is low. I have been able to find some flooded back areas that have managed to retain water and those spots have proven to be the most productive. Big lake hunting (at least up here) is the worst I’ve ever seen. Ray Bob used to be decently productive and it’s a ghostland this year.

Scouting goes a long way in a year like this. Find back-water areas with food and you’ll find ducks. There’s not many spots like that but the upside there is that there’s a higher concentration of birds in those areas because of the limited availability of such places. It can be a good problem to have because we all know how too much water spreads birds out.

Ducks are so much smarter than people like to give them credit for. There’s a reason why you see them stacked up on tanks and farm ponds but then you go to a big reservoir 5 minutes down the road and you don’t see squat. Someday I will transition to private hunting because that’s where it’s at. Again, that’s my perspective for the areas I hunt. I have seen there decline over the years. There are still some prime public opportunities but I’m realizing you’ve got to pay to play.

Yeah, I agree with folks that say you don’t have to kill a duck every time you go out, but I know this much. If I went out every time and didn’t kill a duck I’d quit going out. We’re called duck hunters for a reason. If it was just/all about the experience they should call “experience hunters”.

Well, hopefully people will start chiming in more. There’s an old adage that says “you’ve got to give…to get.”

Posted By:
dwilliams3
Web Member

12-05-2008 16:39
– – –
Two possible reasons come to mind. I don’t have all the facts, but these two rank pretty high.

1. Hurricane Ike did a number on Duck & Goose hunting in the SE Corner of the state. For years, it’s overall been the hot side for hunting and posting on this site.
Salt water and ducks don’t get along too well when it comes to their food chain. On top of that, SE Texas (usually the wet corner of Texas) has been in a dry spell for months. They need the rain to flush out the salt deposits in the marshes. Without it, the recovery will be delayed. Hunting year 2008-09 is a bust for waterfowlers.
No way around it.

2. With SE Texas hunting slowed, I’ve visited other states on this board. There is much talk that this site is not delivering on all the perks and updates.
Many are saying it’s financial.

Either way, you are correct. The site is way less than it used to be. That’s sad. I really enjoyed coming here for years. It was a real asset and fun to visit. The only way it makes it is for the owners to get with the program. I don’t think Brian has posted in over a year now. I know that many other states are experiencing the same problem. I offered to help out as a field editor, and applied 4 times. I never got an answer back.

[Edited By dwilliams3 on 2008-12-05 16:43]

Posted By:
tylersmcdaniel
Guest

12-02-2008 12:22
– – –
Is Brian Donovan still our Field Editor? He used to contribute frequent and insightful reports.

The number of posts in general is way down this year. This used to be a very productive discussion board. Any ideas on why it’s fallen off so much?

Posted By:
tylersmcdaniel
Guest

near the Trinity River in north Texas 11-30-2008 19:44
Sunny & Clear, High Winds – 50-60 Degrees
Got my woodie limit which is always a great day for me. I completely blew an opportunity on two green heads that on jumped up as I approached my hunting area. I should have anticipated there being something other than woodies in the area I was going to hunt. It was a complete rookie mistake and I’m being hard on myself because I’ve yet to shoot a mallard this season.

I wasn’t going to do the evening hunt but with the split coming up I wanted some birds for some gumbo while I could still get them.

Posted By:
Muddy Bud
Guest

Laguna Madre 11-23-2008 09:41
Cloudy, Light Rain & Drizzle – 50-60 Degrees
Since I couldnt find any ducks in Port Bay I hunted some spoil islands north of the JFK bridge yesterday afternoon. One thing was evedent the major numbers of red heads and blue bills are not here yet but the ones that are here are decoying great. I did manage a limit with two Red Heads,one pintail and one green wing and a widgeon. The number of ducks seen was not the sun blocking clouds of birds that usually gets up during the last hour of shooting but it was steady. There will be huge numbers of Reds here after the split. If youve never witnessed the evening flight over the Laguna Madre in mid to late December and you love watching ducks you need to see this.

[Edited By Muddy Bud on 2008-11-23 09:44]

Posted By:
Muddy Bud
Guest

Port Bay Near Rock Port 11-23-2008 09:25
Cloudy, High Winds – 50-60 Degrees
Hunted the back of Port Bay Saturday and the duck action was pretty slow. We did manage to shoot two snows geese that drifted in off the bay right at us. We probably would have dropped a couple more but my gun jammed after the firt shot and my son was shooting a 20 gauge in 4 shot. One pintail and a ring neck was about the extent of our duck shoot. Those were the only 2 ducks seen all morning.

Posted By:
srdc/caller
Guest

Pierce Ranch/Wharton/El Campo area 11-21-2008 11:17
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 50-60 Degrees
6 of us hunted with WS Sherrill at the Pierce Ranch for three days this week. He has lots of pumped water and rice so he has the birds. No weather at all, pure bluebird golf weather. Limited on ducks every day. Only tried the geese one day..all our specks and 2 snows. His Phone # 979 532 1789, bookings are way down due to economy, lots of young snows, but you still need wind and clouds!! good hunting!!!

Posted By:
tylersmcdaniel
Guest

near the Trinity River in north Texas 11-19-2008 22:15
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – Over 70 Degrees
I knew what I was getting in for…wood ducks. I just love’m. Great looking and great tasting.

They started coming to roost about 20 minutes before sunset. I got my 2 bird limit pretty quickly. The birds just kept coming in. It was nice watching all the activity. I was wading out to the middle of this 100 yard long/10 foot wide slough to grab my ducks and the birds didn’t mind me. They kept on coming in.

I had a feeling I was in for it though. I knew it was going to be too deep to get my ducks. I wasn’t about to let two prized beauties like that go to waste so I stripped down and went for a swim. Thank the good Lord it wasn’t January or it would have been more uncomfortable than it already was. That’s the second time I’ve had to do that in my life and I’m sure it won’t be the last. I absolutely hate losing a duck.

I did see a few hooded mergansers. The were perfect specimens. I like to look at them but they aren’t worth a darn for eating so I pass on them. I was surprised to see diving ducks up in a slough like that. I have noticed that with hoodeds’ from time to time. That’s unlike what I’ve observed from other diver ducks.

Posted By:
Muddy Bud
Guest

Zapata, Texas 11-17-2008 20:46
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 45-50 Degrees
Got a break from work this morning and got a chance to run and check out Falcon Lake this morning. While observing from the bank I ran in to a local game warden and asked him about duck hunting on the lake. He told me hunting pressure down here was extremely light. He also stated that the duck numbers are realy high and I believe him. From the bank we saw huge morning flights of teal, pintails and gadwalls. Wave after wave of ducks flying in from North to South. I might bring my boat down here when I come back and hunt the second split before going back home.

Posted By:
dwilliams3
Web Member

11-15-2008 11:15
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They do the late season hunting about half way between Waco and Dallas.
It’s done in Winter wheat fields.
The vast majority of these bitds arrive after Christmas thru January.
There is very little hunting pressure in the area and the birds really ‘settle’ in.
The even do cow boarding, which is a blast.

Look under goose hunting at this site for information.
http://www.hunting-in-texas.com/hot.htm

[Edited By dwilliams3 on 2008-11-15 11:18]

Posted By:
Muddy Bud
Guest

11-14-2008 07:31
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dwill, I think you said most of their special conserv. hunting was done i Central Texas. Where about in Central Texas do they offer there late season hunting, when I asked my guide about their goose hunting he metioned the Bay City area and Waller County Texas. I have hunted around the katy area on a couple of occassions in the past 2 years with 2 different outfitters one of whom of which is very well known but I wont mention there name. Any way The first time I was there in 2006 on a two day hunt we shot seven geese, the next year with a different outfitter also a 2 day hunt we saw thousands of geese but we only shot 4 on a flurry sky bust. We shoot more geese than that down here in South Texas on a morning hunt. But if you say Central Texas conservation order hunting is better then I sure would like to look in to it. How have ya’ll done on past hunts to this area?

Posted By:
dwilliams3
Web Member

11-13-2008 13:59
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Muddy, you need to give 1A’s goose hunting a shot. It’s the real deal. Especially in the extended season.

http://www.hunting-in-texas.com/hot.htm

[Edited By dwilliams3 on 2008-11-13 14:02]

Posted By:
Muddy Bud
Guest

Port Bay Near Rock Port 11-13-2008 10:33
Sunny & Clear, High Winds – 60-65 Degrees
On Sunday morning my son and I hunted the south end of port bay and shot our limits in a couple of hours. Blue bills and Red heads being the majority of ducks coming in. We did shoot a few teal and two pinnys. The big bulk of divers that usually hangs around have not arrived in full yet. But the geese are increasingly making themselves more present. I will have try and hit them when I get back in. Right now I am working down in Zapata County and driving down the ranch road to the rig I passed several stock tanks that are just covered in ducks. They were not here two weeks ago. Man I wish I had permition to hunt one of these tanks.

Posted By:
Muddy Bud
Guest

Choke Canyon Res. 11-13-2008 10:19
Cloudy, Winds Calm – 50-60 Degrees
Sorry I couldnt get my report in earlier but I just moved into a new house and my computer is not set up yet, so I had to wait til I got back to work. As stated in my last post a couple of weeks ago I finally made my hunt on Choke With 1A guide service on the 7th of Nov. I was outstanding. we had four hunters and 4 limits with in 1 hr. after the first shot was fired. We had a real cornacopia bag. 1 woodie, teal, widgeon, gadwall, and a couple of blue bills. Our guide Shannon Dubois with 1A really does his home work. As a matter of fact he’s made Choke his home for next three months. There were other hunters on the lake but I didnt hear them shoot as much as we did. If you are planning a trip to Choke and have never been there, I recomened the boys @ 1A they have years of experience on the lake and they know where the ducks are. The lake can get pretty dangerous when the winds kick up and there are thousands of submerged stumps and timber through out the lake. The hunting is great, the dog work is good and you can even bring your own dog if he is well mannered. Oh. yeah and the prices are very reasonable.

Posted By:
dwilliams3
Web Member

Northwest of Waco 11-13-2008 09:33
Mostly Cloudy, No Precipitation – 40-45 Degrees
Did a little tank jumping this morning just outside of Valley Mills. The gadwalls and mallards have arrived!

Only jumped 5 tanks but probably saw 300 ducks. We’ll decoy-hunt them next week.

[Edited By dwilliams3 on 2008-11-13 09:33]

Posted By:
tylersmcdaniel
Guest

Ray Roberts 11-12-2008 16:54
Cloudy, Occassional Rain Showers – 60-65 Degrees
Hunted Ray Bob yesterday morning. It’s was absolutely pathetic. That will be my last hunt there. I’ve hunted there over the years and it just seems to get worse and worse.

We saw literaly maybe 3 small groups of ducks flying way off in the distance. We had one group decoy and they turned out to be all shovelers. It was my bud’s first hunt and he at least got his first bird, but it had to be a shoveler hen. That sums up the days hunt.

They should change the name of Ray Roberts to the Dead Sea.

Posted By:
GANSAL
Web Member

Mexico (50 miles south of brownsville) 11-11-2008 13:36
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I hunted last weakend and it was just great..
we made 2 hunts the firt we kill 53 snows and some speks and on saturday 71 also with snows, ross, speks, and blues……. there are thousands of geese down here.

Posted By:
dwilliams3
Web Member

11-11-2008 08:46
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The snows are barely beginning to trickle in! I saw the first few flocks riding the winds and heading south this morning. The front due in Friday should really put a few in the rice fields.

Posted By:
rdwaterdog
Guest

South of Canton 11-10-2008 10:49
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 40-45 Degrees
Saw 9 birds before LST and 6 more high flying after sun came up. We quit early because there was nothing flying. We still need more cold up north.

Posted By:
tylersmcdaniel
Guest

Richland Chambers 11-09-2008 20:08
Sunny & Clear, High Winds – Over 70 Degrees
Hunted the middle of cove that’s used as a flight lane. I stood against and old dead oak tree that ran right next to the creek channel because I figured I’d get more passing shots at birds going straight up and down the cove.

There weren’t many birds using the cove I was in but I was perfectly positioned for the ones who did. I took 1 hooded merganser. I haven’t shot one of those in years. Beautiful bird but not the tastiest of ducks.

Looking out on the big part of the lake I noticed many flocks of teals all heading in the same direction. That started around 5 and lasted about 15 minutes.

Headed back out Tuesday AM. Going to hit Lewisville. Looking forward to hitting up a new lake.

Posted By:
Dabble
Gold Sponsor

ND 11-08-2008 18:37
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Snows are on their way with all the big wind in ND. Enjoy www.waterfowljunkie.com

Posted By:
tylersmcdaniel
Guest

Richland Chambers 11-08-2008 16:01
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 50-60 Degrees
Took one gadwall hen. Defintely not a “ducky” day weather wise. I’m seeing pretty much only gadwalls and green wings.

Did see 5 Canada geese. That was a first for me in this part of the state. That would have made my day to have a chance to take a crack at them but they were about 70 yards away.

We still need a true norhtern to blow
through to build up the numbers and variety of birds.

Going back out tomorrow. I’m not expecting much but still want to get out.

Posted By:
dwilliams3
Web Member

11-04-2008 08:40
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Muddy, talk to the 1A guys about their goose hunting. They do a nice job. Have a super hunting lodge near the lease. There geese show up in numbers in January.

I know it sounds crazy, but their goose hunting is in Central Texas. We have a group of 8 booked on the 3rd weekend of January. I think he said his weekends are now sold out, but he has some weekday hunts left. They offer cow board hunts in the Spring season and average around 80 snows a day.

[Edited By dwilliams3 on 2008-11-04 08:41]

Posted By:
Muddy Bud
Guest

Choke Canyon Resevoir 11-03-2008 21:34
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I just spoke to the guide I will be hunting with this Friday at Choke Canyon and the report he gave me for the opener was good. They had two parties of four on Sat. and limited out with in 45 minutes. Sunday him and 2 hunters limited out in about the same amount of time. They had a mix bag of birds teal,widgeon,black bellie whistler,woodies and gadwall. He also mentioned a group of mallards that came in before shooting hours on Sunday. I hope they hang around a few more days. I am sure looking forward to it since I have never shot a mallard.

Posted By:
dwilliams3
Web Member

11-03-2008 13:32
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Guys, just be glad you are in Texas.
Those poor smucks out in California are so ram-rodded by State regulations, you are lucky if you can have a 5 bird day. Their State control is so bad, that you must draw for approved hunting areas controlled by State mandates.

There are no 75-100 goose kill days in California. If a left-coaster gets a dozen geese for the YEAR… he had a hell of a season.

Their State controlled hunting just flat sucks.
Texans will kill more geese in a weekend, than Californians will kill in a season.
It’s pitiful.

[Edited By dwilliams3 on 2008-11-03 13:37]

Posted By:
tylersmcdaniel
Guest

Richland Chambers 11-02-2008 21:30
Cloudy, Occassional Rain Showers – Over 70 Degrees
We were paddling in the canoe towards our spot and jumped up probably a few hundered total (many seperate groups)of maninly gadwalls. It was mainly a scouting trip but we didn’t hunt the last hour and a half before sunset. We shot at one gadwall drake and that was it. It would have been a excellent spot to hunt this morning. I expect that area to get better as the season progresses. We need a few more fronts to blow through.

Let’s start getting the discussion boards going now that the season is open. It would be good to hear from some others in the state.