Posted By:
cajunsorc
Guest
01-10-2008 14:16
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Cajunlab–
there are a number of factors that explain why the ducks are not here in masses like old times. The most (in my opinion) important is that there is more rice being farmed in Arkansas now than ever before and this year in Louisiana will have the fewest acerage in rice in history. All of the La. farmers are farming sugar cane or not farming at all and leaving their fields dry all winter instead of flooding them for agricultural purposes. Some have even converted to crawfish and place propane cannons in the field to keep the birds out. This all results in less area for the birds and therefore fewer birds.
Posted By:
cajunlab
Guest
01-10-2008 13:34
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We may have thousands rafted up in the Gulf, but if we had the push of 100,000,000 ducks (all species)like we did in the early 90’s we would all be getting our limits like we did then. Also, the reports that I have been hearing is that the hunting pressure is down every year by the simple fact that less hunting licenses are purchased each year which has alarmed the Wildlife and fisheries because that means less money for the state agency. If we had the fall migration like it use to be their could be thousands of ducks rafted up in the Gulf and still plenty of birds on land for us to shoot. Go to arkansas. The Mallards are as thick up there as our woodies are here in LA. I hunted Ark last year and we limited out on Mallards in 30 min. There was 5 of us in a blind on a rice field. They are not here in the numbers that there would be if we had cold weather up north. It is common sense. The ducks move when they cannot find feed due to ice and snow. It is 65 degrees in Stuttgart today!
Posted By:
chasseur
Guest
01-10-2008 12:36
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It’s not the weather that has “fowled” up the hunting. It’s the increasing pressure throughout the entire state. Go out into the gulf and witness for yourself the THOUSANDS and THOUSANDS of ducks rafted up out there. I have seen pictures taken off of rigs of thousands of mallards rafted up. That is not normal my friend. Everyone always makes the argument for pushing back the season into February. Is it coincidence that ducks are more visible in February because of the weather, or because every Beretta and SBE hace been put away for the year? No boom boom from every levee makes an ideal place to hang out.
Posted By:
cajunlab
Guest
east/central LA – Clayton/Ferriday/Vidalia, LA 01-10-2008 11:49
– – 60-65 Degrees
Hunted January 7th – 10th, Monday – Thursday of this week. Quite frankly, the duck hunting sucks in this part of Louisiana. And, I hear it pretty much sucks everywhere else in the state except on the coastal marshy areas. We get our limit of woodies everytime we go out, but no big ducks. The woodies, like every year, are as thick as summertime mosquitos. I still do not understand why we can only shoot 2 woodies when there are so many of them. They are everywhere!!!! In fact there are so many of them, they have eaten all the food for the big ducks, if they ever show up, on the corn fields, millet and soybean fields. I am extremely concerned that global warming has messed up the duck hunting in the far southern states. It does not get cold enough or long enough up north in Arkansas to push the mallards south to us. DU has done such a good jod of wetland and land conservation from Canada to Arkansas that there is plenty of food and places to take cover and rest up north that there is no reason for the ducks to move south into LA anymore unless it freezes for more than a few days in Arkansas. That just does not happen anymore. It may freeze overnight, but it warms back up into the 40’s during the day. So the ducks stay put. I don’t know what the answer is, but I do know that our duck hunting in LA is severly threatned because of the lack of ducks in our state, excluding woodies. Maybe the answer is to push back our seasons so they do not end until the end of Feb. since the northern states usually see there coldest weather in Feb so maybe we would get the push of birds in Feb. Also, are the counts right? Do we really have the amount of birds they say we do? I feel like I am just rambling on, but it is very frustrating. The last 6 years or so in LA the duck hunting has been horrible. I guess I need to join a duck hunting club in Arkansas next year if I want to kill something other than woodies on a regular basis.
cajunlabman
Posted By:
cajunsorc
Guest
SW La 01-09-2008 15:09
Cloudy, High Winds – 50-60 Degrees
My first marsh hunt this year and it was just so so. Killed 16 mostly greys. thousands of teal and greys in the marsh but were bunched up and sat still all day. Oh well, back to the fields this weekend.
Posted By:
Duck enticer
Guest
Greyduckville Louisiana 01-09-2008 10:38
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Hey CajunsOrc,
Nice going on the geese. I built a homeade eliminator blind out of PVC this past offseason, but haven’t had a chance to use it yet. I figured it would work though, seeing as every levee a goose fly’s by during the season has fire coming from it.
I wanted to post the links to some of the videos that I made on our last duck hunt. We surface swatted in a couple, but hey a man has to eat! LOL.
Happy hunting everyone!
Posted By:
cajunsorc
Guest
Pine Island 01-08-2008 09:01
Mostly Cloudy, No Precipitation – 60-65 Degrees
Ducks have been hard to come by the last week. We have been managing 4 to 6 ducks a day mostly teal with a mallard or a pintail here and there. The geese have showed up in force and we have been killing our specks with a couple of snows. Our goose hunting is being done from layout blinds (my first time to try this) and we have been getting the geese REALLY close. Sunday we called 4 ross’ and a snow to within 5 yards and we are consistantly getting the specks at 10 to 15 yards out and 8 to 10 FEET up. When we sit up to shoot they all turn their heads to get a better look at us (TOO LATE). Yesterday we saw good numbers of mallards and pintail high and coming from the North heading South (New birds?). We are holding somewhere between 1000 to 1500 ducks around us in crawfish ponds but the do not move and suck in just about everything that passes. Heading to the marsh tomorrow to make a hunt and Im promised a good hunt so we’ll see.
Posted By:
cajunlab
Guest
Clayton/Ferriday, LA – 01-08-2008 00:20
Mostly Cloudy, No Precipitation – –
I have been hunting the Clayton/Ferriday, LA area all season. I’ve hunted flooded corn fields, soybean, millet, lakes, flooded timber. You name, I’ve have tried it this season and there are just not any ducks to speak of except woodies. It does not seem to matter if it is 20 degrees or 70 degress. Even with the harsh freezing weather up north in MO, still no push of ducks. It is really depressing and it is becoming to seem like a big waste of time and money. I believe that the number of ducks counted is not correct and that DU has screwed things up for us down south because the ducks have too many places to feed and reside up north of us with all of their duck land conservation up north. They have too much food and cover north of us. Why should they come to Louisiana? They are comfortable up north! Unless Arkansas freezes for a few days straight, we will not see any ducks this year. I appologize for being so negative, but is is the facts.
cajunlabman
Posted By:
Duck enticer
Guest
SW. LA 01-07-2008 11:29
Mostly Cloudy, No Precipitation – Over 70 Degrees
We did really well this past weekend.
Saturday:
4 hunters-24 ducks
19 Greys, 3 widgeon, 2 pintail.
Sunday:
4 hunters-24 ducks
22 Greys, 2 teal.
We couldn’t shoot the ducks away. Pics on Grip and Grin bag limits in the next couple of days. I will post some videos to youtube as well!
Posted By:
hstep
WFC Sponsor
All over 01-05-2008 18:05
Cloudy, Light Rain & Drizzle – 60-65 Degrees
Well I just dont know what to tell everyone, hunted Toedo Bend for the last two weekends with nothing but Canvabacks, and few of them.Been to Sabine wildlife Refuge and the ducks that are there seem to have been there since opening day. No ducks anywere in my parish (vernon). Not hearing any good numbers anywere.
Does anyone find it kinda strange that they are having good numbers in south Texas, and mid to southern Mo. yet the nubers between are sub par at best. I’m afraid if it doesnt freeze and freeze fast up north we just as well get out the fishing gear cause it aint gonna be worth a crap otherwise.
at least we have those wood ducks to keep us going, otherwise I would hang it up.
Hope you guys are doing better.
