Category: Louisiana

Posted By:
Castille-Hebert
Guest

SW La. 01-23-2008 06:31
Cloudy, Light Rain & Drizzle – 45-50 Degrees
I think the issue about splits is that the ducks have started a somewhat change in migratory patterns. More and more birds are staying North of us because of the availability of open water and food. Less hardy birds such as Teal and greys move down early in October and stay. These birds provide us with good shooting in the first split and by the time the second split arrives these birds are blind shy. I think we might need to rethink our hunting strategy for future seasons and maybe start some such of resting areas close to our hunting blinds that would allow the birds to filter in and out of these areas offering us ample shooting. Saw a show last week where an Arkansas hunter had done the exact thing and was enjoying decent shooting through both splits. Just a thought.

[Edited By Castille-Hebert on 2008-01-23 06:32]

Posted By:
hstep
WFC Sponsor

01-22-2008 18:58
– – –
Just got through reading some field reports for Arkansas and noticed they have two splits thus carying their season further into Jan. I was just wandering why Louisiana dosent have this in place, I think it would give us a chance have better hunts. The ponds are just begining to freeze in Ark. enough to push ducks out and on to us, a little late however. What do you guys think about this issue?

Posted By:
Castille-Hebert
Guest

SW La. 01-21-2008 07:06
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 35-40 Degrees
Buddies hunted Saturday in the rain, managed a few ducks and three Blues. Season ended with a fizzle with no birds or geese. Might try a goose hunt now that duck is closed but chances are pretty slim for success. Was a fair season with good hunting during the first split but the second was poor. We just are not getting new birds during the second split.

Posted By:
Duck enticer
Guest

SW. LA 01-18-2008 18:48
Cloudy, High Winds – 35-40 Degrees
Well, this is the last weekend for the west zone guys and gals. It seems like it will be finished when it has just begun!

I am off to the killing ponds this weekend. Hopefully Mr. Grey duck will be nice and I will come back with a 24 bird report just like the last one. This has been a great year for us, we have been really blessed!

Good luck everyone, and may your barrels be hot!

Posted By:
Union BA
Guest

Jonesville 01-16-2008 14:26
– – –
Well, I heard there were no ducks in Louisiana but I had to find out on my own. Now I know, there are no ducks in Louisiana. I hunted from Thursday 1-10-08 to Tuesday 1-15-08 and 3 hunters killed 3 green wing teal.

Posted By:
cajunsorc
Guest

Pine Island 01-16-2008 13:49
Cloudy, Light Rain & Drizzle – 45-50 Degrees
What a perfect day to be in the blind–so I decided to make a short hunt this morning (had to be in the office at 10). 8 to 12 mph wind, drizzle/rain & cold — what else could you ask for? Oh yeah–some ducks maybe. This day has made my mind up for me–I’m done. Picking up decoys, closing up blinds and throwing in the towel. We ended up with 2 pintail and 3 people shot a total of 2 shells. When some one figures out whats wrong please let me know. Same old story– plenty of birds across the hwy but they just sit there and give me the finger.

Posted By:
cajunsorc
Guest

Pine Island 01-14-2008 08:51
– – –
Hunted Sat & Sun. Saw thousands of ducks on sat most of them were high and ended up in the crawfish ponds to the East and West of Me. 2 guns managed 7 ducks and 1 goose.
Sun not as many ducks but the crawfish ponds still holding 3 to 5 thousand but the just wont move at all. 4 guns 16 ducks and 1 goose. The geese seem to be moving in now (about a month and a half late) but we are seeing 2 to 3 bodies every day and we should start smashing em soon! As far as the ducks go I’m about as frustrated as I can get. We have plenty of birds in the area but they just sit all day and the ones that do move wont look at my spread with the thousand of live ones so close. I’m ready to throw in the towel and start fishing!

Posted By:
Castille-Hebert
Guest

SW La. 01-14-2008 04:54
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 35-40 Degrees
Looks like everyone is experiencing the same types of results. We down here aren’t the exception. Our’s has shut down completely. Read an article in our local paper on hunting in the 50’s. The writer described a hunt when a cold front was moving through during the hunt. The writer described the huge flocks of birds being pushed ahead of the front. I can remember such hunts myself, not anymore. Fronts blow through with no birds ahead of them. Have noticed the same results for the past couple of years. What is causing this is hard to figure out. All I know is that our numbers are down, and the season for us has been over since Christmas.

Posted By:
hstep
WFC Sponsor

01-10-2008 18:36
– – –

Well I guess I have my opinion also.

Too start with there is no hunting pressure problem, that is a fact.

Secondly, look back at the start of the season when everyone was talking about how many ducks they had and what a goo d eaon it was going to be, it wasent cold then either. The fact is ducks will migrate in mass numbers because that what they have been doing it for decades. However they migrate north as well as south. I think alot of the ducks that winter in La. dont have the food supply they once did and therefore they move north until they are forced to come back. I’m not sure about the duck number surveys being taken, maybe wright maybe not, but we have plenty to go around.
I also know someone is wanting to blame it on Global warming, personally I think thats a bunch of bull too. The warmest day ever recorded in the month of January was recorded in 1928.
I really dont know what the solution is but I do think that if the food was here as it is in Arkansas then we wouldnt be haveing the discusion.

I am just as discusted as every one else I havent killed very many ducks this year probably less than most everyone here however I have been in the field at least 35 days of this seaon and am not giving up till the last day.

BTW I was in Arkansas on the 15 and 16 of Dec. on a guided hunt and the first day 4 guys killed 2 ducks and the second day we killed 15 ducks and 2 geese and our shooting was not the reason for it either. They have bad days up there too.

Just my thoughts .

Posted By:
cajunlab
Guest

01-10-2008 15:15
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cajunsorc-
I agree with you. That is one of the many reasons why we have a significany shortage of ducks. Like I said before, the ducks do not have any reason to come to LA anymore. They have food, cover and warmth up north. They can now winter north of us and stay fat, happy and warm. I don’t believe we don’t see them because of hunting pressure though. Each year we have less and less hunters in the field than the year before. That is another crisis all unto itself and can be another discussion. They way to fix that problem is easy. We need to teach our kids to hunt instead of playstation.

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
– – –
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.

Posted By:
Castille-Hebert
Guest

Sw La. 01-03-2008 08:55
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 35-40 Degrees
With all of the cold weather we have just about hung it up. Absolutely no birds. I haven’t hunted since last Thursday. We just aren’t getting birds pushed down when these cold fronts come through. As one of my hunting buddies stated, Stick a fork in it because it’s DONE!

Posted By:
cajunsorc
Guest

pine island 12-28-2007 11:39
– – –
Our hunting has been terrible at best. the full moon had all of our birds moving at night and we have been averaging 4 birds a day until today. We sat out the lightning in the truck and got to the blind at 10 to 7. the gwt ate us up and we finished out the 18 bird limit at 845 with a pintail and 4 mallards. Hoping to get em in the morning but not holding my breath.

Posted By:
Gumbo
Web Member

Morse and Gueydan 12-27-2007 12:20
– – –
Hunted Morse December 22 and 23 and Gueydan December 24. The areas I’ve hunted were almost devoid of ducks. Very few ducks moving at all. Barely any high flying flocks. What gives?

Posted By:
Duck enticer
Guest

SW. LA 12-27-2007 09:15
Cloudy, Light Rain & Drizzle – 50-60 Degrees
Did well the Saturday before Christmas, 22nd.

2 hunters:

12 ducks.

7 greys
4 teal
1 Spoonbill

Yeah, we shot our first spoonbill of the year.

The ducks are super skittish due to all the gunning.

CajunsOrc, how have you been doing?

Posted By:
Castille-Hebert
Guest

Sw La. 12-23-2007 10:20
Cloudy, High Winds – 35-40 Degrees
On and off again, is the best way to describe this week’s hunting. This year’s hunting is being governed by the weather. Cold and calm, no birds, rain is the key for us. Went from two limits to one bird and then back to decent hunting. Killed an albino spoonbill hen yesterday.

Posted By:
Duck enticer
Guest

SW. LA 12-20-2007 09:14
Sunny & Clear, Morning Fog – Over 70 Degrees
Did pretty well opening weekend of second split.

Saturday:
3 hunters: 18 Greys….

My brother-n-law got to kill quite a few ducks, I think he might be hooked for life.

The greys worked in perfectly, just like they always seem to do! We did notice a lack of mallards, there are usually quite a few around these parts during second split.

Yesterday, Wednesday 19th.

2 hunters
12 ducks

6 greys
4 green wings
2 blue wings

The ducks are extremely shy of decoys. We stayed in the decoys until about 9:00 and had 4 green wings on the water. We moved upwind of our decoys about 300 yards and pass shot the rest of our limit. I guess if the ducks are shy of the decoys then that is a blessing in disguise, because I won’t have to put them out anymore….Ha Ha

Pics on Grip and Grin bag limits…

Posted By:
cajunsorc
Guest

Pine Island 12-19-2007 13:19
Sunny & Clear, Morning Fog – 50-60 Degrees
FOG—stayed in the blind until 10 saw and killed 1 greyduck.

Posted By:
Castille-Hebert
Guest

SW La. 12-17-2007 07:14
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 35-40 Degrees
First weekend was pretty good. A little slow yesterday. We have been noticing that big ducks, especially mallards aren’t finishing their decoying into the pond, beginning to think that our wing spinners might be the reason. Birds are locked up and calling but not decoying well. Might be a tip for other hunters to use the spinners only when birds are far away and turning them off once the birds get close. I know that Specks don’t like them at all. Johnson Bayou and most of the marshes South of Highway 82 did great along with Thornwell and Jennings areas. No reports from the reserves. Plan on hunting as much as possible till the end of the year, because our hunting generally goes downhill after that.

Posted By:
Union BA
Guest

12-15-2007 17:00
– – –
NELA,

I booked my ticket this am. Im gonna hunt from the 10th to the 15th. Not exactly sure where I hunt on Saline. My uncle has had the same 2 blinds there for 30 or 40 years.

I’ll try to explain, here go’s. You leave Marksville and go down a long gravel road where you pass a farm house that used to have a bunch of hogs pinned up to the side, then as you go down the gravel you come to a boat ramp with a bait shop, then you go down the road to the camps. When you head out of the buyou to the lake, you hang a left and go up one of the arms where we have an A-frame blind boat blind with a shooting platform.

I believ its the north-east corner of the lake. Coming from hunting in snow and ice, its always a pleasure to hunt in the warmth and long southern days. Our sundown was at 4:18 this afternoon.

Posted By:
cajunsorc
Guest

Pine Island 12-15-2007 14:15
Cloudy, High Winds – 60-65 Degrees
4 guns–24 ducks, 2 specks and a snow by 9. Mostly teal with 3 pintail, 5 mallards and a couple of greys. Lots of mallards and pintail moving just before we got in the truck—should be excellent tomorrow.

Posted By:
NELA hunter
Web Member

12-15-2007 07:42
– – –
I don’t think I would matter when u come but i would pick tha days by the weather

Are u gona be hunting on tha lake if so where

Posted By:
Union BA
Guest

12-14-2007 11:00
– – –
NELA,

Good to here that you got into some mallards before the split.

You guys should have some decent hunts as the season opens back up. We’re just about froze to the bottom third of MO.

I’m trying to decide between coming the first week of Jan from 31st-4th or from 10th-15. Does it matter when you go?

Posted By:
NELA hunter
Web Member

saline lake 12-13-2007 08:29
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I hunt on saline lake an we havent done good at all mostly woodys an teal but did kill 12 green heads last day be for tha split i did see some big ducks on the lake last weekend but no telling if they will be there saterday morning

Posted By:
Union BA
Guest

12-11-2007 14:47
– – –
Anyone hunting around Catahoula,Saline Lake, or Jonesville/Ferriday? If so what are the numbers?

Posted By:
Duck enticer
Guest

12-11-2007 13:48
– – –
I am starting to get wound up for second split. Anyone have any news or reports of major influx’s of birds???

Posted By:
cajunsorc
Guest

Pine Island 12-10-2007 07:36
Sunny & Clear, Morning Fog – Over 70 Degrees
Did some work on the blinds on saturday. Really foggy until around 9am. Mouth called 2 lost specks in and they lit. When the fog broke, I noticed we had an infestation of mallards. They were all over the levees in the crawfish ponds and looked big and fat.

Posted By:
Union BA
Guest

Need other Speck Calls 12-09-2007 14:02
– – –
I’m coming from NE Missouri to hunt around Jonesville/Ferriday in Jan and need a good Speck call. Any other suggestions. We have great Canadian Goose hunting around here but not too many specks, any other suggestions for the $25-$30 range would be appreciated.

Posted By:
Duck enticer
Guest

12-07-2007 10:51
– – –
P.S. OLT….

I use that one for specks. It was handed down to me, so I don’t know how much it costs, but I can say it is a very soft blowing call.

I also use a Sure-Shot for specks. It is a 6 dollar call. You get what you pay for with Sure-Shot, so what I do is go to the store and start taking them out of the packages and blowing them until I find one that has the right tone. I know it’s gross! It works though.

Posted By:
Gumbo
Web Member

12-07-2007 09:44
– – –
Cajunsorc,
Thanks for the info and the great advise. For 12 years, I hunted flooded cypress swamp in the basin, so had very little need to blow a speck call. For past couple of years have been in rice fields, so I am hell bent on getting the speck calling down. Had a lease for 1 year up in Pine Island. Had no where near the success you have at your lease. Our Pine Island lease was on the north side of the main road.
about 1/2 mile west of the graveyard.
Gumbo

Posted By:
cajunsorc
Guest

12-07-2007 08:50
– – –
Gumbo

Yes I have used a redbone call–They are easier to blow than the chein callie and because of that you get a bigger range of sound from the call. They are not cheap $75 (a plastic call)is what I paid for mine and the acrylics sell for up to $150. I will tell you that you will need to get it and practice with it during the summer because you have to blow it differently that the Chein Callie and it takes alot of getting used to. I got mine just prior to the season opening and I played with it for a week and put it up until the spring. It just takes an adjustment time period. Now then, Nate (the guy that makes em) is very good with that call. He has been calling specks for over 30 years and nothing takes the place of over 30 years of practice. So don’t get discouraged if you don’t sound like him right away. There are a couple of things people don’t understand about calling specks. You have to be able to pick the call up and make a good “goose” sound from the first note. That will come with practice and is attributed to being able to pick up and hold the call the same every time. Second–You will over call specks 999 times before you will under call em. Some days just a couple of clucks will put em in your face and on the deck. Let the geese tell you what they want to hear. Don’t worry about all of the “fancy” sounds Nate makes on that call. You just need to be able to make 2 sounds with the call to kill em 90% of the time. One is the yodle (2 note Lu-luk) and the other is the cluck. If you are blowing a Chein Callie call you have one of the best. Many a speck has died at the hands of that call.

I have been hunting the Pine Island area north of Welsh since 1992. Before that I guided at some area duck camps (Mallard Lodge & what is now Cameron Praire NWR). I know that in your area the numbers of specks can’t be beat. The Chein Callie call is what I’ve been using for a long time. I have used (and still do on still days to reduce echo) a PS olt fox/coyote call(very easy to blow and very soft and quiet). I just recently picked up a Quack Head speck call that I have been playing with and it sounds surprisingly good and is really easy to blow. It has a good range (not as big a range as the redbone) and has really impressed me to the point that I used it the last week of the first split instead of the chein callie. I’m not an expert by any means, but I do like to talk about callin and killin specks.

[Edited By cajunsorc on 2007-12-07 09:22]

Posted By:
Gumbo
Web Member

12-06-2007 21:25
– – –
Thank you cajunsorc for the info on the Redbone Calls website. Great instruction. Have you used a Redbone call? What do they cost? Any recommendation on a specific call that they build? I have Chiene Caille and RNT speck calls, but the sounds from that Redbone on the website are awesome.
By the way, where do you hunt. I hunt Morse and Gueydan area.

Posted By:
cajunsorc
Guest

12-06-2007 13:53
– – –
Hey enticer–Forget the hens–Lets book a hunt to canada for 3 to 4 days and kill 7 Pintail a day–and they get to shoot 5 specks a day too!

Posted By:
Duck enticer
Guest

12-06-2007 11:35
– – –
About the Hens…..

It depends where you hunt, and what you are hunting for. Up north where there are more Mallards this might be feasible. Arkansas and some of the more Northern Mississippi Flyway states can probably do this, because they have more wintering Mallards.
Where I hunt we don’t see to many mallards, we might see a dozen in one hunt, it is freshwater marsh and public land to boot. When they decoy they usually do so in pairs. I will not hesitate to shoot hens because……

1. It is legal to kill 2 per person. If the government sees fit that I can kill 2 I believe they have empirical data that suggest’s that the population of mallards can be sustained at the kill rate of 2 per person.

2. They are a rare duck in my parts. Like I said only about a dozen a hunt and only 5 or 6 might be greenheads.

3. They are a great eating big bird that
I will definitely eat. I love Mallards, the hens are bigger than a drake grey duck. I hunt for meat as well.

In Conclusion:
If I was blessed with the good fortune of many mallards I would shoot only drakes, it doesn’t get any better than that.

Posted By:
cajunsorc
Guest

12-06-2007 10:51
– – –
I understand that point and I agree–the problem is that early in the season when the birds are hard to tell apart. In Canada the limit is 7 ducks. Not so many pintail, so many mallards–7 ducks–and some people kill all hens. We get 1 pintail and that is all–2 years ago we had a 30 day pintail season with 1 per day. But they were able to kill 7 up there. And if you hunt you can tell a pintail’s outline without seeing colors. By the time the birds get here they have been shot at for 3 months–and our restrictions are more than where the birds haven’t seen a decoy spread in 8 months. They can get em closer and have better chances at identifying em but they dont have to–just shoot 7 of whatever. So if you want to suggest to someone to not shoot hens–tell em up the flyway–not down here!

[Edited By cajunsorc on 2007-12-06 11:07]

Posted By:
drsnow82
Guest

12-06-2007 09:46
– – –
Just try not to shoot hens. At this time of the year you can tell the difference between. I have harvested one hen mallard in the last 7 years. She was a mistake. I believe that is why usfws builds in for a mistake just such an instance. Plus…Pictures look better with all drakes. Not trying to start anything here. Trying to help the ducks and us hunters.

Posted By:
cajunsorc
Guest

12-06-2007 08:27
– – –
drsnow82–you first.

Posted By:
drsnow82
Guest

12-05-2007 23:45
– – –
Quit shooting HENS!!!!!!!!!! YOu are killing the recruitment of future broods! Thanks.

Posted By:
sktduck
Web Member

catahoula lake 12-04-2007 20:23
– – –
anybody heard anthing out of catahoula lake this year? thinking of heading out that way for second split!

Posted By:
Duck enticer
Guest

SW. LA 12-03-2007 11:18
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 60-65 Degrees
Was blessed with another great day on Saturday.

Two hunters:

4 Mallards (2 drake, 2 hens)

4 Mottled ( 2 drake, 2 hens)

4 grey’s

We hunted a smaller pothole and killed mostly pairs of ducks. We could have hurt the grey duck population this morning, but decided to abstain for the bigger ducks.

Next time I think we will try about 4 or 5 hunters and really try to eliminate some of the grey duck infestation.

Pic’s on Grip and Grin limits….

Posted By:
Castille-Hebert
Guest

SW Louisiana 12-03-2007 05:13
Sunny & Clear, High Winds – 50-60 Degrees
Well the final day of the first split was a little disappointing. Both Friday and Saturday was good with teal being the main bird again. Sunday, they flew way before legal shooting time and gone once it arrived. Geese are really starting to show up in our area. Main complaint I am hearing is the lack of big ducks. Best hunting that I am hearing of is South of Highway 82. That is the road that parallel the coast from Sabine Pass to Forked Island. Well, we all can use the rest!

Posted By:
sktduck
Web Member

12-02-2007 15:58
– – –
heard anything out of venice?

Posted By:
La Redleg
Web Member

NW La 11-30-2007 10:43
– – –
We had some success over the 4 day Thanksgiving weekend. We killed 3 man limits all 4 days. Out of 72 birds killed, 25 mallards, a few pintails, gadwals, teal and even a couple accidental smileys. This is the first season in about 5 or 6 years that we have killed this many ducks this early in the season. Hope it continues

Posted By:
cajunlab
Guest

clayton, LA 11-30-2007 00:25
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 50-60 Degrees
The greys have moved in finally!!!! Hundreds of them on the lake. Mallards showing up slowly. Awesome wood duck hunting.

Posted By:
Duck enticer
Guest

SW. LA 11-28-2007 16:10
– – –
Did pretty good this last Saturday. 24th of November.

We finally got into the Mallards a little bit. 2 hunters killed 4 Mallards, 2 Mottled ducks, 3 Widgeon, 1 Grey, and 2 Green wingers.

Had a good time, but like to caught Pneumonia due to getting so wet.

We had 3-4 flocks of Snow geese come over at about 40 yards. They were super low. When they got about 50 yards in front of us they slightly veered to the side, just out of range. Those are some smart birds, because we were well hid, were not using a mojo, and did not have that many decoys.

We will be back at them again on Saturday, good luck to all.

[Edited By Duck enticer on 2007-11-28 16:11]

Posted By:
cajunsorc
Guest

Pine Island 11-28-2007 13:58
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 40-45 Degrees
Lots of new snows, blues and specks heading south. Ducks picked up some from yesterday. 3 guns 12 ducks and 2 specks. mallards, pintail, teal, a ringneck. One of the mallards had been dbl banded and the reward band was for $100–bird came from SW Ontario and was banded in 2005.

Posted By:
sktduck
Web Member

11-27-2007 18:16
– – –
i am heading to venice,la the 19th of december and was wondering if anyone had some helpful info or some suggestions? this will be my first trip to south La so anything would be great, thanks a ton!

Posted By:
cajunsorc
Guest

Pine Island 11-27-2007 11:22
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 45-50 Degrees
ducks didn’t move much today–3 guns had 2 canvasbacks(what are they doing in my rice field), 2 woodies, 2 teal, 2 mottleducks and 3 mallards. Hope it picks up tomorrow, I’ll be done until Dec 15 after that.

Posted By:
HuntinforSanity
Guest

NW LA 11-27-2007 09:11
Cloudy, High Winds – 40-45 Degrees
Good day in the timber Friday. 6 mallards, 4 woodies, 2 greys, and 2 green wingers from 3 hunters.
Thurs. was a great day for bird watching. Geese flying over all morning and plenty of new ducks, just noone wanting to play.
The weekend was just wet!

Good Luck!

Posted By:
cajunsorc
Guest

Pine Island 11-26-2007 08:44
– – –
Hunted Turkey day through Sunday. 4 man limits on Thursday and Sunday with mostly teal and a couple of mallards and pintail. Also killed a pair of redheads. Friday and Sat. were slower with 14 on Fri and 12 on Sat. mostly teal with a mallard or two mixed in. Lots of pintail and teal with a some greys and mallards moving on Sunday after thunderstorm passed. We did see bald eagle on Sat.–first one I’ve seen anywhere other than Toledo Bend. We are only killing 1 to 3 specks per trip and not seeing much more than that so I’m hoping they’ll move in soon!

Posted By:
Castille-Hebert
Guest

SW. Louisiana 11-26-2007 04:40
Sunny & Clear, High Winds – 40-45 Degrees
Been out of pocket for awhile, so here goes. Our season started really slow with hardly no water and few birds. Picked up towards the end of the first week with rain and more ducks. Late week was good but now we have too much water and birds are scattered in all the open fields. Last couple of days were unhuntable because of the bad weather. Lack of big ducks is our biggest problem. Teal is our main bird. The Big Burns area and Big Pasture are enjoying great shooting, while the Gueydan area has been slow. Gum Cove hs been off and on, and the Chenier areas are good. Geese are just moving in now, but with 100’s of acres of plowed fields in my area, we are killing just a few. Did see a rare sight for me, Friday a pair of Golden eagles flew just SE of our blind. The last one I saw in this area was in 1987. Not sure what to make of this porblem, but when we do have big ducks wanting to work, they are extremely pond shy. My new dog is doing great, so congrats to his trainer up in Tennessee. contact me if any one wants more info.
Thanks,
Cass

Posted By:
hstep
WFC Sponsor

North Toledo Bend 11-24-2007 15:37
– – –
Opening weekend we had a fair number of birds, Greys, Widgeon,Red heads and a few cans, The following week was alittle slower with mostly spoonies and teal, however we went on wednsday and smoked the bluebils but on Friday didnt even see one. Most of the ducks we had moved out, but we havent seen anything like what we had last year at this time. Hopefully the ducks we had at the opener was just a teaser and the real push is on the way. Tried Pirates Cove this morning and never fired a shot. Seen a total of about 50 birds. Good luck

Posted By:
Duck enticer
Guest

SW. LA 11-21-2007 20:01
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – Over 70 Degrees
Got after them pretty good this morning. We have perfected the art of Gadwall Slaying! I sware the way those Greys respond to the call like I was a world champion caller. 3 hunters 18 Greys.

See pics on Grip and Grin Limits.

[Edited By Duck enticer on 2007-12-03 11:20]

Posted By:
HuntinforSanity
Guest

NW LA 11-21-2007 10:33
Cloudy, High Winds – –
Yall holler if you see any flight ducks. Waiting for that first real push. For the most part, those of us in north La. know that we will only have a few great days each year as we catch ’em on a fly-by to the south. If you miss those days your season will be average at best.

[Edited By HuntinforSanity on 2007-11-21 10:34]

Posted By:
cajunsorc
Guest

Pine Island 11-20-2007 14:08
Sunny & Clear, Morning Fog – 60-65 Degrees
The fog got us again! 4 guns-11 ducks-4 pintail, 3 mallards, 2 teal, 2 greys. The encouraging thing was the number of flight birds high heading south was surprising. 30 bunches of ducks with 12 to 25 per bunch-looked like new birds heading to the marsh. We also had quite a few bunches of geese both specks and buzzards heading south. South of I-10 should be good on Wednesday!!

Posted By:
cajunlab
Guest

Clayton, LA Fletchers Lake 11-20-2007 06:16
Mostly Sunny, No Precipitation – 60-65 Degrees
According to cajunsorc, it looks like Pine Island is the place to be right now. WOW! The ducks were not in Fletchers Lake, Clayton , LA this past weekend. Like I said before, last year at this time we were covered up with greys and ringnecks. I still believe we have not had a “push” of ducks yet from up north.

Posted By:
cajunlab
Guest

Clayton, LA 11-20-2007 06:06
Mostly Sunny, No Precipitation – 60-65 Degrees
It was a very frustrating opening weekend for me. There are absolutely no ducks, except woodies, in this part of Louisiana. Opening day, 11/17, we shot our limit of woodies and one greenhead mallard. Last year at this time we were covered up with greys and ringnecks. Obviously, we have not had the push of ducks from up north yet. Pray for hard freezes up north NOW!!!!! on 11/18 and 11/19 only woodies were in the area. No sign of big ducks yet. I heard that all the ducks that have arrived in LA are in the south west portion of the state. Did anyone else have any luck opening day in the east zone?

cajunlabman

Posted By:
cajunsorc
Guest

Duck 11-19-2007 14:09
– – –
We are seeing around 20 to 30 mallards a hunt but that number should increase with the next front. We have about 1500 acres of crawfish ponds flooded around us and it is helping with our duck numbers. My buddies hunted there today and said the gwt ate em up. 2 guns had 12 with all teal except for 1 greenhead and 1 pintail. Let me know and maybe we can get together and shoot a few.

Posted By:
Duck enticer
Guest

Wish I was there 11-19-2007 13:47
– – –
You must hunt one heck of a spot Cajunsorc, you guys are getting a lot of mallards. I have only shot one big old greenhead to this day.

Are you seeing quite a few mallards, or are you killing pretty much everything you see?

Posted By:
cajunsorc
Guest

Pine Island 11-19-2007 09:58
Mostly Sunny, No Precipitation – 60-65 Degrees
3 guns–16 ducks. 5 mallards, 2 pintail, 9 teal. Didn’t hunt Sunday so I will head back out tomorrow.

Posted By:
Duck enticer
Guest

SW. LA 11-19-2007 08:57
Mostly Cloudy, No Precipitation – 60-65 Degrees
Got on them again this past weekend.

Saturday 2 hunters:

We were able to let the spoonies and teal fly away today, and just focus on the flying feasts!

11 Greys and 1 big cottontop.

I love watching those grey ducks work!

Posted By:
Gumbo
Web Member

Morse 11-15-2007 13:20
Mostly Cloudy, No Precipitation – 60-65 Degrees
Hunted alone this morning. 4 GWT, 1 BWT and 1 spoonie by 6:15 a.m. Problem is that there was not much activity after 6:15 a.m. Would have thought there would be more birds moving given the frontal passage and strong winds.

Posted By:
cajunsorc
Guest

Pine Island 11-15-2007 12:49
Sunny & Clear, High Winds – 50-60 Degrees
Not quite what I expected for a post front day. Had some new mallards and greys–no gwt to speak of and a surprise herd of ringnecks. 3 guns-16 ducks and did not see a goose! Does anyone know where the specks went?

Posted By:
Duck enticer
Guest

SW. LA 11-14-2007 08:30
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – Over 70 Degrees
Did really good this past weekend.

Saturday 4 hunters:

24 birds on the water by 7:00 A.M. Greys, Widgeons, blue wings, green wings, and one mallard.

Sunday 2 hunters:

12 birds on the water in 20 minutes. We hand picked the birds we wanted to kill, passing on all ring necks, teal, and the ever present spoonie.

We ended up taking home one mature bull sprig, one greenhead, all the rest big greys, and widgeons. The hunting was amazing, as we were leaving the birds were really just starting to fly!

Posted By:
cajunsorc
Guest

Pine Island 11-12-2007 13:12
– – –
Saturday–too much fog! 3 hunters-1 teal, 1 mallard, 1 spoony & 1 speck. Sunday was better with lots of geese moving but would not work. 13 ducks for three hunters (teal and 2 mallard). This morning was a different story. Gwt by the hundreds. 9 teal, 2 widgeon, 1 mallard & 2 specks. Not bad considering the dry conditions around here in the fields. Gonna give em a rest until thursday.

Posted By:
Gumbo
Web Member

Morse 11-12-2007 10:37
Cloudy, Heavy Fog – 60-65 Degrees
Friday, November 9, at dusk, sat on porch of a friend’s camp in Gueydan and watched thousands of teal flying in from the marsh to feed in the rice fields. It was an incredible sight. Ducks and geese were swarming. Specklebelly geese were everywhere.
Opening morning, fogged in. Worst opener I’ve ever experienced. My lease: 2 blinds, 7 hunters–5 ducks total! Friends lease in Gueydan,where ducks were swarming on Friday afternoon, 18 ducks–8 hunters. Spoke to several other ricefield hunters who did not do well. Marsh hunting reports from Pecan Island were that the birds were flying by the thousands–early, easy limits.
Yesterday, November 11, a blind on the Morse lease that accounted for 1 duck on Saturday morning had 24 ducks by 6:20 a.m.

Posted By:
Castille-Hebert
Guest

SW Louisiana 11-08-2007 06:42
Mostly Cloudy, No Precipitation – 45-50 Degrees
Reports of huge flocks of birds in Johnson Bayou area and in Sabine Refuge. The Big Burns area is holding good numbers of teal and greys. Rice fields due to lack of rain are looking a little light on birds, but with all the hunting pressure due to opening day Saturday, things will probably change. Gueydan and Kaplan has good numbers of specks and blues, so good hunting should be enjoyed by all. Will hunt our main field this weekend and watch our goose field also.

Posted By:
cajunsorc
Guest

Pine Island 11-02-2007 07:17
– – –
Buffaloed feild on tuesday—full up with mallards, pintail, greys, teal, dreaded spoonies, and even a handfull of specks on Thursday.

Posted By:
cajunsorc
Guest

SW La 10-22-2007 07:59
– – –
Went back to the lease yesterday. Still alot of teal–mostly bwt but more and more gwt are showing up. We have been seeing some mallards-greenheads & hens– but we have an operation just south of us that releases pen raised birds for hunting–so they may be released birds from last season. Saturday I was fishing on the Calcasieu River and saw between 10 & 12 big flights of specks heading SE. We do have some specks staying around the lease but numbers of all species should increase this week with the cold front that will pass tonite!!!

Posted By:
Castille-Hebert
Guest

SW Louisiana 10-22-2007 07:53
Sunny & Clear, Morning Fog – 50-60 Degrees
Went to my area East of Sweetlake and saw huge flocks of pintails. Kind of early for them. Specks are moving in also. No big flocks of Mallards yet, but they show up. No blues and snows to speak of in my area.

Posted By:
Duck enticer
Guest

Cajunsorc 10-19-2007 10:02
– – –
Hey,

Were you seeing greenheads or just mottled ducks?
Were you seeing green winged teal, or blue wings?
How many Specks did you see?

Glad to hear that there are some migrants in, can you give a little more detail?
Thanks