Is duck hunting done in South Louisiana?
 

Do any of you believe we can bring back migrating ducks to traditional numbers? I've been a diehard duck hunter for over 54 years. I enjoyed the days of 10 bird limits as well as the 3 bird limit in 40 day seasons. Even in those lean years the rice fields and marshes were filled with ducks.
Driving to the hunting camps you had field upon field of feeding geese and ducks starting in Indian Bayou through Kaplan and Gueydan. We even held ducks in those rice fields on Ridge road in Lafayette Parish!


Just what has changed? Who or what is to blame? Is it weather, agricultural practices, DU, mud motors?


If you lease hunting land have you run the numbers on cost per duck killed lately?


It really doesn't look promising for the future.

Read my last comments on the other thread reefman. At this time we need lots of things to happen. Although people b*tch and moan about flooded corn in Missouri. That has been going on forever and I’m fact the amount of area of flooded corn from then to now has not grown significantly at all. And even though Missouri is holding a lot of mallards every year, Mallards are not the most important duck to us and our flyway. The Gadwall is. And their population rate is declining rapidly every year. No let’s think about the amount wetlands in contrast to hunting pressure in our area years ago. And now think about which one of those 2 is tipping the scales now compared to even a decade ago.

It's over with

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yep there will be 100s of blonds available for lease this year for little or nothing due to everyone quitting

Are those "good ole" days of black skies and road side ditches full of birds done? Yes, for the most part, for most of the state.


Does Louisiana still rival most states on duck killing even on the worst years. Yes.


Everything has changed and everyone is to blame.


Maybe the market will reach a point of equilibrium bc of it.

Having a farm in Oklahoma and looking for waterfowl land last season I was amazed at the amount of new habitat being built. I have a realtor friend that builds farms with levees ready to flood the crop of your choice and he's making a lot of money doing it.

The other issue is no till farming. There is so much food on the ground now that farmers do not have to turn over there fields that ducks have no reason to ever leave. I hunted a corn field that had been harvested in Oklahoma with a thirty yard low spot that held water. We had a four man limit of mostly mallards in only a few minutes and passed mostly on huge flocks of teal I'm told they never use to get in Oklahoma. This was not a flooded cornfield with standing corn it was simply a harvested field that had not been turned over. We had corn all around on the ground.

The birds have no reason to leave. Mallards are never coming back here in big numbers but the above poster is correct. Arkansas use to kill mallards now they kill gadwall and that duck along with teal are the two birds that made up most south Louisiana straps.

Also birds can handle a few days of cold weather if there is food on the ground and some water such as rivers to weather the storm.

On a positive note I suspect blinds will be a lot cheaper and more widely available in Louisiana in the near future.

The real question is why aren't the photo migratory birds like gads not coming here in big numbers anymore? On the trip down do they see the food on the ground from fields not being tuned over and lots of water and just set up shop further north? That is my theory

It was a really wet winter up and down the flyway that did hurt finding concentrations of birds.

Gads, historically, has been our go to duck. Over the past 3 seasons we've had very few Gads but are seeing far more pintails and teal in our marsh.


Do you guys see a shorter season and smaller bag limit coming up for LA.?

I guess this past season I was one of the few from taking to others that had a very good 1st split with just over 250 ducks killed which none in that count was spoons or black jacks (all good ducks). Now my 2nd split was not too good which I feel had a lot to do with no cold fronts. The last few weeks of the season I was happy to shoot a black jack...LOL

Strange thing is we shot a lot of greys in the 1st split. We do not shoot many on a normal good year. Now Mallards were basically non existent in my area the whole season.

Also, I really do not see blinds going down in price. I think we will have 6 ducks and 60 days again and we should.

I think a lot of things play into migration; however, I beleive weather is the most important factor.

30 & 3 is being seriously considered

That will free up a few blinds! Ya think the big landlords will lower the prices on leases?

fake news

Think as you wish.

That will really hurt the big guide services.

Ok. Let’s think about it this way. We’re all sportman right? For me it’s the thrill of trying to succeed fishing or hunting, as I’m sure it is most of you. I don’t need to catch 25 trout or kill 6 ducks every time I’m out the house to enjoy myself. Being a sportsman should also mean being a conservationist. The species thriving whatever that species may be is what should be important to any sportsman. Nobody on this site eats every fish they catch or every duck they kill. So let’s say what I told you all earlier today about 30 & 3 is a possibility, because believe me it really is and I know this for a fact. It’s not “fake news” as “the point is the bomb” says. And if you really from erath I’m sure I know who you are.


If we want to better our situation. Then we as sportsman need to trust the research done by people who do this research for a living. And these people don’t do this research because they get paid top dollar to do it. They do it because they care. As we all should.


The tides always change gentlemen.

Xpress21 what research? The duck population count if you believe it to be true shows ducks are well above the long term averages.

I’ll attach documents when I return home this week. If that’s ok to do so on this site.

2014 & 2015 breeding grounds survey showed a very large boost in ducks. None greater than gadwall and green wing teal. Since then it’s been declining. The decline in 2018 was rather large. In the ballpark of 6.5 million ducks. The outlook for this year at the breeding grounds is on track with last year. I believe the LTA’s have stayed somewhat on track the last couple years because of the large boost in birds in 2014 & 2015. But I do also expect that to change in this years survey as well.

It will be 6 days and 60 ducks again. Pintail will likly drop back to 1 which is stupid. Good chance it stays 6 teal for teal season.

You will not hurt the duck population with a gun.

I will be you a bushel of crabs its 6 and 60 for this years season

how can you even say 3 and 30 is being considered when the ducks haven't even started heading back to their breeding grounds

they are still eating corn fattening up

Not trying to hurt anyone’s feelings. Just telling you. It’s really being concidered. Didn’t say it’s happeing. Being concidered.

Over and out.

It?s all fake news. Limits could of been 100 per person last year and it wouldn?t have mattered.

Exactly, the only shortage of ducks is that the ducks are not making it to South LA like in the past.

Only pepole I know taking about this 3 and 30 are butt hurt hunters who lost and or cannot find another good lease.

I wish it would go 30 and 3 for a few years. Gotta get rid of some of these bandwagon duck hunters who go buy guns, decoys, and camo the week before the season starts. Or those that bid up leases because they got more money than sense and only know about duck hunting what they've seen on tv. Gotta have that face paint too so they look cool on Facebook.

Well I do not want it 3 andc30. The type hunters you reference could care less about the limits. Most cannot even blow a call.

I didn’t mean to stir up a hornets nest. I’m just passing along the stuff I hear from the ones with the fuzzy nuts up north.

You did not stir up anything. As I mentioned, the only people who really believe and HOPE FOR the 3 and 30 are the ones that lost their lease, cannot afford a lease or cannot get into a good lease.

IT WILL BE 6 AND 60...BOOK IT

not only will it be 6/60 next year, but the few leases that actually shot a few birds will double in price since they are in a good spot. bet on that!! lol

folks will double mortgage their house for a good duck lease.

I agree. You will still have the desperate hunters to still pay 5-7 K for a blind and not really kill nothing after opening weekend when the teal leave. Prices are not going down. Lucky for me, I split my lease with 2 others so my share is only 3K which is no issue for me. Matter of fact, I am looking for another lease to pick-up.

I laugh at people that want to pay 1000-2000 total for a lease and still expect to kill 500 plus ducks.

Fewest vehicles at Sabine Refuge I have ever seeen this past season. One of my leases borders the refuge on three sides, surrounded by the best open area in the refuge and there were little to no shots fired. My personal blind in that lease was a 800 plus bird blind for years. If I hunted every day I would have been lucky to scratch 100.

Rough year, pray it gets better.

Across the board this year was pitiful for most and that includes traditionally great blinds rice and marsh. The birds never came bc it takes a perfect weather/water year to get them down this far. The corn [emoji535] in Midwest, major flooding, and lack of weather is my theory on this piss poor season. The season total was 289 for my blind with about 30 geese included in that count mostly teal and a few greys mallards pins. Never seen the 2nd split completely dead from start to finish like it was this season in 20 years of die hard duck hunting. Something is wrong besides the factors I listed bc it?s been a trend for the last 5-6 seasons of steady decline even with good 2nd split fronts. Even bf I had a high $$$ lease I would kill ducks in places you won?t even see a duck today. Why? What is the determining factor..... I don?t point the finger at any one thing in particular just drastic changes in several different things that can alter migration I guess?!?


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Let's hope we have a cold 2019 -2020 duck season with a lot of fronts. Also, hopefully teal season will not be in the temps of high 90's like it was last year.

And dry

x100

Guys

I just getting in from a DU seminar held hear in Abbeville. There were 150 peps there.. DU indicated that Hot Cropping is a fairy tale in the northern states.. Larry Reynolds, the LA WLF Waterfowl study leader was there and indicated that breeding Gadwall was down 30%, but Gadwall was still above the all time low or something like that. The 4 teal duck from 6 for Teal season is off the table... There will be public comment meeting, This monday nite on waterfowlseason dates and other stuff at the Lafayette, LWF office...

If U have something to say, now is the time to do It. Get involved and voice your opinion.... If U don't, U have nothing to b^^tch and moan about. There is an article about the public comment meetings on LA Sportsman Mag. Website. I think there is an other date for the LC area.

Maybe a few of the peeps on here will believe what I told them now last week. I mean if DU says it it must be true. DW on the other hand, We just starting rumors to grab peoples blinds... gray ducks is what you guys kill the most of in terms of big ducks. “THE MOST IMPORTANT duck to us along the Mississippi fly way.

And gadwalls were down 37% in 2018 big gun. Last 3 years total double that.
Hot cropping is not a fairy tale. It happens. But it’s been happening for a century. Read the farm bills over the last few decades.
What they “DU” actually meant to say was hot cropping has not grown meaning there isn’t much difference in terms of size of flooded corn area now as there was in the past. If hunters wanna make a difference, Go shoot some red fox in North Dakota this spring. If elnino isn’t with us next winter and it’s dryer than this winter was, thats the only chance of us as Louisiana duck hunters have of seeing anything better than what we’ve seen recently. They looking for opinoins and want us to speak up so do it gentlemen because we’re staring 30 & 3 in the face of you choose to believe it or not.

Sir

U must be a delta waterfowl zealot. LOL

Larry Reynolds indicated that we are looking at 6 and 60 if I do remember correctly,., But come to the WLF public comment meeting Monday in Laffy and U'll see for yourself. If I remember right, Larry Reynolds indicated that the Adult breeding Gray Duck was down 30%. But that # was still ABOVE the Long Term Average for that species.. He did say the Gray Duck depend on coastal marshes not ricefields for forage and resting area. As we know the saltwater and brackish water marshes of Vermilion and Cameron parishes have been losing thousands of acres a yr. And This yr. They were just not here in the last waterfowl flyover survey.

To me the seminar was a smoke and mirror ****zzz show... Lets face it. When Ducks have water freeze around them, and 5-8" of snow on the ground, they will head south... If the next week water is still frozen, but it gets warm enough for the snow to melt, so they can get to food, they AREN'T going anywhere.

I did learn something tonight... Out of all the puddle ducks, Teal will NOT feed in a dry grain field, Like mallards, Pintail, American Wigedon etc. and All U have to do is get on youtube and watch peps like Bobby Guy, and Outdoor Lmits which both guys have there own U tube channel. They post waterfowl hunting shows and they hunt in Central Kansas. They skull dugged the ducks and geese there in Kansas. A lot of the shows are filmed in flooded standing cornfields. The advent of Ice eaters used in the places that freeze up preventing water to freeze up also isn't helping..

Also 20 yrs ago, we didn't have sugarcane all the way west to LC area. And Above I-10 used to be cotton and sweet potato. Now U have Rice all the way north from I-10 to Missouri. Just my 2 cents based on about 58 yrs of waterfowling experience.

I didn't think 30 and 3 was even a possibility under the current framework

people just making stuff up

the facts are that the flyway federation will save all of us


and we need to work with Mexico's duck limits. Their season goes til March and they pile up the spoonbills, pintails, and teal and the guide business are popping up all over down there

thats OUR ducks that should be shot in Louisiana!

That is why the wall is so important. To keep our ducks and their Mexicans where they belong.

Hahahahaha

What is the future?
 

Ducks will never return to Louisiana like it was in the 80s. Just like what happened to the Canada Geese in louisiana in the 60s. All that was done by who and where ever North of us changes what returns down here. The growth of Duck Hunting in general was a determent of everything here as far as our bird supply decreased shows. Get you fishing poles boys and your plane tickets for duck hunting up North. With the prices of hunting here with Zero kills its better to travel south to Argentina.

Sellin your boat for plane tickets?

So where are all these cheap leases at??????

Hot crop is legit I've seen it.

Hell I do it.

If you can't beat them join them.

You need one more really bad year then watch

big baller, shot caller

Lol

So yeah, duck hunting is done in south Louisiana.