Alabama/Miss./LA/North FL Guys: What are you seeing???
- Thread starter Carl
- Start date
Carl
It's weak here in North Alabama. Thomas and I scouted on foot for about 4 hour yesterday and only saw a few woodies. We drove past two refuges as well and neither had very many ducks. Unless a big push of birds happens it is going to be a slow opener.
Eric
It's weak here in North Alabama. Thomas and I scouted on foot for about 4 hour yesterday and only saw a few woodies. We drove past two refuges as well and neither had very many ducks. Unless a big push of birds happens it is going to be a slow opener.
Eric
Capt Jeff Kraynik
Well-known member
Alot of teal & a few ringers here in Central Florida.
The one upswing is it appears the mottleds & tree ducks had a banner nesting season.
We've been covered up with them all weekend!!!
The one upswing is it appears the mottleds & tree ducks had a banner nesting season.
We've been covered up with them all weekend!!!
David Chandler
Member
pickens are slim...need weather
Capt. John
Active member
Hey Carl, I'm way south of you but I've had a great year on the coast, the redheads are few and far between but lots of ringers, bluebills, and widgeon. The lack of water in south central texas seems to have pushed some birds to the coast that dont usually come here. I tore into the mallards and canvasbacks last week in the salt. I dont know what your water situation is up there but the lack of rain has really changed things up here, maybe look towards the coast? Good luck, I'm still waiting to see the BIG clouds of divers, maybe after the split.
David
A few more cold low pressure systems will certainly help. Of course another factor is pressure. Non-resident numbers were down last year as was the overall pressure. Still a lot higher than anything we ever had a decade ago. I wonder if the hunter numbers will be down more this year or back to the upward trend.
What boat are you going to be hunting from this year? Let me know so I can be on the lookout.
Eric
A few more cold low pressure systems will certainly help. Of course another factor is pressure. Non-resident numbers were down last year as was the overall pressure. Still a lot higher than anything we ever had a decade ago. I wonder if the hunter numbers will be down more this year or back to the upward trend.
What boat are you going to be hunting from this year? Let me know so I can be on the lookout.
Eric
Brian Story
Active member
Had a good group of Bluebills a few weeks ago, but can't find them again. Got out today and found some woodies and gaddies. Nothing on the river, expect one fly by of 20 cans. They looked like they were headed your way!
Brian
Brian
John,
SOunds like you are having a good start, we havent had any ringers to speak of in 4 years, guess they all went over to see you in TX!
We have tons of water for this early in the year, wettest September and October in living memory around here. That is good for the guys north of us, but bad for us down on the coast since birds have plenty of places to stop before they get here.
The only good news about all this fall rain is that our grassbeds continued to spread even past mid-summer and we should have an even greater recovery next summer as well.
SOunds like you are having a good start, we havent had any ringers to speak of in 4 years, guess they all went over to see you in TX!
We have tons of water for this early in the year, wettest September and October in living memory around here. That is good for the guys north of us, but bad for us down on the coast since birds have plenty of places to stop before they get here.
The only good news about all this fall rain is that our grassbeds continued to spread even past mid-summer and we should have an even greater recovery next summer as well.
Kristan
Well-known member
Hey Carl,
I ended up going to my interview down in Monroe, LA on 11/19/09...Was delayed for 7 hours by the FAA in Atlanta...Ended up driving with no daylight from Jackson, MS when I finally boarded a plane in Atlanta, to Monroe...Was supposed to give Jay Cunningham and call but got in to late...Got up at the crack of dawn on 11/20/09 and drove near 150 miles from Wham Brake, LA throughout county roads over to Farmerville, LA and then back to Monroe before my interview at 9:30...
Saw a lot of country that in large is 10x bigger and held more cypres swamps than most of the swampy areas I grew-up in all of Western Kentucky...Was super excited to see that type of environment...But was also dissappointed thinking that I was going to see hundreds or even thousands of ducks in small rafts and large rafts...I bet through all that travel and stopping to check out different Wildlife Management areas I saw a total of less than 500 birds...Then on my drive back to Jackson, MI I drove through an area along the Mississippi River that I thought would be holding so many ducks the sky would be black...Saw less than 100 birds...When I got back to Jackson I had about an hour or so to kill so I drove over to the big resevoir East of town and stopped to look across the lake expecting to see rafts upon rafts of divers...Saw four white ringed Greenheads (Tame ducks, white ring connected on back of neck) on the shore line in one spot...
To make matters worse I headed out this morning to field hunt geese 800 miles north from Jackson in Fort Wayne, IN in a typically great area to hunt...I saw nothing but locals eating the green grass at our local colleges and manicured lawns of area businesses after driving back through town...I have heard that birds are trickling into some of the northern Indiana lakes an hour or so north...Not to paint a ugly picture but I am starting to believe the early birds have headed south but the larger groups of birds are still north of the central Michigan mark waiting for a big northern wind to push them south...
I was looking at my journal over the last few seasons I have hunted here in Northern Indiana...I have had a few good days early in November but records showed that it wasn't until the week of Thanksgiving into the first week of December when the birds started to show...Then again we had spitting snow a few days last year before Thanksgiving...It hasn't got that cold here yet...Pray that mother nature wants to head south for the Winter...Dragging Old Man North with her a spitting and screaming with heavy, cold, north winds...Or lets hope city Officials in all northern US Cities allow Urban waterfowl hunting with Urban Shotgun barrels and shells...I got have shot a 10 year limit of birds today at IPFW University here in Fort Wayne this afternoon...
Regards,
Kristan
I ended up going to my interview down in Monroe, LA on 11/19/09...Was delayed for 7 hours by the FAA in Atlanta...Ended up driving with no daylight from Jackson, MS when I finally boarded a plane in Atlanta, to Monroe...Was supposed to give Jay Cunningham and call but got in to late...Got up at the crack of dawn on 11/20/09 and drove near 150 miles from Wham Brake, LA throughout county roads over to Farmerville, LA and then back to Monroe before my interview at 9:30...
Saw a lot of country that in large is 10x bigger and held more cypres swamps than most of the swampy areas I grew-up in all of Western Kentucky...Was super excited to see that type of environment...But was also dissappointed thinking that I was going to see hundreds or even thousands of ducks in small rafts and large rafts...I bet through all that travel and stopping to check out different Wildlife Management areas I saw a total of less than 500 birds...Then on my drive back to Jackson, MI I drove through an area along the Mississippi River that I thought would be holding so many ducks the sky would be black...Saw less than 100 birds...When I got back to Jackson I had about an hour or so to kill so I drove over to the big resevoir East of town and stopped to look across the lake expecting to see rafts upon rafts of divers...Saw four white ringed Greenheads (Tame ducks, white ring connected on back of neck) on the shore line in one spot...
To make matters worse I headed out this morning to field hunt geese 800 miles north from Jackson in Fort Wayne, IN in a typically great area to hunt...I saw nothing but locals eating the green grass at our local colleges and manicured lawns of area businesses after driving back through town...I have heard that birds are trickling into some of the northern Indiana lakes an hour or so north...Not to paint a ugly picture but I am starting to believe the early birds have headed south but the larger groups of birds are still north of the central Michigan mark waiting for a big northern wind to push them south...
I was looking at my journal over the last few seasons I have hunted here in Northern Indiana...I have had a few good days early in November but records showed that it wasn't until the week of Thanksgiving into the first week of December when the birds started to show...Then again we had spitting snow a few days last year before Thanksgiving...It hasn't got that cold here yet...Pray that mother nature wants to head south for the Winter...Dragging Old Man North with her a spitting and screaming with heavy, cold, north winds...Or lets hope city Officials in all northern US Cities allow Urban waterfowl hunting with Urban Shotgun barrels and shells...I got have shot a 10 year limit of birds today at IPFW University here in Fort Wayne this afternoon...
Regards,
Kristan
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Hows this for weather?
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You could at least send some of your local birds down here. Sure not much in my area today. Even the refuge area is sparce. I went to a local marsh this morning, an area usually packed with hunters, my rig was the only one in the parking lot all morning.
Hows this for weather?
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Dave
Are you for real? Was that taken this weekend? Guess I need to look at the nation wide weather map.
Eric
Are you for real? Was that taken this weekend? Guess I need to look at the nation wide weather map.
Eric
Eric,
A quick look at the weather map will tell you that those are not current photos. hehehehehe I'ts 54 degrees here right now. I should be out fishing!
A quick look at the weather map will tell you that those are not current photos. hehehehehe I'ts 54 degrees here right now. I should be out fishing!
Pete McMiller
Well-known member
Darn near 60 degrees today. The few birds that are around have no reason to move more than a few yards. Supposed to get west winds on T-day but then back to south for next weekend. I'm starting to lose my optimism for a come-back to the rest of the season.
Mark W
Well-known member
Hey Dave -
How I long for one of thsoe days in your photos above. I remember driving out one morning last year and it was -11 deg F. I alo remember driving up north for a late season goose hunt and we went through and area where the truck thermo read -34 deg F. TWhere we hunted wasn't that cold but I remember it was about as cold as I ever want it to be. Not much of the gear worked very well.
We don't even have shelf ice around anymore up here. Just like you, it was 54 today out in the swamp. Doesn't look like this is going to change the next weeke either.
Mark W
How I long for one of thsoe days in your photos above. I remember driving out one morning last year and it was -11 deg F. I alo remember driving up north for a late season goose hunt and we went through and area where the truck thermo read -34 deg F. TWhere we hunted wasn't that cold but I remember it was about as cold as I ever want it to be. Not much of the gear worked very well.
We don't even have shelf ice around anymore up here. Just like you, it was 54 today out in the swamp. Doesn't look like this is going to change the next weeke either.
Mark W
Jay Cunningham
New member
Carl, Season opened this weekend. We saw fewer ducks than normal for an opening weekend. Mostly teal, both greenwing and bluewing.
The river is up well over flood stage which is unusual for this time of year. With so much of the back water areas flooded, the birds that are in the area have more places to spread out.
Hopefully we will get the weather to move more birds down.
Jay C.
The river is up well over flood stage which is unusual for this time of year. With so much of the back water areas flooded, the birds that are in the area have more places to spread out.
Hopefully we will get the weather to move more birds down.
Jay C.
Wispete
Well-known member
Fog and rain for the first weekend of deer season. Much to warm. Only local ducks and geese. I think there is a big bunch in Canada that have not come down yet. We need some ice and snow. We had a small push about three weeks ago since then it has been a south or east wind or straight west for a short time. We need a North west wind with cold fronts to move the Northern birds. Word has it the ducks in Canada are still wearing bikis and sporting sun glasses and drinking ice tea.