and one of the worst parts is trying to catch up on the high volume of posts I miss over the course of a week during peak hunting season times.
The trip was good but very few ducks. We hunted Black River, the St. Francis River, and ventured into Hornersville Swamp in MO. Everywhere we went folks had opinions as to why the ducks weren't there and where they are. "They are South of Hwy 63 in the flooded fields" said a duckless hunter at Oak Donnick on the St. Francis River. "All the ducks are on Big Lake Refuge", cried a hunter at Shaffers Eddy Acces on the Black River after he hunted all morning with only one duck for his party. "The ducks are elbow to elbow on the Lake Ashbaugh rest area" complained one hunter who insists hunters should be allowed to hunt that lake and other places of refuge. "The ducks are scattered with all the water we have" was repeated time and time again from empty handed hunters. It seemed everyone had a reason for the overall poor hunting but nobody had a way to overcome the scarcity of ducks. I know from hunting this area over the past 15 years it was by far the fewest ducks I've seen. Two days before we left on the trip they were hit with almost a foot of rain and the Black, St. Francis, and Cache Rivers have almost merged into a lake 50 miles wide. The hunting went from good to dismal with the group of locals I hunt with. Rice field guides are telling their clients they need to reschedule for later this year or next year. One thing that really strikes me is how slow that area drains. Here in North Alabama a flood lasts 5 days. In NE Ark high water conditions will persist through the end of the season even if they don't get another drop of rain. Foot hill valleys definitely drain faster than the large flat delta.
The hunt had its upsides. Thomas and I expanded our knowledge of Black river making 15 mile runs to areas of less pressure. We saw some of the biggest bald cypress I've ever encountered. I'd guesstimate some of them were 36" in dia 10' up. Simply amazing timber. I wish I had some pictures but since all of the focus was on looking for ducks I never stopped to get the camera out and take pictures, regrettably.
Hopefully I can catch up pn the posts, PMs, and email in the coming couple of days.
Eric
The trip was good but very few ducks. We hunted Black River, the St. Francis River, and ventured into Hornersville Swamp in MO. Everywhere we went folks had opinions as to why the ducks weren't there and where they are. "They are South of Hwy 63 in the flooded fields" said a duckless hunter at Oak Donnick on the St. Francis River. "All the ducks are on Big Lake Refuge", cried a hunter at Shaffers Eddy Acces on the Black River after he hunted all morning with only one duck for his party. "The ducks are elbow to elbow on the Lake Ashbaugh rest area" complained one hunter who insists hunters should be allowed to hunt that lake and other places of refuge. "The ducks are scattered with all the water we have" was repeated time and time again from empty handed hunters. It seemed everyone had a reason for the overall poor hunting but nobody had a way to overcome the scarcity of ducks. I know from hunting this area over the past 15 years it was by far the fewest ducks I've seen. Two days before we left on the trip they were hit with almost a foot of rain and the Black, St. Francis, and Cache Rivers have almost merged into a lake 50 miles wide. The hunting went from good to dismal with the group of locals I hunt with. Rice field guides are telling their clients they need to reschedule for later this year or next year. One thing that really strikes me is how slow that area drains. Here in North Alabama a flood lasts 5 days. In NE Ark high water conditions will persist through the end of the season even if they don't get another drop of rain. Foot hill valleys definitely drain faster than the large flat delta.
The hunt had its upsides. Thomas and I expanded our knowledge of Black river making 15 mile runs to areas of less pressure. We saw some of the biggest bald cypress I've ever encountered. I'd guesstimate some of them were 36" in dia 10' up. Simply amazing timber. I wish I had some pictures but since all of the focus was on looking for ducks I never stopped to get the camera out and take pictures, regrettably.
Hopefully I can catch up pn the posts, PMs, and email in the coming couple of days.
Eric
