re: Duck hunting LA any luck?

It’s been a crazy year for us. We’ve had a handful of good hunts in Geuydan, ducks and geese. It’s not very consistent

I’ve had a couple decent hunts down the Atchafalaya River and those were mostly just big birds, lots of work. Not even worth it.

Killed a shite load of Woodys during the season around Sweetbay Lake.

The one place I’ve been hearing that's been the most consistent is the Turtle Bayou/Penchant area.

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I’ve had a couple decent hunts down the Atchafalaya River and those were mostly just big birds, lots of work. Not even worth

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We’ve been rotating spots and working harder per duck than I ever have.

Trend since 99 is less and less birds in La period

Hunted next to you on delta plantation , did not fire a shot Saturday .

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There has not been an increase in corn acres over the past 20 years. Corn acres peaked at about 97 million in 2012. They're down to about 88 million today. The Midwest has about the same number of acres of farm land as it's had in the past 100 years. That land basically rotates between soybeans and corn each year.

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yea but most of that corn ground was getting plowed in the fall, now a big percentage is just being left alone

Also acres have increased a good bit from the 90s and before and have moved west into the Dakotas, western Neb and Kansas

Corn acres in the Delta have also gone up a lot

Soybean acres are substantially up in the last 15-20 years

This has been discussed to nauseum already but it is a safe bet that there are many factors playing a part. Change in AG practices and equipment. New combines leave very little grain, laser leveling, new rice varieties leave little red and black rice. Few corporate farms flood or even lease for hunting and no till up north. All contribute imo.

Increased hunting pressure, in LA and Ark atleast. Birds being imprinted to "refuge hop", decreased habitat along the LA coast. Warmer winters and more W to E fronts instead of N to S.

Probably somethings I missed but all playing a part at some level imo.

I also wouldn't doubt it if the population was lower than they claim.

I haven't killed a duck since opening weekend. Past three hunts we have not even seen a duck. This is hunting a little north of Welsh. Yes you will be seeing some blinds open up there shortly after the season is over.

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New combines leave very little grain,

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But this contradicts the "there's grain all over the ground up north" statements I've seen for years.

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This has been discussed to nauseum already but it is a safe bet that there are many factors playing a part. Change in AG practices and equipment. New combines leave very little grain, laser leveling, new rice varieties leave little red and black rice. Few corporate farms flood or even lease for hunting and no till up north. All contribute imo.

Increased hunting pressure, in LA and Ark atleast. Birds being imprinted to "refuge hop", decreased habitat along the LA coast. Warmer winters and more W to E fronts instead of N to S.

Probably somethings I missed but all playing a part at some level imo.

I also wouldn't doubt it if the population was lower than they claim.

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That wouldn't surprise me in the least either. Traditional thinking would suggest that this would result in lower bag limits BUT considering the amount of suitable habitat that is not hunted and the continuing efforts to close off more and more public land to hunting, this congregating hunters and increasing pressure on those areas, it may be that bad limits could be tripled without much impact on the population.


I am constantly being taken to task by hunters for suggesting more publicly owned land which is suitable for hunting should be opened to hunters. I am accused of all kinds of ill shite like not knowing how or being willing to scout or wanting to hunt out of my truck. It makes no sense that hunters would not be open to idea that more of the land WE own should be accessible to US to hunt. But there are a lot of hunters who would prefer denigrating someone than stopping for a moment and asking why so much public land, suitable for waterfowl hunting, is closed to waterfowl hunting.

And for the recod, I gets mine, on public land. I just do it in areas where I can avoid, to the extent possible, sky busters and those who see nothing wrong with setting up so close to others who have been set up for 2 hours prior to shooting time so close that when we are picking up decoys you gotta look at the name on them to tell who's are who's.....and I can assure you those areas are getting closed and regulated more and more every year and this is supported by a bunch of hunters.

If you look at just the financial side there is a lot of reasons for them to lie.

Also you are seeing places further north and west starting to see less birds and become spotty, same as LA and Ark did. Reports of OK, Kansas, and Missouri seeing fewer birds the last couple of seasons. Consistency going down which is how it started here first.

Could be BS but supposedly even habitat flats has been spotty some the past couple seasons for ducks.

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Bingo. Doesn't anyone find it funny that I can go to Kansas and OK the week after our LA season closes and shoot mallards?

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Both close the same dates as our east zone

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