It’s looking like the opening weekend is going to be a wet one according to local forecasts from Sabine to Slidell, but that’s not going to stop legions of long-suffering duck hunters from taking to the fields and marshes. Based on the word from some local hunters and guides, the hunt is going to be worth getting wet.
Over by Caernarvon, Captain Chris Pike (504-427-4973) with Bourgeois Charters gave one of the more subdued reports, but he also pointed out that there were several things pointing out that there would be a lot more teal Saturday morning than he saw this past Sunday evening.
“I went out and sat in some of my ponds and probably saw only about 300 birds,” Pike said. “It didn’t impress me at all, but with teal, it seems that they’re always here on opening morning no matter what. They show up out of nowhere. And the good thing is that once they get here they’re going to find more than enough food to keep them here.”
Pike was referring to the fact that the food has been scarce the past couple of seasons because of storms scrubbing it from the marsh. Whereas in the past, teal would come in one day and be gone the next because there wasn’t enough food, this year will be the exact opposite.
“Plus we’ve got that full moon coming up,” Pike added, “and usually with the full moon they come down with that. Whenever it is, they’re there the next day.
On the other side of Louisiana, Captain Nick Poe with Big Lake Guide Service (337-598-3268) has been watching some teal milling around in the rice fields just north of the Intracoastal Canal, but he adds that they haven’t shown up in the marshes just yet.
“That will change come Saturday morning,” he insisted. “When the shooting starts in the rice fields, those birds are going to head to the marsh where we’ll be waiting on them. I believe it should be a pretty easy hunt this weekend. I’ve seen some good 100-bird flights, so they’re definitely around.”
Dennis Tietje from Roanoke says the number of birds in his rice fields doesn’t look as good as it has been in the past because the birds are congregating in certain areas more so than spreading out over a lot of different ponds.
“I went to four ponds a couple days ago and might have seen 20 birds,” Tietje said. “But when I hit the fifth pond I must have seen 3000 of them. I’ve heard people saying that the last cool front took them out, but I think we haven’t really had enough good cold fronts to bring them in yet.”
Regardless, Tietje, like all the other hunters, expects the birds to be there opening morning after the shooting pressure breaks them up and they start looking for new areas.
Heading down to Plaquemines Parish, Captain Lloyd Landry with Outcast Charters (504-912-8291) has been seeing about the same number of birds he’s seen the last couple of years, but what has him excited is the same thing that has Pike excited.
“On the east side of the river around Buras and Boothville, we’ve got grass growing all the way out to the edges of the exterior bays,” Landry said. “These birds are going to stick around because there’s so much for them to eat, and it will stay that way as long as we don’t get any kind of storm surge.”
Landry will be heading out Friday morning to do a little scouting, and he expects to see birds moving around near tree lines, ditches and shorelines. “They’re structure oriented over here till they get banged up and start running for their lives,” he added. “And there’s some open land over here, but if you aren’t sure I would recommend the management areas down river.”
In North Louisiana, Sid Havard from Simsboro has spotted some flocks of 15 to 20 teal along the Red River near Coushatta. This popular bass fishing destination is just as popular with the duck hunters, and Havard says they usually get their birds.
“And you can also head up the Corney or Little D’Arbonne arms on D’Arbonne Lake,” he added. “I haven’t been up there to check them yet, but we killed a bunch of birds during teal season up there last year. Get up there in the moss where it gets shallow… that’s where they’re at.”
Whether you call one of these guides or head out on your own, this year’s special teal season looks to be just as promising as those in years past in most areas and maybe even a little more promising in others. If you missed the opener of dove season, what better way to start the new hunting season?
