Season described as ‘definitely below average’ by state waterfowl study leader
The closing weekend of teal season was pretty much like the opening weekend of teal season: some mixed reports of good hunting, but a nagging feeling that fewer birds than normal made it into the state.
“My overall impression is that the teal season went out with a whimper instead of a bang,” said Larry Reynolds, waterfowl study leader for the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. “I would characterize it as definitely below average.”
The best days of the season probably coincided with the arrival of the first small cool front during the second weekend, he said.
“My impression is we had pretty good hunting for three to four days after the second Sunday of the season, but that was pretty much it,” Reynolds said. “But like every year, I’ve talked to people who had their best teal season ever, and I’ve talked to people that had their worst teal season ever.”
Count David Faul, with Bin There Hunting in Welsh, as a member of that second group. Faul said it was a pretty dismal year overall.
“I don’t know that we got 400 birds for the whole season,” Faul said. “The last day wasn’t bad but we didn’t have many hunters.
“Typically we probably have 800 or a thousand birds, but we just missed it. It seemed like everything was about three weeks behind this year. It was a horrible season overall.”
Capt. Gene Dugas with Rather Be Fishing & Hunting Adventures in Hopedale, said he cancelled his scheduled weekend hunt when he didn’t see a single teal on a Friday scouting trip.
“I still haven’t seen any,” Dugas said. “I went fishing yesterday and didn’t see one.”
But Dugas did hear positive reports from Venice.
“They did good in Venice,” he said. “They had teal down there.”
WIth the scheduled arrival of a stronger cool front anticipated this weekend, Dugas predicted the teal will show up in droves.
“You’ll probably be able to kill them with a tennis racket this weekend,” Dugas said with a laugh. “Once the season closes, it always seems to go that way.”
