Darren Digby, Author at Louisiana Sportsman

Lean on online gauges, avoid hunting headaches

Some forethought in monitoring predicted wind strength and direction, combined with a close eye on water level gauges can serve duck hunters well. […]

Don’t shut the door on opening duck day

Darren Digby

Duck hunting season is almost upon us here in Louisiana. Weed out common hunting mistakes so you’ll be ready when it opens again. […]

An 8-legged threat to hunters

Darren Digby

It’s no surprise that spiders are a common culprit for hunters’ annual ailments in the field, some even resulting in hospital visits. […]

Extreme amounts of winter rainfall, snow melt and spring rains and flooding will provide waterfowl with plenty of breeding habitat but put farmers in a jam.

Mississippi Flyway flooding wrecks crop production

Darren Digby

A winter and spring that was a boon for waterfowl habitat has turned out to be a bane for farmers, as flooded fields continue to hamper planting efforts. […]

Top tactics for public waterfowling success

Darren Digby

With so many quality options for chasing waterfowl on the Bayou State’s public land, most hunters usually find a few birds for the pot. […]

Scouting for teal

Darren Digby

As some early-migrating blue-winged teal are already arriving in the Bayou State, hunters are gearing up to chase the feathered rockets from Cameron to Caernarvon and Monroe to Morgan City. […]

Late-season duck calling tips

Darren Digby

As many manufacturing processes trend toward computerized, assembly-line production techniques, there are still some things best done the old-fashioned way — like Faulk’s Game Calls. […]

When constructing and preparing land-based duck blinds in the marsh, we go to great lengths to ensure the hide is both comfortable and functional. But adding a retrieving dog to the mix brings additional considerations and challenges. The dog must be integrated into the hunt, but in a safe way that also hides him from circling birds. […]

Top 5 tactics for early season success

Darren Digby

Landing zones – Though creating defined landing zones is often a favorite decoy pattern for hunters, it only takes observing a raft of puddle ducks one time to realize they will plop down just about anywhere — regardless of an available zone. […]

DIY decoy rigging

Darren Digby

Today’s waterfowl decoys come in innumerable shapes, sizes and species applicable to various hunting situations. […]

Blind brushing tips for opening day

Darren Digby

With the Louisiana waterfowl seasons kicking off this month, duck and goose hunters across the state will be heading out to scout and brush blinds. […]

Prepping for early season success

Darren Digby

As if finally locating long lost friends, they arrived just as we’d envisioned. The five-pack of gadwall redefined the term ‘fully committed’ from the time they hit the far edge of the pond, and dropped into our spread without hesitation. […]

Public prospects — Top 5 WMAs for duck hunting

Darren Digby

Backlit faintly by the early morning glow, they came as we’d hoped. Silhouettes — large and deliberate, and small and acrobatic — bombarded our spread. […]