Buddy from Minnesota flew in yesterday. Went to Dallas yesterday morning to pick him up and we were off. We were hoping to hunt last night but after the drive we only had time to do some scouting. Haven't seen much for pintails this year before today. Was starting to wonder where they were, and finally found em. Boy did we find em. Saw 1500-2000 pins today, along with wigeon, gads, boot lips, gwt, assorted divers. Here's our strap. We could have easily limited several times over but we were being real picky, only taking drakes cupped under 25 yards. Still had one gaddy hen sneak in there somehow. Buddy got his first big sprig. He's shot piles of pins up north but they don't get that sprig until after they've migrated through. Finished our redhead limit off at a different spot later in the day. Not a bad way to start the trip!! 4 more buds from MN are driving right now and will be here in a couple hours and another bid from Katy will be here Tuesday afternoon. 6 more days of duck hunting to follow!!

Nice!

Sounds like a great time.

Can u ask your mn drivers where the birds were up north?
Kansas, nebraska, okkie?

They didn't see much for birds Beaversnipe

So the last two days have been incredibly frustrating. Yesterday we went to the same spot we shot the pins at and nothing. Barely scratched out a pin, gad &scaup. Went scouting that evening and found about 5000 birds in it. Went to hunt it this morning and they were gone. Between three groups of guys we only got a pin and 8 scaup. Went down to the coast since the reds are pretty much a sure thing. My boys from MN were tickled pink since they never see reds with that much color!

My bud and I split off and got these


Total take for the evening shoot

That's a real light hen, bet she was pretty! Looks like you guys are doing alright despite the houdini puddle ducks.

Thanks Dave. My bud got that hen and a real nice drake in one shot and they were both his first Texas birds, so he's gonna do a dead mount with em. As far as the Houdini birds, I'm at a loss for words. When we left Sunday evening at dark, they were there. Never seen that many birds leave a spot they're comfortable at for no reason. I'm thinking the puddlers are working standing water since every low spot is filled up after Saturday's rain. But that's just my theory. This is only my second year here and apparently there's a huge learning curve. Thankfully my buds are good sports & we're still having a ball

Several theories at play here. They could be pushing further south to Mexico lower Laguna or on into Mexico. Another theory is these birds use primarily 3 areas per day, roost feed and loafing. They also have to go get fresh water, if not daily then every other day. Wait until you catch a redhead migration back from fresh water. It is redonkulous to say the least.

looks like you boys are on them

Nice hunt..
One more friend on your way from Richmond..
Your GPS co-ordinate please........

Interesting that you mention migration. Didn't know they migrate after they get to the coast. I was just talking to a local bud that's been a big duck hunter and he was listing off spots to check. I'd already checked all of em. Pretty sure they migrated out or found some little freshwater pond and are STACKED

looks like a fun time, never had the pleasure.

Birds move around due to the calendar the weather and food and water supply versus numbers. It's not uncommon for birds to fly a few hundred miles south when their food source dries up or locks up, sit and eat for a while, and go back north because pickings are slim south. I imagine if you're a bird and say, you're in Kansas and it locks up and ya fly south and don't find a lot of food, you might keep flying south the next day for better conditions knowing north is locked up. Or sit on a place a while until the wind changes to whatever direction you want to fly.

Looks like y'all are having a good time. I hunted SW LA this weekend and had a similar situation. We are less than a 1/4 mile from the gulf in a 18,000 acre freshwater impoundment. Saturday saw 2000+ birds but the wind was 10 out of the south. On Sunday with a 6 mph wind out of the north we were lucky if we saw 75 birds. The old timers said that with that North wind the gulf gets flat and the birds gang up out there. Would love some input from guys who hunt the coast regularly.

Tuesday, I ended up having to take my buddy to the airport in Dallas to head home, which is a 6.5 hour drive one way. I sent the guys to a spot a guide buddy of mine swore would be holding puddlers. Nope. Guess that's why they call it hunting and not shooting! The guys shot this nice gwt, a couple reds and a smilin mallard



That evening, they went out for the normal redhead Beatdown since it was close to the condo.

The next morning we tried another spot where a river flows into the salt. Usually puddlers will skirt these kinda spots, going from fresh to salt water. I wasn't able to make it out through the 1.7 miles of big water in the canoe since we had a 15mph cross wind and the waves were starting to cap, but me and my bud had a great redhead shoot closer to the access, with these four falling within about 15 minutes. The other group also shot their limit of reds, but again no puddlers.




In my opinion, the highlight of the trip happened across the bay. The guys got their limit of reds (puddlers were once again absent) but Jim ended up slicking this little fella. Also, notice the bb in the eye, a double trophy!





After that, me and a buddy went scouting with a friend of mine on an airboat, in the area we shot the pins on Saturday. Saw several thousand birds in the main bay and figured we'd set up there the next morning.

Since there was no cover higher than my ankles, we decided to make layout blinds out of the few surrounding tumbleweeds. Worked out great and the birds were clueless when they dumped into our spread.



Myself and two buds ended with 14. One guy had to leave at 0930 or we woulda filled up





You can see how little cover we had to work with at this spot.



and the other group only ended up with 7. The plumed drake bwt was a definite trophy for a Minnesota guy though, shot by the same guy that shot the banded red

Today the guys decided to go back to the slough we hit on Monday where we got the bills and a hen pin because a local bud had shot some birds there on Weds. Had to leave for home early and didn't want to make them leave early. Just heard back from them and they said it was the best day of the trip, with all of em shooting limits of scaup, a ringer (I've only ever seen one down here) and a big red





Overall it was a frustrating trip but we had some good shooting and some real trophy birds shot. I got a heck of a workout while scouting and hunting, paddling well over 20 miles and walking through who knows how many miles in the marsh. I call that a success, albeit a small one. I learned a TON about coastal hunting, my bud definitely learned the limits of his longtail and how tides can leave ya stranded (that sucked) and every one of the guys that came from MN shot birds that are going on their wall. On top of that, there was plenty of good times in the condo, smoking good cigars, sharing stories and time spent in the bar. This should conclude my duck hunting season, since my 2 week hitch starts on Tuesday. Til next year gents! And I had to include a pic of the rig. I get plenty of looks going down the road, but hey, it helps me get to spots that nothing but an airboat can get to!

A few random pics from the trip. Whoever shot the most hens had to wear the hen hat out to the bar the next night. Mike was the first victim



And Jason was the next



Jason ended up having a little too much fun that night...



My buds awesome airboat with a built 496. I'd never been on one before and didn't know that they could come to a stop on dry land and get going again. Man, that thing sounded angry



Minnesota boys pigging out on fresh, local seafood



While we hunted, one of the guy's buddy put his pickup through the ice back home



Jason's mud boat seeing salt for the first time



Gotta love seeing the COs doing their job! Of course I forgot my wallet that day but she was really cool about it and let me off with a warning. Thank you ma'am!



A local bud came with the day we shot the bwt. While he was retrieving a bird, a mullet was swimming by him with its head down and tail out of the water and he was able to reach down and grab it. Surf & turf!!

Looks like good times!