Well, I said I wasn't going to do another year after 2021. I'd planned to move to Arizona after the sale of my business. Then inflation hit and here I am, still running a business and still in North Texas.

This one is more an observation as we are early for most everything. I'd had hopes that Lakes A & D would be back up to normal after the spring rains. That's not the case currently. The lakes are back to just above 22 levels (during the season). We usually get a bump in September that adds 6 inches to a foot (on lake A). If we get those Lake A will be huntable. Lake D, not so much. We need rain this September. Some long-term forecasts are calling for a wet winter. I'll take that along with a cold one up north. Most tanks I've seen are low but not to the level they were in 22 and 23. So, if we don't get rains I'm thinking tanks will be better than upper lakes. My experience with the two is more birds early on tanks but it ends early. Fewer birds decoying on lakes but it last longer. Not a long and hard rule, just my observation. If you have a different one I'm happy to hear it.

Eastern North and South Dakota have had a normal spring and summer. Kansas has been abnormally dry to moderate drought as have parts of Oklahoma. Theoretically, that may move birds down faster once ND and SD freeze up. If we get rain in N Texas we could move from abnormally dry to normal. It would have been good to have decent water in August but we may still get seed and duck weed in upper lakes with rain in September. I may be off a month on those and we end up with rising water flooding plants that germinated on moist soil during the low periods in August. I'd be happy to entertain thoughts on that as well.

My long-term hope, bring back peanut contracts.

As usual, just my 2/10 of a cents worth.

And yes. Yes, I am a region namer...

That's if the La Nina kicks in this fall. It's late. I'm hoping it doesn't show up until February, but not at all would be ok with me. We'd get a neutral winter and maybe some rain, less hurricanes and I don't have to deal with another drought growing season. What I've read is that all the Pacific cold water is subsurface. But there's a chunk of it , to put it in terms I understand and it's a question of when it surfaces.

If it does show up this fall then I think we're in for warmer weather and dryer lakes this duck season.

Thanks for the info.

Given the current situation with Lakes A & D, it’s good that you’re keeping an eye on September rains, which could make a difference. Your experience with tanks versus lakes aligns with a common observation: tanks often have more early-season bird activity but can dry up faster, whereas lakes might attract birds later but offer a longer season.Regarding your mention of weather patterns and their effects, it's worth noting that regional droughts or wet spells can indeed influence bird migration patterns. Kansas and Oklahoma's dry conditions might push birds to move faster south, potentially affecting their arrival in North Texas. If the forecasts predict a wet winter, it could help replenish water sources and improve conditions overall.

My place is in young county. About the middle of the county on the Throckmorton line. We have missed just about all the rains that would cause runoff. My ponds are low & getting lower. Makes it tough for the veggies to get hold & grow good. I am hoping to get some runoff at some point ,but after about 2 yrs, I have just about given up.

Lake A hasn't yet gotten the September bump in level and based on past history, it's late. I was hoping we would see it in this last rain spell. What bump it did get has already washed out. I don't know what the governing authorities' priorities are for its lakes but evidently A being at full level is secondary. Lake D is in much better shape even though it has been historically low since 2022. Most of the other lakes, which I haven't put eyes on so haven't given them a letter this year, are doing well ranging from full to a foot and a half low.

Since I don't drive to my office anymore I don't know the status of the tanks that I used to scout. A cursory inspection of tanks that I know of show they are full at this point and there was a decent amount of plant growth around many of them that is now flooded. Whether this will hold into the season remains to be seen.

Best we can hope for on lake A is a later than usual rain. Right now, the pattern is mirroring 2023 although the level is a couple to three feet higher than last year. In 2023, lake A got a small bump then continued to drop.

Looks like Lake D is the choice for me this year. It means a longer drive. I plan to teal hunt lake D and will give a report.

What are your thoughts on Kansas and Oklahoma being dry, causing the birds to shift east more into the Mississippi flyway?

I wish Francine would be coming up through NTX, but looks like it will be tracking well east of us.

We need several inches of rain.

Birds fly back and forth between flyways but I expect (hope) they will fly through KS and OK to Texas. I think winds and weather play a big role in where they move to. Just my speculation.

I do to. Most people wish hurricanes and tropical storms would cease. But our coasts would be deserts without them. It's surprising how much the panhandle of Florida depends on those storms to store water. They still get afternoon rains, but the big water storage comes from offshore storms. And I think that water storage drives the rains that happen in the spring. I suspect something similar happens at the Texas coast.

That area has taken a beating the last two to three years. I had kind of planned on hunting a place around Abilene but it looked dry as a bone last time I checked on it. That was before these last rains. The la nina may have kicked in earlier than they thought it would, we just don't know it yet. That would be a bummer for everything center longitude of the state westward. East Texas seems to fair better, or has in the past. Personally, I think Texas should just buy Nebraska and South Dakota and use them as our personal duck hunting preserves...

Saw several very big concentrations of teal on the coast this AM. Opener is looking good.