The general consensus for the 2009-10 duck campaign was fair at best. Too much water was probably the key factor in below average hunting. Most of the forage on the ground early was washed away by flooding. Some boat ramps were closed early in the season. Hunting picked up a bit in December, then the first freeze of 2010 locked up ponds with thick ice. The bright spot was the number of wood ducks in the timber.-This is what they said about last year with all the rain. This year with all the this rain again and no time for the good plants to grow up.......same mess we had last year. Maybe I'm wrong, maybe some one is going to chime in and say that the water is far enough down that the smartweed is going to actually have a chance to grow. I think it's going to be a tough grind of a year. Please tell I'm wrong

Kelly

just means more deer hunting

Things are looking good out West

Kelly ... when you're as old as I am and have hunted for more than 50 seasons, you'll learn one thing positively. There's NO positive way of predicting a season in advance.

I've had some absolutely horrible seasons with few birds when that year's migration numbers were supposedly at record levels. I've also had absolutely terrific years with more limits than you'd believe in years where the Pond Counts and migration numbers were poor.

Same for weather and water conditions. As long as I've had some water to hunt over and some food in the area, I've always been ok or better. The best has usually been as a result of snow cover and cold temps North of me with favorable duck-like conditions where we are.

The one thing I can guarantee is being grateful for each and every season with wife, dawgs, friends and a few birds or more between us, and just still being able to get out regularly.

Icing up is never an issue here in central texas. Too bad there are no ducks here.

Doesn't have to be a perfect season every year. We'll all go hunting regardless and enjoy what we got.

I'll find 'em, not worried about it.

I thought last year was good. The early season in Nortex was slow, so I went west and south and it was hammertime.

last year I feel like I had a pretty good season. Dd not get to hunt a whole whole lot. Moved twice during duck season. But wen i did get out I usually had a pretty good hunt. Had lots of mallards, and woodies when I did get out. I am sure this year will be just as good. But grocery's will be limited possibly more than last year. The lakes just havent come down so you wont get the growth. I am still wanting the lakes to get 10+ feet low again I have some killer holes when they are. But I will take what I get.

We had a great season last year because teal held up in our area. This year will be even better. And if it sucks, we will still all be in the check station before hunts bitching about the lack of birds - but still hunting as much as possible.

Kelly,
Most of the spots that we hunt are actually in pretty good shape right now. Many places are just below pool level and falling. If the rain will hold back a bit for the next few months we will be looking really good.

Either way, there will be plenty of ducks to shoot this year, conditions only decide where and how easy the hunting will be.

Quote of the Pre-Season!!! Right there!

Well said!

J.J.

during the drought 8 or 9 years ago we (duckhunters) blamed the decrease in birds on a lack of water.

now it is too much water.

hopefully this year it will be just right.

I'd rather be hunting than on the couch no mater the outcome. Not to mention momma is usually ready for me to get out of the house after spending all summer with me.

Did he say hold off on the rain, the weather today could of drowned a frog! This subject is only for people who hunt public, they can't change what happens on the lakes they hunt.

Kelly

If we can go into the season with my local lake about 3ft low, that would be ideal. It was right at pool, or higher this year and the hunting sucked; don't get me wrong..there were birds...but the high water levels made it very tough for anyone trying to walk in..Luckily, if we do have another wet late summer, early fall..I've got a kayak to fix that little problem..

With that said..I need it to stop raining for a good week so I can get my fields cut and baled...then rain some more

For my lease I'm liking the rain, I have control over the water level. Public maybe a different story.

After season ended last year, I found a killer spot that will be great if we stay wet. I'm thinking this year I'll try doing some things different if we have high water levels again.

i hope to use my boats this year to access more spots. im without a truck right now, so getting back into the sticks is dependent on my hunting buddies... hope i have a better season than last.

I think we had the makings to a good year. I just think we didn't adapt to the high water like we should have.

I had a killer year last year! Was not disappointed in it at all. Always came home w/ something.

Last year was magical.

In late November, I was hunting with some men in the Trinity River bottoms and we had a so-so morning. About 10:00 am, I called with what I thought were a small wad of Widgeons. As it turned out, six Pintail landed right smack dab in the middle of the decoys.




January the 11th and 12th, there were 4 to 5 inch thick platesof ice at the boat ramp we wrestled with. The day before was terrible since the ice was still in the timber. The night of the 10th, ice flat more locked up ALL of the rice fields within a 20 mile radius and the ducks had no where else to go but the timber. When Dad and I would motor into the woods, you could hearthousandsof hen mallards on the water. "BAH-baah-baaah-bah---Baaaah-bah-bah-bah..."---everywhere. It was surreal and I have only seen it like this four of five times in almost 5 decades on earth.







Miss Tootse made the scene as well last year. She is dynamite---a lot of power in a small package. We still have a lot to do but she is extremely intense and not afraid of anything.





I hope and pray for health and the ability to see a few sunrises with our boys and my father. The rest is a just a bonus.

I have probably shown these pics here five times. My apologies for the repeats.

I don't think that ole toph20 explained that the mallard pics are from arkansas.

Kelly

I didn't want to do that Kelly. I wanted to get everyone fired up. Three seasons ago, I killed more in TX than AR.

I spent a number of trips last season hosting buddies from Stuttgart here cause they didn't have the birds. The only times they did... Like TopH20 said, was when the ice hit. Because of the floods every field around had water in it, so every field froze, but the floods also had the water in the trees still high enough that it was flowing and couldn't freeze. Every duck on the prairie was pilled in the public waters that day. Even in the toughest times you can catch a break, doesn't matter what state you're in.

When there is rice in the field and the water is not frozen, those ducks will get right in the middle of a 5,000 acre farm and not even think about going to the woods until O dark thirty.

There are a ton of ducks by they all have PHD's now and given the choice, they will be where you can't get to them. I don't want to give something with a brain that small too much credit but I have been fooled too many times not to think otherwise.