Bayou Ducks Blog

The death of a hunting dog is only made tolerable by the memory of his life

info@bayouducks.com (Bayou Ducks) — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 09:41:00 +0000

When it was finished, I stood in the parking lot holding my sobbing wife, staring at the veterinary clinic.

Though Chase, my hunting dog, had shown remarkable valor and bravery in his pain, at length I needed to shut the suffering down. The tumor had spread through his nasal passage, down the jaw line up into his eye and brain.

Once so tireless in the blind, once able to make such remarkable retrieves, he could finally, barely hobble from the house to the yard. His hearing was gone, his eyesight was clouded, the tumor continued to grow, yet he fought the pain, he endured the bleeding, his was a valiant life and a valiant death.

Life has a course to follow. I once chose a puppy. That puppy grew and matured into a wonderful hunting dog. He became my constant hunting companion. We enjoyed many years together. He then grew old, feeble, and died. Life ran its full course. Yet, there will be no more sunrises to share, no more boat rides to the blind, no more remarkable retrieves to brag about.

Sitting there so trusting, Chase took the injection, sighed and went limp in my arms. I hadn’t been able to contain myself then and the tears began to flow. I didn’t want him to go, I didn’t want it to end. After what he had given me for 17 years this was the best that I could do for him? He deserved more, he deserved better.

The realization is, my hunting partner of 14 years is gone.

Topped the 200 Mark

info@bayouducks.com (Bayou Ducks) — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 05:25:00 +0000

With 7 days remaining in the 1st split we are setting on 226 birds killed out of the camp. We would need to average around 20 a day for the next week to end up close to last year's numbers for the first half of the season.

While not impossible ..... it is improbable.

Mr. Kilgo ... drop me a line!

Well, thats all for now. I'll be back and maybe with some photos!

It's Better Than A Day At the Office

info@bayouducks.com (Bayou Ducks) — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 01:39:00 +0000

It is the day before Thanksgiving and I thought I would update this blog since we had a very good day for a change. We ended today with 34 (give or take a duck) killed out of the camp.

This brings our total for the season up around 185. I will probably have to make a slight adjustment either up or down when I get the "official count" from the camp-house score board.

We are not near the "pace" that we were on at this time last year. In fact we are about 80 ducks behind. But, hey! It still ain't that bad. I've had worse.

The lake is still dropping and the salvinia (while not gone) isn't a big factor right now. What we really need is a straight northern front.

I hunted with Bob and his son, Coy, this morning. I really had a great time! The only thing you have to watch out for is Coy has this unpleasant trait of stealing your shotgun shells if he thinks you aren't watching. It does save him considerable money throughout the year. I think he learned this from his father.

Anyway, they were kind enough to have pity on me and allowed me to hunt with them and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it.

Opening Weekend

info@bayouducks.com (Bayou Ducks) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 05:49:00 +0000

This will be short and quick ....
mainly because I am old and tired and need to get to bed. I will try and take some photos this week and maybe do a better job with this blog.

Opening weekend of duck season has come and gone. It wasn't the greatest of opening weekends, but it didn't suck!

We killed 27 birds out of the camp. This brings our total up to 59 birds thus far for the 2009-2010 season.

Stayed tune (check back later) for more updates.

Mister, Leave Those Gates Alone!

info@bayouducks.com (Bayou Ducks) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 11:33:00 +0000

Thanks to the information that the Army Corps Of Engineers provided us plus having witnessed the results from the recent high water on Lake Bistineau, we have taken a small step back and re-examined our position in regards to controlling salvinia on the lake.

While the recent flood waters on Lake Bistineau has had a tremendous impact in reducing the amount of salvinia that was on the lake, flushing is not the only method that should be used in an attempt to control this aquatic mess. Even though literally tons of salvinia was washed over the spillway and tons have been left stranded along the shoreline, thousands of acres still remain in the lake. The northern half of Bistineau is still besieged with salvinia, and the heavy stands of cypress still retain the plant. The high water did establish a good current, and today, salvinia continues to flow from the lake. But what does help or hinder this “flushing” action is wind direction. The wind plays a big role in moving the salvinia out of the woods and toward the spillway. Right now (and this is only a guess) we feel that about 15% to 20% of the plant has been removed or become stranded along the shoreline. This may sound like a small number, but actually this is a tremendous amount when compared to the total amount of salvinia that was on the lake.

We feel that a 4-point integrated management strategy is the only way to combat and reduce the amount of salvinia in Lake Bistineau. We believe that the following 4 items would be the most effective and least costly methods to employ.

1. Drawing the lake down ( inexpensive )
2. Spraying of herbicides (minimal cost with spraying being done only 2-months out of the year)
3. Flushing the lake (inexpensive)
4. Salvinia weevils (partnering with The Red River Waterway Commission could yield federal monies to help with this project)

Now before we even begin any type of program to combat the salvinia, we need to take away any consideration of how recreational aspects of the lake will be affected. That ship has already sailed when it comes to hunting, boating, skiing, fishing, swimming, etc. on the lake. The present amount of salvinia has killed those activities.

1. Drawing the lake down – Drawing the lake down can be effective. It hasn’t been in the past simply because it has been done the wrong time of the year. The draw-down should begin in April and continue until September. This would expose the salvinia to the hottest and driest time of the year. During this time normal evaporation of the lake would add an additional 12 to 18 inches to a normal 7-ft draw down exposing even more salvinia.

2. Herbicide Spraying – Spraying of herbicide should be done in May and June, during the early part of the draw-down before peak growing conditions are reached. Note – Spraying and drawing the lake down will add additional nutrients to an already nutrient rich lake in the form of decaying salvinia.

3. Flushing – In September close the gates and bring the water level to 2-ft above normal. This can be accomplished by sand-bagging the spillway. When the water level has reached the top of the sand bags, simply knock the barrier down allowing the lake to perform a flushing action. Mother nature will help during this phase being that it is the rainy time of the year and when we get the most north winds. We could possibly get two segments of flushing before it is time to open the gates again. A 2 to 3-ft increase in water level would not cause hardships on lake residents.

4. Salvinia Weevils - Cyrtobagous salviniae (commonly referred to as the salvinia weevil) is the only known successful biological control agent for salvinia. Flushing, drawing the lake down, spraying of chemicals, is not the answer to controlling the salvinia growth. Performing these three steps alone would insure that there would be a never ending battle. Without establishing a healthy weevil colony, the fight would continue from now until the end of time.

A density of 300 adults per square meter will control salvinia in most situations. There are 4046.86 sq. meters per acre. This equates to 1,214,058 weevils per acre. The LWFD estimated that there was 14,000 acres of salvinia on Lake Bistineau which means that 16,996,812,000 (just under 17 billion weevils are required). In order to put this number into a realistic and manageable figure, the amount of salvinia has to be reduced using the three methods listed. Even then, continued monitoring of the weevil colony would be required.

Salvinia Facts
• Salvinia grows on still or slow-moving fresh water where nutrients are available.
• Growth rates decrease by 25% in water that is 10% as salty as seawater
• Growth is very slow in water that is 20% as salty as seawater
• plants die after 30 minutes in seawater
• A tertiary mat of salvinia can survive for up to 12 months on mud
• Under ideal conditions an infestation can double in size in less than 3 days
• Rates of growth vary according to climate zones, starting to increase as temperatures warm up, peaking in late summer, and slowing over the cooler months.
• There are no distinct seasonal periods for stages of plant development
• Permanent water bodies, and waterholes provide perfect conditions for salvinia growth, as temperatures remain ideal. Flushing associated with the wet season usually moves infestations downstream to estuarine waters where the plant does not survive
• There are very few situations where eradication is possible
• Carry out herbicide treatments as early as possible in the growth season (usually early spring). Starting herbicide treatments during peak growth periods may have little impact on an infestation
• Cyrtobagous salviniae (commonly referred to as the salvinia weevil) is the only known successful biological control agent for salvinia
• In tropical and subtropical climates weevils usually reduce an infestation in 2 years, sometimes less. In temperate climates it can take 3 or more years for weevil populations to increase enough to reduce an infestation
• A combination of biocontrol and seasonal flushing provides good ongoing control of salvinia, but re-releases can be necessary if whole infestations (and therefore populations of weevils) are dried or flushed
• Adensity of 300 adults per square meter will control salvinia in most situations. 4046.86 sq. meters per acre. This equates to 1,214,058 weevils per acre. The LWFD estimated that there was 14,000 acres of salvinia on Lake Bistineau which means that 16,996,812,000 (just under 17 billion weevils are required)
• Laboratory tests indicate that weevils cease feeding below 55°F, eggs fail to hatch at 63°F, and females stop laying eggs at 70°F. The lowest temperatures at which adults cease activity and die are currently under investigation, with preliminary findings that females will start laying eggs at 66°F.
• Salvinia highest growth rate occurs between 69°F and 86°F
• No salvinia growth occurs above 104°F
• Herbicides are used to their best advantage as part of an integrated management strategy Initial treatments will always need to be followed up with further treatments
• Trials showing that a good initial knockdown after herbicide application can be misleading, and that re-growth is likely to occur after treatment with any of the registered herbicides. The decaying biomass of sunken herbicide-treated salvinia will also return nutrients to the water, creating ideal conditions for re-growth of surviving plants

I Would Never Say I Told You So!

info@bayouducks.com (Bayou Ducks) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 02:20:00 +0000

I would never be one to say “I told you so” …

Oh hell, who am I kidding, everyone likes to say “I told you so” when proven to be correct.

All along, we have been strong proponents in raising not lowering the level of the lake in order to rid Lake Bistineau of salvinia . (See Blog Entries of Sept. 7th and Sept. 21st)

This theory of raising the lake always seemed to fall on deaf ears until Mother Nature decided to become a major player in the “Salvinia Game”. She dumped over 7 inches of rain into Southern Arkansas. The resulting run-off from these rains brought Lake Bistineau’s water level up 5-1/2 feet above normal. Water from the lake is now rushing over the lake’s spillway carrying the surface-floating salvinia with it.

In a matter of just days, Mother nature has removed more salvinia than the LWFD has done in 2 years. (see the video titled “Salvinia at the Spillway” by following this link … http://www.bayouducks.com/photo15.htm “)

Imagine how much of this plant could be removed if the LWFD worked through a program that utilized a series of raising and lowering the lake level.

We are not advocating raising the Lake level 5-1/2 feet each time but just 2-1/2 feet above normal. This continuous series of raising and lowering the lake level could be done 3 to 4 times a year ,“flushing” literally “tons” of salvinia over the spillway each time. This plan would not eradicate the plant, but in two years it would bring it down to a manageable level. If you have doubts, then just follow the link listed above.

Right now the LWFD needs to close the gates that are open and force all of the drain off from the flood waters over the spillway. The raised gates are simply draining water from the lake and leaving the salvinia behind.

Hey! .... It Was Worth It ..!

info@bayouducks.com (Bayou Ducks) — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 04:01:00 +0000

Teal Season closed today.

The 16 day summer/fall early teal season came to a close today and it ended with a good day with 10 being killed out of the blind. Brings the total for this season to 33. Mostly blue-Wing, however we did manage to drop a couple of Green-Wing today.

Similar to the regular duck season, there were good days and there were "not-so-good-days". But overall it was worth the time and effort.

Anyway .... we jump-start this duck season with a total of 33 birds.

Smoke and Mirrors

info@bayouducks.com (Bayou Ducks) — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 05:49:00 +0000

Pleasae see the video: http://www.bayouducks.com/huntphoto6/OpenGates/OpenGates.html

If you are perceived to be doing good, then can you actually be doing harm instead?

The gates of Lake Bistineau were opened this week and what has now become the annual draw-down has begun. The 1st part of the video shows the salvinia in the Lake as we drive over the dam. The 2nd part of the video shows the water pouring through the gates as they begin the lowering of the lake.

As stated in my previous blog entry of Sept. 7th. Drawing the lake down has very little to do with controlling the growth of salvinia. If those in power truly believed that leaving the salvinia stranded on the dry lake bed has any effect on the plants ability to survive, then these persons would be lowering the lake during the summer when it is hot and dry. Not during the winter when most of the rainfall occurs. But lowering the lake does go to “perception”. The public perceives that the State is doing its best to control the growth.

Does it make sense that the State would spend so much money and man power to introduce the salvinia beetle to the lake and then take a chance of the beetle being destroyed as the salvinia drys up while stranded on the dry lake bed. Of course not, this is all smoke and mirrows. Everyone who has spent any time on this lake knows that the plant goes dormat while lying in the “moist” lake bed and then springs back to life when water becomes available.

Does lowering the lake wash out any of the salvinia from the lake? The answer to that question is a resounding “No”, as evidenced in the video. You will notice that there isn’t one “raft” of salvinia being washed downstream. In fact you will see it stacked up against the flood gate as the water pours out under it. Opening the gates as they are now, insures that the salvinia will remain as the water is removed. Please read my previous entry of Sept. 7th which explains why.

The only way to control the growth of this plant is by “flushing” the lake through a series of controlled flooding. The lake has to be brought above its normal level and then allowed to drain taking the salvinia downstream. Where, by the way, it cannot survive. The raising and lowering has to be a continued program throughout the year. Please refer to my previous entry of Sept. 7 as to the benefits and ease of accomplishing this “controlled flooding”.

I may be proven wrong, we’ll never know because it will never be tried. But the one thing I am sure of is that the continued lowering of the lake will contribute in the lake dying almost as fast as being overtaken by salvinia.

Trapping the salvinia on the lake side of the dam is the wrong approach. Last year the public was told that there was only 800 acres of salvinia left after the drawdown of the lake. This number increased to 14,000 acres by mid July despite of the State’s spraying efforts. I would not even venture a guess of how many acres of salvinia is now present in the lake.

Why would the results be any different this year? The public will be told that the decrease in surface water will make it easier to get to and spray the salvinia that is left in the lake. When in actuality the opposite is the truth. Lowering the lake creates scattered pools of water covered in salvinia that are inaccessible and therefore untreatable. The salvinia that is left on the dry lake bed does not die. When the lake is lowered there are only 2 points of access where you can launch a boat which creates another set of problems. Navigating a tricky (now stump filled) channel is one and the time, manpower and fuel needed to cover the area another.

Simply put, lowering the lake is “smoke and mirrors”. The only way that lowering the lake will have any effect on the salvinia is if the dam were removed, the lake would then be allowed to drain down to its original creeks and bayous. It would need to be down 2 to 3 years before being allowed to fill up again.

Before undertaking this method, be aware, that once removed the dam may never get rebuilt. The State can’t afford the chemicals and equipment required to spray. The State barely could afford the cost required to lower the lake, much less the cost of rebuilding a dam. The lake will be surely lost. But what the heck, it’s just as lost using the present method.

UPDATE Sept. 7th, 2009 - The scheduled lowering of Lake Bistineau has been delayed for a week

info@bayouducks.com (Bayou Ducks) — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 04:26:00 +0000

The one thing that this writer is sure of is that lowering the lake level of Lake Bistineau has very little effect on controlling the growth of salvinia. Lowering the lake does create a current and that current does move salvinia, but it doesn't remove it from the lake.

The spillway gates lift upward, allowing the water from the bottom to flow from the lake, not from the surface where the salvinia grows.

Lowering the lake in this manner leaves salvinia floating on top and not flowing over the spillway. It creates isolated pockets of the stuff that now cannot be reached to spray. It leaves the salvinia that was trapped in the cypress breaks, still trapped in the cypress breaks. The salvinia that gets stranded along the exposed lake banks does not die it just lays there until the water level returns.

There are those of us who believe that creating a current in the lake is the correct approach, but not from the bottom of the lake. The current has to be created at the surface level in order to carry the salvinia over the spillway. To do this, the lake has to be brought up above its normal level and then allowed to flow over the spillway.

This is a cheap, easy, and we believe an effective way to control the growth.Simply sand-bag the spillway bringing the lake level up 2-ft. Then remove the sand-bags allowing the water to flow over the spillway carrying the salvinia away. This should be a continous process throughout the year.

Raising the water level would also enhance the flow of the salvinia from the trapped cypress breaks. A cypress tree's trunk is much smaller above the water line. By forcing the large root base below the water's surface, you have now created more space between the cypress trees that would allow more of the salvinia to flow freely with the wind and current.

A simple and we believe an effective approach to controlling this plant. The truth is that the salvinia in Lake Bistineau will never be eradicated, but it can be controlled in this cost effective manner.

For more salvinia photos and information ..... http://arklatexhomepage.com/content/outdoors_salvinia

The Most Rewarding Time

info@bayouducks.com (Bayou Ducks) — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 16:33:00 +0000

Hunting with my son is one of the most rewarding things that I have experienced. We started several years back with the two of us participating in open day dove hunts. These beginning hunting trips to the dove fields slowly progressed to deer hunting and then to duck hunting. Some of the most rewarding times of my life were spent in a deer stand and a duck blind with my son when he was at a very young age.

Then the most terrible thing happened. He began to grow up, discovering girls, video games, friends, paint ball, etc. He made fewer and fewer hunting trips with me as he found other avenues and playmates to occupy his time. My companionship and expertise was no longer required and I found myself without a steady hunting partner except for that traditional opening weekend dove hunt. These dove hunts started off when he was very young and have encompassed a three-state area over a 12- year period.

The years have passed and my son has grown up, but each year, he still reserves the Labor Day weekend to spend time on a traditional dove hunt with his “old man”. Immediately following each of those dove hunts, I begin anticipating next year’s hunt. I wouldn’t trade those weekends for anything.

The last few years have been especially rewarding as he has become a very good wing-shot, nor does he now require a constant train of food or entertainment. In fact he has killed as many if not more birds than I have. He does rib me a little about my advanced age and tends to over orate about his shooting skill, but at the same time showing a little mercy for his old man’s lack of youth, creaking bones, bad feet, poor eyesight, faded hearing, and everything else that comes with getting older.

He will be in the duck blind with me this year on opening day. Not only am I looking forward to the time we’ll spend together in the blind, but I am going to show this “smart-mouthed-whipper-snapper” a thing or two when it comes to shooting. That is, if I can find my eye glasses, a bottle of arthritis pain killer, sole cushions for my boots, my hearing aide, and also remember where my blind is located. If not, then I’ll just cherish the time spent together.

The Most Plentiful Water Bird

info@bayouducks.com (Bayou Ducks) — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 16:13:00 +0000

I was out brushing the blind this weekend and the following occurred to me……..

Ok …. duck populations are up. This is good news. But if duck populations are up, then it stands to reason that other migratory water birds are also experiencing an increase in population. This may be bad news.

Teal, mallards, widgeon, pintails, shovelers, scaup, golden eyes, redheads, canvasbacks, Canadas, snows, cranes, snipe, and others, can all be hunted and harvested this season. The largest number of migratory water birds, however, is the only species that cannot be legally hunted: water-turkeys!!

During the fall and into winter ….. hundreds of thousands of cormorants swarm Lake Bistineau. Flying overhead and in the distance, flying in every direction and even into each other. They gather in large groups and feed on fish while floating across the lake, all the while, making the most grotesque sounds. They roost in the tops of the nearby cypress trees. Which I believe are being slowly killed by the amount of excrement that these birds pour over the trees each day. I mean … just look at the cypress trees, they are dead and/or dying from the top down.

These birds have no social redeeming value, all they do is eat tons of fish and kill cypress trees each day. They are long crook-necked, creepy, alien-looking birds. They stare at everything through their blank, prehistoric eyes and then attempt to cover everything they fly over with poo. Those that cannot manage a stream of poo as they fly past, seem to be able to vomit instead.

When in the blind duck hunting, this becomes a living hell. Poo splatters intermittently down from the sky as they fly over. We spend more time dodging the air-borne poo-bombs than we do looking for ducks.

Sometimes a well aimed stream of falling poo catches you off guard and it hits your back, across your cap, splatters your gun, etc. Now I can handle the rain, but when the weather forecast calls for scattered showers of water-turkey excrement, I’d rather stay under a roof.

This past season, while looking at the sky filled with these worthless creatures, I wondered at what point a locust storm could do more damage than this hundred-thousand cormorant sanctuary called Lake Bistineau. My belief is that the overwhelming presence of cormorants has adversely affected the duck population. They not only destroy the duck habitat …. but I suspect that when the fish grow scarce, they will eat duck and maybe even young humans.

They are federally protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, although their increased populations have resulted in property damage in the form of droppings, (which can destroy polyurethane roofing materials), dead cypress trees, and a much reduced fresh water fish population.

It is my hope that someday it will be deemed necessary and legal to load my shotgun along with every other waterfowler and bring these pre-historic looking creatures under control. In other words, kill the Son of a b_ _ _ _ _s. It wouldn’t be the same as the art of water fowling but almost as gratifying.

Well back to the task at hand. We have just finished brushing the blind, it blended in well with the surrounding landscape. I looked up and some 40 yards away a group of early season teal flew by.

While watching the teal, something in the distant sky caught my eye. It stood out distinctly, and I saw its dark wings began beating faster, its neck outstretched fully, this ominous, evil figure drew closer. It came bearing down on our newly brushed blind ….. yes, you guessed it. A water-turkey in August!!!!

I knew that there was little we could do. As it drew closer it took aim and “pow!” it laid a 10-foot stream of poo directly across the middle of the blind. I swear that the damn bird grinned!!

"Curse You ..... Red Baron!!!"

That was all I could think of

Well, It Ain't Bad News!!

info@bayouducks.com (Bayou Ducks) — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 09:25:00 +0000

By now all of you that are waterfowl hunters have heard the good news concerning the high increase in duck numbers. It seems that breeding habitat, weather, and food all came together to produce a "whopping" 25% increase in duck population. This in itself is great news. You can imagine my excitement in anticipation of the release of the 2009-10 waterfowl season and bag limits.

Well, it wasn't exactly what I hoped for .... but it wasn't dismal either. I had hoped for an increase in daily bag limits. that didn't happen, it remains at 6. But, what did happen is that we can harvest canvasbacks this year due to a 17% increase in Can population. Wood ducks went to 3 per day and with a 14% increase (still below the 10 year target) scaup went from 1 a day to 2 a day.

Not the most exciting bag limit, but it don't suck either.

We are now in the middle of August which puts the opening day of Dove season just around the corner with Teal season following the very next weekend. I'm already getting excited and I'm already wondering how I am going to get everything done before then!! I am running out of time ... I have decoy weights to make, decoys to paint, strings to cut, rotating winged decoys to repair, a walk-way to build, blinds to brush, .... I mean it ... time is getting short!!

Mr. Kilgo .... drop me a line

Duck Hunting - It's a Life Style

info@bayouducks.com (Bayou Ducks) — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 03:38:00 +0000

Since the end of the last duck season (2008-09) we have spent almost every weekend and a lot of week days preparing for next season. We had blinds to repair , blinds to build, and even a 30 year old blind that needed updating. (see the photos and video here) We had water lines to run, electricity to take care of, blinds to relocate, and in some instances … we had blinds to locate.

Duck Hunting for us is not just a sport …… it’s a life style. We live it every single day. We plan vacations around it, we work around it, we even plan social events and family gatherings around it. Nothing interrupts our passion for being in the blind during those 60 days.

Last season I was very lax (Ok … I was down-right neglectful when it came to updating these postings), but I vow that this season will be different. I might have to call upon the wisdom and writing skills of such noted authors and duck hunters as Jere L., Bob B., and that infamous father-son team … Kim and Kennon G. to lend a hand in keeping it updated, but I’m sure they will be up to the task.

Anyway, check back often and maybe …. Just maybe, there will be something new posted to this blog.