'15-'16 duck season dates set
 

Attachment 92607

http://www.nola.com/outdoors/index.s...eason_set.html


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what is everybodies thoughts on this?

Sucks...wanted it to open the 14th of NOV and close the 24th of JAN.

Sucks

Don't understand why they wont let me hunt into February but the youth hunt is in February? At least the kids will get to shoot since that's when all the ducks get here

SUCKS!!!!!

SUCKS!!! October Youth hunt????....

I'd rather 14th.

So can we blame the dates on DU?

LOL..

I wish they'd leave it alone

x 1000000

I'd rather the 14th also. I see will drosts replacement picked up right where he left off.

Chad Courville. I read somewhere he works for Miami Corps or something. But go ahead and blame DU too. lol They get the blame for everything else.


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they just need to pick a date and leave it alone. I woild love the later start in Nov and be able to hunt all of january like the east zone. But nope the costal zone opens the earliest and cloeses the earliest.

I don't understand. Larry Renolds, the LDWF guy who heads the waterfowl program comes onto forums and asks for input. It happened last year and people complained. He asks for comments and no one provides them and when they do make a decision everyone throws up their hands in the air and complains. Now this could be the commission going against Larry's recommendations but I don't think this is the case.

I remember recently reading somewhere that Larry recommend for the coastal zone to open on NOV 14 and end on Jan 24th.

Mr Renyolds recommended the later dates. The commission chose to open early. The people who made that decision all are from sw La

One commission member didn't even show up. Apparently the others that voted for early season are all marsh hunters.

I'm sure the southeastern LA folks are happy.

Larry proposed Nov 14th opening, commission went against him. Also, they went through the trouble of surveying people and asking and specklebelly preferences, then went completely against what the majority of people wanted.

I'd rather later dates but to be honest these work best for my schedule. Sure does seem a few people get what they want biologists be damned.

The commission did go against Larry's recommendation. This is louisiana. Land of the $$$ signs where science don't matter.

That is why I did not waste my time on the survey.... it is WORTHLESS.

Larry does a good job IMO. He's a very factual based guy, likes research and studies. People shoot him down all of the time.

Yes he does do a great job.

I bet mr Reynolds just shook his damn head when he got the final judgement. I commend him because I would probably throw something across the table at the commissioners Freaking politics

Granted either way some people would have been happy and some people would have been mad had it gone later. Can't please everyone.

All of you guys that say this sucks... Where do ya hunt? I'm curios because if you take last year, and compare the week before the opener and the week we closed. It would be a no brainier on which one you would choose. I was dying to be able to shoot at the youth hunt, they smoked them. And during the middle of the week there were plenty of ducks as well just before the opener.

Now, go to the last weekend of jan.. I didn't even hunt my place because it was all divers. Our last "decent" hunt was early, early jan... Like the 5th or 6th of jan.
I would take another week in November over the week in January any day.. Swla marsh is my location. Now yes I would be ok with the traditional dates but an earlier week doesn't hurt my feelings either

I hunt 10 miles South of Kaplan. The ducks will be there until the gun pressure starts in the 1st split.....regardless if it is Nov 7 or 14 . My main issue is when it closes in JAN. Over the past few years we have had some colder weather in late JAN. This one week on the back end could make a big difference. Larry R made a recommendation and the committee just ignored it. That is the real issue.

Exactly. The problem is these guys are influenced by public pressure. I know a couple of the guys personally, they know wildlife, no doubt about that, but I think its complete bull**** that the LDWF recommendations can just be completely overridden by a group of men, especially when they are overriding state regulations and the majority are in one corner of the state. Nothing against the guys, but that just isn't right.

That being said, Larry's recommendation isn't law. But I think more consideration should be given to it than that, but I don't know how long it was considered either.

'15-'16 duck season dates set
 

I am in SE and I prefer the 14th. I get that we kill more birds in November than January in coastal zone, so the idea is to have more days in November. But I feel that has more to do with pressure than it does habitat, migration, bird tendencies, etc. One of my best hunts of the year was the closing day in coastal. Give me January.


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I like it. Have no issues.

I'm good with it

Im good with it. Just picked up a spot in the marsh west of PI, also hunt with friends and family in the east zone in central and NE La. I think I'll have plenty of opportunity to shoot at some birds

The point is that I'm going to hunt. Dates are fine. No need to complain. Go kill some birds. Call me when you start cooking and I'll bring the beer. COLD BEER THAT IS!!

I hunt in the marsh and I approve these dates.

Meaux where your new place gc?

between white lake and the superior canal

Awesome should do great in that area

I wish they woulda left the traditional framework (14th ) it's a happy medium. Sure there are birds that show up in the coastal marsh in october but lots of rice is still standing in late Oct early November. Many years we are brushing blinds the weekend before the season (whish is now the opener) with standing rice in the fields. Rushing to get rice cut, stubble rolled and flooded within a weeks time. This year will almost seem impossible to hunt opener for most rice hunters in swla. The regular guy is paying 5-8k for a blind he won't even be able to hunt possibly the first 2 weeks of the season now. As far as specks... nevermind I'm done. Them marsh boys got deep pockets I guess.

Maybe long term science/data complimented with short term factors would be a logical formula for establishing season dates. Eeeehhhhhh on the other hand, lets ask a bunch of weekend warriors how they want to manage/conserve their wildlife, and then we'll go to Baton Rouge with 4 buckets of dog shift and throw it on the wall and see what sticks, Perfect!

Either way, we got our dates. I'll be there bright and early ready for the first spoon to peep at my dekes.

I'll be there for opening day. Don't care if it's one week earlier or later.

agreed

Money talks boys

I hunt the pecan island area and like the dates. We do much better early. The last few weeks usually suck.

From what I understand, Larry's data supports the new dates but his hunter opinion survey is what he proposed. I'm thankful we have a data/facts based commission as opposed to opinion. My opinion would be to support the data and quit sending out the survey. When opinion out weighs facts, enters politics.

Everyone always says they "do better earlier." My take on this is simply the fact that, well, of course the first theee weeks or so are going to be best. Birds haven't been hunted for 40 or 50 days yet, and they are simoly just a little bit easier to kill. The last few weeks of the season will be more challenging, no matter when the dates are.

For the most part, IMO, the birds that get here in late Oct./early Nov. are not going to continue south if they aren't being hunted. Of course a few pintail and divers will head to coastal Texas and Mexico, but the greys, widgeons, ringnecks, spoonbills will probably hang around. Aerial counts prove this for the most part. Waiting an extra week may not make a difference, but it certainly doesn't hurt. I may be wrong, but the December count usually shows more birds than November.

I'm a marsh hunter, south of the Intracoastal, and I wish they would have just left the season alone and let it be 2nd Sat in Nov. We have excellent hunts in late Jan. The birds are here then, just can't hunt out of a poorly maintained blind with a few dozen decoys that haven't been moved once since opening day and mojos going everywhere and expect to kill them like you did on opening day.

Last, I feel bad for the rice field guys that aren't going to be hunting for the first week and a half or so. Have to remember that the coastal zone icludes lots of these guys. Have to make opening dates good for everyone. Gray ducks in the marsh aren't going anywhere, might as well wait that extra week and allow everyone to have a good first split.

I've hunted the same marsh for 11 years now and kept detailed logs every year but 1 year. We kill just as many ducks the last week as we do the first week and usually kill more "better" ducks. We are fortunate that we have water at that time. Our marsh stacks up with ducks with those January cold fronts.

There is no doubt that hunters that hunt rice fields are being cheated out of opportunities in the field with the early opening. If the "new" coastal zone boundary would be implemented then that wouldnt be an issue. Regardless, the wealthy and large landowner interests are dictating how and when we get to hunt. Since this is an election year maybe we need to vote for candidates who will support sound science and the removal of Commission members who set seasons based on personal preference.

The main reason is that people kill more the first few weeks is that they get to hunt more for ducks that havent been hunted. Thanksgiving holidays allow people to take off and hunt. After January 1 most people are busy at work trying to catch up and cant take off and hunt. When they do hunt their blinds and decoys look like crap because they havent been there in a week or more.

Just my 2 cents.
Robbie aka Big Hutch

opinion
 

apparently who ever went to the meeting and spoke their mind just wasted their time, public opinion doesn't matter, Chad doesn't care what you have to say


http://www.louisianasportsman.com/details.php?id=8507

Remember boys and girls, Mr. Courville is ex Ducks Unlimited employee. Do you think DU wants to optimize coastal waterfowling for all of us or just the fat cats? Its the DU way. Chew on that for a minute. I also feel he contradicted what he said earlier in his interview as it pertained to setting the duck season by data. The next thing he says is that someone asked if he had a problem with lowering the days for specks and he agrees with no reference to using "data" to guide his decision. The data showed that a 88-2 speck season would statistically not harm the population, then why agree to less. Sounds like a concession to the other committee member to get his vote to pass the change to the duck dates. Back room politics at Its best. Of course its all speculation but hey, what else are we going to talk about until duck season.

CH

Like him or not, he made some valid points

It took 47 posts before Ducks Unlimited was brought up. Gotta be a record for an a duck thread :rotfl:

The committee members set the dates based on what was best for them not what was best for the majority of the hunters for each region. And I bet they are all big time DU supporters......