Coastal zone opening day..
 

Heard it was moved back a week. Is this true, and are we still going to have a 12 day split. I know the meeting was this AM, but I haven't seen anything official yet.

here ya go

http://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/sites/d...on08072014.pdf

***! Billy knows that the end of the last season gonna suck for down here. Guess they relented to those who think them ducks migrate down that late. All we going to do is fight low water that late.

Thank The Lord. 100% for that week pushed back. Most ducks I have seen in 3-4 seasons was last week of last season.

Still 12 day for ducks but specks is only a week. Not a single weekend for specks to have a rest. I was fine with the proposed dates but it is what it is

They can't leave well enough alone.

I really don't care about the duck opener besides having to wait another week but not havin a weekend for specks is dumb

I think 5-day splits for anything is not very useful for the hunting or for the ducks. We are using them in both the East and West Zone for ducks to balance competing demands with the weird calendar (the framework ends early, Jan. 25, but Thanksgiving is late, Nov. 27). I still don't like them, and I strongly disagree (and so does the harvest data) that early-season hunting days are bad in the East and West Zones.

But to geese ..........

Because the goose season is 74 days instead of 60 for duck season, moving the duck season in the Coastal Zone back a week complicated setting the goose season.

The choices were 1) open it a week before the duck season, 2) let it run for the first 7 days of the split, 3) run it until February 8, or 4) take 7 days off the season. Clearly option 4) is out, and I wasn't comfortable with option 1) because of putting guns in the hands of adults during the youth hunt (which has been an issue in the East Zone) and the added disturbance before the duck opener. But I had no feelings about 2) and 3).

The only complaints I've received about goose seasons since I've been heading the Waterfowl Section, and there haven't been very many, were that some specklebelly hunters HATE the split. I've been told the speck hunting gets good and then it closes for 2 weeks. That's it in 8 years; that is the only complaint about the season dates.

So I called the few dedicated goose hunters I know in SW LA, and they were nearly unanimous that the week in the split was better for white-front hunting than the week in February. Not much to go on, I know, but that was the reason for the decision.

The Commission (or at least some Commissioners) had a problem on their hands. They proposed season dates in July for public comment prior to today's meeting. I received 263 comments on the Coastal Zone season dates: 48 wanted the proposed dates, 213 wanted later dates, 2 wanted earlier dates. Although this is probably the least objective way to collect hunter-opinion data, and 4 of the 5 people who spoke at the Commission meeting implored them to stick to the biological data and keep the traditional dates, there was no way they could ignore 213 to 50.

Ain't that he truth. Fact is, more ducks are killed early than late and people still want the season moved back when the north winds push all the water out of the marsh. You can't hunt over pure mud flat!!

Problem is the ones pushing for the later seasons prolly started huntin last year and saw a bunch of ducks piled up in a rice field after the season

I agree that most likely more Specks will be killed in the 7 days during the duck split than in 7 days in early Feb. To the average hunter, Specks are easier to kill during the first split. I am just glad we still have a 12 day split for the ducks.

Not everyone hunts tidal marshes, and it's not like the north winds during cold fronts are going to blow any harder than the previous 53 days.

I didn't care either way when the season started, just wanted to still have a 12 day split.

I'm sure we will still kill more birds in the first split, just like every other year.

If this was next year, and the season was opening Nov 14th,(2nd Sat of the month) I doubt anyone would be complaining asking for the season to open a week early.

Everybody knows the ducks don't get here til February DUH!

It's sad that people will read this line and think he is fo real. You can always tell a true duck commander when they say "man they need to push the season back, look all the ducks in them field they all just got here"

Them feets is bright bright

Thanks for the reply, that is good information.

Option 1 would have been what I would have chosen, but I understand why y'all didn't consider it much. My second choice would have been option 3. I would MUCH rather the season go more into February than a 5 day split but it is what it is I guess.

I guess it depends on where you hunt but I wouldn't say speck hunting is just getting good right when the split closes. We typically do well the first week, might have a slower second week due to culture shocked birds but once you get a little weather and freshen up the stock a little it is good again. I think the split helps calm things down a little, just my opinion but 5 days ain't doing much. I hope all the people who cried about duck season dates are happy. Can't wait to see what they propose next to you as the reason they ain't killing

Coastal zone opening day..
 

I see y'all have adjusted the early light goose conservation also now that y'all added those 7 days for specs. No complaints here. The specs work so much better when the duck hunters aren't sky blasting at em. We turn the ecaller off and worked specs into rag spreads last year just to watch em.



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"Go ahead, share your opinion! I won't cry"

Still amazes me that they think the ducks just got here after the season closes. Don't they realize that due to the pressure and sky busting the ducks have found areas that have no pressure and after all the shooting and mud motor noise stops they come begin to come out of the reserves and safe places. For the most part, they aren't migrating to south Louisiana the last week of January.