Prospects brighten for duck hunters
After poor first split, conditions appear favorable for good second.
December 19, 2004

From Staff Reports

The duck hunting season in Louisiana didn't exactly get off to a great start. In fact, local hunter Eli Haydel said it was the worst opening split he's ever seen across the state.

"The count on the coast was the lowest ever," said Haydel, a national duck calling champion and founder of Haydel's Game Calls, Inc. "During the first split it wasn't cold enough up north. The ducks were still in Canada."

But there is hope for state hunters. The second split opened Saturday, and Haydel said things are looking good.

"In the last few days the ducks have been really coming in," said Haydel from his hunting camp near Lake Charles. "On the 16th and 17th (of December) all of north Louisiana was covered. The ducks were just everywhere, and they've worked their way down to the coast.

"On the 17th my son Kelly was in the marsh and he said he's never seen that many ducks in the marsh."

Haydel also said the weather pattern across the U.S. looks favorable.

"I've been watching the national weather map, and we've got some cold fronts yet to come which will push (the ducks) down even more," he said. "The weather conditions remind me of '99-2000 which was a bumper season. I'm really looking forward to the second split. The best is yet to come."

According to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, the first split began well but only in a few areas did the success last more than a couple of weeks.

Hunter reports from most of the coastal zone were positive just after the opening, but that appeared related to some ideal weather patterns just prior to and during opening weekend, according to an LDWF release. Similarly, openings for many in the more northern sectors of the state were good early but faded.

The LDWF agreed with Haydel that weather conditions were poor during the first split.

Overall, duck and goose hunting success during the first split was observed as poor and likely similar to that of last year. Hunters consistently reported very few mallards in the bag, but teal, shovelers, wood ducks and ring-necks did provide some good local shooting.

"I think many duck hunters are getting tired of waterfowl managers pointing to the weather patterns as the primary reason for their lack of success," said Robert Helm, LDWF Waterfowl Program manager. "There are many factors that affect migration patterns of ducks, but annually, harsh weather to the north and good habitat conditions here (in Louisiana) are the keys that lead to high hunter success. This has not been a normal fall in any sense."

Some northern states ended their duck hunting seasons several weeks ago still waiting for cold weather to push birds south to them out of prairie Canada.

This has been one of the mildest falls on record in most of the 14 states of the Mississippi Flyway. In addition to the heat in Louisiana, it has been very wet. For November, statewide precipitation averaged more than nine inches, four inches above normal and this was the fifth wettest November in more than 100 years.

This has created an abundance of wetland habitat for waterfowl in flooded agriculture lands as well as backwater flooding, but this can make hunting difficult in some areas.

Those hunters that can adjust to these changing conditions should be more successful as the season progresses. These wet conditions extend throughout Louisiana northward into mid-latitude states.

The low temperatures predicted for the next few days will be the coldest of the year, so far and will move waterfowl into the state.

"This front is not as severe or long lasting as we would like, but it sure is much better than what we have had to date," Helm said.

Results of waterfowl surveys that were conducted by the department earlier this month became available just prior to the second split opener.

Survey results along with U.S. weather maps of the last two months can be viewed on the LDWF web site at www.wlf.louisiana.gov. Once there click on "Hunting Information" then "Waterfowl Population Estimates."

http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/...412190315/1044