John Flores: Looking back on the duck season

It was over a decade ago when I shared a duck blind with my wife Christine on White Lake Wildlife Conservation Area. I had drawn out for this state lottery hunt in the marsh south of Gueydan that is known for being one of the crown jewels of the Mississippi Flyway when it comes to public duck hunting.
The morning started out slow, which is always good by me, as I tend to not like rushing things outdoors. Moreover, the older I’ve gotten, I find that I much prefer to take things in and savor the moments more.
On this particular hunt, I was guided by White Lake’s Lodge manager Roger Cormier. The first opportunity to shoot came when off in the distance we spotted a single scaup angling toward our blind.
When the scaup, also fondly known as a dos gris, was just about in shooting range, I started to rise to take the shot.
Right then, Cormier said, “Blackjack! Don’t shoot that. I don’t want that in my blind.”
I immediately got it. Cormier knew if we just gave it a little time, our limits would consist of quality ducks. In other words, mallards, gadwalls, pintails and widgeons, hence the reason for such duck-snobbery.
However, if you fast forward to the current season that just ended, duck hunters weren’t passing on anything. Instead, they were making the most of what they had. And, if that meant shooting dos gris, ring-necked ducks, teal and northern shovelers (spoonies), then so be it.
When Capt. Bill Lake, owner/operator of Bayou Guide Services, called it a wrap on his Facebook page on the last day of the season Sunday, one of the things he pointed out was the complete absence of big ducks.
Lake hunts the marsh south of Gibson, and, not far from him, Britt Cavalier, owner/operator of E&E Machine Shop in Houma, echoed Lake’s sentiments.
Cavalier said, “This season in my opinion was a little less than mediocre when it came to numbers of ducks, and flat out terrible when it came to numbers of big ducks. I’m not sure we killed more than maybe 5 mallards, grays, widgeon, or pintails on our place combined.”
Another hunter, Hunter Parra, who also hunts south of Gibson, also noted a lack of big ducks.
Parra, who keeps a comprehensive record of each season’s outcome said, “We killed just over 350 birds total this year, which was down from the past three seasons by double. The majority was ring-necked ducks followed by a distant teal count. We killed 4 pintails, 1 widgeon, 6 spoonbills, 2 canvasbacks, and 5 black-bellied whistlers. The final numbers on species amazes me compared to the last 3 years.”
There were other areas around the state that were void of ducks, where historically a hunt could be made. New Orleanian Charles Miller says prior to the season he wasn’t able to scout the Salt Bayou and Honey Island swamp areas he attempts to duck hunt annually. Around the holidays he finally got out to look around.
“I hardly saw any ducks, even in ponds that were not hunted. So, I just fished instead,” Miller said.
Miller mentioned the public spots he hunts overall were poor this year and have been in the decline for several years.
Retired USF&WS Mandalay/Bayou Teche Refuge Manager Paul Yakupzack hunts near Creole in southwest Louisiana and the Houma area.
Yakupzack said, “Very poor season! Worst in my life. The three splits did not help. And the last five years have been progressively worse.”
Outdoor writer Terry Jones, who doesn’t hunt ducks but spends a lot of time hunting deer in Winn Parish, spends a lot of time on the Dugdemona and Saline bayous, where most seasons ducks regularly congregate.
Jones, who pays attention to such things said, “It’s the first time I can remember that I didn’t have wood ducks cruising the slough by my deer stand. But, it may be because we had an extremely poor acorn crop.”
These were the anecdotal reports and conversations that reflected what hunters were seeing, but there also is some science that provides a reasonable picture of things.
The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries estimated 1.3 million ducks were in the state during their November 2021 aerial survey. Though the 1.3 million ducks were up from November 2020, that was the worst on record, it was a number still lower than both the 5-year (1.5 million) and 10-year (1.7 million) averages.
The December 2021 aerial survey of 1.4 million ducks was the lowest estimate on record. It was 800,000 ducks less than the December 2020 survey of 2.2 million and 50% below the long-term average of 2.6 million.
When January 2022’s aerial survey estimate of 2.1 million rolled around it was a 43% increase from December 2021, and 4% increase from January 2021, but, still 9% below the 5-year and 16% below the 10-year January averages.
However, the biggest beneficiary of January’s increase was the southeastern part of the state, where there was a 209% increase in duck numbers from December’s 20-year low. Essentially, of the 639,000 ducks estimated, 311,000 were scaup and 294,000 were ring-necked ducks — diving ducks that reflected anecdotal reports from the eastern part of state south of Gibson.
One of the changes for the 2021-22 waterfowl season hunters experienced was 3 splits this year and a closure on the last weekend of January. Depending on who you talked to, some hunters liked the format and others didn’t.
One of those hunters who preferred the 3-split was Hunter Andras. Andras and the group of guys he hunts with year in and year out successfully hunt public land.
Andras, who regularly hunts the Atchafalaya Delta WMA said, “Ninety percent of the time our hunts are on public land and the 3 splits were excellent this season. It gave the birds a chance to rest and not be pushed. Each split opener was our best hunts by far.
“The Atchafalaya Delta and Wax Lake management areas really need to enforce stricter rules similar to other WMAs,” Andras continued. “The place is a waterfowl haven and there are birds there, but they are constantly being harassed.”
When it comes to duck hunting each year is different, but it’s clear Louisiana has seen a decline in annual duck numbers the past couple of decades. Moreover, the days of beautiful stringers of green-headed mallards mixed with pintails, gadwall and widgeons, for the most part, seems to be a thing of the past.
Coastal wetland loss, changes in agricultural practices up and down the flyway, loss of CRP habitat on the northern prairies, draining of wetlands, climate change, and hunting pressure are some of the things that have taken their toll. So much so, Louisiana hunters are happy to shoot ring-necked ducks, teal, shovelers, and dos gris.