# Ducks arriving by the day...



## Mexican Squealer

Big ducks starting to show up. Not huge numbers but good variety. Had grey ducks, mallards, pintails, teal and woodies on the club this past weekend. Anybody seeing anything good?


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## rnelson5

Saw lots of good stuff over the last 9 days, but to be fair they were well over 1500 miles away from here.


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## Mexican Squealer

rnelson5, looking forward to seeing your posts and adventures this season. Have enjoyed seeing them in the past.


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## jakebuddy

Well my blue wings finally showed up! But am seeing more wood ducks


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## mizzippi jb

I like ducks


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## king killer delete

Just back from Florida . Ducks in every holding pounds along I95


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## Mexican Squealer

Cut the wells off last night in hopes of the hurricane bringing some free water.


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## king killer delete

Here in Savannah only 3-4 inch rain fall


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## rnelson5

Mexican Squealer said:


> Cut the wells off last night in hopes of the hurricane bringing some free water.


Is your club in Ga or Sc?


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## Mexican Squealer

Just over the river into SC


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## jdgator

South East Louisiana is not holding its usual share of waterfowl. I may have to two-step it on over to Lake Charles.


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## Mexican Squealer

Couple hundred grey ducks showed up between Sunday and today.


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## Mexican Squealer

Big push of woodies arrived yesterday. I’d guess 400 plus in impoundment yesterday am.


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## Mexican Squealer

Good push of Gadwalls, Woodies and first Ringnecks of the season. Mallards, woodies, grey ducks, ringnecks and geese seen on the club this weekend. Bout 50% of my ponds pumped up. Blinds brushed soon.


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## gtmcwhorter

I’m just waiting on the invite to come hunt


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## Mexican Squealer




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## Sterling

Counted 9 woodies on the pond. More than Ive seen at one time there.


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## Mexican Squealer




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## Mexican Squealer

Mallards, Grey ducks, Woodies and Teal here today. Slight increase in numbers.


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## DRBugman85

Took the puppy for a work out at daylight this morning on a swamp /pond on the club and spooked 25-35 woodducks and a small group of teal out, 20 minutes later a group of Green wing buzz in with 1 woodduck following. Lot of  acorns falling from the trees so mite have a little shoot around 2nd split.


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## flatsmaster

Here's a couple that showed up courtesy of Halloween !!! Haha ... my sons pumpkin carving


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## trad bow

Now that is one cool carving. He done good. 
Jeff


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## Mexican Squealer

Dang! That boy got some talent buddy....cool!


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## flatsmaster

He's pretty handy with a knife ... I thought he stenciled but he did it free hand ... I thought it turned out great ... thx Trad and Mex


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## Mexican Squealer

Good day brushing blinds


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## king killer delete

Nice blind


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## Mexican Squealer

Thank you Sir


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## jdgator

keep those picks coming, Mexican Squealer.


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## krazybronco2

built a blind as well this weekend just didnt have time to brush it in like i really want to yet. but did have 2 woodies land on the pond where we were building. also seen some coots on the lake already.


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## Mexican Squealer

Few more holes pumped up


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## Mexican Squealer

More blinds brushed and ponds pumped up


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## Mexican Squealer

Not sure what this “duck weed like” plant is but the Grey ducks absolutely love it. Anybody know what it is?


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## across the river

I think it is duckweed it is just the giant version (spirodela polyrhiza) verses the common (lemna minor).  The giant has that little brownish dot at the base of the leaf.


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## Mexican Squealer

Cool, thanks!


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## Duckbuster82

MS you should invest in a better camera.


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## Mexican Squealer

Ha true dat...


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## Mexican Squealer

Still brushing and pumping water. No noticeable new birds this week. Few hundred woodies and 60-70 mallards.


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## C.J.

is that a dog box with a cable attached to it?


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## Mexican Squealer

Yep. Pulling the cable raises the door. Good for dogs that break or for training. Door can be set to stay open or to open when handler pulls the cord.


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## Mexican Squealer

slight increase in numbers but not much. Mallards, teal, woodies, gadwall ringnecks and mergansers on the ponds.


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## Dub

Top notch set up you have there.


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## flatsmaster

Dang Mex ur not suppose to help the hunters who's dogs won't stay screwed down ... always entertaining watching except for the yelling ... funny how many dogs names u know but not the hunters  haha


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## Mexican Squealer

flatsmaster said:


> Dang Mex ur not suppose to help the hunters who's dogs won't stay screwed down ... always entertaining watching except for the yelling ... funny how many dogs names u know but not the hunters  haha


Ha i hear you Chuck, get ready for whistles, cussing and yelling...no doubt!


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## Mexican Squealer




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## Huckelberry88

To say I'm envious would be an understatement. You've got a great looking area, as for me, I'll be slumming it with the public land bubba's again.


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## Mexican Squealer

Thanks Huck, place is a work in progress with a long way to go. Plenty of ducks to be killed on pubic land and I have spent many nights in a boat getting ready for it. Good luck


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## mizzippi jb

Nice place squealer!!!!!!  You don't by chance still own the place down from me and need someone to go watch it for you do ya?


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## Mexican Squealer

Thanks JB, appreciate it. I sold that place about 5 years ago. That little swamp would have some birds in it at times!


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## mizzippi jb

I figured..... And by watch it I meant with the dog and the benelli just in case


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## Mexican Squealer

Looks like we got a considerable boost of birds last couple of days....mostly wood ducks.


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## Mexican Squealer

Huge push of birds today. Mallards, Gadwalls, Ringnecks, Gwt’s, and first Wigeons of the season. Watched birds pile in from 2:00pm till about 4:00. Wish we could have today’s weather for the opener.


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## jdgator

Get your game face on, Mex!


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## gtmcwhorter

Eager to see what the warm up will do


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## flatsmaster

Looking good Mex ... I had 2 groups of about 30 each in my lake when I got back from Illinois ... hopeful a few more didn't spot ur place and made it to Fl ...


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## Mexican Squealer

Sounds good Flats, I was only watching for about 5 minutes this am but didn’t see nearly the amount of ducks I saw yesterday pm....they might have been stopping to feed on their way to a Florida vacation.


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## flatsmaster

its a vacation to die for !!!


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## Mexican Squealer

Birds seem to have moved through. Hoping that weather system up north brings us new birds for Sat. but not expecting much. Low numbers of birds first season but good variety.  Teal, Woodies, Cans, Ringnecks, Mallards and Buffleheads bagged so far.


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## The Flying Duckman

Mexican Squealer said:


> Yep. Pulling the cable raises the door. Good for dogs that break or for training. Door can be set to stay open or to open when handler pulls the cord.View attachment 948409


Great Idea, like the blind!  Great Job!


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## Mexican Squealer

Big push of Gwts, Woodies and Ringnecks looks like.


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## rnelson5

Of course right when the season closes


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## rnelson5

How did your club do opening week?


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## Mexican Squealer

Didn’t do much. Killed 6 species in 2 hunts but most blinds averaged only 3-4 ducks.


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## Mexican Squealer

Just finished pumping this one up today. Pumped it a little deeper to see how the divers liked it. Had about 50 Ringnecks in it today. Saw Mallards, Woodies and Ringers on the club.Total duck numbers were low.


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## hrstille

Well you may not have any birds but at least your place looks good. That's what its all about


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## Mexican Squealer

Big rain and a bunch of it. Checked 2 ponds and saw ringnecks and grey ducks.


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## Mexican Squealer

big jump in the duck numbers in the past week. Had grey ducks, woodies, mallards,  ringnecks, cans and teal on the club Saturday.


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## Duckbuster82

How many guns hunt each day?


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## Mexican Squealer

Only had 12 Sat....we only hunt on Saturdays. Usually have around 20 show up most Saturdays ( 5 blinds)


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## Mexican Squealer

Duck numbers jumped to around 1500 birds last Sat. Mallards, ring necks, woodies and Canada geese were killed on the club.  Weather is improving and expecting an increase in birds this week.


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## jdgator

Pls keep the pictures coming!


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## Duckbuster82

How did the season go?


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## Mexican Squealer

Rough...club only killed 34 ducks and 2 geese. Hopefully things get back to normal next season. Boards are pulled and can’t wait to get seed in the ground.


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## across the river

What is typical season for you all numbers wise?


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## Mexican Squealer

I’ve owned the place since July. Place has always been about as good as it gets ( I’ve know folks who hunted there the past 30 years). Can’t give you any “harvest numbers” other than what we did this season. Snipe are taking away some of the pain though....looking forward to next year.


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## across the river

Mexican Squealer said:


> I’ve owned the place since July. Place has always been about as good as it gets ( I’ve know folks who hunted there the past 30 years). Can’t give you any “harvest numbers” other than what we did this season. Snipe are taking away some of the pain though....looking forward to next year.



Gotcha.  Just curious as it seemed to be a weird year.  I know one guy who has a place that they usually kill hundreds of birds off over the course of the season, but they were in the same boat as you.  They aren't one the coast, but are off of a major river.  Talking to people it was almost like the guys in a area that would be as close to what you would consider a "minor flyway" in Georgia (river system, coast, near a big lake) struggled, but the guys will ponds in the middle of nowhere that shoot 99% ringer necks, redheads, and wood ducks seem to do pretty decent.   I had wondered if the guys that usually pick up a bunch of random birds struggled where the guys that have the same groups come back each year did about the same.


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## Mexican Squealer

We are just a few miles off the Savannah River in an area that is historically jam up. Pretty much all the neighboring plantations around us were in the same boat.  Weird. We had a great variety of ducks and had good numbers before the season..then it just went dead. Strangest season I’ve ever seen! Oh well, moving forward.


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## Big7

jakebuddy said:


> Well my blue wings finally showed up! But am seeing more wood ducks



If you can hit a Woody blistering and turning in the thick stuff, that makes one an excellent shotgunner.

Fooling a Turkey, especially late season, to 30 or so yards, makes one an excellent hunter. IMO.


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## Big7

Mexican Squealer said:


> Just finished pumping this one up today. Pumped it a little deeper to see how the divers liked it. Had about 50 Ringnecks in it today. Saw Mallards, Woodies and Ringers on the club.Total duck numbers were low.View attachment 951301



WOW !  You guy's must be SERIOUS if you have a system to regulate the water. That's AMAZING. I've never heard of that. ?


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## Duckbuster82

Mexican Squealer said:


> Rough...club only killed 34 ducks and 2 geese. Hopefully things get back to normal next season. Boards are pulled and can’t wait to get seed in the ground.



Seemed like you had birds at times figured there would be more than that many birds killed, especially with up to 20 guns shooting? What do you think happened?


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## Mexican Squealer

Should  have hunted the fronts more instead of only hunting Saturdays. We always had a good variety, just bad numbers when it came time to hunt.


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## bullet225ho

I feel there was WAY more water than anyone can imagine.  I travel about a 300 mile radius around Warner Robins...Basically from McDonough in the north, to Albany in the South and Columbus to the West and Vidalia To the East.  There was water everywhere in the second half of the season...actually even the end of the first split.  I feel that ducks were sitting in places that they hadn't sat in for 10+ years...  I looked and we haven't had this much rain since 1999.  There was water in the middle of fields...every creek bottom was flooded...Flint river bottom in Reynolds was way out of its banks for many days.  

I went to West Texas and ran into the same issues there.  Way more water than normal.  Ponds that were normally dry were half acre....tanks that held tons of ducks in past years were sparsely populated as most vegetation never made it to the surface as the water was 4ft deeper than normal.  We saw birds and killed a few...but nothing like normal.


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## Mexican Squealer

Another great Snipe hunt


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## Mexican Squealer

And so it begins...the good, bad and the ugly of waterfowl management on the Atlantic Flyway. Planting season...corn, rice, chufa and jap millet. Not enough rain, too much rain...hogs, deer...warm winters with little migration...army worms...epic freezes in the north, ducks thick as bees..there will be highs, there will be lows. We can only hope, that when it’s time, there will be ducks...Good luck to all who understand it and live for it.


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