crazy_cajun02

is that the pier right next to the causeway? I've thought about fishing there but i always end up going to my beach house instead. Or actually my beach houses pad now.

well my grandpa just crossed the causeway at pleasure island headed for johnson's buyou and said the water pretty and clear. Figured i let some of sabine guys know. He also the water is looks good from at the beach from where he is but he can't make out the calrity verry well. He's gonna try some at our beach house in constance beach and give me a report this evening.

Hey man you watch the weather lately???? I am only mentioning this with the hopes that the weather won't pan out like there forcasting. But they have another tropical wave coming right at us. Repeat of last week. I hope the weather holds too though. I need to get on some redfish in the shallows my only shot salt water without driving 3 hours is gonna be east bay on the south shoreline somewhere.

yeah, there are very few places i would actually lease for ducks. down here anyways just because of the ton's of food accessable to them that isn't huntable. I can go out and scout for them and find em where there resting on open water and shoot limit's or close to limits the makority of the time. Or just go to rockport where the pintail and redheads are guarenteed. but then again i go a little more to the extreme to find them than most. It's not beyond me to sit in a spot all night just make sure someone doen't get it before me. now deer that's a different story. I definantly gotta give props to the guys who hunt in national forest and kill deer every year.

Topic: Goose Production - Not Good Posted: Today at 11:09am I'm at the Flyway meeting in Spearfish, SD and the reports on just about all species of geese is poor to below average production across their entire range. Appearently summer never came to the Artic this year (global warming must have taken a year off). The only potentially good report was for WF in the Western Artic where things look decent. We won't know for sure about WFs until late Sept after I get back from the suvey in Canada. Cheers! KK this is from another board, just figured i pass on the info.

you guys are awefully boring......just cus' it's raining don't mean we can't at least talk about something. Ya'll need to post something.

you got that right.. No offense to the east texas and north texas boys when we have drought conditions aroound the ducks are concentrated to the marsh and easier to predict flight patterns and roost's. when its this wet theres so much pasture and flooded timber holes that aren't accessable they get too spreead out. Either way that's why they call it hunting.

My friend was out in trinity bay the other day catching blue cats over open bay reefs where we usually kill the trout. with this rain we arn't gonna have any salt water until next year. It'll be good for the ducks though, there should grass all over the place on those shallow flats.

= scattered like crazy.......... If we don't dry out anytime soon the teal are gonna be scattered. There gonna be holed up on every flooded pasture in the countryside. Best bet is gonna be over rice early in the morning or open water patches in late mornin to afternoon. Gonna be a lot of scouting due if this rain keeps up. Not to mention the full moon is at the end of the month. Be nice if it was a week earlier. SCOUT...SCOUT....SCOUT

East bay I ended up with a few craoker , plenty of hardheads, and a UFO. I was fishing mainly with artificial but had some shrinp on as well. East bay was thick with shrimp up in the marsh flats don't know if they still are but the reds should be moving in anytime after them.

It wasn't offshore. the offshore boat gets about a mile to the gallon. It was an IFA tournemant "The RedfishTour". we just got a new motor on the boat and the gas mileage is suprising. We ran from marker 37 marina to shamrock island then back all the way to the mouth of baffin bay then back to the packery channel and then back to marker 37 2 days in a row. add in running all the flats in between all that. as for the redfish..........frustrating at best.

well we didn't find any fish, or any fish that wanted to play. We found a couple of decent concentrations but they rejected the spoons and would circle back to sniff the gulp bait then move on. I don't know if the boat traffic had them spooky or what. I had several blow ups on a super spook but no hooks in the mouth. It was pretty hard to find that crystal clear water with the 20mph SE wind blowing , but we managed. Everyone that found decent fish that i talked to made the 2hr baot run to the land cut or port mansfield. We definantly could have filled the boat with trout off the King Ranch Shoreline though. In 2 days we put 80 miles on the boat and close to 35 gallons of fuel. Rockport tournemant is coming in september, hopefully that will be different. I know that water much better and a little calmer wind.

with the Bootlip numbers up that much be watching extra careful during teel season. Those juveniles can fool ya pretty easily when they swoop in like little jet plane's.

Duck numbers up slightly overall Preliminary report shows increase in breeding ducks for 2007 MEMPHIS, Tenn., July 11, 2007 – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) today released its preliminary report on mid-continent breeding ducks and habitats, based on surveys conducted in May. Overall, duck populations increased 14 percent since last year with an estimated 41.2 million breeding ducks on the surveyed area. As a result of winter snowfall and good precipitation, habitat conditions are similar or slightly improved compared to conditions in 2006. "The 14 percent increase in breeding numbers for the 10 surveyed species is consistent with what Ducks Unlimited’s field biologists have observed across the U.S. and Canadian breeding grounds this spring," said Ducks Unlimited’s Executive Vice President, Don Young. "Excellent brood-rearing habitat is present in many areas and brood survival is expected to be above average." 2007 Breeding Ducks By Species (in millions) Species 2006 2007 % Change from 2006 Change from Long-term Avg. Mallard 7.277 8.032 +10 +7 Gadwall 2.825 3.355 +19 +96 American wigeon 2.171 2.803 +29 +7 Green-winged teal 2.587 2.911 +13 +55 Blue-winged teal 5.860 6.694 +14 +48 Northern shoveler 3.680 4.553 +24 +106 Northern pintail 3.386 3.335 -2 -19 Redhead 0.916 1.009 +10 +60 Canvasback 0.691 0.865 +25 +53 Scaup 3.247 3.452 +6 -33 One of the most important elements in duck breeding success is the amount of water present on the prairie breeding grounds. When the survey was conducted in May, total pond counts for the United States and Canada combined showed 7 million ponds, a 15 percent increase from last year’s estimate, and 44 percent higher than the long-term average. The mallard number is 10 percent higher than last year. An estimated 8 million mallards are on the prairies this spring, compared to last year’s estimate of 7.3 million birds. Mallard numbers are 7 percent above the long-term average. "The increase in mallard populations continues to keep them at levels near the North American Waterfowl Management Plan goal," said DU’s Director of Conservation Operations, Dr. Scott Yaich. The most positive news coming out of this year’s survey is that redheads, canvasbacks and northern shovelers are at record highs, and increases were also seen in two of three species of concern. American wigeon numbers improved to 2.8 million (7 percent above the long-term average) and lesser scaup numbers improved slightly to 3.4 million. While this slight increase is a positive mark on a 20-year decline, scaup remain 33 percent below their long-term average. Pintail numbers remained similar to last year (down 2 percent) and are still 19 percent below the long-term average. However, this year’s excellent habitat conditions could benefit pintail recruitment. "It was extremely wet across the southern prairies and parklands in general, and the core pintail breeding areas in Saskatchewan, in particular," said Yaich. Nine of the 10 surveyed species increased this year. Blue-winged teal jumped 14 percent to an estimated 6.7 million birds. This is the third highest estimate for blue-winged teal since 1955 (48 percent above their long-term average). Green-winged teal also increased 13 percent to 2.9 million birds (55 percent above the long-term average). There was an estimated 3.4 million breeding gadwall on the survey area. This boosts their population by 19 percent since last year and 96 percent above the long-term average. For the second year, redheads also increased 10 percent to 1 million birds (60 percent above the long-term average). Canvasbacks increased by 25 percent. Now an estimated 865,000 breeding birds are on the survey area, a healthy 53 percent above their long-term average. Northern shovelers are at an all time high. With 4.6 million northern shovelers on the prairies, their numbers are 106 percent above the long-term average. “Pintail and scaup continue to be well below their long-term averages and remain a significant concern,†said Yaich. “DU and others are continuing with targeted research programs on scaup and pintails that we hope will soon give us a better understanding of the conservation actions that will help these species recover. "Overall, there was some improvement in populations compared to 2006. Habitat is the core factor driving the health of duck populations and the size of the fall flight," said Yaich. "When it is wet, there is still enough breeding habitat to maintain duck populations at levels that can produce a good fall flight. However, that habitat is under siege on many fronts and is being lost at alarming rates in some places. It’s important to maintain our focus on restoring and protecting these habitats, so they can continue to produce ducks for future generations." As part of its new Wetlands for Tomorrow campaign, Ducks Unlimited recently launched two species conservation initiatives. The Mallard Conservation Initiative is designed to conserve the mallard’s most vital breeding, migration and wintering habitats in the prairies, and in other areas such as the Great Lakes region, the Chesapeake Bay, the Mississippi River watershed, the Columbia Basin and key areas of California. And, the Pintail Conservation Initiative is an effort to restore important breeding habitat in Alberta, Saskatchewan and the northern plains of the United States, as well as in key migration and wintering habitats of California’s Central Valley, the Klamath Basin, the Gulf Coast and Mexico. Throughout May and June, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Canadian Wildlife Service survey the main waterfowl breeding habitats from the mid-continent area to Alaska. Since 1990, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and the Canadian Wildlife Service have conducted surveys in eastern North America. Population estimates for all species surveyed were similar to last year and to the 1990-2006 averages. These surveys provide the scientific basis for many management programs across the continent including the setting of hunting regulations. This is the 52nd consecutive year of the mid-continent survey.

Do they have to keep them until the poly is done? I would be pissed if i couldn't grill me some half shells. That's a waste of good meat,unless he plans on mounting it............I sure hope he's on ice. Yeah i saw that one turned in at marburgers, just looking back on past years seems like a vast majority come from east bay or north jetty.

I'll work up a Patrol order on em.............we can send out some recon patrols to locate their enemy camps......oh wait, just come to my back yard....

if you place an order let me know.......please

well looks like 2 tagged redfish have been entered i still pending Polygraph, AND 5 Caught that were ineligible.........ughh......i hope they released them..... Looks like my suspicians still hold true, the majority are caught around east bay and the north jetty. The first one was turned in at Stingaree Marina.

June 30, 2007, 10:53PM Hunters awaiting data on how teal are doing Report could tip scales toward a 16-day season By SHANNON TOMPKINS Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle Waterfowlers hoping to learn if they'll get a 16-day or 9-day teal season this September and gauge their prospects for seeing another liberal duck season this autumn could have some answers as early as this week. Federal waterfowl managers this past week were compiling data from just-completed aerial and ground surveys that produce estimates of duck populations and wetland abundance. That's crucial information used in determining the length and bag limits for the 2007-08 hunting season. The official report will be released within the next two weeks and could come any day. Wholly anecdotal observations indicate wetland habitat conditions on the main duck nesting areas of Canada and the north-central United States are, overall, very similar to those of a year ago. If anything, ducks found decent nesting habitat across a wider area than they did a year ago. Odds are very good, observers said, that the population index of blue-winged teal will exceed the 4.7 million birds necessary to trigger a 16-day September teal season. And it won't be long — a little more than a month or so — before the first flights of the early-migrating bluewings begin trickling into Texas on their way to wintering areas in Central and South America. Teal that made the trip this past year are likely to find conditions much different when they get to Texas this autumn. While wetland habitat conditions in the primary duck nesting areas of the northern prairies look much like they did a year ago, those in Texas — particularly the inland areas of east and northeast Texas — have changed drastically from this past summer. "It's a different world out there this year," said Corey Mason, Athens-based Texas Parks and Wildlife Department wildlife biologist working with the agency's waterfowl programs, of wetlands in the bottomlands of eastern Texas. "The faucet finally got turned on, and we're going into this summer in great shape." Drought memories That certainly was not the case a year ago, when eastern Texas suffered under intense drought that evaporated most bottomland wetlands, shrank stock tanks and reservoirs to record lows and otherwise vaporized duck habitat. "Last year, everything was just burned up." Mason said. The poor habitat conditions resulted in the region wintering far fewer ducks than in most years. And even the few places that had decent habitat and attracted ducks generally didn't hold them for long. Heavy hunting pressure on those scattered wetlands quickly dispersed any concentrations of birds, Mason said. But with the return of regular, often heavy rains over the past few months, waterfowl habitat has blossomed, he said. "The oxbows are full, and we're seeing very good production (of waterfowl foods) in moist-soil areas," Mason said. Heavy runoff pushed water into bottomlands which had been dry for more than a year and poured into reservoirs which had shrank to record or near-record levels. After a wet winter, spring and early summer, most reservoirs in northeast and east Texas are full — some are over-full. Prospects are great for good production of premier waterfowl forage such as smartweed and millet, Mason said. And if the region can get occasional rains through August, waterfowl heading south this autumn should have plenty of reasons to stop. "Things could change; who knows what'll happen in the next couple of months?" Mason said. "But, right now, we're set up in a lot better shape than we were in a year ago." While the much improved habitat in east and northeast Texas stands to benefit waterfowl heading south this autumn, it already is proving a boon to ducks. "Wood duck production (in east and northeast Texas) should be phenomenal this year," Mason said. The same probably will be true for the resident mottled ducks along the Texas coast, thanks to much improved habitat in coastal marshes and prairies. But, right now, it's a little hard to gauge mottled duck nesting success. "The vegetation is so dense, it's hard to see birds out there," said Matt Nelson, a Bay City-based state wildlife biologist who oversees Mad Island Wildlife Management Area. That was not the situation a year ago when drought cooked the coastal marshes and prairies, withering vegetation with heat and lack of moisture or, closer to the coast, killing it outright by allowing saltwater to invade. Mottled duck production in 2006 was as poor as the habitat conditions. "The situation is 180 degrees (different from) what it was last year," Nelson said this past week. "There's a lot of water on the landscape, and we've been getting just about the right amount of rain at just the right time." The result has been a boom in wetland plants. "Some of the ponds in the marsh are solid wigeongrass," Nelson said, noting the seed-producing submerged aquatic plant is "so thick on some ponds that mottled ducks can almost walk on top of it." Wetter and wilder While wigeongrass is thriving in brackish and intermediate marsh, sago pondweed, smartweeds and other premier waterfowl plants are going great guns in shallow freshwater ponds, managed impoundments and moist-soil units. The only problem with this year's great growing conditions is that unwanted plants are doing just as well as the beneficial ones. Problem species such as phragmites and cattails are invading and overwhelming some wetlands. But, overall, the improved habitat conditions triggered by the wet weather have been greatly beneficial to mottled ducks. "There's some excellent brood habitat out there, now," Nelson said. "I suspect we're going to see some really good production from mottled ducks this year." Despite the thick vegetation that makes it tough to see mottled ducks with their broods, biologists working in the marshes over the past few weeks have encountered several mother mottled ducks with their strings of ducklings. And while at a Peach Point WMA near Freeport a couple of weeks ago, Nelson said, observers came across a hen blue-winged teal with a brood. In some years when the Texas coast is particularly wet during spring, a few pairs of bluewings will forego the trip to the northern plains, nesting and raising young on the Texas coastal prairies. This year, that looks to have been a smart decision.

welcome.....A lot of these i had to learn in the Marine Corps but i know civilians don't get the easy access to the training. This site looked really cool and i like how you can slow the animation to step by step.

where can i get it, what's the velocity, and do they sell 3"? I'll field test it and let you know.........

AND NOTE: The Eurasian Collared Dove is considered a nusence species and a nest robber to Mourning Doves. They have no limit and can be hunted year round.

OK heres a link to the pics. The first pic is the 25 and 33lbr's(released) that were on the same jug. The 2nd pic is of joe and the 24lbr he caught rod n reel (released) and the third pic is of me with the 15lbr caught rod n reel. [Hidden Content]

THANKZZ-----DAWG.................

yeah i think that is just from mercury levels in pelagic's. Ciguatera is commonly found in barracuda but i think some people from galveston got it from a grouper caught at the flower garden's. It has scientisit all in an uproar about how common it is becoming. It really hasn't been that bad in the gulf but they are worried it is moving this way with warmer water.