Louisiana ducks

[William Stevenson]

The duck season started Saturday morning here in coastal Louisiana. My son and grandsons came down to the ranch and stayed for the weekend. I shot my 16 ga Parker DHE Reproduction on opening day with good results, the six of us all got limits including the 9 year old. We hunt in a marsh area of the ranch and use sunken fiberglass blinds in about a foot of water. I shot alone this morning with the 28 ga Parker DHE Reproduction. My grandsons just cannot wait till the ducks are close enough when I use a small gauge gun so I hunt solo when using a .410 or 28. I place a flapper at 20 yards and shoot only when the birds are over or inside of the flapper. It was an interesting bag for me this morning, a Mottled duck, a hen Mallard, a drake Mallard, a Green wing Teal, a Blue wing Teal and a Fulvous Whistling Duck. The boys were also successful today. We are blessed with a very high duck count and multiple species in the White Lake area. We border the White Lake Reserve where Whooping Cranes were just re-established in the fresh water marsh. Just thought I'd share the wonder of this area that I've been fortunate enough to hunt for the past 60 years. Bill Stevenson