Anybody seeing Ducks or Geese along the Texas coastline

[walker944]

I haven't hunted ducks or geese in many years and am wanting to get back into it this year, but have heard the waterfowl just aren't that plentiful yet. Most reports are that the ducks are coming in fairly well, but that the geese just aren't here yet. I live in the hill country and it's a good 3-6 hours (depending on where I go) to get to the coastal area.

I was over in Houston this past weekend, but saw nothing flying. I'm primarily interested in hearing input and first-hand knowledge pertaining to the National Wildlife Rufuges from the LA stateline around to just south of Houston. So, what are you guys seeing out there?

 

[MCgunner]

Uh? I've had some fantastic hunts this season already. I have noticed the geese seem to have not all gotten into the county. I've had some good hunts, though, on ducks already and taken a few geese. I have a goose hunt booked with an outfitter this weekend and a buddy coming from Waco for the event. The guy is local and is very good if you don't mind paying for a trip. http://www.hhguideservice.com/

I hunt a local WMA here for ducks and it's pretty danged decent most years. I've only been zonked once and it was so foggy that morning I just couldn't see and they couldn't see my spread. That happens. One morning, I had 4 birds on the water in the first 15 minutes and was done by 7AM and headed for coffee. I'd think about going Thursday morning, but we have the goose hunt booked Saturday and I think I can only freeze my butt off one morning this week. ROFL!

Duck season ends the 25th. I don't know when you can go, but I'll be hunting again before it all ends for sure. If you wanna join me, do it via PMs. Long drive from Houston, though. If you have the APH book, Justin Hurst WMA is closer to Houston, crowded, usually, and there's little cover there. Down the coast is Big Boggy NWR which is walk in and Bernard WMA which offers good duck and goose hunting, but requires a shallow draft boat. Then there's Mad Island WMA near College Port, bit of a mud bog. I bought a kayak now if I have to hunt over there again. I hunt GDWMA a lot, close to home and as good as anything around here. There's lots of bay and tideland hunting around if you have a boat. I do have a boat, but honestly, the WMAs are good as anything I've ever used a boat to get to aside from the Laguna Madre landcut area which is just out of this world, but a very long boat ride that requires an overnight camp on the island if done right. I like to do that in a group. Some guys where I used to work are going on the 10th and invited me, but I have my goose hunt booked for the ninth, dang it.

I've hunted the Texas coast for waterfowl all my life and know areas from San Luis Pass to the land cut/upper Laguna Madre. This is where it's at.

 

[wyohome]

It has been cold here but very little snow. The corn, wheat, and barley fields are still pretty bare and covered with geese. As soon as the snow takes away their food I'll send them down to you :0)

 

[MCgunner]

BTW, got a camper? We have lots of camp grounds around here. Snow birds like 'em, too, but there's 3 within a mile of my house.

It has been cold here but very little snow. The corn, wheat, and barley fields are still pretty bare and covered with geese. As soon as the snow takes away their food I'll send them down to you :0)

Hmm, I was figurin' they were hung up in the pan handle. Been some good reports on geese up there this season. They're getting snow, too, though. Might be a good year to book another hunt, this one in late February. We did fantastic last season, though.

 

[wyohome]

Hmm, I was figurin' they were hung up in the pan handle

These are all Canadas, I see you are shooting snows. I used to shoot a lot of snow geese when I lived in Washington state and hunted the Skagit Flats.

 

[MCgunner]

I THINK you are in the mountain flyway or something. We are central flyway and we get very few Canadas, greaters especially. Most of our geese are snows and rosses with quite a few specklebellies (aka white fronted). I've killed a few greater canadas, but it's a real event when it happens.

 

[walker944]

MCgunner - I saw that Guadalupe Delta WMA was closed for a while, but is now reopened. It's probably closest to me, since my start point is around San Antonio. I only mentioned Houston because my Father in Law lives there, but I really don't think he'd enjoy duck/goose hunting. I have not been to Guadalupe, is a boat needed there or would waders be sufficient?

 

[MCgunner]

Nope, no boat necessary, all walk in. Get up with me and you won't need deeks or call, just a good hunting stool that won't sink in the mud, shotgun, steel shot, license, waders. I usually am by myself anyhow unless my son-in-law has the weekend off. He's going to be at drill (National Guard) this weekend or he'd go with us on the goose hunt. I think he's relieved, though, cause he doesn't wanna spend $150. LOL

There are 3 hunt areas on the delta. Only the Mission bay (my favorite) was closed due to the flooding. The Heinz Bay and River units have been open. I hunted one day with a kid from Jersey Villiage out at the River unit when the Mission bay unit was closed. LONG, HARD walk out there about killed my 57 year old butt. I don't like that, LOL! That's where the geese are, though. There's a roost over on the Heinz Bay unit and two on the River unit. Weather has to be right, though, for the geese, low ceiling, a little foggy. Then, you can slay 'em.

Heinz bay has some easy spots and some long, tough walks, but isn't generally as good as the River or the Mission bay units. Couple of the potholes there are mud bogs, too. I do have the kayak now, though.

Mission bay is open Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday mornings. Saturdays, you have to sign up and pick a spot at the check station. Tuesday and Thursday, you just fill out the paperwork at the box on the Mission Bay road. River and Heinz bay units require no sign in at all. After the hunt Saturday on the Mission bay unit, you have to go by and show your birds to the biologist/tech on duty. Don't have to do that Tuesday or Thursday.

Might be a little confusing, but you get used to it and once you get the areas scouted out, it's pretty simple. One thing else I don't like about the River Unit and the Heinz bay unit, the trails to the spots are not well marked like they are over at the Mission Bay unit. You probably need to go out there in daylight to find the spots. I have some spots figured out on both units, but it took getting used to when walking to 'em in the dark. Be good to mark 'em with a GPS, but it'd better be water proof. LOL The trails are better and well marked and the walks shorter at the Mission Bay unit.

Hope that helps.

 

[walker944]

Thanks, that helps a lot. I'd love to get down there in the next week or two (at the latest) then again before the season closes. I'd prefer to go during the week to avoid the weekend crowd. I suppose the first time I go I would need to get there around first light in order to see where I was going. I know a lot of you guys get there super early and get set up as soon as they let you. I'd hate to come in around 7:00 and piss anyone off. But without knowing the area I just don't see doing it any other way. Thoughts?

 

[MCgunner]

BTW, one more tip on the river. The following link is quite handy. It's the Guadalupe at Bloomington, closest station to the WMA. Give about a day or two to reach the delta, but when the river is out, over 20 feet at Bloomington, you'd better call the offices in the morning around 9:30 (I've never caught him in the afternoon) and ask the guy if it's going to be open. Now, if you make the drive and it's closed, you could go to one of the other units. But, wife and I were driving down to Corpus one day to go Christmas shopping and I ran down to Heinz Bay to check it and the place was a solid lake. If hog bayou at the Mission bay unit goes under, the other two units go under. But, they had Mission Bay unit closed long after the river had gone down this last time and that's the day we went over to the river unit. Danged place was muddy and the walking was much worse than dry years. But, I made it without a heart attack, amazing, LOL.

http://ahps.srh.noaa.gov/ahps2/hydrograph.php?wfo=crp&gage=dupt2&view=1,1,0,1,1,1,1,0

 

[MCgunner]

If someone's on the spot, their truck will be parked in front of the sign indicating the spot is occupied. It's quite orderly out there. If you miss the first 30 minutes of shooting time on a clear morning, you've missed most of the action, usually, but earlier in the season I did well late in the morning. It varies.

I don't go Tuesdays because I have to run my route Tuesdays and Fridays, part time job. I like Thursdays best. You might wanna come early, though, on a saturday. The guy in the office will help you out, give you directions, explain things. They have better maps and an areal view map in the office. After hunting, you can run over to the other units and check out the layout before leaving.

 

[walker944]

All very good tips, and very much appreciated. I'll have to check the weather for later this week and see how bad it's going to be. Seems like I saw it's supposed to be down in the teens (where I am, anyway) on thur morning. That's a bit chilly...

 

[MCgunner]

20s here, predicted. BLUE NORTHER A COMIN'! I don't care. I'll just put on more clothes. I ain't missin' my goose hunt!

BTW, there aren't any really bad hunting spots out there, though from year to year, some spots are better than others and that varies, and the place is rarely very crowded, lots of spots, big place. I've seen years that it filled up. One morning, I nearly didn't get a spot. But, in the last 5 or 10 years, even on a Saturday, there won't be more'n a dozen trucks at the gate. 4 or 5 on a weekday is more common. I'm wondering if the price of gas had anything to do with it. GDWMA is a long way from major urban areas to drive, except for Corpus and there are so many good spots to hunt around Corpus, few drive up here.

Late season slows down as the birds get wise. The Mission Bay unit has been closed due to flooding so much, I'd think they'd be a little easier to call, but I don't know. I hunted one morning since it opened after the last flood and that was the foggy morning I got zonked. Can't really say at this point, but I'll hit it a few times before the 25th.

 

[MCgunner]

Oh, on these frigid cold mornings, 5mm neoprenes are worth their weight in gold. I don't use 'em too much, but when we get a blue norther, I'm danged glad I have 'em. I've wade fished to my waste on 25 degree mornings in those things. I'd have frozen stiff in anything else.

 

[birdshot8's]

after mcgunner wears you out making you hike around the delta, clean your ducks and head to aransas pass. redheads and pintail mainly. the bay is only a couple of feet deep but you will need someway to get over the channel. guy named Mike Spears from College station, has airboat operation and blinds in the bay. 45 dollars for the morning last time i went with him. I always enjoyed hunting from mike's blinds since they were constructed of stolen politico's signs.

 

[MCgunner]

45 bucks? I bet that's gone up. LOL Most charge 100 to 125 a morning for ducks around here out of bay blinds.

I know a Mike Spears, but he don't live in BCS and don't hunt ducks. He's a hoot, though, kind of a mountain man in a modern world, sleeps with raccoons, owns a place out in Reserve, NM he plans to retire to, and idolizes Ben Lily. ROFL. I never met his wife, but I'd probably be a little scared of her if she's anything like Mike.

Actually, Mike's a super nice guy, but he is a little, well, different. The biggest trip is the coons, have the run of his house. Weird.

 

[walker944]

MCgunner - Good luck with your goose hunt this weekend. Gonna be nice and chilly. Be sure and report your hunt when you get back home and have a chance to thaw out. LOL
I appreciate the invites to join up with you at Guadalupe. I'll PM you and we can chat and coordinate schedules. During the week would work great for me. Again, good luck Saturday!

 

[MCgunner]

Damn, I shoulda went this morning. The front didn't blow in until about 9AM. It's way windy out there now, but this morning it was calm and drizzly. Man, I bet it was good!:banghead:

 

[MCgunner]

Goose hunt this time sucked. Lots of birds, clear sky, birds wouldn't come down, colder'n heck, shot 3 rounds, killed one lesser Canada. We got 3 birds total between us. My one bird was a going away shot at 50 or 55 yards. 10 gauge pays off.

Oh, well, I have some more public hunts planned before it's over. My plan is when I get there, foggy or low ceiling, hunt geese. If it's clear or just overcast and no low ceiling or fog, hunt ducks. I'll just take both sets of deeks and both shotguns and make the call when I get there.

 

[walker944]

Sounds like you did alright. Any kill is better than no kill. I've been there before. I always enjoy being outdoors, but man it's always better to have some success. Better luck next time!!

I'm thinking of coming down to Guadalupe Delta WMA this week (maybe as soon as tomorrow morning). I've never been there, so I may come down just to check things out (get the lay of the land/water, etc) before coming down for the pre-dawn setup & hunt.

 

[walker944]

I drove down to the Guadalupe WMA yesterday and was quite surprised at the flooded conditions. I spoke with the Craig or Greg (not sure which) at the WMA station who stated that this past weekend only 1.5 birds per hunter were taken. Of course, it was colder than a witch's upper anatomical protusion, so that may have something to do with the poor hunter performance. The best part of the trip down to the coast and back was spotting about 12-15 very large gobblers on the side of the road about 30 miles west of the WMA. I stopped long enough to get a couple of decent photos. But, of course they didn't stick around long.

 

[MCgunner]

Yeah, hunting Saturday sucked everywhere. It was just too clear. Any duck action would have been before sun up in the first 30 minutes. However, I heard some shooting on a pond near us. They were shooting ducks. Shooting curtailed after sun up, though, as is predictable.

Late season like this it slows down, too. Has to be a good morning weather wise to do good. When it's clear, though, any birds that do fly can see the deeks well and are quite decoy shy having been shot at all season. I'm just miffed that the flooding shut the place down so much right when it was GREAT. Turned a great season into a great EARLY season. Place was closed due to flooding for the start of the second split, but I had a good shoot over at the river unit. It's slowing down over there, too, right now.

I might try it Thursday if the weather permits. Supposed to be thunderstorms. Maybe saturday if not Thursday. I'll just have to watch the weather.

 

[walker944]

Yeah, I saw the River unit. I almost missed the turn off for it. No markings from the main road, and no markings until you get to the boundary marker. I wasn't sure I was even on the right road for a while. I looked like quite a hike out to the sites. Did you tote your kayak all the way out there? If so, I'm impressed...it looked like a good 1/4-1/2 mile from the parking lot to the sites.

 

[Big Bill]

I'd think that as cold as it's been in the north and mid-west that the waterfoul would be flocking (pun intended) to your area.

 

[walker944]

That's exactly what I assumed as well, and was quite surprised to not see many ducks (and NO geese) a couple of weeks ago...which is what prompted the thread in the first place. Seems to me like a highly unusual duck/goose season. I live about 200 miles from the Gulf coast, but by this time of the year I always see flocks of migratory birds flying overhead where I live. So far, I've only seen one flock this year. Dove were really thin this year as well; however, I blew that off to the extremely hot and dry spring/summer.