Here's a report from Opening Weekend on Thorny Cypress Pool #6: It was our first time ever on that HUGE Pool. I estimate it's about 40 acres total (give or take). But right now just about half of it appeared to be flooded. They are still pumping hard. And the crops in it are very poor. Eighty percent of the pool was flooded willows and thick underbrush. Of course you can't scout and the way it's grown up, it's impossible to see most of the pool from the parking area. So we were going in totally blind in the dark (except for some intel I'd received here from Bgoodman30).
Five of us split up and hunted three spots - each of us about 200 or 300 yards apart in different directions. On Day One two partners killed seven, two others killed three while I never pulled the trigger. Meanwhile the folks in Pool #5 POUNDED them. I suspected that might happen after watching ducks work Pool #5 Friday afternoon. That is frustrating, but it goes with the territory on hunts like these.
We felt like we might do better on Day Two since we had a little better handle on how and where ducks were working #6. We also had a stiff north wind we hoped would have more ducks moving. However, one morning of shooting obviously educated the ducks and the cold, north wind didn't help us. Compared to Saturday, there were VERY few ducks moving. Even the folks in #5 did very little shooting. We quit about 11 am and ended up with five on Sunday - 15 total for the two days. Not great, but actually better than most other hunts I've had on Thorny Cypress. We killed wood ducks, mallards, green-wing teal, pintail and one spoonbill.
On Saturday Officer Jarrod Poore rode the levee about 10 am checking licenses. Pleasant fellow and very courteous. He checked licenses quickly and said, "Let me get out of here so y'all can hunt." Thanks to Bgoodman30 for the intel. A few pics from the weekend. FYI, this crew has been hunting together for 55 years! We're all 70 (plus-or-minus a year or two). That means we don't hunt as hard as we once did, but proud we're still at it.
Five of us split up and hunted three spots - each of us about 200 or 300 yards apart in different directions. On Day One two partners killed seven, two others killed three while I never pulled the trigger. Meanwhile the folks in Pool #5 POUNDED them. I suspected that might happen after watching ducks work Pool #5 Friday afternoon. That is frustrating, but it goes with the territory on hunts like these.
We felt like we might do better on Day Two since we had a little better handle on how and where ducks were working #6. We also had a stiff north wind we hoped would have more ducks moving. However, one morning of shooting obviously educated the ducks and the cold, north wind didn't help us. Compared to Saturday, there were VERY few ducks moving. Even the folks in #5 did very little shooting. We quit about 11 am and ended up with five on Sunday - 15 total for the two days. Not great, but actually better than most other hunts I've had on Thorny Cypress. We killed wood ducks, mallards, green-wing teal, pintail and one spoonbill.
On Saturday Officer Jarrod Poore rode the levee about 10 am checking licenses. Pleasant fellow and very courteous. He checked licenses quickly and said, "Let me get out of here so y'all can hunt." Thanks to Bgoodman30 for the intel. A few pics from the weekend. FYI, this crew has been hunting together for 55 years! We're all 70 (plus-or-minus a year or two). That means we don't hunt as hard as we once did, but proud we're still at it.
