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Louisiana Duck Hunters
Posted on 1/5/26 at 1:28 pm
Posted on 1/5/26 at 1:28 pm
Are Louisiana duck hunters at a crossroads in regards to how they spend their money on the sport?
For example, when I lived on the east coast, the deer hunting was terrible. I'd grown up hunting in Tensas and along the Mississippi and chasing 145 pound 6 points drove me crazy.
I found a small lease in the midwest and the first year I hunted I killed two bucks, both over 150.
I would leave my house around 3.00 am and would be in the stand in Illinois by 2:00 that afternoon. The quality of the few hunts I made each year far outweighed the dozens of hunts I was making back home.
I see and hear lots of discussion about how bad duck hunting has gotten in Louisiana and I know how much money most folks spend on it here. I'm wondering when the quality of the experience (even if you get to hunt fewer times) outweighs the convenience of hunting close to the house.
For example, when I lived on the east coast, the deer hunting was terrible. I'd grown up hunting in Tensas and along the Mississippi and chasing 145 pound 6 points drove me crazy.
I found a small lease in the midwest and the first year I hunted I killed two bucks, both over 150.
I would leave my house around 3.00 am and would be in the stand in Illinois by 2:00 that afternoon. The quality of the few hunts I made each year far outweighed the dozens of hunts I was making back home.
I see and hear lots of discussion about how bad duck hunting has gotten in Louisiana and I know how much money most folks spend on it here. I'm wondering when the quality of the experience (even if you get to hunt fewer times) outweighs the convenience of hunting close to the house.
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Posted on 1/5/26 at 1:35 pm to geauxbrown
I would say that is the case. Which is why now a lot of the Midwest states are making it considerably more expensive and tougher to go there often or even buy properties there.
Posted on 1/5/26 at 1:44 pm to GREENHEAD22
quote:
I would say that is the case. Which is why now a lot of the Midwest states are making it considerably more expensive and tougher to go there often or even buy properties there
I went with a couple of friends to Kansas last week. We walked into a public area and had a fantastic hunt. That said, we hit it just right with the weather.
Also, I'm getting a little old for those long drives, hunt and then turn around and come home.
Posted on 1/5/26 at 1:55 pm to geauxbrown
Me personally I had a great run as a duck hunter, hunted in some great places with great people. With that being said seeing the decline and having leases sold or bought out combined with a friend buying a sweet place then everything around it converted to different ag uses that basically made his place a 2-3 time a year place. My run is over save for the occational woodie or whistler swat - I am good with it.
Posted on 1/5/26 at 2:08 pm to geauxbrown
I think the older generation myself included are smart enough to know that the juice isn’t worth the squeeze. Only reason I go now is my kid is nuts about it.
I mentioned in a thread last week that I work with some young guys that have gone a dozen times and probably haven’t killed 10 ducks total. Many days never taking their safety off but all day every day they talk about duck hunting. They wake up at 2 and get to the area at 4 and do not fire a shot and come back ready to do it all over again.
I mentioned in a thread last week that I work with some young guys that have gone a dozen times and probably haven’t killed 10 ducks total. Many days never taking their safety off but all day every day they talk about duck hunting. They wake up at 2 and get to the area at 4 and do not fire a shot and come back ready to do it all over again.
Posted on 1/5/26 at 2:10 pm to geauxbrown
My brother is a duck hunter and used to go in on a lease with friends. Over the past couple of years he has shifted to roughing it on public and taking a couple of out of state trips for them.
Posted on 1/5/26 at 3:39 pm to geauxbrown
Solid Point.
This year is the first time I've questioned renewing my lease for next year. Have been on the same lease for over 20 years. We've had some good years and was actually pretty good recently from 2020-2022 but the last 3 seasons have been about as bad as I can stand and our marsh looks as good as it has since before Hurricane Laura in 2020. I've made a few hunts this year solely just for my dog.
I have a 3 year old son that I look forward to bringing in the next couple of years so I'll probably hang on to it as its not a ton of money, but if it doesn't get any better Ill have a decision to make. I've gotten to the point the past couple years where I've really enjoyed fishing over hunting in the fall and winter.
This year is the first time I've questioned renewing my lease for next year. Have been on the same lease for over 20 years. We've had some good years and was actually pretty good recently from 2020-2022 but the last 3 seasons have been about as bad as I can stand and our marsh looks as good as it has since before Hurricane Laura in 2020. I've made a few hunts this year solely just for my dog.
I have a 3 year old son that I look forward to bringing in the next couple of years so I'll probably hang on to it as its not a ton of money, but if it doesn't get any better Ill have a decision to make. I've gotten to the point the past couple years where I've really enjoyed fishing over hunting in the fall and winter.
This post was edited on 1/6/26 at 8:58 am
Posted on 1/5/26 at 3:55 pm to DuckSausage
quote:
This year is the time I've questioned renewing my lease for next year. Have been on the same lease for over 20 years.
same. I let mine go. It was just too slow to justify keeping. However my son is now 20 and mad at em. I might try to find another place. We just spend our hunting money on guided trips.
Posted on 1/5/26 at 7:24 pm to DuckSausage
quote:
but if it doesn't get any better Ill have a decision to make
I will say, with kids it's not always a bad thing to have some rough hunts. I believe it helps them develop a real love for the good days.
I see these kids today, 9 - 15 years of age killing gobblers and nice bucks. I wonder what's left for them by the time they're grown. I once had a really well known outdoor hunting personality share with me that he made his children wait until they were older before he allowed them to shoot trophy deer.
As for the midwest option, I have to say that the hunts I've had with my children have made up some the best memories I have in life.
Posted on 1/5/26 at 7:53 pm to geauxbrown
quote:
outweighs the convenience of hunting close to the house.
I pay to hunt close to home.
I also work from home and during the season, I can flex my schedule and get a couple hour hunt dang near any day I want to.
It is not a great duck/goose spot although it used to be.
We still get a few ducks and there are lots of geese around.
For me, the opportunity to be hunting and not behind my desk outweighs the need to kill limits any time I go to the blind, and I am back home in 20-30 minutes.
Posted on 1/5/26 at 10:28 pm to Ron Cheramie
quote:
think the older generation myself included are smart enough to know that the juice isn’t worth the squeeze.
I'm the same. Duck hunting now completely sucks compared to what it was in the 80s and 90s. There are no ducks anymore and going hunting doesn't make sense.
Posted on 1/6/26 at 4:33 am to geauxbrown
A couple of hunts at our camp with friends and the traditional youth hunt with Lil SI. We spend most of our time deer hunting closer to home out of convenience. We often talk about our father/son bucket list duck hunts( Alaska, California, Texas for Sandhills)
Posted on 1/6/26 at 7:38 am to StrikeIndicator
I try not to harp on how good it used (good ol days) to be because no kid wants to hear that crap.
This might be their “good ol days” right now
This might be their “good ol days” right now
This post was edited on 1/6/26 at 7:39 am
Posted on 1/6/26 at 7:45 am to Ron Cheramie
quote:
This might be their “good ol days” right now
Everybody needs to remember this.
1986 aint coming back. Yea, I know you used to shoot a limit of mallards whenever you wanted to in the middle of the day because that's what you wanted for supper. Thanks, keep rubbing it in.
ETA: And if massive effort isn't applied, it'll continue to get worse. Keep this trend up and we're just a generation or two away from successful duck hunting being a rich man's game exclusively.
This post was edited on 1/6/26 at 7:47 am
Posted on 1/6/26 at 8:05 am to DownshiftAndFloorIt
I would argue we are already there in a lot of areas.
Posted on 1/6/26 at 9:00 am to geauxbrown
quote:
I will say, with kids it's not always a bad thing to have some rough hunts. I believe it helps them develop a real love for the good days.
Agree with this and Im still on the same lease I grew up hunting and there were plenty of days like that. I do think you need a little action to keep them interested long term. Doesn't have to be limits but a few birds a hunt and birds to see in general.
Posted on 1/6/26 at 9:07 am to geauxbrown
I don’t duck hunt anymore. I live to far away from my spots, and I have a young family that keep me busy. The juice simply isn’t worth the squeeze anymore.
My heyday was 2005-2016 and had many great hunts all across SW Louisiana from marshes to the rice fields. Even then my dad and his buddies said wish you could’ve seen the good ole days from the 70’s through 90’s.
Unless you see radical changes in Louisiana and really throughout the whole flyway, the glory days of Louisiana duck hunting are long gone.
That’s not to say, you can’t have good days here and there. You have to work harder and go through a lot of bad days unless you have access to the few remaining promo areas.
My heyday was 2005-2016 and had many great hunts all across SW Louisiana from marshes to the rice fields. Even then my dad and his buddies said wish you could’ve seen the good ole days from the 70’s through 90’s.
Unless you see radical changes in Louisiana and really throughout the whole flyway, the glory days of Louisiana duck hunting are long gone.
That’s not to say, you can’t have good days here and there. You have to work harder and go through a lot of bad days unless you have access to the few remaining promo areas.
Posted on 1/6/26 at 9:26 am to LSUbub12
Just remember, bad duck hunting is better than no duck hunting for the younger generation.
Posted on 1/6/26 at 10:03 am to LSUbub12
quote:
I don’t duck hunt anymore. I live to far away from my spots, and I have a young family that keep me busy. The juice simply isn’t worth the squeeze anymore.
We all go through this in the middle of life…I did as well. However, when I retired about a year ago, my old interests started resurfacing again!
That’s why I am reading a thread about duck hunting at 10 AM on a weekday morning!
This post was edited on 1/6/26 at 10:27 am
Posted on 1/6/26 at 9:01 pm to geauxbrown
I agree on early success, and would be interested in others' thoughts on this as it relates to deer hunting if I can expound a bit....
Seems to me that opportunities to deer "hunt" are shrinking as land becomes divided into smaller and smaller parcels, and per acre prices climb.
Many big-tract landowners have gone to high dollar plots, feeders and boxes where scouting, climbers and deep woods hunting arent allowed (or are frowned upon) so that the bigger deer arent disturbed and will walk out to the feeders in daylight and give a 10 year old an easy shot.
In essence, its a farming operation and deer hunting is now "deer shooting". That kid who shot the big buck at the feeder from the redneck shooting house has learned and employed zero actual hunting skills to bag his buck. Its easy, box checked. Back to xbox. Tough to build passion when its so easy to succeed.
What I call deer hunting, where scouting and woodsmanship are key to finding and taking a deer, and take a lifetime to learn, is fast becoming a rarity except on public land.
Just what Ive seen, others may certainly disagree.
Seems to me that opportunities to deer "hunt" are shrinking as land becomes divided into smaller and smaller parcels, and per acre prices climb.
Many big-tract landowners have gone to high dollar plots, feeders and boxes where scouting, climbers and deep woods hunting arent allowed (or are frowned upon) so that the bigger deer arent disturbed and will walk out to the feeders in daylight and give a 10 year old an easy shot.
In essence, its a farming operation and deer hunting is now "deer shooting". That kid who shot the big buck at the feeder from the redneck shooting house has learned and employed zero actual hunting skills to bag his buck. Its easy, box checked. Back to xbox. Tough to build passion when its so easy to succeed.
What I call deer hunting, where scouting and woodsmanship are key to finding and taking a deer, and take a lifetime to learn, is fast becoming a rarity except on public land.
Just what Ive seen, others may certainly disagree.
This post was edited on 1/6/26 at 9:06 pm
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