Teal season recipe

If hunting teal was like cooking, there would almost always seem to be a missing ingredient. The “ideal” recipe for teal season — cool weather, plenty water, migrating birds, good limits, etc. — just doesn’t ever seem come together like a fine meal.

Teal season is just a couple of days away. This year, numbers of migrating teal are way up. So significantly, in fact, that the limit was raised from four birds a day to six birds a day by the federal wildlife folks, after petitions from various state wildlife organizations in the Mississippi flyway. Raising a waterfowl limit? That’s almost unheard of. Next thing you know somebody in the federal government may realize that alligators aren’t exactly endangered anymore. But back to teal. In our neck of the woods, one key ingredient is missing from the recipe this season for most hunters: WATER. In fact, some regular teal areas around are reported to look more conducive to snipe hunting.

Teal love big open areas of water. They like to buzz over the decoys  two or three times before they even think about landing among the decoys or getting close enough for good shots. Thus the frustration for many hunters for this coming Saturday, Sept. 14, which is opening day. The season closes Sept. 29.

If you have water, you are in for some good hunting, according to estimates of the numbers of birds in the area. South Louisiana hunters are licking their chops because if there is one thing that south Louisiana doesn’t run out of it is water. Okay, maybe gumbo and boudin and cheap beer. Enough already.

If you were smart enough, or had enough money, to pump your duck hole full of water, you should do well. If you don’t have water, well, then like Willie says on Swamp People, “good luck to you”.  Be safe out there.