Woodcock Season

[flitecontrol]

Looking forward to next Saturday when woodcock season opens. My son has a lease where we got our limits in less than two hours almost every day we hunted last year, and I'm hoping it will be similar this year.

[Bigearl]

I’ll be there about 10 am is that ok with y’all?

[flitecontrol]

I’ll be there about 10 am is that ok with y’all?

We might be able to work something out. My son doesn't get off work until 2 pm M-F, and we usually go when he gets off, but will no doubt be there on opening morning. Have you got a 4-wheeler? It's about 1 1/2 very muddy miles from the blacktop to the honeyhole.

[Bigearl]

Boy if I had the time to jump three states I would be there in a flash. Good luck to y’all and hope to see some pics of the little doodles soon!

[AverageGuy]

FC, Sounds like fun and a great opportunity to carry a camera and get some photos of the action. I have very little experience hunting Woodcock. Had a bit of flight through here this past spring and we got 2-3 finds a day on our short morning runs for about 2 weeks. My sense is a guy is best off to be on the north or south end of their migration as the window of opportunity is pretty small for the folks in the middle states.

[flitecontrol]

May not carry the camera the first few hunts, but will definitely try to get some good pictures before the season is out. Think you're right about woodcock hunting, and Louisiana winters a majority of the eastern population. With the relative lack of quail in this area, woodcock are just about the only upland game bird available. Don't think I've seen more than 3-4 other woodcock hunters, and they were on public land.

Chaps are a must; those buggers like dense stands of small trees, and there are a lot of blackberry briars where they hang out.

[JONOV]

Ours opened Saturday. I had one flush but spent more time looking for quail.

Real thick stuff though, couldn't tell if the dog pointed or not and he was only 15 feet away from me in ankle deep water.

[flitecontrol]

Went hunting this afternoon and had many points, and at least two dozen flushes. My son joined me after I'd hunted about half an hour. He got his limit before I managed to take my first. I ended up with two after around 2 1/2 hours of hunting, my son got his three in less than an hour. This is a spot I found yesterday, and it's not the lease we hunted last year with so much success. Took a few pictures of my dog on point before my son joined me.

Edit. Well it looks like the pictures aren't loading after all.

[mtlhdr]

Woodcock sound like a pretty cool bird to hunt. I'm looking forward to the day when my boys can join me in the field. flightcontrol, how are you trying to attach your photos?

[flitecontrol]

I was using the attachment feature on the forum and downloading them from my computer. The site indicated they were downloading, but when I posted, nothing.

[mtlhdr]

Click "Upload attachment" then "Choose File". Find and click on the picture you want to post and then hit "Open". Then click "Add the File". Next click "Place inline". The file string should then appear in your text box and look something like this but with brackets on each end instead of the quotation marks "attachment=0]DSC_4380 (Small).JPG[/attachment". You can then hit the preview button and the site should show you what your post looks like before you submit it. It should show your picture. You can post two pictures per post using the upload feature. If you want to post more than two you need to use a picture hosting site like Imgur. If all looks good you can then hit "Submit".

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Mountain quail tracks.

[flitecontrol]

Thanks for the advice. I couldn't find where to click on "Place inline".

Here's an update: After the first couple of days, when we were flushing at least two dozen birds, it got down to about half a dozen flushes or less per hunt. Today, in two hours, I flushed seven, got shots at five, and took three home. Fortunately, the dog pointed the last two in relatively open woods, allowing for easier shots. I didn't realize I'd hit the last bird until I saw a few small feathers drifting in the wind. The dog went out and about 100 yards from where the bird got up, he pointed. As I approached, he broke and picked up the bird, which was dead. This was my first hunt with the Astro tracker, and boy, what a difference it made! Being able to find the dog on point was wonderful, and eliminated the frustration I'd had previously when I couldn't locate the dog, but knew he was on point.

[Willie T]

Flitecontrol, sounds like you are having a ball. Probably my favorite bird to hunt. Trying to get on them as they juke through the trees can be humbling. My son is home from college on Christmas break, giving us the opportunity to hunt together some.
Click on pics for full image

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IMG_2622.JPG (114.33 KiB) Viewed 620 times

[AverageGuy]

FC, Sounds like great action. Not surprised to hear you are loving your Astro.

You think the woodcock move to other areas in a reaction to hunting pressure or what do you attribute the decline to given you are the end destination of the flyway?

[flitecontrol]

I don't think hunting pressure is the cause, more like we found freshly migrated (flight) birds that dispersed within a few days. Several years ago, while looking for quail, I got into a slew of of woodcock in three foot high broomsedge (what Southerners call bluestem) growing under mature pine trees. Never found them there again, and they were gone the next day. You would think I would have been three shots and done (limit is three), but it seemed I couldn't hit my hind end with either hand that day. I eventually scratched out a limit, but did major damage to a full box of shells!

I encountered another hunter while woodcock hunting today; first bird hunter I've seen in many years. He'd been hunting the area my son and I have been hunting since the opener, and commented about how there were more woodcock a couple of weeks ago. Like me, he thought the initial plethora of birds was due to a recent flight coming in. I got some great pictures of both dogs on point, but it really cut into my shooting opportunities. My son got a limit, while I took only one. Don't know why they don't provide a lanyard with the Astro tracker. Both days I've hunted with it, at least once I had it in my hand when a woodcock flushed, and couldn't get the gun up for a shot. Will definitely put it on a lanyard before the next hunt.

Can anyone tell me where the "Place inline" tab is when attaching pictures to a post? I have several I'd like to post but can't seem to get over that hurdle.