SE or East TX duck hunting

[marshrat]

Desperate for a lease for my kids and I in SE and East Texas. Does anyone know of anything, who to contact, your Uncle Jim's, cousin's best friend? Anything. I just need a contact. These spots are getting harder to find. Thanks.

[jakester12]

What town??There's not a tremendous amount of ducks to tell the truth.I would say Toledo Bend or Rayburn......but I live in Nacogdoches so there close to me.
Good luck.

[marshrat]

I live in Nederland in Mid County. It is about 20 min SE of Beaumont. Do you know of anything in Toledo Bend or Rayburn? Thanks.

[portahunter]

The only good ground in this area that I know of is leased up by outfitters. All other leases that I know of aren't worth a darn.

[marshrat]

The only good ground in this area that I know of is leased up by outfitters. All other leases that I know of aren't worth a darn.

Do you know anything about the Drake Plantation? I was told to talk to the owner, but let's face it, this area is all locked up by overpriced outfitters who can't give me much more than what a refuge can offer, minus the waiting.

TC

[portahunter]

You hit the nail on the head. Bout the only thing they can give you that you can't get on a WMA or NWR is a combo duck/goose hunt. Other than that when we're struggling in the marsh they're usually struggling as well.

[Culley Wilson]

The problem for you boys is that people hunt deer in Texas. Most good pieces of property are already in long term leases to deer hunters. Most of your big blocks of land are owned by timber companies International Paper, Timple Inland and so on. I am a Texas native that grew up on Lake Fork and went to college at Stephen F. in Nacogdoches so I know East Texas and how to legally access its' land. Check out the tip below...

Do your homework...when you see logging truck working areas around river systems, large creeks and bottom land ride down the roads if they're not posted. Typically freshly cleared land is not deer hunted for 3-5 years until the "clear cut" has about a 5' stand which creates habitat for the deer. If the land looks promising then go to the county courthouse and look at aerial photos of the land. If it still looks good then get the land owner contact info from the tax office in the same building your in. If the land is leased to a hunt club many times they will sub out the duck hunting rights for a fair price. Timber land is leasing today for about $4.50/acre.

I've been very successful at finding productive land and that is the hardest part of good hunting. I have shared one of my many tips with you and I hope you can put it to work for you.

Good luck!

[jakester12]

Toledo is loaded with ducks every year it seems....have a guiding friend over there and they were killing a lot of green last season.
Rayburn it just depends......one day there, the next there not.

Culley when did you graduate from SFA?You know Jed Dezelle?Billy Mcwhorter?Paul Peacock?

As for hunting....the rivers can turn up a few woodies or maybe more??

Good Luck,Jake

[marshrat]

Sounds good. I have actually tried to get with some of the deer leases in East TX and talked with them about duck hunting, but they get all weirded out because they know we will be shooting more than my deer hunting brethren. I mainly hunt the marshes of the upper coast rather than the Pineywoods. I am located about 30 minutes from the beach/marsh and about an hour from the woods. I was just hoping to find something a little different. I will try the log roads and try to do a little foot work. Hope and pray. Thanks.

[Greenhead Smacker]

Good info Culley

That area of Texas isn't what it use to be. With the reduction of rice production it really has taken a blow. The waterfowl seem to be moving more and more west every season. We use to have some bang up hunts out there, but the last time i went out there, two years ago, it was slow to say the least. The country had changed a lot too, you could definitely tell that there was a lack of rice from recent years.

[marshrat]

Good info Culley

That area of Texas isn't what it use to be. With the reduction of rice production it really has taken a blow. The waterfowl seem to be moving more and more west every season. We use to have some bang up hunts out there, but the last time i went out there, two years ago, it was slow to say the least. The country had changed a lot too, you could definitely tell that there was a lack of rice from recent years.

I work in the middle of the rice belt over here, and you can definitely tell the difference. Almost no geese ever rest in any fields, ever. Not even after the season. They have no reason to stop in any field around because of the lack of food and the refuges. Snows by the tens of thousands will be locked up on no hunting zones, and there is nothing that we can do about it. Throwing out a few dozen full bodies and a couple hundred rags simply cannot compete with the movement and sound of the real thing. Even with e-callers and the best motion available, you will still only kill strays.

The deer hunting lease idea can be good, but the problem is that deer and duck season, aside from teal season, open at the same time. No lease owner or member will want shotguns going off for two hours when the deer are moving, especially early season in East TX, where you may not get another shot after opening day. I have tried this before on a deer lease and let me tell you, I got an earful. Quickly dispatched, but still an earful. Duck hunters do not mix with waterfowl hunters on the same piece of property. One has to take precedence, and in TX, it will always be the deer hunter.

[Greenhead Smacker]

One has to take precedence, and in TX, it will always be the deer hunter.

Sad, but true, especially in this state.

Not only in the private relm, but especially in the public areas of the state. I could go on for days about TPWD and what they do for the deer hunter and don't do for the watefowler...but that is for some other time.

[Culley Wilson]

Toledo is loaded with ducks every year it seems....have a guiding friend over there and they were killing a lot of green last season.
Rayburn it just depends......one day there, the next there not.

Culley when did you graduate from SFA?You know Jed Dezelle?Billy Mcwhorter?Paul Peacock?

As for hunting....the rivers can turn up a few woodies or maybe more??

Good Luck,Jake

Jake,

I finished college in '96 and moved from Nac to NC for Animal Science Products. I don't know any of those boys.

The rivers are typically hard wood bottomed and we killed lots of mallards in the timber. Finding beaver slews full of acorns is key.

A HINT: When you find a big beaver slew surrounded by mast producing trees you can knock several holes in the dams. The beavers will fix them but if you make enough of them the current will concentrate all the acorns on one end. Done it dozens of times with success. Doing the proper research is key to killing ducks in the southern portion of any migration.

[jakester12]

Most of the geese just pass through and go on down to Eagle Lake.Which I've heard is amazing shooting....mainly a bunch of snows unless it has changed.

Y'all are right on the deer hunting though....it is an obsession around here....and the bad thing is that no one has realized that theres not big bucks.Just a bunch of does and young deer.and there philosophy is "if its brown its down"
The biggest deer we've ever had was 150' in a dry year, and he was poached!lol

marshrat as duck hunting leases go...just think of me up here in the PINEYWOODS and remember that you have it better!