Best States for Early Season Teal?

[Zkight89]

I don't miss the moccasins one bit, however if I had to choose between them or the lizards I'd take Mr. No Legs everytime.  Something deep in my subconscious absolutely hates large predators....  

[GLS]

My Abby was snake broken when she was about 9 months old.  She's now 9.5 years.  On that trip, a buddy took his rescue Boykin and Setter to Alachua, Florida, a 5 hour drive from here where a retired vet snake broke dogs with a large EDB and a moccasin.  My friend had lost his first Boykin the  February before while  working a fence row that hid released pheasants from a pheasant toss the day before.  His dog was struck by a large EDB and the dog was dead in 15 minutes.  His wife located a trained Boykin through Boykin Rescue in TX whose master had died in his 80s and his daughter couldn't care for the dog.  Carl drove nonstop to TX and back to get Gertie which we took on our trip to Alachua.  Another man I've hunted with had his Brittany killed by a moccasin while hunting snipe.    Another man I know lost two Brittanies to gators.  He saw the first dog go down in a splash; and  the second one was presumably taken by a gator later.  He also lost another dog to a rattler.  Like many other locales, the lowcountry can be rough on dogs in certain conditions and places.   I haven't seriously hunted ducks with a dog in over 35 years; there were gators around then but not like we have now. I wouldn't hunt early season teal with a dog around here.  I hunted early season BWT a couple of seasons ago in a 5 acre rice field that had its crop wiped out by Hurricane Irma's tides.  I was invited by a man who saw a deer taken down in a ditch no wider than a car within 10 yards of where we shot teal.  A few weeks ago, I saw a big gator in the same spot.  Gil

[GLS]

Floyd sent me a photo of his old (but wise) Brittany, Pop.  Pop's a 55 lb. Britt, a hoss of a birddog.  He got nailed today by what Floyd believes must have been a copperhead.  Pop got popped on the lip.  He was in a ditch on the property and did a startled quick step out of it and ran to his kennel.  Floyd had his other Britt with him and needed to get her away from the ditch and back to the kennel so he didn't look for the snake.  His photo reminds me of the Seinfeld episode where Kramer proclaims " I am hideous" after looking at his reflection in a toaster.  Pop is expected to recover fully.  Floyd dosed him with Bendryl and the swelling has subsided and he seems to be doing okay.

 

 

[Rick Hall]

Good to hear he's doing well.

[SelbyLowndes]

I don't know the best state for blue wing teal, probably Louisiana.  It sure isn't GA.  Our season opens for two or three weeks usually and the flight can take place any time usually within the season.  But our birds are hauling butt somewhere else and what you spot today won't likely be there tomorrow...SelbyLowndes