Well it's the beginning of the most wonderful time of the year!  In Louisiana we get a two-week warm up before duck season known as early goose season. During this season you can take snow geese and white fronted geese A.K.A. specklebelly, specks, yuck a lucks, and ribeyes. You will be hard pressed to find a better eating bird than a speck. He tends to be a very particular eater. He prefers grain over everything else so therefore he eats like grain fed beef.

I have always been fascinated by specks and their willingness to work much like ducks. If you can find a spot they are using and get hidden, they will work just like mallard ducks. They also love hearing the sound of a call. This means you can be a very aggressive caller which is always fun. I'm sure to the folks not calling it is very annoying. I love watching them turn their heads constantly looking for the sound.

Enough with the boring stuff! Let's talk about the first four days of the season!  Opening morning came and conditions were miserable. It was raining sideways so we opted for the comfort of a pit blind to avoid as much rain as we could. Not long into the hunt a speck locked up and came in to 15 yds. My 20 gauge sounded off and the bird hit the water. The feeling was amazing!  Jesse waited patiently for me to send her and as soon as I said her name she was on it. The look in her eyes coming back was amazing!  She knew the most wonderful time of year had arrived. We got our limit by 8 that morning and all was right with the world.

Day 2

Day 2 brought bright sunshine and a strong north wind.  If you chase the birds you know that is the perfect recipe for a great hunt. Long story short we had 10 specks and 4 snows on the ground by 7. It was quick, fast and in a hurry! 

Day 3

Day 3 brought more sunshine but no wind. The hunting was much tougher but we still managed to scratch out 7. We also made a mistake by shooting the same field twice. Considering their brain is so small, they sure aren't stupid!  The morning was worth it though as Jesse retrieved a bird on a 300 yard blind and only 3 whistles for corrections. I was a proud man! While working one bunch we noticed they flared but couldn't figure out why!  We sat up and saw the reason. A bald eagle was flying low over our decoys!  It was a patriotic moment for sure! I guess the eagle thought the Higdon specks were real. Good enough test for me!

Day 4

Day 4 brought the worst conditions imaginable. Low clouds and 0 wind. We knew it would be tough and we were right. The morning started off well as we had 8 birds by 8 and then never fired another shot.

Speck season always makes me recall a verse in the gospel Luke because anytime I hear the word speck I immediately think of this verse. Luke 6:41 says ““Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?”  Jesus is trying to tell us before you start worrying about what is going on in everyone else's life take care of your own first. If the world would do this there would be much less gossip and hypocrisy which we all know would make this a better place to live. Take care, shoot straight, and God bless!