We're getting ready for the second split here in Louisiana and that means the hunting gets tough, because those ducks learn every trick in the book from Canada all the way down here to Louisiana.
So that means you need to brush up on your decoying, your concealment and your calling. Five-time state duck calling champion turned judge Mike Smith says calling in a contest can be a lot different for hunting.
"First of all, you have to learn how to read the birds. You just don't call at every duck you see. You call the birds that are fairly low and looking for a place to land," said Smith.
"As the birds get closer you start sounding more like a duck. Let's say for some reason they turn away and you're looking at tail feathers, you give them the come back call. As they get closer, say a grey duck, I go to this little Haydel grey duck call. I don't put it down till its time to shoot."
"Teal are funny sometimes. You can bring them in, sometimes you don't. I give them a little teal call sometimes. But the key is be where the birds want to be."
East Zone reopens Saturday, Coast and West Zones a week after on Dec. 21.