“Blue,” Quentin Comeaux’s black Labrador retriever, got an extended workout the morning of Nov. 13.

So did the shotguns shouldered by Comeaux and others, young and old, hunting ducks in the marsh in southeast Vermilion Parish. It was opening day of the 2021-22 waterfowl hunting season, one that didn’t disappoint for the passionate duck hunter from Delcambre, an all-around outdoorsman also known for his redfish fishing success in and around Vermilion Bay.

After that Saturday and Sunday, there were at least 78 fewer ducks in southwest Louisiana. They were gunned down by Comeaux, et al, and photographed hanging along a wooden beam under a sign reading “Comeaux Hilton, est. 1984.”

The anticipation and thrill of another opening weekend was behind Comeaux a few days later when he talked about the 33rd duck hunting opener of his life. His father, Kim Comeaux of Delcambre, began taking him duck hunting when he was 4. Kim Comeaux has “retired” from duck hunting, his son said with a chuckle.

However, Comeaux, 37, still hunts ducks on the property he hunted as a boy with his father. And Mississippi Flyway ducks migrating continue to fly their flight pattern over the duck blinds there, as this past weekend proved.

“Duck hunting is what I live for. I try to hunt every day of the season but with work I normally miss 10 or 12 days,” said the production operator for Hilcorp Energy Co.

Comeaux and other waterfowlers staying at his camp, the Comeaux Hilton, and hunting ducks in the marsh near Intracoastal City combined to harvest 48 ducks Saturday and 30 ducks Sunday.

Ryan Landry, Owen Landry and Kris Bowen hunted in a duck blind with Comeaux. Comeaux’s buddies hunted in another duck blind nearby.

The week before duck hunting opened in the West Zone, state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries waterfowl program manager Jason Olszak reported there were an estimated 1.3 million ducks in Louisiana, 829,000 of them (dabblers and divers) in southwest Louisiana. Olszak conducted an aerial waterfowl population survey Nov. 8-10.

Many more ducks were in the coastal marsh than there were in the region’s agricultural fields, the waterfowl biologist reported. A majority of the ducks were seen around Rockefeller National Wildlife Refuge and White Lake, he wrote in his report. Comeaux hunts in the marshland of Vermilion Parish just east of Rockefeller Refuge and White Lake.

Of the 726,000 dabbling ducks in southwest Louisiana, 253,000 were blue-winged teal, according to Olszak. Comeaux and the duck hunters who hunted with him can attest to that.

“Early morning there were teal everywhere. Once the smoke (from the campfire) cleared, we started killing more big ducks. Grays (gadwalls) and spoonies (shovelers),” he said.

Olszak’s survey showed there were 168,000 grays and 93,000 spoonbills in the region the week before West Zone duck hunting started a week ago Saturday.

Southwest Louisiana’s opening weekend duck harvest appeared to be fair to good, particularly around Pecan Island and farther west near Lake Arthur. Field reports indicate mixed results this past weekend in other areas of the West Zone.

For sure, the duck huntin’ and camaraderie among family and friends was good around the Comeaux Hilton.

“Overall, the weekend was great. Lots of ducks killed and beer drank,” Comeaux said.

Looking ahead to the rest of the first split in the West Zone, he said, “We need some cold fronts to start bringing more big ducks down. Looking forward to another great season.”

He planned to hunt ducks this week with his redfish fishing partner, retired LDWF enforcement agent Keith Delahoussaye of New Iberia. Together Comeaux and Delahoussaye, 66, have dominated the local Southcentral Fishing Association tournaments the past few years at Cypremort Point.

This week they’ll be targeting greenheads, pintails, teal, grays and spoonies rather than tasty gamefish with spots on them.

The West Zone’s first split ends Dec. 5. Duck hunting resumes in the West Zone when the second split opens Dec. 18 and ends Jan. 2, followed by the third split Jan. 10-30.

East Zone duck hunting began Saturday and also ends Dec. 5. It reopens Dec. 18 and closes Jan. 30.