duckboats.net is coming to life - Roll Call Time

Eric Patterson

Eric Patterson

Moderator
Staff member
Every year in mid August the post frequency goes up and folks start checking in more reguarly. I guess we know that even in August heat duck season is just around the corner.

That being the case how about everyone take the opportunity to check in and say hi if you haven't in a while or introduce yourself if you've been too shy. Tell us what your plans are for the upcoming season and what you hope to achieve. I'll start.

I'm heading into my 29th season of duckhunting with my 12 year old son Thomas by my side. He's been hunting with me since he was four and pretty much my main hunting partner for the past four or five years. Young in the sport he is filled with enthusiasm, excitement, and ideas. The days are short numbered where I can outpace him. He will be a teenager soon and the growth spurt could come any week. I take every opportunity to hunt with him. Vacation is saved for hunting season and I check him out of school a time or two when the weather is right. He's a good shot, a better sport, blows a call very well, and has really become a student of waterfowling. We are making memories.

For this season we hope to accomplish a few things. First is body booting. Thomas is really keen on this. I plan to make some swivel goose silhouttes and carry them and a rig of divers to a few shallow spots on the local lake that might offer some diver shooting. The second thing I want to do it get Thomas on a really cool hunt, somewhere - anywhere. Something new, something different. Not sure what yet but I'm formulating. Lastly, I want to hook up with more friends this season. Seems like every season gets away before I can hunt with the friends I've made over the year. I hope to change that trend.

I could keep going but won't. I want to read about the rest of you.

Eric Patterson
 
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Eric
I wont say to much as I think everybody knows my name but this just a little run down of me. I started waterfowling back in 1972 when I got back from Gibralta where I was stationed in the army, my next posting was in colchester,England, UK and it was there that I started my waterfowling career on the Essex marshes, before that I just use to do rough shooting I.E. pheasent, partridge, pigeon, and rabbits, I think you guys over there call it upland.
However after coming out of the army, I went back home to the N/W England where I came from and started travelling all around the country and Scotland waterfowling. I have not been waterfowling for the last 3 years due to a accident I had with my left Hand and not long after that I lost my little Girls Meg and Keo, this I took very badly and it put me on the floor has to speak but I managed with the help and support of a lot of friends on the DHBP
to pick myself up and get myself a new pup called Amber. Amber is now 17months old and she has not been out waterfowling yet she as just been doing he gundog training. I will be taking her out for her first hunt this september.
Take care and God Bless
Eddie and Amber
Its all about Building that Bond.
 
Well the season is getting near for sure, the only thing left now is to string the dekes. I've been on this site for about 2 years and it is my favorite. Everyone is basically a gentleman, and the knowledge of boats and hunting is great. I've hunted ducks from New York LI, to Texas to Maine to Florida. I retire from the real job January 1, 2013 the last month of duck season, can't wait. I also own and operate a deer/turkey outfit in Alamo, Georgia. I'll do this full time after retiring and with any luck I can get rid of these things below, there eatting everything in sight. Have a good season....John Van Houten

View attachment ICAM0026 pig.jpg
 
Jeff Reardon here in Maine--5 miles from the head of tide on the Kennebec River and about 30 miles from saltwater in one direction and 50 miles from the mountains in the other. I duck hunted a very little bit as a kid, quit in college, and came back to it about 5 years ago at age 40.

Geography here lets me hunt inland rivers and little potholes for puddle ducks in our early season, the famous Merrymeeting Bay and some bigger lakes from the opener until it freezes, and then move down to the coast for late season black ducks and whistlers. My favorite early season pothole is a small hike in pond just across the road from my house. It's public land, but me, a couple of buddies, and one neighbor are the only folks who bother to walk in and hunt it.

Last year, with a great deal of advice from many folks here, I purchased and restored a Merrymeeting Bay Sculling Boat. I had her ready for duck season and shot some ducks out of her, but never learned to scull last year, so that is this year's goal.


That, and not to whiff so badly this time when the huge flock of ringnecks circles the pond 5 times before they drop into my mallard decoys and set down on the water 15 yards in front of me. My buddies who were at the other end of the pond are still laughing.

And, I almost forgot, sora rail season starts in just over 3 weeks! Got to go check the tide charts and schedule a couple of afternoon high tides on the Bay!
 
Hi guys, I am joe brewer I live in north central ohio about 10 miles from lake erie. I primarily hunt water over field hunting. I have purchased a big water boat for hunting the lake. I carve decoys that I compete in several shows with and also hunt over them. I will be doing some work with the odcca at next years show also so hopefully a lot of you guys can attend. I have been hunting ducks for 11 years now and got started when I won an 1187 at a raffle and I have been addicted ever since. I am 31 years old and have 3 boys who are 11, 9, and 2. My 2 oldest boys hunt with me and carve decoys with me also
 
Well, I've been a member of this site since pretty near the beginning, have met some people from here who I consider friends since that time, Scott, Bob B, Tod, Angry Bob, Paul D, and other guys whom I haven't even met over the last 10 years or so....I might not always be an active participant lately, but life sometimes gets in the way of the fun stuff. If not for DHBP, I would not have ever gotten started making my own decoys.....I'm not good at it, but it's fun to gun over your own dekes....

This year's goal.....just still getting out there. This economy is pretty tough to deal with when half of your income is dependant on commissions on sales....I do have a 10yo nephew who wants to tag along this year....He can't actually hunt until he's 12 in CT, but I'll be looking forward to him tagging along this year.
 
I still check in fairly regularly, but don't usually log in or post much anymore.

I went through a phase of trying to carve dekes and also a fair amount of boat buying and research the past few years, but I ran out of money and realized I don't have the drive to make decoys without an ounce of artistic skill!

Didn't get drawn for SoDak this year, so I will just be hunting ducks in-state this year. Hoping for some mega west winds to blow the flocks off course and into MN.
 
Eric and guys and Dani, I am really looking foward to this season. I hope to be able to hunt a lot more with Glenn and get him satrted on calling, at least on geese.

Got the new sneak boat under construction (shold have been finished in May) and really want to hunt that this year. Last ly, I am looking foward to Six'es first season. She is doing well with obdience and play 'treiving, and certainly has a nose.
 
Jack Passie here. 63 year old, owner and captain of the Windy, a 40' Charter Boat out of Star Island Yacht Club in Montauk for over 40 years. This is the 4th Windy I've had . Now a days we fish mostly inshore for Striped Bass. Today we had a group of young guys from Myerstown PA out. Fishing has been very good, for our limit of 12 Stripers we had 3 over 40 pounds, biggest 46, the smallest was about 18 and toped it off with 50 Bluefish. During the winter I take out Gunners for Sea Ducks and Geese. Last years total was 278 Canadas and 202 Scoter and Eider. Haven't started getting ready for the up comming season , we've been to buzy fishing
 
Ed Askew, live in Mississippi, native of South Louisiana, having been finally worn out by hunting the South Louisiana marsh 37 years have finally given up and am now mostly a farm hunter in Arkansas. My first season in Arkansas taught me I am after the wrong birds as there are 100 times more geese than ducks there. Being a swamp native and knowing nothing about these rice and bean eaters, I'm trying to figure out how to bag more of them. I have a young dog that is still learning. It will be interesting to see how she does this year. I've built three duck boats but none of them are any use to me on a farm. Who knows one day I may blow it all off and spend the fall red fishing. I miss the marsh but it's too damn hard to kill ducks on their natural wintering grounds anymore.

Ed.
 
Neil Mullins here from Columbus, MS. About to turn 33 and this is my third season to hunt for waterfowl. I moved here to Mississippi 4 years ago from west Texas where I hunted white tails for my whole life. The extent of my duck hunting career consisted of maybe jump shooting ponds two or three times. I have been bitten by the carving bug and if I am not spending time with my two young boys or chocolate lab Bear I am in the shop carving.

My plans for this year started months ago with drawdowns of some shallow areas, working the land and getting millet and corn planted. I also hope that my oldest son Jack (4 yrs old) will get to spend some time in the blind with me. I have taken on two new leases, one in Louisiana and another about 30 minutes from my house so options will be there.

I hope everyone has a safe and productive season.
 
Brad Taylor in NC here. Have been around the site since about 2002. Built my first boat in 2003 and lot has changed since then. I can remember the countless suggestions and help I got here, a lot from just lurking. I now own Toller Boatworks and have built 21 boats to date and am getting ready to get started on an all aluminum NFZ. I currently teach 8th grade science and have been for 10 years but with a little luck and some patience, if you do a roll call in a couple of years I'll be a full time boat builder. Nothing like building duck boats, lets you "duck hunt" year round :) I've got a little boy who will turn 4 this fall and he is already making his way in to the shop to "help" Daddy build boats. I can't wait for the day he joins me in the field, but I'm enjoying him as he is because I know time passes all too quickly. Looking forward to making my 11th trip to North Dakota this fall and making many more memories with all those I share a blind with. Thanks to all of you here, I enjoy reading even if I don't post that much. Some of the photos (Al comes to mind!) are breathtaking and the many talents on this board are phenomenol. I love seeing all of the refurbish work to gunning floats from years gone by.

Brad
 
I am Chris born and raised in South Jersey. I am 29 now. I was raised by a GREAT single mother so getting into hunting was kinda hard. Growing up down the street from a family who duck hunted worked in my favor. Starting at 14 I duck hunted every season with these great people down the street. That is how I got hooked in this great sport. I stopped ducking for a few years while in the Navy. I moved back to NJ and got back into duck hunting last season. I jumpped in with both feet. In March I bought an old BBSB that I have been rebuilding since with the help of Boat Builder Bill Simonsen and many of the really great people on this site. I hope to have it all finished up in the next 2 weeks. I joined this site pretty much right after buying my BBSB. I had so many questions and not enough knowledge to take on the job of rebuilding a Sneakbox. Thanks to many of you and my new friend Bill it was made possible. This is a great site full of great people with a welth of knowledge.

My plans and wants for this up coming season is to have a safe and memorable season hunting from the sneakbox that I have worked hard on this summer. I also wish to hunt with some new people I have met from this site. I wish all of you a great and safe upcoming season.
 
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Around the corner indeed! 20 days until goose opener!

Summer has been busier than I ever imagined and I am praying for school to start because that spells the start of season and no more 60 hour work weeks. Have spent my last month fighting hard for an open water Lake Michigan season in Wisconsin but to no avail. Good news is the state is now pursuing a sea duck season for us, so I guess my work will pay off down the road.

Plans for this year are looking pretty fun. I have 6 states on the board right now and possibly will be adding a 7th. Wisconsin, Michigan, New York, Maine, Texas, Arkansas. Now you know why I had to work 60 hours a week during the summer ;).

Goals for the year are always to harvest a new species and hunt a different state, I will hopefully do both of those many times over this year.

Record duck numbers and record pond counts, 2011 is the time to be a waterfowler!
 
John Ven Huizen from South Texas. Been a member on here for a number of years. I was drawn here because of my love for sculling and old wood boats. I've learned tons from the regulars on here and made a few solid friends in the process. I hope to make it to Utah to hunt elk or mule deer with Matt within the next few seasons. I've been a waterfowl guide on the Texas coast for 6 years and am calling it quits after this season. Going back to school. Grad school here I come! This duck season is kind of a last horra for me. Starting with the higher learning second semester. I plan on spending mucho time on the Coastal marshes and a couple weeks in west texas chasing mule deer during the split, God willing. I've got a few members of the site coming down to hunt with me this year, I'm looking foward to it!
 
Paul Meisenheimer from London Ontario. I have been duck hunting on my own for 37 years and prior to that tagged along with my Dad on a few of his hunts. Early goose starts September 5 but I am unlikely to head out bird hunting until October. September is my month to head north to hunt moose with a bow. Once October hits I am in the boat or canoe at every opportunity until things freeze up.

My passion is hunting ducks in the marshes of Lake Erie, Lake St. Clair and several of the many smaller marshes that dot southern Ontario.

I love seeing the boats and decoys that folks on this site build and restore. The talent and dedication of the group is amazing.

This coming season is one of great promise. My youngest child (22 yrs) appears to be ready to finally get his hunting license. Although he used to join me in the field when he was too young to carry a gun he has never taken the step of getting his hunting license. I look forward to sharing the boat and blind with him on a few hunts this year.
 
Mike Repp here born and raised in Manistique Mich in the beuatiful UP making a living in Illinois. Been hunting for the past 41 years (God i feel old saying that) been waterfowling for the past 12 years. Really looking forward to the season, I have a 16 ft flat bottom jon that i hunt out of. I just placed an order with Carstens for a new puddler and I cant wait for it to come. This boat will open up a bunch more hunting oportunities for me.
Love this site and try to get on everyday to see what others are doing in the way of boats, carving and hunts. I hope that one day I could could go on some other type of big game hunts like Mike and Mac and others are so blessed to be able to do.
I have a new Grandson who is 3 1/2 months old and cant wait to take him out for his first hunt like I did with his dad.
 
Nick here, irregular poster/lurker but love this site and check in at least weekly, more often now that September 1st is fast approaching. Have learned tons from the generous members of this site which helped me purchase my first duckboat. Live in Thunder Bay and hunt various inland lakes and rivers in the boreal forest (the "other" duck factory) as well as coves and shorelines of Lake Superior. Grew up hunting with my dad and brother on Lake St. Clair and environs. I live for goldeneye hunting and love a good evening grouse hunt. Proud "dad" of a 3-year-old chocolate lab, Kuma. Slowly (and I mean slowly) learning to carve my own decoys from my dad, largely over Skype. Hope to one day build my own sneakbox when career and budget allow.

Goals for this year...write more about hunting (I write a bit about my other passion, climbing) and share some adventures on this great site. Restore some of my dads old, early carved birds and hopefully harvest my first black duck over one of them. More importantly, share a few hunts with my dad and brother, and hopefully see my brother harvest his first grouse. Also stoked to watch my dad's style of hunting change now that he's got a sneakbox from a member of this site.

This is a good opportunity to say a big thanks to Eric and Chuck and all the members of this site for making it what it is!
 
Sam in western PA. Early goose season starts in less than a month!

This year I hope to add some species that I haven't taken before, hunt the Niagara River for OS and take some late season birds worth mounting.
Right now I need some cooler weather to get the dog in hunting shape.
 
Trip in Little Rock. Have hunted ducks since 1976 when I moved to AR for college. Hunt the AR River, Bayou Meto and other public grounds. I have been getting into hunting the Canada geese of late and they are a blast. Have a 20 yr old daughter away at school (as of this week) and 16 yr old son that both love to hunt. Dove season is a couple of weeks away and my daughter plans to come home from school to shoot. Hunt with a 9 year old golden.
 
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