duckboats.net is coming to life - Roll Call Time

[Ed L.]

Hi All. I go by Ed L. I grew up hunting the Mighty Mississippi River where she runs East to West. My first real duck hunt was 1965. I was 10 years old. I've only missed 4 openers since then. I moved to Tampa Florida last year where I've made some good friends and shot my first Florida duck but my heart is still in the cold Midwest come hunting season where the ducks and geese hover over the decoys and the whitetails take a buddy or two to get them out of the timber. Without the needed time to properly scout and learn the lay of the land here I'll be checking in and reading about your adventures and of the youngsters coming up and maybe take a couple of trips up to my old haunts for a duck or two.

Take care,

Ed L.

 

[Matthew R. Snyder]

Matt Snyder. 29th year on the water. Oneida Lake, Lake Ontario, the Finger Lakes, St. Lawrence, Maryland ... maybe Rhode Island if conditions warrant, maybe North Carolina ... have ducks (and vaca days and gas money) will travel!

My boy has been riding along for a couple years and saw his real action last fall, at four. He's been spending this summer tinkering with the rod and reel:

but he's more excited about what's coming up in a few months:

The morons that be in NYS won't teach hunter safety or issue a small game license to a boy his age but that is not much of a deterrent. Plus it's a blast to be able to hunt with my young son and my dad ... I am grateful to have the opportunity even at those moments when my dad and his rock-headed, stubborn, all-to-alike son are having reasoned, adult conversation about how to adjust the spread:

Dad's dog is entering her third season and learning to do a lot of things... some needed skills she has already mastered:

And others, she still has a ways to go. Fortunately she is learning at the feet of the master ... all of us are excited about watching old Jessie put in some good work on her trade this year, her 9th season:

Goals are to keep everyone stays healthy and safe, and keep the boats running, in one piece, and right side up. One other "what's on my workbench" will be putting in outdoor, hot-water washdown at the house so we can better deal with this:

in between late-season hunts. I suppose we'll also find time to find out if the boy's legs are long enough to keep up with the old dog while we chase these:

Oughta be a good year. Y'all stay safe!

 

[Kris Schaumburg]

Kris Schaumburg, 29, New Orleans, LA. First began lurking on the site in college, when it was mostly a different group of guys that would be considered the "regulars". Enjoy hunting the many different terrains that LA and MS afford to the duck hunter. Hunt mostly marshes south of New Orleans, but also flooded timber in MS, rice fields in SW LA, rice in AR on occasion, and dry field geese from time to time. I have an 18 month old boykin spaniel that will hopefully come more into her own this season. currently the majority of my time is consumed with inshore and offshore fishing, but the itch is coming around with dove starting in two weeks followed by teal the following weekend. I have actively pursued ducks for most of my life, but in the past 5 years or so, turkeys have been my primary hunting obsession. View attachment Copy of 1218 reggio.jpg

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[Ron Simmons]

Ron Simmons checking in from lower Michigan. I have been hunting ducks and geese since 1973 when a fried invited me to go along with he and his dad. I have been lurking on this site since 1999 when I did a search for duckboats and was brought here. I found guys like Lee Harker who lived close enough that we hunted some of the same spots and that most of them shared the same philosophy about the hunt that I did. I finally got the nerve to join 2002 though I still didn't post much. I am going into my first duck season as a retired person and have a trip planned to the UP to hunt on Au Train lake and another to Missouri to try snow geese. My hunting partner has a new Chessie that we will be breaking in this year so my 10 yr old AWS will see limited duty. She will get to chase some pheasants and maybe some Grouse though now that I have joined the "Everyday is Saturday" club. Good Luck to all and Thanks to Eric and others for providing this place we can all sit around and discuss our addiction.

 

[Randy Dunbar]

... 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.

...
Eric Patterson OK, I guess I should say hello and give some thanks for all the enjoyment I get from lurking on this site. Don't think I've ever posted but try to check in every day or two. I ALWAYS enjoy seeing Al Hansen's posts and pics. Thanks Man! But, just to single out a few: The John Fraser trapping thread this winter was especially enjoyable. Used to trap a lot during high school and college...a long time ago. Dani's posts on fishing are must see's for me. The "what's on your bench" monthly thread is something I focus on too. Pretty inspirational stuff. I see some of the really good stuff on other websites too (Vine, Sutton, etc) but only see Gregory, Hillman and Lawrence here. I got pointed to this site in search of the missing (from the Decoy Carving Forum) John Lawrence and Keith Mueller. I find much of interest with John's work and, Mueller...needs no extra words. John is still very much in evidence but Keith is probably too busy these days for internet stuff. I sure enjoy the latest book. And, of course the hunting and hunting pics in general are great draws. Thx to all who share their outings. As for me, I really don't hunt waterfowl much. I just like decoys and carving. I carve a mix of stuff and really like it all. Never met an outdoor activity I didn't like but would say these days it's mostly chukar, pheasants and quail as far as hunting goes. Used to hunt big game hard, but with all the kids on their own, it's just too much meat and packing elk on my back isn't that welcome anymore. I fly fish a lot (but not enough). Have covered much of the west, AK and Canada over the years. Wife and I like to canoe and try to get to the Boundary Waters/Quetico at least every other year. We hike, backpack, whitewater raft/boat and anything else that gets us outdoors. I especially enjoy outdoor photography and would like to spend more time at it (like everything else we do, I guess). Retired foresters really should like the outdoors, eh? Anyhow, to give some flavor, here's a couple links that will hopefully work. The first is a link to a trip report (with pics) that I did of a float down Oregon's Owyhee river a few years ago. The second is a link to a Facebook page where I keep an album with some carvings and paddles that I make.

 

[Dave Church]

All,
I used to post fairly frequently and slacked off for awhile to finish another boat, make my first dog ladder, scissor blind, and work on growing my decoy business. I will be heading into the field with my 3 year old lab (KC) and my youngest son (11) who has worked his butt off to pass the hunter safety course. He failed last year and I was very impressed at how he took it and how hard he worked to pass this year. We had a great day at picking our blinds in the lottery season and we are waiting on the season with baited breath. I was very fortunate to meet some friends up north that helped me advance the decoy business this year and look forward to introducing more decoys in the months to come. I am always impressed by the talent of carvers, painters, boat builders, writers, and photographers that grace this site and find myself apprehensive at times to even show my meager talents. I do so, because I know their are those out there that are starting out as decoy builders or boat builders and hopefully they say, "if Dave can post his crap, I can too." I am a jack of all trades, and master of none! But I give my advice freely and never with an air of mastery. I look forward to the "art" that is displayed here on a daily basis as the air gets cooler and the days get shorter. I am here for the friendships and the tales that are told amongst the cattails.


dc

 

[TimJ]

Great thread to read through.

I found this site in early 1999 when I was looking for some spring snow goose information. I can remember the first thread I read via some long gone search engine. It was a conversation about "eagle heads" between a silly load mouth in Washington and a biologist in Louisiana.
I'm not much of a joiner so it took a while to finally post and it was a response to Garry Potter, RIP, that got me hooked.

I'm just a hack hunter in SD who doesn't get out nearly as much as I use to but still I have fun. Over the years I have hunted lakes, creeks, flooded crops and small wet spots in pastures and it's all good. While I grew up a puddle duck hunter over the past decade I have come to appreciate divers more and more. I hope to get out more after pheasant this year and who knows what else. I'll hunt about anything.
I fish a lot more now then I hunt. I garden and paint to get through the slow times.

Hopefully this year will be a good safe one for everyone.

Tim