duckboats.net is coming to life - Roll Call Time

I am a waterfowl biologist by training, profession and avocation and even marriage since I married a duck biologist. I grew up on the Chesapeake Bay and learned to hunt waterfowl on a friend's bay-side farm. My first birds were bluebills, with Canada geese and black ducks soon thereafter. That was about 1972. By 1974 I had decided that I wanted to be a biologist and have been fortunate that I have a great career.

As a waterfowl hunter, I have hunted in all four flyways, from Pacific to the Atlantic Coasts and from the prairies to Louisiana. I own a small Navy in boats from large to small and Brad F rekindled my decoy carving after a 20 year hiatus. I have 2 great labs that were both sired by NAFC champion studs. Training and hunting with them is a real joy.

For the next 24 hours I live in Washington State and then I am trading it for the other Washington. I expect that my hunting, carving and posting on this site will decrease for the next few years. My responsibilities will be such that I expect to be very busy and posting here about regulations or policy could be easily confused. So I am moving to primarily lurker status except that a few East Coast members may get PMs from me as I look for advice on all things waterfowl. Now when you complain about the folks in Washington not knowing anything about waterfowl you'll have a name to use.

Eric and Chuck J, thanks for running a great site. Thanks to all the members for making this a real group of friends and keeping civility on the internet.

I hope you all have a great season.

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I was allowed to hunt Geese on Marylands Eastern Shore in 1969 at the age of 11 with a Church Member. By 1978 I was in college near Ocean City MD and have never left.I've hunted 3 out of the 4 Flyways and hope to hunt the Pacific Flyway some time in the near future.
My best hunting Partner is a D.A.V. and Retired Marine. We hunted handi-cap blinds and easy spots at 1st, now we hunt timber,off shore,field layout,marsh, and tidal creeks.We have had the good fortune to be out at least 30 full days and many AM pre-work hunts.

I'm sure we are quit a site One Gray Old Man, A Guy With A Walker, and a Drahthaar (everyone around here thinks Gus a stray mut from the Humane Society).

Mostly we have fun and kill a few birds.

This was on a trip to Boston with Capt, Adam Smith.
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Im Timmy Rousseau from Long Islands southshore and am 22 yrs old. Shot my first duck when I was 11 yrs old whith my dad who has 40yrs of duckhunting under his belt. Started solo hunting alot when I was 15 or 16 and now I hunt alot, 56 days out of a 60 days duck season last year! Im mostly a puddle duck hunter because its a real challenging in my area with my favorite ducks being blackducks and pintails. My style of hunting is very oldschool I used old style meadowboxes and low profile boats built locally no bigger than 13 or 14foot, and I use NATURAL GRASS ONLY hah no fastgrass on my boats! I learned how to hunt and thatch boats from my dad and other oldtimers. This will be my 12th season, and its amazing how much your learn from others every year.
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Good thread, I have been off the site for a few year, but... If you dig on the old archives you can find my boat (Arthur Armstrong factory built Broadbill)and now really old dog (Spike).
I am a self or book taught duck hunter, no hunters in my family since we left the caves as far as I know. I have been hunting for about 20 years now, I am 47.
I shoot mostly double guns some with outside hammers (even for ducks), I do have a Japanese Browning Auto 5 for steel if I ever run out of Bismuth.
I have two labs unfortunately retired and worse Spike was diagnosed with Laryngeal Paralysis and Cancer last November, hes still enjoying meal time and the occasional bumper so, so far so good. I hunt the upper Potomac and the Delaware part of the Eastern Shore.
I also collect old hunting books mostly waterfowl and upland with some Africa thrown in.
 
Well lets see. I started lurking on this site when I was building my first boat, a minidrifter for hunting the Willamette river when I was in college. 12 years later and have built 4 boats since. Most current is a 15" Garvey style that I use on the Columbia and the bays here in Oregon. My dog of eleven years died of liver failure 2 months ago and I am between houses right now. Should be moving in in a few weeks just in time for my kids to start school. Everything is packed!!! no shop, no decoys, no nothin'. This season will be interesting without a dog but I need to get my family situated and taken care of first. I enjoy carving decoys in the off season as well, but with the move that hasn't happened this year. Next year my daughter will be joining me in the field with a gun which I can't wait for and neither can she. Also this year I will be hunting the opener with my dad. He has never been a big duck hunter just big game but he came last year and had a blast. I can't wait!!!
 
Checkin in. Through contacts made, compliments of Charlie F/ College Pt, I met a nice carver. Jim Higgins in Maine. Just got back from watching the Indians beat the Red Sox, then a trip to Maine to get some nice Black decoys from Jim. My youngest son hunts / trains the dog with me. My oldest is not interested. My goal is to get him to wake up and see OUR pup do her work. He hears stories and wants to experience it, but he works late, not a morning person. Hope to meet more at Tuckerton this year, and at the smaller show on LI. Nice to be a part of this community. Kevin
 
Hey!...I'll check in as well. I'm Tom Roberts and live in the heart of Indian Territory (N.E. Ok). My son Cade and I hunt the area around Muskogee which includes Fort Gibson Lake, Arkansas River, Verdigris River, and a little further south around Webbers Falls. My son is about to return from Jordan where he'd been teaching Jordanian students english and will begin his senior year at the University of Oklahoma. He's majoring in international security and Arabic language and has studied in Alexandria, Egypt, Sanaa, Yemen, and is now in Aman, Jordan. More than likely when he graduates he'll end up working somewhere overseas so my hunting partner will be gone or atleast very limited in his opportunities to duck hunt. That will leave just me and my German Wirehaired Pointer hunting mostly alone unless I can find some other area hunter looking for a new hunting friend (hint-hint). I can't talk my wife into going (like that was even a possibility). I have a 16ft Tracker Grizzlie currently with a 2010 20hp Nissan. Looking to get a bigger motor in the near future but am pleased in the mean time with my Nissan for most of my hunting situations. I tend to sell and trade guns like baseball cards but lean towards a classic side by side as my preferred duck gun choice. My biggest enjoyment in duck hunting is the one on one time with my son. Next to that I like getting new drake species to mount on the wall. One new species is as fullfilling as a limit of non new species. So with that in mind I hunt a variety of situations from big water to flooded timber. I find myself reading this site daily and thoroughly enjoy the stories and photos............Thanks!........Tom.
 
Hey Eric,
Jack here, out on Long Island. Still visit once in a blue moon. Took on a new project this year, we are putting together a 12x20 foot floating blind. My oldest turned 12 and is excited to go duck hunting this year. Regardless if the birds come to town, I expect it'll be one of my most memorable seasons hunting with him.

Good luck with body booting, and have a safe and enjoyable year out in the field.

Jack Monti
 
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Checking In! I hunted as a teen in South LA with my Father a few times. Became a duck addict in last 7 years. Built two boats and in process of carving first decoys. Just house dogs Catahoula and a Aussie. Hunt marsh (Joyce & Manchac WMA, swamp timber Sherburne WMA, and pit blind on rice field in Welsh LA. Really enjoy time with friends and family in the boat & blind.
 
Scott Bell here....I have been duck "hunting" since I was big enough to follow dad out to the blind (so somewhere over 30 years now). When I went away to college, hunting in general got pushed onto the back burner due to location (south central Missouri isn't exactly known for its huge duck concentrations) and time. After graduation, I got back into duck hunting when I could sneak the time for it.

In 1998, we lost our primary place to duck hunt so I had to relearn how to do things. We'd always had a blind we could walk out to and could count on seeing quite a few ducks each trip. Suddenly, I was forced to become mobile and learn a lot more about duck hunting pretty quick. After one year of sludging through mud carrying decoys and (practically) dad, I realized that a new means of transportation was in order. That's when I found DHBP. Ironically, Rob Leonard, who managed one of the areas I'd been hunting, also designed and was selling plans for the KARA layout boat.

When I read the discussion on the forum about the boats (I'm pretty sure Mark Schupp was talking about them), and having seen firsthand (well, from a couple hundred yards away) just how effective these little boats were, AND finding out that Rob lived only 25 minutes from where I was, I actually drove to Rob's house to pick up plans that day! I bet he probably thought I was a stalker or something when we were talking on the phone and he asked where to send the plans....my response was "I can be there in 30 minutes" :) I built 2 of them for myself and dad. They were used well for about 4 years until I found out that all fiberglass boats are plenty durable and MUCH lighter.

I've since then made a boat mold from a highly modified KARA that I built and we have made about 9 or 10 boats from this mold over the last 9 years.

Today I'm back in school (for the 3rd time, I'm a sloooow learner). I'm about 1/3 of the way through my PhD at Kansas State University. There aren't quite as many ducks here in north central KS, but that's probably for the best as my time needs to be spent on class and research for a few years.

Hope everybody is having a cooler summer than we are here, and have a great duck season!!!
 
Hi Eric,

Haven't posted much this past year but usually look in once a week. Looking forward to rail season in a couple of weeks and some early geese. I've been mostly black powder hunting the birds the last few years. Less birds but more satisfying.
Hello to all my friends,

Bill Wasson
 
I am new to the site, live in Alexandria Bay,NY on the St.lawrence river which is where I do most of my hunting, I do a few trips to lake Ontario but there is just something about the river. I have been hunting about 35 years and have only missed one opening day. I am a carver,have been since I started hunting. I recently purchased a 24 spindle duplicator which keeps me busy filling orders. We hunt mainly mallards and blacks but the diver hunting is great when the conditions are right. I hunt 60 plus days a year, thats a lot of bacon in the boat, I have a british lab named otter who is going on her third year of hunting. I love to read the post from different parts of the country, been on a few trips for sea ducks and geese but I am pretty content jumping in the boat with otter and watching the river wake up every morning hoping some red legs join us for breakfast.
 
Geoff from Longmont, CO here. I've been mostly quietly hanging around the site for a bunch of years now. Had to stop calling them 'broadbills'. They are 'scaup' out here. Colorado is a funny place to hunt ducks. Pulling cactus spines out of a fallen mallard still amuses me. I hunt public land and work hard to do so. It's nothing to walk a mile or two to get a patch of lonely river. I'm in debt to Eric and the moderators for keeping this site alive and bringing such a smorgasbord of talent and wit to my laptop on a daily basis. As far as I know there is only one other DB.net fellow out here in colorful CO- but I'm always happy to share the blind, so consider the invite open if you are around boulder during duck season.
 
Curt Buck here from southeast Minnesota. My family has been hunting the Upper Mississippi Wildlife Refuge (Pools 4-9) since the dams were built. I learned waterfowling from both Grandpas and my dad and my three boys have learned from their grandpa and me. By now I've been scaring ducks with my lousy calling for 49 years. Two of my boys are complete waterfowl fools and we will spend many days in the swamp this year. My sons have expanded our duck hunting family greatly and the house will be full of tired men, smelly dogs and the driveway full of the "Red Neck Armada" (jon boats with mud motors and a pirougue or two for good measure). Plans are heating up for a more ambitious boat building project. Have to see if we get that off the ground this winter.
To all you younger guys who are introducing your kids to waterfowling, God bless you! You are in for the most fun a parent can have, bar none.
 
Frank Gostomski here in Forest Hill, MD. I've been primarily lurking on DB for a couple years, with a few posts from time to time. I grew up around here in a family of deer hunters who chased geese and ducks when they couldn't shoot deer. Now a recovering deer hunter, I've been completely consumed by the duck bug. In the last 3 years my brothers and I have purchased, built, and spent days working on way more boats, blinds, and decoys than our wives would approve of. We started booting the Susquehanna Flats (about 30 minutes away) 2 years ago and have had some good success...more importantly we get to participate in a locally historical way of hunting. Last year we gained access to the hunting program on Aberdeen Proving Ground, which opened up a whole new duck hunting world. My enthusiasm for this season is through the roof!

If I ever finish remodeling my house, my next major project is a boat build...which I never would have even considered if not for this site. I'm not an online-forum-by-nature kind of guy, but I have to say that DB is populated by some real class acts. Seeing so many guys and gals with a common passion for hunting and a respect for wildlife and the environment keeps me optimistic about the future of hunting. As a father of 2 little ones, that means a lot to me.

I'm no pro, and we rarely limit out, but we regularly take birds and we have a great time doing it. My brothers and I would welcome anyone from this site who wants to come to the Flats...you've got huntin' buddies in northern MD.
 
I found this site a few years back. I was searching the net for ideas as to what kind of duck hunting boat I wanted. I stumbled upon this site and have enjoyed my membership ever since. Since my enrollment, I've bought, sold and rebuilt a few rigs. Both mine and for friends. My latest boat is a copy of a local design. She is 14', all glass, and I have a 35hp Evinrude hanging off the transom. I have a wonderful family who semi-understands my obsession with waterfowling. I'm fortunate to have a wonderful Labrador Retriever as my partner in the marsh.

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John Kirk from Winterport, ME. I live on the tidal portion of the Penobscot just miles from the bay. Started duck hunting in college in Vermont and became really obsessed afterwards. Did most of my hunitng on Lake Champlain and Pleasant Bay in Mass. Moved to Maine in '03 and took a 7 year hiatus. I got back into hutning last year and am looking forward to this season. My previous hunting was for blacks, mallards and whistlers, primarily on big water so I am right at home in my current neighborhood- except for the 13 foot tides....
 
Fred cummings here in Northwest Missouri (formally of Western Colorado). I may have the record for the longest lurker, I discovered the DHBP in 2002 and have read it at least weekly ever since. I started duck hunting in high school (1997) in Colorado with a friend and his dad and have been hooked ever since, in fact I would have finished college a semester earlier but I decided to attend LSU for the fall semester of my senior year on the national student exchange program. Most of my duck hunting has been walk in to public marshes with plastic soldiers but I am finally getting geared up to diversify my hunting options. I stumbled upon a great deal on a 17' polarcraft flat bottom with a 50 horse Johnson side console and finally have it running well. I have all the makings of a scissor blind for it ( free galvanized chain link fence pipe) and hope to have it installed by the end of September. I plan to hunt the Missouri river, hoping to catch some divers coming down. I also have the plans for the 10' hybrid NL, but the projects around the new house will most likely keep that from being a reality for this season. I think it will be the ticket for hunting the managed wetlands around this part of the state and the grand plan is to make a bracket to haul it on the big boat to get into back waters on the mighty MO. It will be powered by a 1958 Elgin 2 horse that I recently got back into running shape, and of course paddle power. I got some great advice here earlier this spring on converting a tree into homemade hollow wood decoys, I have an 8' long 35" dia basswood tree drying right now, hopefully in a few years it will look like a flock of ducks! Just the other day my beginners carving kit from Willy at the Duck Blind showed up in the mail in time for my 29th birthday. The plan is to make some trestle coated foam bluebills before the season starts, at least they have a better chance than the Hybrid at being ready for this year. My wife is my hunting partner, she loves teal season but isn't quite hooked enough yet to accompany me when the temps get ridiculously low. I also enjoy field hunting Canada geese when I get invited, and hope to get permission around my new place. I am really looking forward to September 1rst, I haven't missed a dove opener since I was 8 years old. This year I will be helping retrieve birds for a wheel chair bound hunter opening morning, and then picking my mom up at the airport for a 2 day hunt with her and my wife. As a former 4-H shooting sports instructor and NRA YHEC leader( when I was single and had spare time) I have learned that helping others hunt is often times more rewarding than doing the shooting yourself. Thank you all for the help and advice, I look forward to being able to contribute more to the forum as my projects take to fruition and at the least maybe some pictures.
 
Hey everybody, Cody Williams in Logan, Utah. Far northern Utah about 20 miles south of the Idaho border. 32 years old now, I was born and raised in North Carolina but I've lived in Logan for about 20 years now with spells in Salt Lake and New Zealand. I've been waterfowling seriously for about 5 years now, can't get enough of it! I hunt waterfowl and upland birds with my Chesapeake Bay Retriever, Sage, who is about to enter his 3rd season of waterfowling. I work as a carpenter and I've always wanted to build my own boat, I was really excited to stumble on this site a year or so ago, it's much more in line with my philosophies on hunting! I've already learned so much by hanging around here, and I'm looking forward to learning more!
 
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