Al Hansen
Well-known member
As I attempted to walk through about 10 inches of silt/mud from the Rio Grande I quickly noticed that the river had gone down at least 4 to 5 inches since the day before. I started to worry about that but after a second’s worth of thinking disregarded it and continued to set out my decoys.
The early morning hours are special to me because they are so exciting. It is fun to listen and watch the world wake up right in front of you. A distant family of coyotes were howling as I watched the dull grays of the morning in the eastern horizon begin to glow with more intensity. The stars began to fade away, then the raucous calls of sandhill cranes began invading this pristine territory that I was seated in.
My coffee tasted better with every sip. I noticed Pepper’s head jerk upward and I stained my ears to finally hear the wings from a flock of southbound ducks.
I glanced at my cell phone one more time to confirm the fact that there were only two minutes to wait until shooting hours. I took a last sip of coffee, put the thermos down on the ground and prepared myself for another day’s hunt.
As for this duck hunter, each and every new hunt is like reading one of the finest novels ever written. The sport of duck hunting is in a class all by itself and always has been for me. The only difference between now and then is that I have learned to appreciate so much more. Sure makes for an exciting day!
The first thing that I noticed on Saturday’s hunt was the lack of “other” ducks. I normally see more of them than mallards and or pintails. So, for some time Chili, Pepper, and I just sat and patiently waited. We were not denied because fifteen minutes into the season a flock of 13 mallards began working the decoys. On their second swing around they finally committed. It was then that I stood up and fired. I could see the drake crumple then pulled on the second one but missed. Both dogs were out to retrieve and that is when I found out that I had taken a Scotch double. Pepper was first in with a drake mallard and Chili followed carrying a hen. That, I thought was a great way to begin the morning.
Maybe another fifteen minutes slipped by when I heard the quacking sounds of a hen. Just behind me flew a small flock of mallards in search of a place to be. I got on my new acrylic call and did some coaxing and it worked. A half dozen ducks peeled off like P-51's ready to attack. As they began to backpedal I took out a good looking drake with the first round of 2 3/4" dove loads and then thought I spied a fat old drake Mexican. It, too, hit the mud in quick order. Once again I watched two dogs doing what they were bred to do. When they came in I found out that I had taken a hen Mexican duck instead of a drake. With two hens in the bag I needed to be very careful now.
The morning was slipping by more quickly than I cared for because I knew how much wood needed to be cut before I went home. Out of the north came a pair of mallards that were looking for a spot to be----you could just tell! I guess it is one of those things that you learn over the course of time. I love reading ducks if you know what I mean. Everything happened so quickly that I had no time to think, just react. The hen never hesitated. She was in the decoys before I could have said, “Jackie Robinson!” As for the drake, he made one more circle then as he tried to settle in, that is when I took him. Well,.I grabbed my camera but found out that my pups were not going to cooperate with a picture taking event. Pepper, being the younger lab, had the duck and was now bringing it to me. What a morning it had been so far. Now my instincts of wanting a limit of six took over and I sat there thinking about “other” ducks. That is when I began to realize that I was heading into a new chapter about duck hunting.
I sat in my chair with pups on either side of me ready to take a pintail or gadwall. As I poured another cup of coffee it was then that I had 9 drake pintails fly right over the top of me, then make a circle out in front but too far away. Darn it—I wasn’t ready. Murphy’s Law!
Just behind them came a large flock of mallards and that is when I made a split decision to empty my shotgun, set it down, and pick up my camera. You can look at the rest of this story----------
Al
It was a great day to be in the blind! By the way, I quickly forgot about the "other" duck.
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