The boy and I headed down to the saltwater of MS Sound to see if we couldnt shoot a few scaup and redheads. Reports had been really good and I was optimistic.
Well, the day wasnt a bust, I hit all 5 birds to come into range: 2 common mergansers, a drake buffie and 2 hen greater scaup.
Other than that, not many birds flying at all. Some guys east of us were banging away all morning, but no one we ran into saw a lot of birds or did a lot of shooting. One group I talked to had some nice redheads, they got 5 out of the only flock to come over the decoys. Another group had a few bluebills and buffies. One guy had a stud drake ruddy. And a coot, which is weird for that area.
Unfortunately, Youri did not get a shot at all, so no first duck for him yet.
And on another frustrating note, Coco, who has been doing great with dead birds in the back yard, did not seem to get it once we were on the water. She would go up to the birds and sniff them but would not pick them up. I am not sure if the saltwater or all the distractions of the world got to her or what. When we got back home, I threw one of the mergansers for her about 10 times and after a rusty first couple of retrieves, she did great again. Given my lack of time (and daylight these days) to train her, I may be looking for professional help with her. Or she might just be a good pet and boat-buddy. Either way, she's a great dog.
Overall, the number of birds here has really fallen off. With all the "duck dynasty" newbies, the birds are getting hammered and we just arent getting new birds. If we dont get cold weather soon, things are going to get very tough here on the coast.
Well, the day wasnt a bust, I hit all 5 birds to come into range: 2 common mergansers, a drake buffie and 2 hen greater scaup.
Other than that, not many birds flying at all. Some guys east of us were banging away all morning, but no one we ran into saw a lot of birds or did a lot of shooting. One group I talked to had some nice redheads, they got 5 out of the only flock to come over the decoys. Another group had a few bluebills and buffies. One guy had a stud drake ruddy. And a coot, which is weird for that area.
Unfortunately, Youri did not get a shot at all, so no first duck for him yet.
And on another frustrating note, Coco, who has been doing great with dead birds in the back yard, did not seem to get it once we were on the water. She would go up to the birds and sniff them but would not pick them up. I am not sure if the saltwater or all the distractions of the world got to her or what. When we got back home, I threw one of the mergansers for her about 10 times and after a rusty first couple of retrieves, she did great again. Given my lack of time (and daylight these days) to train her, I may be looking for professional help with her. Or she might just be a good pet and boat-buddy. Either way, she's a great dog.
Overall, the number of birds here has really fallen off. With all the "duck dynasty" newbies, the birds are getting hammered and we just arent getting new birds. If we dont get cold weather soon, things are going to get very tough here on the coast.
