Last hunt of the Season

Phil Nowack

Phil Nowack

Well-known member
After picking up my new to me Duckwater 21 in Cape Cod last February... I committed to hunting New England again. The first week of January I made the trip back to the Atlantic with Otter, two friends, and met a friend at his brother's in Rhode Island. It was a good trip.. I was able to get my first scoters. Lots of blacks, and 1 Surf. The two guys that went with me were able to scratch off Eiders... Drakes and Hens. Otter, on day 2 did a crazy thing and scared me to death. On day two... we were anchored about 100 yards off of this large stone island. The tide was coming in. He retrieved a hen Eider off the bow of the boat. Otter carries the birds very high, and over his face He swam to the island. did not respond to calling or correction on the collar. Maybe he needed to pee....

Back up 2 weeks earlier... I had the entire outboard gone through, and brought up to snuff... but as I was trying to go retrieve my squirrelly dog...it and we died every time that I started it and put it into gear!!!!! Finally it stayed running (BTW this was the only time it acted this way.....before or after) and we sped to Otter. By this time, he had swam behind a large chunk of rock that had fallen off the island. I could not get within 20 yards due to the submerged rock that wasn't far enough below the water... with every swell it was exposed.

What happens next???? Well Otter comes swimming out from behind the boulder. With the hen eider in his mouth... I did video the island and the rock he went behind after we anchored again.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGBlg_mbiQY

He never dropper the bird.... Otter came out from behind the rock...like... "What are you guys up to?"

Otter did quite well... at least with the training that I gave him. He managed to tear off 5 rear toe nails getting back in to the boat.. or snarks nibbled on his toes.... he ended up with 28 retrieves... Common Scoters, Surf Scoter, Eiders, and Brant.

The way home was a little eventful.. AGAIN... fully serviced before the trip... even put in a new wiper motor... which failed on me north of Chicago in the freezing rain.., a injector line cracked.. on I90 and took a day to get the part... and a trailer tire flat... BTW.. has anyone bought trailer tires from eTrailers? All in All a good trip, and got a little lobster... Next time, I want to hit Maine... and the Chesapeake. All in all.. Otter did well... and the Duckwater performed great!
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I forgot to mention... Mark Rongers gave me a recipe that was amazing.... I would love to eat sea ducks again, after trying it!!!!

Secret... BUTTERMILK!!!!
 
Great pictures, Phil and your Chessie pup is looking like a champion. What a grand way to end the season. Thanks for the pics and story.
Al
 
Good morning, Phil~


Great stories! Sorry you had so many mechanical challenges.


I use eTrailer for most of my trailer stuff of late - been very happy. Not sure if I have bought tires/wheels from them - but I know they have a great selection.


All the best,


SJS

 
It's always an adventure...something just has to go wrong eh? Otter looks like he enjoyed himself and wow is the water pretty!

That is a beautiful eider you're holding!
 
Phil,

Gee whiz, sounds like that trip covered a wide spectrum of highs and lows. Otter playing hide and seek? It can be quite unsettling when an engine on the water doesn't want to run. especially in the conditions we sometimes hunt in. I don't imagine you wanted to play bumper boats with that rock. Glad it all worked out.
 
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Looks like a great trip of course minus the eventful portions. To reply to you question about eTrailer. I have bought many trailer parts from them with great service. Hubs, springs, and an axle but no tires. They have a great reputation so I doubt they'd sell a product with a poor service history.
 
Wow, what a great hunt, northeast sea duck trip is on my bucket list for sure!

Otter was probably just making sure he gets his laps in, doing some sight seeing.
One tough pup, losing toenails and just keeps on going.
 
I saw your brant and said hey, wait a minute? MA closed Brant December 21 in 2019, but RI did not open them until late- I wonder why?
 
Buttermilk does work better to remove that strong background taste. It also tenderizes the meat to some degree via deamination effect on proteins.
 
John Kirk said:
I saw your brant and said hey, wait a minute? MA closed Brant December 21 in 2019, but RI did not open them until late- I wonder why?
Click to expand...

You made me go back and double check the RI regs!!!!! LOL

Ed- I have bought a bunch of stuff from eTrailer, and been satisfied. I have purchased tires for spares, and they seemed fine. But given that these are for primary use, I thought I would see if anyone else has used them.
 
Phil, did you buy bias plys or radials. I missed that portion of your post. I put radials I purchased from them on my EZ Loader on the TDB and then hung the existing bias plys on a pair of spare mounts, one of which I pulled of my old Whaler trailer before I sold it and the boat. I like the way they tow, but have not put that many miles on them...

I have no idea if this holds true for trailer tires, but I recall reading a piece in Consumers Reports that offered a decipher of the passenger tire codes that yields date of manufacture.
 
I put Radials under my Scaup a year ago. I have yet to replace the 4 under the Duckwater. They have Radials on it now, and I will be replacing them with Radials. I think they hold up better than they Bias tires.
 
Not only do they hold up better, but they offer better rolling resistance rates, improving mileage, as well as reducint the torque on your drivetrain that is maximized during start-stop intervals. When I had my BW Conquest I was quite surprised when I changed over to Goodyear Marathon radials in both the mileage improvement, about 1.5 mpg improvement when I held my tow speed below sixty miles per hour, and how smooth the boat towed with them on the trailer. We fish off the Garden peninsula for salmon and steelhead in summer. From my house to the ramp is 97miles on way. With a full tank of gas, the 250hp Verado, boat and gear, the boat weighted-in around 4,500lbs without trailer weight added.
 
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