Al Hansen
Well-known member
I decided to hunt the channel for the 2nd time this year. Back in November I never saw a feather so I put this spot on hold. In this first picture, here is where I put the blind. It is the widest spot to set up in for quite some distance---maybe at least another mile. Anyway, if and when the ducks come, they come from the south to southwest and end up funneling down this corridor.
As you can see, all I had in this spot were 2 floating mallards and a motion wing decoy. I had forgotten to bring the decoys that I had sacked up the day before for this specific hunt. I'll blame that on my age. I really don't like using motion wing decoys this time of the year because they don't do much good. I would much rather have had my jerk string set up to use (in bag back in the shop).
This is the direction that the ducks are flying to, which is north. I really like to hunt this spot just because it is so tranquil.
Over the past two weeks I have observed more and more ducks using this channel so that is why hunkered down here on Tuesday morning. My gosh it was cold. I didn't hunt on Monday because it was only 9F down in this area. Too cold for this old wimp. So I braved the elements, 18F, and decided to try it yesterday. Just so you know, that was still darn cold!
Just like clock work, the first pair of gaddies came in before shooting hours. I just barely caught a glimpse of them as they settled in just to the north of the decoys and then began to swim around. Since I had Chip and Habi sitting in the blind with me, I thought this was perfect. What better way to get a puppy used to being "put on hold". I think I only said, "Stay," maybe 2 or 3 times. He handled it just fine. Well, kind of. One time he started to whimper a little, like most dogs do but that was it. The ducks were only 25 feet from us and that was fun---at least for me.
Season opened three minutes later and when I stood up, I took what I thought was the drake when he leaped up to escape. Little did I know that there were 6 more gadwalls in the group. They had landed just short of the decoys and I never saw them.
I don't think I sat there for 3 minutes when I had another small flock of gadwalls come in. I don't have much time to get myself ready, so drinking coffee is normally not the thing to do. When I see the ducks they are probably about 45 yards out and coming down like gangbusters and flying left to right. When I shoot that first shot they have the dark trees behind them. Remember that my barrel is bent to the left so that leaves not much room for error. If I get a second shot it is always up above the tree line but generally straight across from me which would make the shot about 20 to 25 yards. I really enjoy this kind of a hunt because it is always taxing my reflex skills. Evidently they are still working just fine. Anyways, the first duck down was already splashing in the channel when I nailed the 2nd bird as it cleared the trees straight west of me. This area is so confining that I don't think I have ever fired 3 shots---just 2. Habi and Chip were coming back with the first one so I walked them across the channel into the wooded area where I had marked the falling duck. In minutes Habi had that one also.
Once back in the blind, I glanced at those beautiful ducks and then had to tell Chip to quit licking one of them. It was now getting close to sunrise and the light was so much better. That is about the time a single drake gadwall came in. He was already on final when I took my first shot but it was behind him. He then gained altitude and was just clearing the trees when I put him down. When I heard his wing hit a branch I knew I must have put some shot in his head. The dogs were over there in an instant but came back with no duck. I then walked over there and we scoured the area but still no duck.
Well, I brought them back and decided to go back over there later in the morning when gadwalls normally stop flying.
I'm glad I made that decision because there were 6 of them coming in. My gosh for me to try and explain or tell you of the adrenalin rush that I get when within a second or two, there they are, wanting to land so badly. It is enough to make you want to hunt this way again and soon! This time I did a little better job of focusing and took out a good looking drake gadwall. I didn't have time for the second shot, but that is all right. No rush!
With 5 ducks down I checked out my cell phone and found out that only 55 minutes had elapsed. Not bad for a Tuesday morning hunt. Then after finally having my first cup of java, I was staring south when out of no where appeared 3 gadwalls. It was easy to spot the drake in the bunch and he came crashing down. Once again the dogs were out after it and I shucked out the remaining two shells and put my gun in its case.
With that done we went back to the spot where I saw that duck drop like a ton of bricks. This time we spent about 20 minutes going back and forth, up and down the corridor but to no avail. The pups just couldn't find that duck. The trees are quite thick in this area and when I was driving home, it dawned on me that it was possible for the duck to be hanging up in a tree. Well, that was a great day except for losing the one drake. I had shot my limit of 6 ducks and was ready to go home and have a good breakfast.
Al
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