Al Hansen
Well-known member
How is it possible that there weren't any ducks on opening day? The closest thing to feathers were the 100s of crows that were on their migration. Other than for them we had a flicker land within 12 feet of us just a touch above eye level of me. I watched Habi and Sonora and they never took their eyes off of it. Shortly after that I saw a Cooper's hawk looking for breakfast. That was it for birds.
The morning started off with me getting up early. I have been doing this since I was a kid on my first hunt. It seems as if I have a most difficult time controlling "anticipation". For me, it was 1:17AM when I awoke. I stayed in bed constantly looking at the clock for fear of oversleeping. What a laugh. Finally at 3:00AM I got up.
When we got to the ranch, I unlocked the gate and my mind was in a whirlwind of sorts thinking of past hunts that I have had right at this very place. Yes, I have been more than fortunate to more than my fair share of a duck hunter's luck. Before I knew it, I had the Mule off the trailer and had beckoned my two dogs into it so we could get going. It was quite a ride traveling the 7/10ths of a mile to my spot.
With the Rio Grande flowing at just 11 cfs I was still ok with that just because some water is better than no water, especially when you live in the desert. I happened to find a spot while scouting, where the river had crossed back over from the far west side. It was great to see.
When we arrived, all I had to do was get my sled out of the Mule and we headed across the dry mud flats to where the water was. I rather enjoyed that because normally I have found it sometimes challenging when trying to pull each foot out of the mud in preparation for that next step. Well, that is when we have water in the Rio Grande.
I didn't use many decoys on the opener. Just 9. Yes, I am one of those guys who loves odd numbers when setting out a spread. When I had finished putting them in, I walked a short distance to look at my work and found myself smiling. I liked what I saw.
My puppy, Sonora, was tagging along with Habi, my teacher. I didn't anticipate any problems and for just being 5 1/2 months old she handled the entire morning hunt, all two hours, very well. Only once did she leave us and wander behind the blind. I was very proud of her. She sat with Habi just like she was supposed to and even though there weren't many plants still standing when we quit, the only thing moving were her jaws from chewing!
So our morning came with its high anticipations to that realization that the first day of duck season was one with not one shot fired.
On Tuesday, November 1st, all irrigation ditches will cease operating and the water once flowing in the ditches will begin making the Rio Grande, just that, a grand river! I will look forward to seeing it flow and hopefully the ducks will come.
When you can catch yourself smiling while putting out decoys, that makes every duck hunt worthy of being there. Some more so and some not. I sure did enjoy my time celebrating the fact that it has been 62 years since I shot that first bluewing teal in western Minnesota.
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We took the long way home searching for possible ducks in the low flow ditches. My day was a wonderful success when a flock of turkeys stopped me in the middle of the road. Yes, my camera was handy. What a great way to cap off a first day of seeing no ducks!
This was just half of the amount of birds that I saw. They split up with some going to the right, back where they had come from. This group found themselves having one choice and that was to fly across the low flow ditch. It marked the first time I have actually tried to take pictures of them flying. I was elated!
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The morning started off with me getting up early. I have been doing this since I was a kid on my first hunt. It seems as if I have a most difficult time controlling "anticipation". For me, it was 1:17AM when I awoke. I stayed in bed constantly looking at the clock for fear of oversleeping. What a laugh. Finally at 3:00AM I got up.
When we got to the ranch, I unlocked the gate and my mind was in a whirlwind of sorts thinking of past hunts that I have had right at this very place. Yes, I have been more than fortunate to more than my fair share of a duck hunter's luck. Before I knew it, I had the Mule off the trailer and had beckoned my two dogs into it so we could get going. It was quite a ride traveling the 7/10ths of a mile to my spot.
With the Rio Grande flowing at just 11 cfs I was still ok with that just because some water is better than no water, especially when you live in the desert. I happened to find a spot while scouting, where the river had crossed back over from the far west side. It was great to see.
When we arrived, all I had to do was get my sled out of the Mule and we headed across the dry mud flats to where the water was. I rather enjoyed that because normally I have found it sometimes challenging when trying to pull each foot out of the mud in preparation for that next step. Well, that is when we have water in the Rio Grande.
I didn't use many decoys on the opener. Just 9. Yes, I am one of those guys who loves odd numbers when setting out a spread. When I had finished putting them in, I walked a short distance to look at my work and found myself smiling. I liked what I saw.
My puppy, Sonora, was tagging along with Habi, my teacher. I didn't anticipate any problems and for just being 5 1/2 months old she handled the entire morning hunt, all two hours, very well. Only once did she leave us and wander behind the blind. I was very proud of her. She sat with Habi just like she was supposed to and even though there weren't many plants still standing when we quit, the only thing moving were her jaws from chewing!
So our morning came with its high anticipations to that realization that the first day of duck season was one with not one shot fired.
On Tuesday, November 1st, all irrigation ditches will cease operating and the water once flowing in the ditches will begin making the Rio Grande, just that, a grand river! I will look forward to seeing it flow and hopefully the ducks will come.
When you can catch yourself smiling while putting out decoys, that makes every duck hunt worthy of being there. Some more so and some not. I sure did enjoy my time celebrating the fact that it has been 62 years since I shot that first bluewing teal in western Minnesota.
We took the long way home searching for possible ducks in the low flow ditches. My day was a wonderful success when a flock of turkeys stopped me in the middle of the road. Yes, my camera was handy. What a great way to cap off a first day of seeing no ducks!
This was just half of the amount of birds that I saw. They split up with some going to the right, back where they had come from. This group found themselves having one choice and that was to fly across the low flow ditch. It marked the first time I have actually tried to take pictures of them flying. I was elated!
