Now my duck season is offically over---4-6-20

[Al Hansen]

Last Monday on the 6th of April, I drove out ot the ranch, met up with Tele and Jeanine and we made plans to go get my decoys. Back on November 15th, 2019, was the last day that I hunted ducks. The Rio Grande's level was too high for me to attempt a hunt, so I decided on the ranch. Well, that wasn't so easy after all, either. As the water level of the Rio Grande continued to increase, more water began flowing through the ditch. That water flowed out of the ranch and headed south towards the wildlife refuge. However, there was a big change. During the course of the spring run off back in early 2019, that natural flow south got interrupted and blocked itself off. What happened next was what stopped me from getting to my honey hole to hunt. The flow of the water found, of course, the least resistance and meant that all the water from the ditch/channel began running back into the ranch. That very spot was a half mile away from where I hunted and it became a quagmire, so much so, that I could not drive my Kawasaki Mule through it without getting stuck.

The last time that had happened to me was about 7 or 8 years ago. I ended up walking out to the ranch house which was another 1/2 mile and then taking the sand road back to the north entrance of the ranch where my truck and trailer were parked. That, by the way, was a scenic walk of 3 miles, in my waders. Little did I know back then that I had AFib, but I did. I can still remember watching Chip and Habi running this way and that, checking everything out as I plodded along. I had many reasons not to get stuck.

Well, now I was at the ranch in April, the day was gorgeous when I arrived about 11:30AM and close to 55F. Tele took the lead driving his tractor. I had Jeanine with me in the Mule and we followed. When we arrived at the muck hole, I got out and hooked on a 10 foot chain to the tractor and let Tele pull us through all the mud. It was easy for the tractor since it only sunk down about a foot and then had firm bottom. As for the Mule, there was no way I could have made it through just because I quickly became mired in the mud even in 4 wheel drive, low gear and in posi-traction.

Lordy, I almost forgot to tell you why we happened to pick April 6th to go get my decoys. It happened to be because on Sunday, Tele had taken his 4 wheeler down to the honey hole and was picking up my decoys for me. He had just one decoy left to pick up, which was a GWT drake and that is when he buried his rig. The good news for him was that he only had to walk a mile back to the ranch, where he called Jeanine to come down to the south end entrance.

Once we had arrived at the honey hole, I tried to get across the small channel where the water was running. That spot always had a pretty firm bottom and nothing had changed except for the spot where I tried to get out on to dry land. I just couldn't get out and there I sat. My biggest obstacle besides being stuck in the creek happened to be this. I have lost 28 pounds this year and found out that my pants had fallen to my knees even with my belt on. That created a Time Out of sorts while I made some adjustments. With that taken care of, Jeanine who was driving the tractor, drove across just to my left where I was stuck, got up on firm ground, then backed up so I could hook up the chain. With that done, she pulled my Mule out. Then Tele and I hooked up the 4 chains that we had brought along and found out that even though he was at least 60 feet away, there was actually some extra chain not being used. Jeanine only had to back up a few feet when the 4 wheeler got free from its mud hole. He drove over to where I was and I transferred the 11 decoys into the box of the Mule.

Our duck season began last fall during the last week of October. I can still remember setting out those decoys on the day before our season opener which was back in 2019. Heck, now it was April of 2020. Now all we had to do was let Jeanine cross over, then wait for me to get stuck in the creek. Since the belt drive of the Mule was pretty wet, I wasn't getting any place very fast. She backed up enough to let me hook up again---this time MY belt held and it sure was a lot easier walking around. With me out of the way, Tele drove across on his 4 wheeler and we all headed back for the ranch house. Once at the muddy area, I had to hook up to the tractor and get pulled across an area that was a good 100 feet long. Not all of it was muddy but just enough in two spots to bring my Mule to a full stop.

It sure was a good feeling to get back to the ranch house. Jeanine brought out some cold water and we had a good laugh about how our day went. My duck season was now officially over. When I got home, I checked to make sure that I had a couple of cans of flat black because I noticed that with the decoys in the pond for 1/2 year, they had faded more than a little bit. My practice recently has been that when it was time to repaint a decoy because it had faded I found out that just spraying the hole decoy flat black worked like a charm. We have no black ducks here but we do have more than our fair share of Severe Clear Days during duck season. Black ducks work like a charm. I found that out back in 2015 when I tried a half dozen black ducks that I got from Cabela's. Chip was just two + years old and having the time of his life.

Yes, I happen to be one of those guys that will take a faded old Herter's foam model 72 mallard and spray paint it flat black. Yup, even the beak. With all the severe clear days my spread of black ducks seem to work well for me. However, I can tell you that the ducks can tell the difference if by chance it happens to be a cloudy day. I always have a few extras on hand in the blind for just in case---decoys with great paint schemes. Living in the northern reaches of the Chihuahuan High Desert region has been interesting for this flat lander from western Minnesota where there seemed to be at least a jillion pot holes for a wide eyed kid of 13 still riding his bicycle to hunt when school got out. Saying all that makes me say this one last thing. If you wear waders, don't let your jeans fall down to your knees while walking in a muddy creek area. At the age of darn near 79, I can tell you it is almost life changing!
Al

Here is Chip in action back on November 25, 2015. If you look at those black duck decoys, they were brand new when our season opened.



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Chip and I have something in common. We were both born to hunt. I'll never forget the day in 1954, when I shot my first duck. Boy, was it ever exciting to wade out and pick up that blue wing teal.



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Here is Chip doing what he lives for each year of his life. This was the last duck I shot on November 15, 2019. Little did I know back then that my season was basically over for the year. I was just as exited then to watch my pup, Chip, race out into the honey hole to retrieve that beautiful drake gadwall. It was a great season, I got to hunt for 8 days, shot 20 ducks, and was blessed to always have at least one dog if not two by my side in the blind. Yup, my pups still love having their ears scratched.




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Here are my decoys in the back of my 2010 Kawasaki Mule. This was April 7th, the day after. All the decoys are in the shop and will be ready to clean up and be repainted before next season rolls around. By the way, the diesel engine still purrs just like the day that Bev and I bought it 10 years ago. Only difference is that it has 6K on it.


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[Eric Patterson]

Al

Around here any decoy left out overnight would probably be stolen in a few days with the exception of one WMA that allows them to be left out all season. You truly live in an area where time seems to have stood still, yet everchanging with flood waters. I call that a slice of heaven.

Eric

 

[Huntindave McCann]

Al

Around here any decoy left out overnight would probably be stolen in a few days with the exception of one WMA that allows them to be left out all season. You truly live in an area where time seems to have stood still, yet everchanging with flood waters. I call that a slice of heaven.

Eric

I was thinking the same thing. I set my turkey blind out on Friday,,,,,,,,, I hope it is still there when the season opens Monday morning. Maybe Al is the only crazy desert duck hunter in his part of New Mexico. [w00t]

 

[Al Hansen]

Hi Eric,
Just so you know, when I retired in 2003, at 62, that is when my duck hunting took hold and it was almost reliving a childhood fantasy. I hunted before that, in fact the year before, is when I shot my first two banded ducks ever. I was elated. That year, I happened to find a spot where the ducks wanted to be. All the land was either BLM or BOR (Bureau of Reclamation). So anyone could go there and hunt. I had set up on the first day of season, maybe placing at least 3 dozen decoys in the area that was loaded with Smart Weed. My decoys stayed there until season ended at the end of January and that is when I picked them up and took them home. In the years that I have hunted down here I hunted mostly Monday through Friday leaving the weekends for others to hunt. Once in a great while I would see where someone hunted but whomever they were, always treated my spot with respect. Notice that I said "my spot". I do know that it really isn't. Had someone been there before I got there, I would have hunted elsewhere. First come, first served---so to speak.

One time I found a dollar bill tucked in a spot where I would see it when I sat down in my folding chair and got ready for the season to open. I guess that hunter must have been successful. I'm glad he had fun.

All I can tell you is that most hunters here are very respectful. Yes, I pick up casings whenever I can. It just looks better. One of my mentors by the name of Nels Gjengdahl, once told me to always pick up after myself and try to make it look better than when I first got there. He told me that one a pheasant hunt in 1954.
Al

 

[Al Hansen]

Hey Dave, I am sure that there has to be a city in the midwest, maybe like Milwaukee and or how about Minneapolis/St. Paul, where there are at least 6,000 duck hunters that will buy a duck stamp, a license and then make sure they go duck hunting. If they did, that would be more duck hunters than we have in the state. Please remember there might be more---maybe---but this is a hunter's utopia for big game. Most of those guys must make a choice as to what they want to hunt.

I was the one thrilled to be out on the Rio Grande or the honey hole at the ranch just knowing that maybe it was the beginning of elk season. Then I would be thankful when deer season opened or how about oryx season---maybe I should talk about antelope or black bear. Should I mention mountain lions? That made me think of Darren Brooks. when we were sitting in the blind when a female mountain lion let out a scream. She was not far from us. I do recall Darren telling me that the hair on his head was sticking straight up.

All of those years I have hunted here and left my decoys in a particular hot spot that I would hunt. As I got older, it really was not the hot spot but the spot where it was easier for me to hunt. Yes, I sure have noticed the difference betwen being 62 verses 78. As for crazy, I'm sure I qualify! As for my fellow hunters who like doing what I do, I am proud of the duck hunters here in New Mexico, because they have been exceedingly respectful. Just made me think of the year that I hunted a total of 89 days. I thought I died and went to Heaven on a daily basis back then. That, by the way, was the only time in my lifetime of duck hunting that I never got skunked! It was a year I shall never forget.
Al

 

[Eric Patterson]

Al

There is a lot of polite thinking and courtesy in the area you hunt. You are blessed with that.

Thomas and I had a conversation just last night about the state of waterfowling. He thinks the two poor seasons we've had back-to-back may thin the ranks, and the economic strain caused by the coronavirus will likely further cut hunter numbers. If there is an upshot to this I hope an attitude of gratitude takes hold for those fortunate enough to hunt.

Eric

 

[Al Hansen]

That is a strong possibility, Eric. One more thing to be considered. I have read some articles about large numbers of birds not being able to be accounted for. I am not only talking about waterfowl but almost all migratory species. If our biologists and ornithologists,etc find out that this is indeed happening, it would not surprise me at all to see a modest dip in the daily bag limit that would go from 6 maybe to 4. I would bet that there would be lots of duck hunters not hunting, especially if they only knew that the limit of ducks had always been six and or 7 if you are in the Pacific Flyway, like part of this state is. I wouldn't mind it at all. With the chance to get a shot or two of my pup making a retrieve,that would be the ultimate for me. There is nothing quite like shooting a duck with your cannon then taking a shot of it being retrieved with your Canon. All right I must admit there are some cool duck hunters in Wisconsin who would be talking about their Nikon!

As for me, one of the times I stopped hunting was back in the 80s when duck numbers were way down. I decided to not hunt. On opening day I spent from noon until dusk sitting on a beaver dam and never saw a feather. I can also remember taking a hen mallard for my first duck when we were on the point system. Since there were no teal and or pintails where I hunted in Wisconsin, I shot my limit when I went home with that hen mallard. I can't remember if it was a 90 point or 100 point duck.
Al

 

[Huntindave McCann]

I shot my limit when I went home with that hen mallard. I can't remember if it was a 90 point or 100 point duck.
Al

Al,

That hen Mallard was a 90 point duck. A hen Woodie was 100 points. If I remember correctly.

 

[Eric Patterson]

Al

I'm old enough to remember the point system. Drake mallards were 25, hen mallards went from 70 to 90 and then 100 if I recall correctly, and black ducks were always a 100 pointer with Cans. Let's see, woodies, and redheads were 70 points. The rest changed over time mostly going from 10 points to 40 by the time it ended. Set me straight if I have it wrong. 35+ years is taxing my memory.

Eric

 

[Al Hansen]

Thanks, Dave. When you look at from my perspective that was half a lifetime ago, or darn near it. Sure fun to think about, however.
Al

 

[Al Hansen]

Eric, during the point system, this area had drake pintails at 10 points. My good friend TMitch, who retired from the state Game and Fish Dept. as a game warden and waterfowl biologist. He used to invite 3 friends of his from some other states down here for the last long weekend during duck season. The shotgun of choice was either a 410 or a 28 gauge. They set up the decoys, flipped a coin for who was 1st, 2nd, etc and then each guy was given 11 shells and the goal was to shoot 9 drake pintails and finish out with a greenhead. He said that the number of ducks down here back in the 80s were unbelievable. Try and visualize a party of four hunters with 36 bull sprigs and 4 greenheads. That is one hell of a picture.

When I grew up hunting in Minnesota in the mid 1950s, our limit was 4 ducks and normally before our season ended we were usually all frozen up anyway. Since I lived in the eastern PPR I thought I was pretty lucky. because if you wanted to, you could always find ducks. Just depended on how hard you wanted to work. I made a point on knowing which pot holes would not be hunted normally just because they were a little more difficult to get to. When coming in on one of them it was like finding a pot of gold out in the middle of no where. However, back then the mode of transportation happened to be your two legs!
Al

 

[Brad Bortner]

Al

You gotta take it easy in that deep mud. That'll get your heart pumping. Always love pictures of your dogs running around. About time for some pictures of hummingbirds don't you think?

I've heard stories of guys painting bleach jugs black and successfully killing all sorts of birds over them. But they don't look so good on the mantel piece, although I did once give one as a retirement decoy to a good friend.

Old TMitch[cool] say hi for me. I can name his accomplices.

Nevertheless the good old days are now. Seasons have never been this liberal for this long since they started regulating harvest. Yes, hunter numbers are declining for a lot of known and unknown reasons. The coronavirus is going to have lots of ramifications for hunting and fishing. States are struggling to retain hunters and fishermen and are concerned that the closures are going to drive people away and that they will never come back. License sales are dropping, the economic impacts on hunters and agencies are going to be tremendous. The Canadian Wildlife Service has canceled all migratory bird surveys, banding and field work north of 60 degrees N. That is going to have a huge impact on collecting data to set seasons. We are now living through a world shifting change. But we will all adapt and come out the other side.

Take care

Brad

 

[benp]

Al, you need to leave a small boat back there with a mud motor.

I want to say by law in N.C. we can't leave decoys out over the course of the season but that might just be on public waters and game lands. I know for sure I wouldn't leave anything overnight without worrying it would be stolen.

 

[Al Hansen]

Brad, it is good to see your post. Well, the hummers showed up on April 2nd this year. Just today we were surprised to see a male Bullock's oriole. The feeder is out with 2 half oranges and a small cup of orange marmalade. That should keep them busy for a while. It won't be long to find out if we will need a 2 pound jar of grape jam every other day. The oranges will go quickly, also.

As for the good old days, I thought that happened about the time that I retired in 2003. You sure are right about liberal bag limits. I can't believe how lucky we have been for the past two decades. I will pass on the Hi's to TMitch. He is keeping busy.

That is too bad about what the Canadians are doing. Sure hope it is for only this year. As for the impact of losing hunters today, that is a terrible thought. I can remember that right after WWII soldiers got home, at one time I think we were some place between 20% and 25% of all Americans were hunters. In the early 1950's, my paper route took me to at least 25% of them and they were duck hunters or at least it seemed so to this wide eyed kid who would quick put the Sunday morning Minneapolis Star and Tribune in the doorway, then I would quick take a peak out behind the house where the clotheslines were. Almost everyone back then had their ducks on a strap hanging over the steel poles holding up the lines.
Al

Here is what has our attention right now, Brad. Bev and I get to hold and play with these little tykes for 7 weeks before they leave us for their new homes.



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Caya and her litter. 4 weeks old.


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[Al Hansen]

Hi Ben,
I sure hope you and your family are doing well. How are the boys doing? I am imagining that they are growing like weeds. The mud is a half mile from the honey hole. Nothing but dirt the whole way. Just so happened that the water was coming back into the ranch, unfortunately.

I have been hunting there since 2008 and never have had a problem. The rancher keeps it posted.
Al