One hell of a start!
- Thread starter Carl
- Start date
Kevin Puls
Well-known member
Apparently I need to move to Alabama.
Chris Finch
Well-known member
Very nice! Can't wait to see the pictures.
I saw 3 mallards and 7 mergs. None even remotely close to shoot at. Then I
Noticed the axle looked weird on the trailer, the slip spring was no longer attached. Glad we made it home without any incidents.
I saw 3 mallards and 7 mergs. None even remotely close to shoot at. Then I
Noticed the axle looked weird on the trailer, the slip spring was no longer attached. Glad we made it home without any incidents.
Got up early again and hit the boat ramp at 4:00am.
After quick moonlit ride down to where I found the divers yesterday afternoon, I headed to the spot I marked on the GPS. Found the east wind still had the water piled up in the upper Bay and the spot had 4' of water on it. With only 5' of line on the decoys and stiff east wind making it choppy, I elected to head north on the shoal and find some shallower water. It was still waist deep but at least wadeable and the decoy anchors would hold.
Was all set up at 5:15am and relaxed. The boy took a nap while I watched shooting time come & go. Not much flying, around 6:30 I saw a small flock head east towards another shoal a mile way and heard shots from the blinds there. About 5 minutes later a lone hen redhead buzzed the decoys. Missed the first two shots (just warming up the barrel) and folded her with the 3rd. That woke the boy up!
Then it got slow, really not much flying at all. My son got a hen buffy out of a pair about 7:15.
Then at 7:30-ish, I noticed 3 birds buzz the boat high from north to south. They swung way out over the bay and then turned and come back north, shifting to the west of us. They then made a beeline for the decoys. About 50 yards out they were cupped and locked but then lifted up and swung by my end of the boat, less than 20 yards away. The sun shone on them just right: "DAMN Canvasbacks!"
I fold the lead drake and then swing over to the next bird, missed, then folder her too. HOT DAMN, a double on Cans!!!
Now I haven't seen a canvasback since January 2005. But for some reason, this morning before shooting time, I checked the regs to make sue the limit was 2 this year. Premonition??? I don't know but it was good juju!
After that, things got slooooowwwww. Didn't see a single other big diver near the spread the rest of the day. We did have a number of buffies come around. Enough for me to scratch out 2 drakes and my son to get one too.
We called it quits at noon and went to do some scouting. Found a pile, I mean a huge pile, like hundreds, of divers rafted up sitting in about 6' of water as well as a a couple of hundred on a spot nearby that I hunt often. Looks like we have our spot picked out when the season re-opens next Saturday.
A couple of pics.
Full moon over the decoys, Mobile Bay and the City of Mobile Skyline
View attachment IMG_0520.JPG
The hen can was beautiful.
View attachment 11-28-15B.jpg
The days bag:
View attachment 11-28-15A.jpg
After quick moonlit ride down to where I found the divers yesterday afternoon, I headed to the spot I marked on the GPS. Found the east wind still had the water piled up in the upper Bay and the spot had 4' of water on it. With only 5' of line on the decoys and stiff east wind making it choppy, I elected to head north on the shoal and find some shallower water. It was still waist deep but at least wadeable and the decoy anchors would hold.
Was all set up at 5:15am and relaxed. The boy took a nap while I watched shooting time come & go. Not much flying, around 6:30 I saw a small flock head east towards another shoal a mile way and heard shots from the blinds there. About 5 minutes later a lone hen redhead buzzed the decoys. Missed the first two shots (just warming up the barrel) and folded her with the 3rd. That woke the boy up!
Then it got slow, really not much flying at all. My son got a hen buffy out of a pair about 7:15.
Then at 7:30-ish, I noticed 3 birds buzz the boat high from north to south. They swung way out over the bay and then turned and come back north, shifting to the west of us. They then made a beeline for the decoys. About 50 yards out they were cupped and locked but then lifted up and swung by my end of the boat, less than 20 yards away. The sun shone on them just right: "DAMN Canvasbacks!"
I fold the lead drake and then swing over to the next bird, missed, then folder her too. HOT DAMN, a double on Cans!!!
Now I haven't seen a canvasback since January 2005. But for some reason, this morning before shooting time, I checked the regs to make sue the limit was 2 this year. Premonition??? I don't know but it was good juju!
After that, things got slooooowwwww. Didn't see a single other big diver near the spread the rest of the day. We did have a number of buffies come around. Enough for me to scratch out 2 drakes and my son to get one too.
We called it quits at noon and went to do some scouting. Found a pile, I mean a huge pile, like hundreds, of divers rafted up sitting in about 6' of water as well as a a couple of hundred on a spot nearby that I hunt often. Looks like we have our spot picked out when the season re-opens next Saturday.
A couple of pics.
Full moon over the decoys, Mobile Bay and the City of Mobile Skyline
View attachment IMG_0520.JPG
The hen can was beautiful.
View attachment 11-28-15B.jpg
The days bag:
View attachment 11-28-15A.jpg
Last edited:
Dwight Harley
Well-known member
Nice morning Carl....thanks for posting.
Chris Finch
Well-known member
Wow!!!
Not a bad day at all, I think the divers skipped us and just kept going south.
I would love to just see them zipping around
Not a bad day at all, I think the divers skipped us and just kept going south.
I would love to just see them zipping around
Tom,
I gotta tell you, we are as surprised as you about how many divers we have. They weren't here last weekend. They seem to have arrived over the last 4 nights on this full moon.
Given how warm it was today, the birds were not moving well. We pretty much killed everything that came over the decoys except for a hen buffy and the last can in the group.
But the number of birds rafted up in open water was mind-boggling, I definitely didn't expect it given what I saw last weekend.
I gotta tell you, we are as surprised as you about how many divers we have. They weren't here last weekend. They seem to have arrived over the last 4 nights on this full moon.
Given how warm it was today, the birds were not moving well. We pretty much killed everything that came over the decoys except for a hen buffy and the last can in the group.
But the number of birds rafted up in open water was mind-boggling, I definitely didn't expect it given what I saw last weekend.
John Fraser
Well-known member
Great hunt Carl! Congrats on the can double!
Congratulations, Carl, you did a really nice job of taking care of those birds for the photo. session pics! A stiff west wind and pods goldeneyes are all that remain up here! Ice is stacking-up along the shoals off the shoreline, allowing the inshore pocket water to freeze.
jim bosanny
Active member
What a morning Carl. Congrats. Beautiful bunch of birds.
Thanks RL. I always try to lay them out nicely after the shot and try to keep the best side of the head up. Makes nice pics. The one buffy had an awfully bloody head but 3 pellets in the head will do that. I cleaned it up as best I could.
The other reason I do this is that laying them on their backs lets the blood drain down into the organs, not into the breast meat. Does it really help? Don't know but I and a lot other guys do it anyway. My boy now does too.
On another note, I marinated all the birds (except the cans & the best two redhead breasts) last night and they are now in the magic jerky machine.
I really centered the drake can, the breast on the side towards me was insalvageable, had 6 or 7 pellets holes, it was a real mess. Nice clean kill but a bummer in regards to losing the meat.
The rest of the can & RH fillets will age this week, then get brined and pan-seared or broiled later this week.
Magic Jerky Machine in Action:
View attachment Jerky1.jpg
The other reason I do this is that laying them on their backs lets the blood drain down into the organs, not into the breast meat. Does it really help? Don't know but I and a lot other guys do it anyway. My boy now does too.
On another note, I marinated all the birds (except the cans & the best two redhead breasts) last night and they are now in the magic jerky machine.
I really centered the drake can, the breast on the side towards me was insalvageable, had 6 or 7 pellets holes, it was a real mess. Nice clean kill but a bummer in regards to losing the meat.
The rest of the can & RH fillets will age this week, then get brined and pan-seared or broiled later this week.
Magic Jerky Machine in Action:
View attachment Jerky1.jpg
Al, a double was definitely worth the wait! Well, maybe. 
From when I started hunting here in 97-98 to '03-'04, I used to shoot 1 or 2 cans a year. Rarely ever saw more than a few each season.
Redheads were a little better, average ~3-4 per season.
Then for about 3 weeks in the 04-05 season (Jan 2nd-23rd, 2005 to be precise, I keep records), we got covered up in redheads, greater scaup and cans. I shot 6 cans, a dzn RHs and a pile of greater scaup in those 3 weeks. Plus smattering of buffies and ringnecks. It was a diver hunters dream, I was in heaven.
Then the bottom fell out, Summer 05-2007, we had hurricanes, a drought, lost 80% of our eel grass beds, weather pattern changes and from Jan. 2005 until yesterday I didn't see a can. Only got redheads because I started hunting Miss. Sound.
Then BOOM, 2015: covered up in redheads and first double ever on cans, on opening weekend to boot.
And it seems like we already have more divers this year than the last 3 years combined.
Looking like a good year!
From when I started hunting here in 97-98 to '03-'04, I used to shoot 1 or 2 cans a year. Rarely ever saw more than a few each season.
Redheads were a little better, average ~3-4 per season.
Then for about 3 weeks in the 04-05 season (Jan 2nd-23rd, 2005 to be precise, I keep records), we got covered up in redheads, greater scaup and cans. I shot 6 cans, a dzn RHs and a pile of greater scaup in those 3 weeks. Plus smattering of buffies and ringnecks. It was a diver hunters dream, I was in heaven.
Then the bottom fell out, Summer 05-2007, we had hurricanes, a drought, lost 80% of our eel grass beds, weather pattern changes and from Jan. 2005 until yesterday I didn't see a can. Only got redheads because I started hunting Miss. Sound.
Then BOOM, 2015: covered up in redheads and first double ever on cans, on opening weekend to boot.
And it seems like we already have more divers this year than the last 3 years combined.
Looking like a good year!
Brent Mason
Member
Awesome.
Chris Finch
Well-known member
Hey Carl what do you marinate the divers in? We usually get into the buffies later in the year and would love to try turning them into jerky.
Keep up the good work, this duck season has been so miserable I have to live vicariously through you guys. Squirrels have been good though.
Keep up the good work, this duck season has been so miserable I have to live vicariously through you guys. Squirrels have been good though.
Steve Sanford
Well-known member
Carl~
Congratulations all around! Spectacular birds.
Since we are experiencing another Dearth of Ducks year and hoping for a mythical cold air mass to push hordes of birds down to us - maybe we should instead be hoping for a Gulf Coast warm spell and the Coriolis Effect to drive all of your birds back up to the northeast......hope springs eternal......
More seriously: What is the principal food for Cans and Redheads down your way?
All the best,
SJS
Congratulations all around! Spectacular birds.
Since we are experiencing another Dearth of Ducks year and hoping for a mythical cold air mass to push hordes of birds down to us - maybe we should instead be hoping for a Gulf Coast warm spell and the Coriolis Effect to drive all of your birds back up to the northeast......hope springs eternal......
More seriously: What is the principal food for Cans and Redheads down your way?
All the best,
SJS