Opening Day Blues

Carl

Carl

Well-known member
Staff member
I missed my first Florida opening day today, hasn?t had time to do anything bu Google Earth scouting so didn?t want to get in the way. First time I?ve missed an opening day in over 10 years. So anyone hunting today Please Post some photos and reports so I can live vicariously through your experience! If you happen to live near Tampa, Place names and GPS coordinates appreciated but not required of course! 😀
 
I was just wondering when your play by play hunt recaps were going to start. Guess I?ll have to wait a little longer. I?ve been too busy with work, decoys, and packing to worry about hunting.
 
Carl said:
and GPS coordinates appreciated
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42.71N 92.59W Turn East at the school house. Drive 1.5 blocks to the ramp. Launch and proceed 1/4 mile down stream to the first bend and set up against the willows in the back of the bend. Ducks at sunrise and geese mid morning.

BTW. You may need to break ice to get setup, bring a spud bar. Season closes Dec 3rd so don't delay. Call me when you're done hunting and stop in for coffee.
 
I?ll stop by when I get done tomorrow morning. Keep the coffee warm. Make some biscuits too please.
 
I?m out right now. Thought I was done a week ago due to ice but it has gotten warm and windy. Little scary being out during deer opener but they should be a long way away from me.

Luckily I brought my ice bar with me. Had to chop through about 2-3? ice to get away from the landing. After that I was in open water all the way except for maybe 200 yards. Starting getting near where I wanted to set up and ducks by the thousands got up. Geese as well. Had one duck come within range and I actually nailed it dead. What a surprise. My gun is dirty again.

Seeing some flying still but really came out to clear some ice for tomorrow which I think is going to be a great hunt. Right now it is in the mid 40?s and I?m in the breathable waders and no coat. This is what I call hunting.

Look for pictures tomorrow and the following three days after that. Then the season will be done for me.

Ma k
 
Here's my gift of the day. Everything was wrong, sun blaring at me, decoys a bit too far on the right, and any other excuse I can imagine. Lol
I hear geese, called em in "blind" then 5 appeared in the shooting zone, rapidly leaving, making a pass over the deeks. I dropped him on the first shot, then missed the next 2 shots, quickly became a far shot.
I say it was another good day in the Estuary.


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Here you go Carl, this will cheer you up. My hunting starts on Friday morning scouting at 6 am. Perfect I get out on Lake Okeechobee after going thru the locks. For those who don't know Lake Okeechobee has a rim ditch (a canal) around it and to enter the lake you go thru a lock system which opens at 530 am. But there is also other boat ramps open to the lake. Anyway, I enter the lake and begin scouting. Find some groups of teal and some mottles,(Florida mallards). Next step find at least 5 area to hunt because opening day is crazy, which I'm mentally prepared for, well maybe. Now that I'm satisfied with my plan i head back home. My hunting partner arrives we talk strategy and prepare to leave the boat ramp at 3 am to beat the crowd, we figure 5:30 at the lock is to late for the opener. It's a good plan. All is good Saturday morning at 3 am we are off. 8 miles of swamp driving in a gator trax at no other boats, I'm liking it. We get to the 1st spot, good so far,only 1 airboat flashing us, we are in. So, once arriving we sit in the gator trax spot lights ready to ward off any other duck hunters. Also on the bow of the boat is light bar which I relate to aircraft landing lights. Still doing good, it's now 530 I here the armada, the locks have opened 5 miles away I hear the air boats. I know there's at least 6 and 4 mudboats.We are ready for light tag, shooting time is 6:20 its 5:45 we set decoys, by the way water is 1ft. Deep. We decide to hunt from the boat we hide, brush up. There's a airboat trying to get thru a small brush, tree line to get in our hole. We light up the area and him but he's till coming. Finally h backs out gossip around us and comes in full boe,my partners standing in the decoys and I'm thinking not good. I crank the boat up aim into the decoys landing light on spot light going. The airboat also has aircraft lights on,still coming. The mud motors full bore I crash thru the bushes and block my partner from the 4 guys in the airboat, which misses my partner by 3 feet. Worst thing he runs over my cork decoys and keeps going. We won no ones hurt, set back up, time is 6:10 shooting time 6:20. we shot 4 real and 1 mottle, home at 10:00. Not hunting Sunday but got up at 530 just in timeto hear the air boats. What a riot. Feel better Carl.
 
[qu[URL="https://www.emerils.com/122771/black-pepper-drop-biscuits#"]6Share

Black Pepper Drop Biscuits

https://www.emerils.com/print/122771
Ingredients
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon solid vegetable shortening
  • 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon milk
  • 2 teaspoons coarsely ground black pepper
Directions
  • Preheat the oven to 400?F.
  • Lightly oil a pie tin.
  • Combine all of the ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix well. The dough will be slightly sticky.
  • Divide the dough into 4 equal portions and drop into the pie tin. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until lightly browned.
  • Serve right from the oven
These are great with any Cajun or Creole sauce that has some "kick" to it

Good luck on your season! I received a report of hundreds of mallards flying low overhead from a friend sitting on stand for deer, two days ago. He wouldn't be specific about where he was, just they were headed southeast into Skandia fields. Today is the end of our season, and I have yet to locate a grain field filled with mallards...
  • Carl]Nope, send me the recipe![/quote]
 
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Ben -

I really like your photo.

The green & yellow leaves compliment the brown earth tone leaves, and grey swamp. Plus ya got the vertical thing going on.

The branch on the ground near the butt stock, leads the viewers eye to the swamp. Very good composition.


That's a prime trio of squirrels, and like the use of the "bird strap".

I carry the ones I shoot the same way, with a braided nylon bird strap. Cools them down much better than a game bag.

.22's can be a tad nerve wracking at times, especially with hollow points. I've sighted and resighted my .22 as well this season.

If a miss occurs I think it's me, and when it happens again I know it's time to stop the hunt, and head for the range. So can find out ASAP.


Best regards
Vince
 
have an old single shot Winchester model 58.Iron sights! Gotta get back in a tree rat routine. I did have a taste for them in southern Illinois and upstate new yawk, back in the day. Hunted here, but with shotgun. Ducks slow down, I might just give the dungeon a wide berth and meander in the woods a bit.
 
Ben,
I use the same gun with a Leupold 4x. Great guns for bushytails. That picture made my mind up as I was debating going squirrel hunting. Now I know what to do this week.
 
Vince-

Thanks for the compliments. I'm not much of a photographer so I just like the American beech tree and it had a limb I could hang the squirrels on, glad to see it looks as appealing to others as it did me.
I like using solid points now that I'm a better shot. Makes less mess

George-

Get that old gun out there and using it for what it's made for.

JC-

I love this browning rifle, my dad bought it for me when I was a smaller lad (still small now) and used it with iron sights for years on rabbits and squirrels but once I got into my later teens I wanted to get a scope and the bushnell rimfire scope was in my price range. My best friend thinks it's funny how I scan trees with it when I know a squirrel is up one.

Good luck to y'all if you squirrel hunt

Carl-

Good luck on figuring out the area better and getting into some ducks, look forward to seeing your posts on your hunts.
 
Will, what is the general percentage of black/mallard hybrids in your bag out there? I average one or two a year here on northern Lake Michigan.
 
Kinda glad I missed that experience!

I heard from another person that certain airboats on Lake O were a nightmare on opening day.
 
RLLigman said:
Will, what is the general percentage of black/mallard hybrids in your bag out there? I average one or two a year here on northern Lake Michigan.
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Probably in the neighborhood of 1 out of every 20 is easily distinguishable as a hybrid, basically meaning they have white on the foreword portion of the speculum. Probably 1 of 10 has some sort of faint mallard characteristic like reddish hint in the chest or minor green specks in the head. I?d guess of these birds likely they are second generation hybrids meaning they are 25%mallard and 75% black duck One of these birds in the pile did not have white wing bars on the speculum but did have the beginning of some curls on the tail. First time I?d seen that in a bird that was not ?very obviously? a hybrid



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I also shot one a week ago that has me baffled. Maybe it?s just a eclipse plumage drake mallard but has an awful dark hue to it and didn?t have many pin feather when I plucked it. Maybe it?s 75% mallard and 25% black duck?



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Carl, I have not had the pleasure of opening day on Lake O but I have heard horror stories. Sadly, those kinds of horror stories are not limited to just Lake O. I was out fishing for redfish in the flats in Jacksonville on a great flood tide. It was mid afternoon and this jerkwad in an airboat nearly mowed me over. I was standing up fishing...in the daylight....and there were hundreds and hundreds of acres all around me that he could have just gone around me but nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Overall, unless I am on an airboat, I hate airboats. I don't hate all airboat drivers but there does seem to be a big mentality among many airboat drivers that they will just mow over whoever and whatever they want.

Hope that you can get out and find some ducks. Wish I had some ideas for down around your area.

Don't forget you can put in for the third round of waterfowl permits right now. TMGoodwin and the STAs can be really good. Also, check to see what might be on the return list for quota permits and put in for what you can there.
 
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