Ready for Winter / Cold duck season

D. Hinton

D. Hinton

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This heatwave is not for the birds . Was dove hunting yesterday afternoon and thermometers measured anywhere from 96 to 100 depending on if you believed the truck, the weather app, or the bank sign on the drive in.

Got me thinking what would be your most ideal hunt ?

For me it would be a morning just cold enough for it to snow and stick.. Paddling along in the green timber regardless of state in the Aquapod .
No motors to fight with , no excessive noise .
Just me and the Chessie
A mixed bag limit of the colorful wooducks and mallards over hand carved dekes would do just fine as the snow landed across the water .

Then it’s back to the camp house for ground venison sausage and biscuits with fresh OJ in front of the fireplace.

(If I’m really going for gold here we could change the Aquapod to a Dan Kidney duck boat)
 
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Dax~

You pose a challenging question....

I've never fully embraced the "best" concept. Instead, whether it is hunting - or sailing - or meals - or art - or sports - I think more in terms of Top Tier - or my Personal Pantheon.

Most times, my Top Tier/Most Memorable hunts have involved a gunning vessel. Weather is important - and so is setting. Ultimately, the birds call the shots.

I am usually solo on these hunts, but I recall a few float hunts that were truly superb. I thoroughly enjoyed both the bow spot (the shooter) and the stern spot (the paddler). Surprising a Bobcat within about 10 feet of the canoe will stick in this old brain 'til the end.

Snow brings its own magic - especially if you become invisible in your "whites". I recall one hunt where there was no boat - just a walk-in to a backwater on a favorite late-season river. I shot a single Black Duck - the daily limit then - as he wove his way through the floodplain trees about 30 yards up. He folded right up and dropped like the proverbial stone. I can see him clearly right now, nestled in the 12 or so inches of fresh flakes, orange feet pointing skyward..

Other grand adventures typically include strong winds, changing tides, more birds - and a good boat.. I can happily recall some truly memorable misses and some truly satisfying shots. I am smiling as I relive these moments. Oh, and ice is nice, too!

Most important, I have no difficulty at all identifying The Very Best among the women in my life. Susan and I have been together for over a half-century now - and that has enabled all of the other riches I have enjoyed - and continue to enjoy.

Thanks for the Thought Experiment!

All the best,

SJS
 
Some snow or ice can be good, if it can be had without the winds. Keeps the birds looking for open water. Tend to have the water to yourself as well.

I agree on the heat. Working on my deck early the other morning I was pouring sweat and I wasn’t even in the sun.
 
My best days were almost always the day after a strong cold front, cold (for south Alabama), a strong north wind and clear skies.
Rough boat ride to the spot, wind howling at your back, hoping you timed the tide right, and that there would be enough water to float the decoys. And enough water to push the boat out to the channel when done.
 
Late season. Snow on the ground. Ice on the creek but not locked up. Light snow falling. No one else out there. Just me and a friend, a canoe, and a bag of decoys.
 
NE wind (NOT N or NW!) and some rain or snow. Snow better than rain, but I will take either. Gotta be under ~15 knots or most of my spots are unreachable. But if it is over 15 knots, I will take as much as mother nature wants to provide and hunt a handful of spots I can walk to or get to with a short and sheltered paddle.

I do have one late season spot that is absolutely fantastic on a NW blow after a storm has passed, but the hunting shuts off immediately as soon as the wind swings anywhere south of due W.
 
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