Dave Church
Well-known member
Woke up to the boat and Jeep covered in ice slush. The temps were in the low 30's and the wind was not a factor. It was the kind of cold that goes straight to the bone because of all the moisture in the air. I had called a friend the night before to fill up some empty room in the boat, but he declined and I ended up taking his father-in-law (Joe) instead. I grabbed the gear, the dog (KC) and my youngest and off we went. We met Joe at the boat ramp and I readied the boat as two other duck boats wished us a safe trip and headed into the light fog and blackness. The channel is very shallow and narrow and a spotlight was useless ib these conditions. I pulled out my Blackberry phone and used the GPS map to slowly guide us thru the channel, avoiding all the shallow sand bars. Who would have ever thought that I would be navigating in the dark like this? We headed out into the main body and, still using the GPS on my phone, made the turn north. Again it narrows and there are 3 large piles of concrete that can tear a motor up or crack a hull during low tide. Again, by zooming in the satelite view on the phone, I could actually see the obstacles under the water and slowly made my way around them. We found the spot and I hopped out and started putting both anchors out. The wind was still very calm and the rain came down in a drizzle. A small group of geese woke to the north and loudly moved above us in the dark. Brian (11) proudly got all of the cork and wood decoys from under the bow storage and explained to Joe, which ones he had helped with. He laid them on the bow and I made several trips to get a few at a time. We then began clipping the gang rig together and putting it into place.
I finally finished and got back into the boat, just a few more minutes until shooting time and we began laoding the guns. The rain picked up and I gave Brian a rain poncho to help keep him dry. We set the blind up and arranged the grass mats then settled in for the hunt. Shortly after shooting time, Brian pointed behind me and I got an "in your face" look at a drake Hooded Merganser as it made an aerobatic maneuver at break neck speed, wheeled and was in the rig. He did not stay long enough to let Brian get a shot and I dropped him as he made his away out of the spread. KC was in the water and back in no time. The morning was starting off well.......the rain was picking up, the temps were dropping. In the low light, a fist of mallards flew by but had their minds set on someplace else. The geese began to get up, a few at a time, the 10's , 20's. A flock landed about 300 yards away and that would be the end of any attempt to bring them to us. We watched as the "real geese" beat us every time a new flock came close. Soon, several hundred geese were on the water, many hundred more filling the sky. The rain picked up. Some buffies blasted thru the decoys but our swing just wasn't there, they flew on, I'm sure laughing. The ducks turned off around 9am and we had had enough of the rain. I told them that I would get out and bring in the puddle duck decoys between us and the shore and for them to continue hunting over the diver spread on the other side. Soon some mallards were spotted in the distance and some nice sounding duck calls came from my boat. The birds did not turn, but I complimented Joe on his calling. He said that was not him, but Brian with his new Dave Larsen call that he just received. We had it engraved to commemorate his first goose last week. I was very surprised at how well his calling sounded in such a short time. We packed up, bundled up, and headed for the ramp. Joe had us to his house where his wife Pat made us some breakfast and we slowly began to thaw out. No hunting pics, didn't want to ruin the camera. Great day.
View attachment Brian's first duck call 001 (255x191).jpg
I finally finished and got back into the boat, just a few more minutes until shooting time and we began laoding the guns. The rain picked up and I gave Brian a rain poncho to help keep him dry. We set the blind up and arranged the grass mats then settled in for the hunt. Shortly after shooting time, Brian pointed behind me and I got an "in your face" look at a drake Hooded Merganser as it made an aerobatic maneuver at break neck speed, wheeled and was in the rig. He did not stay long enough to let Brian get a shot and I dropped him as he made his away out of the spread. KC was in the water and back in no time. The morning was starting off well.......the rain was picking up, the temps were dropping. In the low light, a fist of mallards flew by but had their minds set on someplace else. The geese began to get up, a few at a time, the 10's , 20's. A flock landed about 300 yards away and that would be the end of any attempt to bring them to us. We watched as the "real geese" beat us every time a new flock came close. Soon, several hundred geese were on the water, many hundred more filling the sky. The rain picked up. Some buffies blasted thru the decoys but our swing just wasn't there, they flew on, I'm sure laughing. The ducks turned off around 9am and we had had enough of the rain. I told them that I would get out and bring in the puddle duck decoys between us and the shore and for them to continue hunting over the diver spread on the other side. Soon some mallards were spotted in the distance and some nice sounding duck calls came from my boat. The birds did not turn, but I complimented Joe on his calling. He said that was not him, but Brian with his new Dave Larsen call that he just received. We had it engraved to commemorate his first goose last week. I was very surprised at how well his calling sounded in such a short time. We packed up, bundled up, and headed for the ramp. Joe had us to his house where his wife Pat made us some breakfast and we slowly began to thaw out. No hunting pics, didn't want to ruin the camera. Great day.
View attachment Brian's first duck call 001 (255x191).jpg
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