Still waiting on the River

MLBob Furia

MLBob Furia

Well-known member
Lots of rain last night & today, so I'm watching the the NWS River Stage forecast, and it looks as if the River will reach the "action-stage" (finally) by this weekend. Actually, Wednesday morning it looks to be at a level that makes it easy to get around in the sloughs. Might give it a shot in the morning and see if any new birds have shown up. We still have close to a month of duck, and the late goose into mid-February.

Meanwhile, Scooter and I have been chasing the upland birds. That has been my sanity saver in this season of low water and very few ducks. Last Friday, we were out after pheasant again and she managed to root out yet another limit. Took this picture when we had finished up for the day... shades of Steve Sutton ;)
Company here tonight and I'm doing a pheasant casserole with apples, onions, mushrooms, and wild rice.

JanPheasant1 (18).JPG
 
Bob

We are in the same boat. It's been a very dry fall/winter and last night's rain is what we've been waiting for. I think we finally have enough water to hunt the duck ponds we worked on last summer. The cold headed our way should push some ducks in the valley, but it might freeze those recently filled ponds too. Just have to wait and see.
 
Good luck with your hunt. Our season is long over with many dry potholes. Watching the snow fall now. Be careful out there.
 
Eric Patterson said:
Bob

We are in the same boat. It's been a very dry fall/winter and last night's rain is what we've been waiting for. I think we finally have enough water to hunt the duck ponds we worked on last summer. The cold headed our way should push some ducks in the valley, but it might freeze those recently filled ponds too. Just have to wait and see.
Click to expand...
Eric,
I got out today, delaying leaving a bit later than normal so as to miss the snow squalls I was seeing on weather radar ( At my age, I hate to have to make a set in the rain or snow!). Geese were moving most of the morning but regardless of the size of any group I saw, they seemed to be intent on getting somewhere else - perhaps feeding ahead of the frigid weather predicted to hit starting Saturday night. Sounds like we're in the same situation to some degree.
Anyway, I didn't see a duck. Decided I would hunt 'til noon, but then because I hadn't seen any ducks flying, decided to unload the gun and start packing things up at 11:45. Just as I finished breaking down the boat blind, I turned to see 8 mallards hanging 20 feet above the decoys. By then the gun was cased; they saw me, and flared away. Of course, when I checked the time it was 11:58. Aaaaargggghhh! Opportunity flew but once:cry:
River is still rising and it's supposed to pour down all day Friday, so I'm thinking maybe Saturday morning will be a good chance to get out. Starting Saturday, night-time temps will go to single digits all through next week and stay below freezing during the day. Even with the rising River and strong winds, there's no telling what conditions will be like. Just have to wait and see.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top