The coolest thing about carving your own decoys...

Do I hear you on that one.

So far this year, I have finished 3 dozen foamers, all bluebills. Had them out Saturday, first duck comes and lands right in the mix, almost so happy to see her, that I didn't shoot.

Really happy with my work, those coupled with the new boat, and a new kid any day, makes for a great season. Too bad it will be cut short.

Always next year.
 
Really happy with my work, those coupled with the new boat, and a new kid any day, makes for a great season. Too bad it will be cut short.

Always next year.
Click to expand...


Andrew,

First, when did you launch the titantic (or whatever you named it) and how did I miss the pictures.

Second, congratulations...on the kid that is.

Paul, I scouted 3 game areas in 3 different counties, drove over 150 miles, and I am proud to report there are still ducks in west michigan...eight of them.

Brian, Nice job!

Chuck
 
I recognize that duck. Its one I missed in Central Wis two weeks ago. How do I know you say. See that ruffled feather by your little finger. Thats how close it came to be in my bag. Now if I had superior decoys like the one in your other hand it would never have made it to Mich. After you have hunted ducks as long as I have you know how they think. That ring bill landed in my decoys, looked around and saw plastic and said "ugh I getting the H@$$ out of here"
Now if I had proper decoys like you do that ring bill would have sat there admiring the decoys and given this old man with poor eye sight and reaction time better odds.

Now that my story and I'm sticking to it. ( ; )
 
Chuck, first launch was on the four of July, floated right on her lines, mounted the motor a couple weeks later and took her for her first ride, few more test runs, then the day before season, I blew the motor. She sat quietly in the side yard until last weekend. A friend, Dave B, lent me his 85 hp motor for the season. So we used her for the first time this past saturday. Got a fair amount of stares as we were putting in and taking out. As far as for a tender, worked pretty well, side are fairly high, so you really have to man up to get the layouts up and over. This year I put my divers on long lines and in barrels, like Lou has talked about, so far barrels work great.

Really surprised how fast the smaller motor pushed, made it to 25 mph fully loaded, doesn't say much about the old 140 hp I had on it.

Oh, named her Juggernaut.

Sorry, no pic, camera broke last year, and we have been using the old 35 mm.

Thanks
 
Nice mama ringer Brian.....we have about 30 Blackjacks playing in front of the house right now and I'm bustin my fanny trying to get two commissions finished to meet a deadline. Paint a little and watch the birds and wish I was in the blind. There just isn't enough hours in the day and somehow I have my priorities screwed up. The Ringbills may win out.

Willy
 
Willy, get out of the shop and gather study material. Use it as an excuse. The Prncess will understand. Research.
 
Hey Jason....thanks for the suggestion with the Princess but as bad a business has been lately she is cracking the whip to get my commissions finished and she is the boss here at The Duck Blind HEHE! And she wants grocerys....not dead ducks. Back to painting on a Can and Goldeneye. It's fun painting two different species at the same time......hope I don't get them mixed up.

Willy
 
hey, pan,
glad to see you finally found out what you were supposed to do with those things!!!!! A quicky hunt is better than working, any day!!
 
Shot some ringnecks yesterday but they finished over plastic decoys. I saw two Common Scoter as well but they were not interested at all. Just landed and tucked. I'm thinking they had a rough night on Lake Michigan.
 
Mark Rongers sent me an e-mail today from a Lake somewhere in Northern Michigan, (I think thats where he said he was), with a photo of a hen Common Scoter included...must be moving through in confusion from all the Global Warming messing up their migration corridors....

Steve
 
Steve ,
We get commons all the time off of Superior in the U.P. (Upper Penninsula) along with good numbers of old squaw.
B
 
There are a suprising number of sea ducks that winter on the Great Lakes. Lake Michigan off of Milwaukee usually has huge rafts of squaw and of course they are a relatively normal bird to hear of being shot on this coast as well. Every year somebody shoots a Harli and some years you'll hear of an eider or two being shot. I know a guy that actually shot 3 Common Eider on Pine Lake here in LaPorte about 5 years ago. He and buddy had them come in on a foggy day. They thought they were the local park ducks and upon examination freaked out.

I hear of scoters occasionally and by far and away they are the most common sea duck we see inland. I had a few buddies get into the Whitewings on a big resevior down in SW Indiana last season. They texted me a photo that said "What is it-did we screw up?". I told them they were okay to shoot and apparently they had them come in several times in decent sized flocks. I think they ended up shooting 5 or 6.

The commons I saw yesterday were totally exhausted beyond belief. I drove right up to them and when they flew off they landed about 300 yards away and tucked. Those 50 and 60 mph winds on the big lake must've pushed them inland I'm guessing. I shot a common on Lake Tippecanoe in the mid-nineties. I shot a whitewing east of Marquette on Lake Superior the same year.
 
The lake that Mark and company were going to hunt last I heard is in my opinion the #1 corridor for Oldsquaw and scoter in Michigan during migration. I shot my Whitewing about 10 miles west of that lake. I've also shot at Oldsquaw on that lake.

I also had a big Northern jump out of the water and grab my bucktail out of the air as it dangled about 18 inches above the surface. I watched giant 5-7lb smallmouth feed on hex nymphs in the shallows and ignore the most perfectly tied hex nymph patterns I could muster on light tippet. The cohos load up in that estuary big time....lots of wild ones cruise through the lake to the upper river.

Sorry, I'm dreamin' of the UP again.
 
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