Thelma is in Illinois!
- Thread starter Andrew L.
- Start date
Andrew L.
Well-known member
Thelma was on the Illinois River Valley this morning and while the ice bath part came true the Canvasback part did not. The birds are here but unfortunately ice has taken over the first 60+ yards of shoreline so getting to them is difficult. We settled on chain sawing a hole near shore and trying to draw birds in, first time I have had to this. It worked early on but after an hour my hole continued to freeze quickly and the birds knew to stay in open water. Divers skirted the edge of the ice all morning without committing to the spread. Having a slow week thus far and ice about to take out over half of our season days for the second straight year Austin and I decided early on we weren't going to be picky, hence the spoonies 
. I am going to see if the old timers are right and fry them up with the mallard tonight and see if I can tell a difference in table fare. We should thaw back out this weekend with temps in the 50's and rain. I am hoping we can muster another week or 2 of season before winter takes over again. It will likely be Saturday before Thelma hits the water again. Hope hunting is well near you!
Ice was just thick enough to walk on this morning, about 2", so I allowed Austin to get the ducks, I had a good laugh as he tried putting on the brakes right before the mallard but ended up 10 yards past it. He has a battle scar on his face from this past Tuesday as he found out that ice can be thinner near the decoys. After that retrieve Tuesday I tied him up to make sure I could guide him safely to the bird rather than going through the broken decoy hole.
. I am going to see if the old timers are right and fry them up with the mallard tonight and see if I can tell a difference in table fare. We should thaw back out this weekend with temps in the 50's and rain. I am hoping we can muster another week or 2 of season before winter takes over again. It will likely be Saturday before Thelma hits the water again. Hope hunting is well near you!Ice was just thick enough to walk on this morning, about 2", so I allowed Austin to get the ducks, I had a good laugh as he tried putting on the brakes right before the mallard but ended up 10 yards past it. He has a battle scar on his face from this past Tuesday as he found out that ice can be thinner near the decoys. After that retrieve Tuesday I tied him up to make sure I could guide him safely to the bird rather than going through the broken decoy hole.
Pat Gregory
Well-known member
Nice work Andrew! We have 4 inches at our place... Pat
Way to go Andrew! I lost a goose the other night to the river not being able to find a place to get my boat in. I hate loosing game. I was thinking last night I'm switching gears and will head to Iowa to see if Lucy and I can flush out a pheasant or two. Even with the warm temps and rain this weekend the river will refreeze next week quickly so our season is likely over.
Andrew L.
Well-known member
Thelma will ship out today from IL. Sorry for my delay in posting. We were able to get 2 more hunts in together and I was able to keep my Canvasback promise to her! My first Can in 2 years.
Ice came back in before Thanksgiving so we were limited on our last hunt together. Still was a great day to be out and we managed one Gadwall.
Thank you duck boats for letting us be a part of the traveling decoy again. Good luck to all that follow!
Thanksgiving morning-Austin attempting to crawl back out of the ice with the gadwall.
Ice came back in before Thanksgiving so we were limited on our last hunt together. Still was a great day to be out and we managed one Gadwall.
Thank you duck boats for letting us be a part of the traveling decoy again. Good luck to all that follow!
Thanksgiving morning-Austin attempting to crawl back out of the ice with the gadwall.