and WHAT a season it was too. The first day of the season had the potential to turn out not so great. I didn't even get to the marsh until after legal shooting due to accidents on the freeway early in the morning, then another hour or so spent getting to an area I decided that might have some potential and that did not have a lot of hunters. Then it was sit and wait and watch the birds to see where they wanted to go. Once I finally got in the water, I headed out in a slow, cautious and ultimately successful stalk through the marsh on the biggest concentration of fulvous I'd ever seen before. During that stalk I had pintail circling me checking me at 15 yards, but I let them pass so that I could hopefully get my whistling duck. My patience ultimately paid off and so my season began. And it only got better.
After the first weekend, I made some modifications to my "rig" and made life so much easier on myself. Especially on days when the option to ride the hayride at the quotaed places was there. With my rig I didn't have to rely on the hayride to get me out to my hunting areas.
When Steve showed up we went out the day before the opener of the second split so he could see one of the spots where I was hunting and see what the conditions were like. There was much listening to "Where's the water?" "There is some open water isn't there?" before getting to my hunting area and then having to listen to "I thought you said there was water out here?!?!?" once we got there. I was more than willing to let my spot prove itself. And it did.
It certainly wasn't an easy place to hunt, even with a good dog to help us out. Many shots were spent on cripples to ensure they did not get away before they could be retrieved. Mike made some outstanding retrieves this year in the thick stuff. A mottled duck that landed deep in pickerel weed and a crippled teal that led him a merry chase through some thick cattails. But he prevailed where we would likely have failed. I was happy to have him out there on more than one occassion and wished that he could've been out there on other occassions after he and Steve went home.
It sure is great when you can share a place with great friends who are willing to work hard to hunt and don't complain about how hard it is to hunt that spot. Sure when it is wet, the ride in becomes the Ho Chi Minh Trail and all you can do is push the bikes down the trail. The water isn't easy to walk through with thick grass impeding you and hidden holes to try to drown you. But there was no doubt that it was a decent place to hunt and many great days spent in great company.
The last weekends were spent solo though.
I did check out new areas on the way home, looking for the possible quail sighting, or a woodcock, or a snipe, or a pig. And there sure were some purdy places to look at.
I did get lucky and found snipe in the woods.
And had a pair of Sandhills say hi while I was wandering looking for quail and rabbits.
But mostly I duck hunted. Many mornings were spent sitting waiting for legal, listening to the whistling ducks and hoping that they'd not be so ornery and wait to leave the marsh at legal instead of way before legal. They never did cooperate with me after that first weekend. I could hear them in the dark flying over me, heading to who knows where, leaving me muttering at them. I truly don't know how people can say they're stupid. The flocks that do come back during the morning spend so much time circling and looking from up in the stratosphere that you could learn a second language before they ever came down.
There were some other strange 'birds' out flying over the marsh several different days. And these "birds" were low enough at times that they could be shot if there was a season on them. What they were thinking flying over a marsh that is being hunted in I don't know. Seems pretty risky, but they were out there on more than one occassion.
Somedays the birds would cooperate and I would be done early. Other days it was spend a lot of time waiting for a single or pair to fly through.
One day I shot a teal that ended up crippled, and instead of running towards the cattails or pickerel weed like the rest of the cripples this season, he ran straight to my blackbelly silhouettes to "hide." Once he got in amongst them, he quit moving and hunkered down. Needless to say, there were some casualties this season.
The last day of the season came and I set up in a spot that had not been as good as others all year, but the day prior had been drawing birds for whatever reason from all over. So, of course, set up in that new spot. The last day dawned cloudy and cool with a stiff north wind. And what do I hear? Fulvous! There's a flock that is checking my spread out. But like the unpredictable and probably antisocial creatures they are, they decide they don't like want to set down with the gadwall and teal that are in my pocket, they go and set down exactly where I was set up the day before!!!!!!!!!!!
Alas, I never did draw the whistling ducks to me but my little spot in the grass was the perfect little hiding spot for enjoying my last day in the marsh. Teal, ringnecks, mottled ducks, gadwall....they all missed me hiding in my little spot...after I was done shooting for the day, I sat back and enjoyed my last morning in the marsh hunting ducks. I had more teal and ringnecks dive into my decoys and stick around for a while. After spending some time ruminating about the season and the great variety of birds I had this year (ringneck, bluewinged teal, green winged teal, blackbellied whistling ducks, fulvous whistling ducks, gadwall, pintail, shovelors, mottled ducks and mallards) and great friends hunting with me, I decided it was time to pack it in and meander my way out of the marsh, savoring that last ride out.
Until next year...
Dani
After the first weekend, I made some modifications to my "rig" and made life so much easier on myself. Especially on days when the option to ride the hayride at the quotaed places was there. With my rig I didn't have to rely on the hayride to get me out to my hunting areas.
When Steve showed up we went out the day before the opener of the second split so he could see one of the spots where I was hunting and see what the conditions were like. There was much listening to "Where's the water?" "There is some open water isn't there?" before getting to my hunting area and then having to listen to "I thought you said there was water out here?!?!?" once we got there. I was more than willing to let my spot prove itself. And it did.
It certainly wasn't an easy place to hunt, even with a good dog to help us out. Many shots were spent on cripples to ensure they did not get away before they could be retrieved. Mike made some outstanding retrieves this year in the thick stuff. A mottled duck that landed deep in pickerel weed and a crippled teal that led him a merry chase through some thick cattails. But he prevailed where we would likely have failed. I was happy to have him out there on more than one occassion and wished that he could've been out there on other occassions after he and Steve went home.
It sure is great when you can share a place with great friends who are willing to work hard to hunt and don't complain about how hard it is to hunt that spot. Sure when it is wet, the ride in becomes the Ho Chi Minh Trail and all you can do is push the bikes down the trail. The water isn't easy to walk through with thick grass impeding you and hidden holes to try to drown you. But there was no doubt that it was a decent place to hunt and many great days spent in great company.
The last weekends were spent solo though.
I did check out new areas on the way home, looking for the possible quail sighting, or a woodcock, or a snipe, or a pig. And there sure were some purdy places to look at.
I did get lucky and found snipe in the woods.
And had a pair of Sandhills say hi while I was wandering looking for quail and rabbits.
But mostly I duck hunted. Many mornings were spent sitting waiting for legal, listening to the whistling ducks and hoping that they'd not be so ornery and wait to leave the marsh at legal instead of way before legal. They never did cooperate with me after that first weekend. I could hear them in the dark flying over me, heading to who knows where, leaving me muttering at them. I truly don't know how people can say they're stupid. The flocks that do come back during the morning spend so much time circling and looking from up in the stratosphere that you could learn a second language before they ever came down.
There were some other strange 'birds' out flying over the marsh several different days. And these "birds" were low enough at times that they could be shot if there was a season on them. What they were thinking flying over a marsh that is being hunted in I don't know. Seems pretty risky, but they were out there on more than one occassion.
Somedays the birds would cooperate and I would be done early. Other days it was spend a lot of time waiting for a single or pair to fly through.
One day I shot a teal that ended up crippled, and instead of running towards the cattails or pickerel weed like the rest of the cripples this season, he ran straight to my blackbelly silhouettes to "hide." Once he got in amongst them, he quit moving and hunkered down. Needless to say, there were some casualties this season.
The last day of the season came and I set up in a spot that had not been as good as others all year, but the day prior had been drawing birds for whatever reason from all over. So, of course, set up in that new spot. The last day dawned cloudy and cool with a stiff north wind. And what do I hear? Fulvous! There's a flock that is checking my spread out. But like the unpredictable and probably antisocial creatures they are, they decide they don't like want to set down with the gadwall and teal that are in my pocket, they go and set down exactly where I was set up the day before!!!!!!!!!!!
Alas, I never did draw the whistling ducks to me but my little spot in the grass was the perfect little hiding spot for enjoying my last day in the marsh. Teal, ringnecks, mottled ducks, gadwall....they all missed me hiding in my little spot...after I was done shooting for the day, I sat back and enjoyed my last morning in the marsh hunting ducks. I had more teal and ringnecks dive into my decoys and stick around for a while. After spending some time ruminating about the season and the great variety of birds I had this year (ringneck, bluewinged teal, green winged teal, blackbellied whistling ducks, fulvous whistling ducks, gadwall, pintail, shovelors, mottled ducks and mallards) and great friends hunting with me, I decided it was time to pack it in and meander my way out of the marsh, savoring that last ride out.
Until next year...
Dani
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