When is cold weather a factor?

For me Kevin, it's more about the marine forecast. I'll work with the cold, but safety for me revolves more around the wind, and size of the seas. I was out the past three days, Thursday was the coldest, below zero I'm sure but no number to give you. The sea smoke prohibited us from seeing the birds and the birds from seeing our decoys, and you can't call sea ducks, so it's a visual game, and if you miss the "X", there's no game! Friday's 30-40kt winds kept us in a plan "d" spot, so we were putting all our eggs on today. Today worked to our favor, we were able to get to a good spot and had a great shoot. Again, this is all on the ocean, I don't deal with ice and such. I will take a cold day, over a windy day, every day of the season. Just me though. I can sympathize with tidal river hunters who have to deal with frozen ramps, ice flows pulling decoys out and all the other stuff that goes with that game.
 
It's great to hear other hunters of all experience levels opinions on this topic. And I think a main part of my question was referring to cold weather and including all of the so called "side effects" that go along with it (Ice, wind etc etc..), so thanks for including that in most of the posts.

I went down to the coastal zone today and ended up not launching on the fact that the ice seemed to be a little to much for just one man in a sneakbox. Could I have gotten away with launching and breaking through, yeah probably so but my day off was just as enjoyable watching birds fly from the road for a little while. Theres a few more days left in the season to enjoy and I have a few vacation days from work ready to burn!
 
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Ice is a huge factor followed by temperature but they usually play hand in hand with boats in tidal rivers and salt ponds. Great response Steve and another consideration even when temp raises after freeze is wind pushing ice. Last year I had an X spot where the birds had to be and ended up not being able to hunt it a second time and glad I didn't. The ice had worked pretty close to the spot and winds were north. About two hours after sun up I drove by and saw all the ice stacked up against bridge essentially shutting off the ramp. The area stayed locked in ice till next freeze several days latter that lasted rest of season. Had anyone gone out in any size boat that would have been catastrophic to the gear. Remember those ice jams at bridges.
 
Hunted today in what I call moderate ice, main channel open and creek iced with 2" ice. Spent 20 minutes breaking through the creek ice to get back to where hundreds of ducks where stooling only to find that they where landing on the ice. Could not set gear and I will not put my dog in an area where there is anything thicker than skim ice. No duck in my opinion is worth losing a dog under the ice.

There are few conditions that keep me off the water, they just change where I launch. If I show up to the spot I wanted to hunt and it is a no go I move on to one of two areas that I cam always make it out and hunt there. If those places freeze it's not fit for man or beast anyway.
 
I went out last Saturday for sea ducks in LIS was 14 degrees with 25mph winds. Waves were only 1' since we stayed in the shelter of the islands.
Did well as the birds really wanted into the decoy spread.
Have hunted in temps to -7 with 10mph wind, fun as long as the birds are flying LOL.
 
for me it is Rain... or ice... I have never had success in the rain... sprinkles sure.. but outright rain ... no. The other is ice. I will break ice, if there is open water. November this year, the river locked up tight. No reason to have a trailer sitting on the ice... or a 25' hole by the landing but not able to move the boat.
 
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