Another Season in the Books

153…One hundred and fifty three ducks that is. That is the total for the little Pearl pup this season. It was her first year and she accounted her self admirably, but there is plenty to improve upon before next fall. She finished the day picking up four mallards killed when dad and I dropped them from a large group of birds on Riley East. Dang I'm going to miss not hunting that field next year. The greenheads love that field. Good way to finish even if there were no bands this season, maybe next.

Almost 5 months and not a word....

I am working on a couple of posts. Reviews mostly including my season with the Beretta Xtrema2, a go-devil boat and long-tail motor, a review of Cabela's breathable waders, and a few notes about some interesting experiences from last year (including duck and goose tallies from the season).

Gordon

Pride is a dangerous thing.

Someone once wrote that there are only 2 places you can kill a duck: where they want to be, and where they don't mind going. And it is easy to forget something like this when you are on a good run, but every now and then something happens to remind you of that. I was reminded this morning.

I decided late last night I was gonna ride up and hunt, so I packed up my gear and headed north at 3:20 AM. When I got there without having done my due diligence I picked a spot on the board that I knew would be easy to hunt and went at it. I was told there was water there, but that not much had been taken from that blind. I thought I would give it a shot anyway. There were about 10 groups of ducks flying over the hole early, but none were workable and didn't even check when called. Those ducks were headed somewhere and it wasn't where I was. It was turning out to be a warm, overcast day with way too many mosquitos around (note to self always bring the thermacell). Then as the sun started to break through the decoys I saw them, a pair of real ducks. Mallards I thought and blew a few notes in their direction. They turned and headed back toward the spread. They began to work the field, and my heart rate increased. I really thought they could do it, but after about 4 passes without commitment they had only shaved a little altitude. I knew then and there that they just didn't want to be where I was. As they took the tail wind and headed north I remembered the statement that there were only 2 places a person can kill a duck, and I chuckled a bit to myself. I had been having a pretty decent season by most accounts, but I'd forgotten the key: finding the "X". I tried to work one more group of Mallards, and a group of Grey Ducks (Gadwall's), to no avial. Fortunately, the wind was brisk enought that I was able to get 2 snows to fly by within range. They were no more than 60 feet (20 yards) high when they flew over the blind. But, those two snows were the only thing that kept me from getting a zero today. Oh well, I will be prepared next time.

I also kicked myself a bit for leaving the dog at home, she could've gotten in a little work around the catfish ponds shooting divers if I had brought her. You live and you learn.

First new team member.

As you can tell I added the first new member of out blog team, Joel. Joel and I actually met through a message board centered around duck hunting, and over the past couple of years have become friends. We share a common love of the outdoors, while he gets to live in the heart of some of the best hunting in the world; I have to live miles away on the outskirts of a large city. But, such are the sacrifices one makes to keep his family happy and pursue a career.

He is known to shoot everything from a stainless over and under to an old Ithaca, and he is one of the best shots I know. Joel, like many of us, hunts a combination of different locations, private lands and from time to time he has been known to take advantage of public lands. He hunts with a Chesapeake Bay Retriever named “Canton” who only minds him, and is very territorial over his truck. Why on earth he chose a “Chessie” I’ll never know, but it probably has something to do with the fact that he doesn’t think anything worthwhile is ever easy, and takes satisfaction in going down the road less traveled. To that extent he and I are probably throwbacks to a past generation, we don’t mind sharing our experiences with others, but we will not give away the fruits of our sweat equity (meaning we aren’t going to tell you where the good duck holes are).

I asked Joel to be a contributor here due to the respect I have for not only his skill as an outdoorsmen, but also for his ethics and values. He understands and respects the natural cycle, and gives back as much if not more than he harvests. Most importantly, Joel is the kind of guy you really want to share a blind with. Maybe it is just the fact that we see eye to eye on so many things, but it could be that his passion for the outdoors along with his humor and lighthearted attitude tend to make the most out of every situation. To make a long story even longer, Joel is the kind of guy whose enjoyment of the outdoors comes through and makes it enjoyable to be around. His entries should make for some great reading

Bobcat bowhunt

Well, last Saturday was an interesting bow hunt in the MS Delta.

I have been hunting a new property that I have access to. It is a 400 +/- acre block of woods that borders a WMA. I have scouted it some, not much, but some and found some promising areas.

I got to the stand well before daylight and climbed the tree up to about 22 feet. And as with the last few hunts that was the extent of it for the next several hours. No squirrels, no birds, and not much of anything moving. I was so bored I started to play solitaire on my phone. The boredom surmounted at about 8:45 when I put a deadline on the hunt. If I didn't see anything by 9AM I was leaving.

When 9:05 rolled around, I was so disgusted with my luck I decided to throw all my preparations out the window. All the scentless soap, shampoo, deodorant, clothes detergent, etc. It was obviously not doing me any good. So I decided to light a cigarette and then leave (I know, smart). No sooner than I let the cig, and sat back down to enjoy the last few minutes in the stand, than I see a bobcat. A big bobcat.

This little sucker came into the finger of woods I was in, out of a 4 -5 year old pine thicket. I saw him at about 60 yards and drew on him at about 50. Luckily he decided to come my way. He stopped, peed on a stump, and came in to 15 yards. He stopped at 15 yards, and I RELEASED MY ARROW. It was no more than an inch over his back.

He jumped and ran to about 10 yards in front of me as I tried to get an arrow out of my quiver that is tied to the side of my climber. There I stand with cig hanging out of my mouth, smoke in my eyes, and him glancing at me. He looked at me 2 or 3 times as he casually walked off. I finally got an arrow out and knocked it. He stopped at 30 and turned broad side behind a small branch to see what the deal was. I had to shoot thru some small twigs and leaves, but heard the arrow hit home. He then bolted, ran about 40 yards and piled up.

So, I sat back down to wait my 30 minutes to make sure he was dead. No more than 3 minutes later, here comes another one from a different direction. I only assume that the squirrel hunters were getting to close for his comfort. This time was basically the same story with two misses and no cig. He came in, I missed at 15 yards, he jumped a few yards and stopped at thirty. He jumped the string and ran before the second arrow got there.

I searched for 30 minutes but could not find the big cat I hit, so I went to the house to get the dog. We found him after about another 30 minutes of looking. He was 31 inches from nose to the base of his tail and the second one wasn't too much smaller. He is at the taxidermist now getting mounted in an attack position that I am going to add a wood duck to later. Hope it comes out as good as I think it will.

Forgive me for digressing from ducks for a minute it is time for the pinnacle of my college football season as a fan, the Georgia vs. Florida game, the only thing that comes close is the Georgia vs. Auburn game. I grew up a Georgia fan in “middle Georgia”, and Florida was our most hated rival and then it was Auburn. Georgia has had it problems this season but beating your most hated rival cures a lot of ills.

The game formerly known as the “World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party” is one of the greatest rivalries in the south. It is a strange rivalry game because it is traditionally played on a “neutral” site in Jacksonville, Florida. This is a game where you throw out the rankings, even though the Florida Gators have dominated the last 17 games UGA still holds a pretty good lead in the series. Since 1990 Florida has enjoyed a week off prior to the game, but this year UGA has that benefit. The rest gained during the by week seems to have served Georgia well.

This year, despite many thinking we didn’t have a chance, my GEORGIA DAWGS pulled it out!!!

UGA 42-UF 30 is the final score, it was a great game with some great plays on both sides. There is, plain and simple, no substitute for beating you rivals. Many ills were cured tonight and I am a happy man. I have cracked the seal on a bottle of Four Roses Kentucky bourbon, it is some of the best bourbon there is, quite fitting after a great game. I’ll be back to the duck season prep tomorrow.

Only a few weeks left. Headed to Arkansas on November 16th and I'll be there until the 21st. I can't wait. I'm looking forward to spending some time hunting again. I need that release right now more than anything.

The preparation isn't even finished yet. The boat is not completely brushed up, the decoys aren't rigged and the camo hasn't been washed. But, I will probably knock at least 2 of those out this weekend.

I went on a dove hunt last Saturday with Bigwater, Iron Grip, and Mr. Sparxx. It was a typical "donkey hunt." I fired one shot and killed one dove, and I was the only one to kill anything. But, it was a lot of fun. Sometimes its theraputic to just laugh and ride down country roads with your buddies, and that is what this trip was. This is a good crew and I always have a blast with them, I'm glad Bigwater and Iron Grip will be accompanying us to Arkansas in a few weeks.

As for the adding other contributors, I haven't pulled the trigger yet, but I probably will soon. One of guys I have in mind will be gone on his honeymoon for a while, and the other is in Canada right now. I'm undecided about who else (if anyone) to ask, but I would like to get a diverse group, meaning guys that aren't all hunting the same spots. I'll keep this updated, it isn't so much a question of "if" as it is "when".

I am toying with the idea of adding a few new faces around here. No....I'm not contemplating offspring, just thinking of adding a few buddies to the contributor list. I'd like to get them to post tales of the hunt so to speak. Not sure if I'm sold on the idea or not, but I'm getting close to pulling the trigger. I have a couple in mind who have the right mindset, and can spin a really good tale. I'm not sure that my best tale telling years aren't behind me...but, I'll try to keep up. Plus it could add some vibrance to this place..... I'll report back soon.....

Well, tomorrow marks the opening day of Teal Season in Mississippi. While I really enjoy a good Teal hunt, I'll be doing something a bit different. Since the weather is so beautiful, thanks to Humberto the tropical storm, I am headed to Monroe, La. to turn a few duck calls with my father in law. I'll post pics when we get done.

In other developments this week, a new (well new to me) duck boat arrived at my house. It is a Go-Devil boat (a 1644 model) with a Go-Devil 31 HP longtail mud motor on the back. The boat should serve me well this season and in future seasons. The blind on it needs a little work, and there are some cosmetic changes that need to be made, along with some wiring, but the engine runs well and it is almost ready for duck season. Speaking of Duck Season it is a mere 2 months away, and I am as excited as i can be. but that means realistically I only have about eight total days to prepare. Gotta make a checklist....rig up decoys, get wiring done on boat, get blind setup, get waders patched, get shells ready, get room at camphouse ready...yeah, things are gonna be busy.

Dove season starts tomorrow. It is the social event of the south, or at least it used to be. For me it signals time to get serious about an upcoming duck season. I've got to make preparations. First and formost I have to get my boat set up. Thanks to a buddy of mine, it looks like we're gonna have a first rate duck boat, and a mud motor. This will really be helpful considering the fact that many public lands are closing, or have already closed, off the area to ATV use. We hope to get everything squared away on that front by October.

Also I'm set up to go with good group of guys to hunt in NE Arkansas for 5 days before Thanksgiving. We are gonna hunt with Charles Snapp for Monday through Wednesday, and we have another pit setup for the weekend before. It should be a fun trip and I know it will be a good setup. For those of you who are interested the website to Snapp's Place is www.arkansaswaterfowl.com we go an an unguided hunt, but for the ultimate experience the timber hunting provided by Mr. Snapp is flat out awesome.

Other than that I don't know what the season will hold. But I do know it is time to check the waders for leaks, get the boat blind built, get shotgun shells purchased and clean off the duck gun. This is probably my second favorite time of year, just duck season.