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.

It is getting to be that time again.... and Wow...how I've neglected this place over the summer. I spent a great deal of time working in Louisiana, and a little bit playing. But now it seems, in the midst of the heat I can feel the earth breaking a bit. It's breaking in that way that it does before the seasons begin to shift. The oppressive heat that has borne down on us in the "Magnolia State" is nearing an end I believe. I can feel it more than see it. Maybe it's the lengthening of shadows, or the slight breeze, or simply the changing lenght of daylight, but I can feel Fall approaching. I will be posting updates more frequently now, and things will pick up over the next few weeks. I may even talk about the extensive preparation a little bit. One thing I know, right now I am excited about tomorrow and the upcoming season. You never get more time and I'm looking forward to sharing it with family and friends doing the things I love.

Regrets…..

I missed the funeral of a friend today. I feel terrible about it; I knew I might miss it so I had an arrangement sent. His name was Mike Lyell; he went by the username “Sportsman 450” on several of the duck message boards I participate in. His name came from the fact, as he put it, that he was a “450 pound sportsman.” I’ve known him over the internet for about 5 years now, maybe a little longer. But, only last winter did I have my first chance to meet Mike. I brought him a collection of Mallards, teal, pintails, a couple of Speckle belly geese and even some Snow geese (he said he wanted ‘em). What started out as a simple gift of some game birds, turned into an hour and an half conversation. From that point on we talked on the phone fairly often, and I had even made plans to take him dove hunting this fall…. Unfortunately that won’t happen now. He had some great stories, and was a great story teller. Mike remembered the South Mississippi River Delta in its glory days. He could also raise hell on the internet with the best of ‘em…and the man HATED spinning wing decoys…. I remember Mike as a dog lover as well; I really believe he loved every Labrador he ever met. My only regret besides not making it to say goodbye was that I did not get to know him sooner…. His health had not been good for the past 5 years, and it took a turn for the worse last week. He died from complications from Sleep Apnea Monday night. He was 49….

Last night I had a dream about Duck hunting.... It has been a LONG time since I dreamed about anything vividly and clearly as this, and remembered it the next morning. There were Greenheads, Greenwing Teal and Pintails decoying in huge bunches, and I was busting my thumb trying to reload quickly. They were falling like rain for the first 15 minutes of the hunt, then when I was 1 bird shy of my limit of ducks a greenhead flew over way up in the sky. But his flight was cancelled with one quick shot. Then it was time for the geese, who flew in low and were headed for our blind like they were on a string.... They quickly met a similar fate and the hunt was over. As we were unloading and packing up I looked down at my watch and realized we hadn't been out there 45 minutes and we were done.

The dream was reminiscent of the last great season I remember, 1999-2000 right after the ice storm. Where I felt like I was a the bottom of a duck tornado, and couldn't reload fast enough....
Since then there has been a lot of debate on why the birds don't seem to be around like that anymore. And while I have given it more thought than I should, I really think it's a combination of several factors, which we as hunters can't control. But, there will be hunts like that again, or at least I believe there will. And I intend to d0 my best to be sitting in a blind when they happen.

Until then...one can only dream.

Well, as much as I am enjoying law school, planning a hunt around it is proving to be a nightmare. Since the Alaska trip has been postponed, we are looking at going to New Mexico Turkey hunting. The only problem, New Mexico's Turkey season runs from April 15 to May 10, and my finals are on May 2 and May 8. So it's either go early or go in the midst of finals. Dammit, I guess nothing can ever be easy.

Also, we're looking at a Tundra Swan hunt for next January. This could be interesting, I really want to get out there and experience different types of hunting if at all possible. I've got to get out there....

As for the club next season, no developments on that front, but the earlier leads look promising.

I'm still fired up about this years Mississippi Turkey season. It has been years since I've really chased longbeards and I am looking forward to it, at least Turkeys don't have to migrate.

Okay, less than a month after the season ends and I'm already lining things up for next year. Got a new gun for next fall (Beretta Extrema 2), it fits a good bit better than the old one (Winchester Super X2). While my last gun was extremely reliable over the last 7 years, it just never quite fit me, too much drop in the comb, and a little short in the stock.

Also, a buddy of mine has been setting up a trip north and it looks like it's gonna materialize. December 13-15 we are set to go sea duck hunting (Harlequin ducks and others) in Alaska. It's gonna be a totally new type of hunting for me. We are mainly after Harlequins, everything else is just incidental. I remember the first time I ever saw a Harequin duck, it was a hunting show (and I'm normally not a big fan of hunting shows), but they were sea duck hunting in Washington and the fellow shot one. I thought it was one of the most beautiful ducks I had ever seen. Furtheremore, just going to Alaska period is a dream of mine...so how could I miss this hunt.

In addition to the new equipment, and the scheduled trip, I've been looking for a place to hunt around here. I have a pretty hot lead that is about 1 hour from my house (a good thing). I have yet to see the property, but I will try to get up there soon. There are a couple of other leads but this one sounds like the best fit for me.

The Sun Volt lyrics hit hard, Jeff Tweedy’s words resonate through my head as this duck season draws to an end, “We’re all living proof that nothing lasts.”

It was 8 years ago that I hunted the fields around Eudora, AR for the first time. I went to the “Ain’t No Tellin’” duck camp as a guest of what was at the time my girlfriends Father. A couple of years later and my girlfriend became my wife, and he became my father-in-law. Over the years I became a fixture at the camp, learning everything I know about hunting ducks in the rice and bean fields from the men of the camp. Roy Lee Scroggins (LeeRoy), Larry (L) Clarke, and my father-in-law Tommy Johnson, were my mentors for everything from Decoy placement, to the art of calling ducks in a field. Over the years I would learn how to make a duck call from Tommy, and how to build a skid blind, among many other things. I got to know these guys and enjoyed hunting with them and call them friend.

Oh, and the blind stories that grew out of that camp. From these stories a camp begins to take on a personality of its own, it becomes at times bigger than the members. From the time Billy B. was sleeping in the Scary room at the old camp, when he heard a scratching in the walls, and yelled out during the night, “LAAARRY, LAAARRY, YA’LL GOT ANY BIG RATS IN HERE?!.” “I don’t think so, are you gonna be all right in there?” Larry replied. “I hope so!” Billy answered, his voice quivering the whole time. He made it through unscathed. And the time I decided to try and make my own road between two beanfields while pulling an 18 food pit blind on a trailer. Needless to say, a Honda Rubicon can pull a 4x4 F-250 out of the mud, thankfully.
One of my most memorable hunts happened a few years ago when I took my father on his second duck hunt in the delta, despite a somewhat slow afternoon he managed to kill a banded speckle belly goose. Good luck shined on us that day on a hunt I’ll never forget.

We’ve hosted pilgrims and friends in the camp over the years, limited out in fractions of an hour and more recently stared at blank skies. The years reached an all time low last year, and even though this year has been much better, the proverbial “Fat Lady” is warming up for the “Ain’t-no-tellin’”. This weekend will be my last hunt at the camp, thanks to a cousin who has little respect for the sanctity of duck season and planned a wedding on the last weekend.

The dissolution of the camp doesn’t come without strain, all of us will be forced to find somewhere else to hunt next season. LeeRoy is by no means ready for the camp to be dissolved, but he can’t do it alone, and Larry Clark made up his mind last season, and Tommy has been making up his all of this season. So the end of the Ain’t-No-Tellin’ is almost “saucered and blowed”.

There have been camps that killed more ducks (though in our prime we did pretty well), and many that had a more colorful history, but all else being equal I was proud to be part of the Ain’t No Tellin’ and always had a good time while I was there. Farewell, old camp.


The photo was taken after one of my last hunts at the camp, January 14th 2006.

Did I mention I hate the rain...ducks were pretty much what should be expected in the rain...hard to come by. It was pretty much a non-event that drove another nail in the coffin of the "Ain't-No-Tellin'" duck club.

We all but decided to take a trip to Canada next year to hunt...if the ducks won't come to you, you must go to them. I'm not sure what will happen before next fall but I'm in search of a new place to duck hunt. Any ideas? I'm open to suggestions within 2-3 hours of Jackson, MS.

Dad came in yesterday evening. So it was him, R. Johnson, Larry Clark, Tommy and me in the blind. We hunted Gar Hole number 2 and realized just how out of position that blind is. There were quite a few ducks in the hole and I think we managed to kill a few, but it was an ugly bag. A little bit of everything, only 1 greenhead I think. The ducks didn't work at all, and the luster of the new field is beginning to fade. This will, barring an unforeseen turn of events, be the last year of the "Ain't-no-tellin'". I'm gonna miss it. There have been some great hunts at this camp, and I've been on a few of them. But, the fat lady is warming up for the club. Time to move on for next year. All in all this morning was good company but really bad hunting, too bad Dad couldn't have had both.

Pretty good morning intermittent clouds and clear skies. Just Tommy and I, but we killed 5 ducks. 2 Mallards, 2 pintails, and a spoonbill. Spent a lot of time watching ducks, waterfowl activity was pretty fair all things considered. The wind and weather didn’t co-operate, but the ducks did halfway decent. I was calling at a pintail drake, and had him working when a hen mallard showed up from nowhere, we would’ve never known she was there if she hadn’t answered my call with “quack, quack, quack” as she flew into the decoys, she was no more than a foot off the water when Tommy shot her…. Dove hunting this afternoon.

Rain…if it rains much more I’m gonna have to get plans from Noah on how to build the Ark…. First weekend in Jan, and the nation is locked with warmer than average temps (no Ice to speak of in the upper Midwest, or snow, and in New York it was in the 60’s today. Wow, not so great for duck hunting. We’ve been having a pretty good year so far, in spite of the weather we are ahead of last year by a good bit. I’m sitting in the camp typing this to be posted when I get back and it is raining cats and dogs…so much for taking the camera to the blind…maybe I’ll get some good post hunt shots.

Dad’s coming in tomorrow and R. Johnson will likely join us at some point to hunt the weekend. I figured he might want to do that instead of hunting in a layout blind in the middle of a flooded bean field with the rain, our pits are pretty cushy all things considered.

Not sure what the future holds, this may be the last season for the “Ain’t no tellin’” I’d rather not call it quits just yet but its not my decision entirely. Either way, I’ll be hunting somewhere next year, I just hope there are ducks. Well, I’m off to bed it’s 11:27 and I just finished tying a few legs onto my call lanyard, so its time to crash. Later.