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.