Nobodys out duck hunting??????

[popplecop]

Well we had about 100 Canadas sitting on one of our ponds. We got to within a 100 yds. of them and then waited in the willows Now we were on the north side of the pond as that was the only cover, what wind there was comeing from the east. They left in 2 different groups about 1/2 hr between them. One the smaller group left to the southwest and the larger group to the east. Fun to watch, but that was the extent of it. Going to get quite cold tonight so marsh will probably freeze over.

[Mr. 16 gauge]

Well, guess it's just a bad year for ducks.....heard that the estimates were all wrong, that birds haven't migrated, that the birds migrated and didn't stop.....who the hell knows.
Went out today; cooler and windy, so I was hoping for a little action. That's what I got.....little action!
I put out a diver rig in the marsh.....in the past, the mallards seem to just pour in without circling. Don't know if it's because everyone else is using 3 dozen mallard decoys or what, but in the past it has helped produce. Not today.

I had a few birds fly over, but shy away at the last minute.....I'm not sure what spooked them: the dog was camoed, the boat was grassed and burlaped, and I was under cover. I did have one large drake mallard that offered a passing shot at 30 yards; I missed him with my first shot and dropped him dead with the second. My young lab made the retrieve (one of her first), and since this bird was nicely feathered and had a triple curl, we stopped at the taxidermist on the way home to have it stuffed.
Heading out again tomorrow.....it's suppose to be cooler; not sure of the wind. Hopefully there will be some more bird movement tomorrow than what I have been experiencing so far this year.

Oh, and FWIW: Deer season opened Tuesday; today there was a fellow at the check station with a nice, 11 point buck.
Maybe I need to rethink this deer hunting thing..........................