We've harvested 59 ducks in 3 days, and while the opener wasn't quite what I'd hoped for, Sunday and today were better than expected. On Saturday, Tasha, Nat, Papa, the Don, the Kid, Dave, J-Hawk, Meredith, ole Gibby, and Cannonball crammed ourselves into the Home field blind, and 39 birds later, we emerged having expected things to be a little better than was actually the case. On Sunday, the Kid, J-Hawk, Meredith, the Don, & yours truly gave 'em another try, this time bringing out only 9. Finally, today, the Don & I fought hard, but had to leave one bird shy of a limit. That's an average of 19.67 birds per hunt (3.93 birds/hunter/day), and I don't look for that number to hold up very well from here on out.
The Bad . . . Whilst the opportunities were there, the ducks didn't decoy well, to say the least.
As a result, we just didn't get that limit opening day. I, for one, was disappointed. I had fairly high expectations, and I had every intention of exiting the blind with full limits on Saturday. Unfortunately, the birds (and boy-oh-boy, there were plenty of 'em) had a different idea. Crossing shots, no wind, and birds that were already blind shy resulted in very, very difficult shooting. Sunday and today were better, and we actually had a few birds work with intention of stopping in for a drink. Unfortunately, the volume just isn't there anymore. Thus the fate of a blind sitting 150 yards from the main roost for the area.
The UGLY . . . Well, lets face it; Not exactly the desired species.
Out of 59 birds, we've harvested exactly 1 mallard, 1 Green Wing, 1 Gadwall, 1 Wigeon, 3 Pins, 10 Specks, and, YOU GUESSED IT, 42 shovelers. OUCH! Maybe I should change the name of this blog to the Wall-O-Shame, rather than the Trigger Happy Hunting Club. Oh well, it could have been worse.
To see all the pics in their shameless glory, go here: http://s249.photobucket.com/albums/gg211/triggerhappyhuntingclub/2009-2010/
