And That's It!!!!!

Well, its over. I'd like to say that I was regretful, but the truth is, I'm tired and ready to change up the schedule for a while. Don't get me wrong, I'll be missing it in a month, but as for now, it feels good to start washing clothes and putting up gear.

On Sunday, January 29, Grant, Olivia, Fred & I slipped back out to Chuck's pit to try our hand. We blew an opportunity for a good shoot on a group of teal that buzzed just outside the spread, but other than that, the opportunities were few and far between. We scratched out 2 before we left at 8:00.

2 Birds
1 Gadwall
1 Shoveler



In the afternoon, we were joined by Blake and pitched our blocks on the West treeline of the Lost 20. We had a number of extremely good looks at birds that wanted in our dek's, and although our shooting was horrific, the hunt was a success. We left just before hours went out with 3 birds.

3 Birds
1 Mallard
2 Shovelers

With the end of the season at hand, we couldn't resist the chance to do a little celebrating, so we cooked burgers and 1/2 hour-old duck at the shop and ate until we were sick. Excellent end to an excellent season, if you ask me.




So here we are: 2011/2012 season has closed, and we've got nuthin' to complain about. This would be the first time in my life that we've hunted an entire season without getting skunked on a single hunt. We closed it out with 910 birds, which is a lead-pipe-cinch for 240 more than we've ever bagged in a year. Granted, the mallard count wasn't what we'd have liked for it to have been, and we worked our guts out for every bird, but you can't break records and call it a failure. We won.

The Breakdown:

Across the Farm: 910 Birds on 60 Hunts: 15 Birds Per Hunt.
Mallards: 141
Gadwall: 131
Wigeon: 006
Pintail: 018
GWT: 049
BWT: 001
Wood Duck: 001
Shoveler: 499
Red Head: 005
Speck: 028
Snow: 028
Wood Duck: 001
Buffie: 001
Merganser: 002
Coot: 001

Memphis Blind (Home Field): 480 Birds on 34 Hunts. 14 Birds Per Hunt.
Mallards: 68
Gadwall: 22
Wigeon: 02
Pintail: 10
Greenwing: 30
Shoveler: 313
Redhead: 05
Snow: 14
Speck: 12
Merganser: 02
Coot: 01

Chuck's West (Beans): 254 Birds on 15 Hunts. 17 Birds Per Hunt
Mallards: 21
Gadwall: 107
Wigeon: 01
Pintail: 02
GreenWing: 10
BlueWing: 01
Shoveler: 94
Snow: 07
Buffie: 01

Chuck's East (Rice): 43 Birds on 2 Hunts: 22 Birds Per Hunt
Mallards: 06
Gadwall: 01
Wigeon: 02
Shoveler: 30
Snow: 01
Speck: 03

Lost 20: 40 Birds on 3 Hunts: 13 Birds Per Hunt
Mallards: 12
Pintail: 02
GWT: 09
Shoveler: 05
Snow: 04
Speck: 08

Jones: 31 Birds on 1 Hunt
Mallards: 01
Shoveler: 26
Snow: 01
Speck: 03

Gaylon's: 23 Birds on 2 Hunts. 12 Birds Per Hunt
Mallard: 01
Shoveler: 22

Amy's: 12 Birds on 1 Hunt
Mallards: 06
Gadwall: 01
Pintail: 04
Speck: 01

Baser Northwest. 19 Birds on 2 Hunts. 10 Birds Per Hunt.
Mallards: 10
Gadwall: 01
Shoveler: 06
Snow: 01
Speck: 01

GW's. 8 Birds on 1 Hunt.
Mallards: 07
Woody: 01

Grinding To A Halt

Saturday, January 28, 2012, was a short one. Because I am now the coach of the City Stars Flame Throwers, an honor which I received on Thursday morning, I had to make short work of the a.m. hunt. A 9:00 a.m. game meant that I'd have to be in the truck by 8:00, at the latest. Howling north winds and crystal clear conditions meant that Memphis would be a certain possibility, so John, Blake, Franks, and Garrett headed out in that direction. To avoid interrupting their morning activities, I eased out in the treeline on Chuck's and hoped for the best. When It was all sad & done, the Memphis blind had scratched out 1 green wing and I'd popped 5 Gadwall & 1 Teal. After I left, Fred & Blake crossed over to Chuck's and bagged another Shoveler & 1 Snow.

9 Birds:
5 Gadwall
2 GWT
1 Shoveler
1 Snow.




Friday, January 27, Papa, J-Hawk, John, Blake & I went for 'em on GW's. We knew from the get-go that the number of ducks holding in the field would be fairly slim, but it was our best option, so we set a levee blind and did our best. We left with 8 Birds.

8 Birds:
7 Mallards
1 Woody

Holding The Fort Down.

Back to Memphis. J-Hawk killed 5 on the north levee. I killed time in the blind.

5 Mallards.

We Won't Be Breaking 1,000

Crap, at this pace, we're gonna do good to break 900. Fred, J-Hawk, Cannonball (singular), and I went back to Memphis this morning. Temps in the low 40's, NE Winds, and rain. Could've been worse, cause we came out with 7 birds.

7 Birds.
4 Mallards
2 Snows
1 Speck

Slowly . . . but Surely

Today, January 24, 2012, Papa, Fred & I tried the East Chuck's in rice, and while we didn't GET'EM, we did alright. Skies were clear, temps were a crisp 29 degrees, and the winds were light & variable, for the first time in a long time. It was absolutely beautiful to finally see green heads working in the sunshine. We left with 13 birds.

13 Birds
6 Mallards
3 Specks
2 Wigeon
1 Gadwall
1 Snow Goose




Monday, Jan 23, J-Hawk & I were joined by the Baker boys in the rice field on the West side of Baser. We set up a blind in the right spot, but fought 25 mph winds from the wrong direction and intermittent sun. We left with 10.

10 Birds
7 Mallards
2 Shovelers
1 Snow



Sunday, Jan 22, we tripped into Memphis for another go-round. To our credit, Johnny & I were graced with Olivia's presence. We had to leave by 8:30, and the birds just weren't there. We left with 5 birds.

That afternoon, Blake, J-Hawk, Fred & I returned to the farm to hunt the West rice field on Baser. 9 Birds.

Home: 5 Birds
3 Snows
1 GWT
1 Gadwall

Baser: 9 Birds
4 Shovelers
3 Mallards
1 Gadwall
1 Speck

Saturday, January 21, Franks, Garrett, J-Hawk, Blake & I hit Memphis. Not great, but decent enough. 20 Birds.

20 Birds
9 Mallards
5 Shovelers
3 GWT
2 Pins
1 Snow.

Slower . . . Much Slower

Memphis. Flea-bag, J-Hawk, Gipper, Cannonball. Upper-20's, lower-30's, South winds, partly cloudy. Crapfest. 5 birds.

5 Birds
3 Specks
1 Snow
1 Shoveler

YEEEEAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

Finally, a day with light winds and sun when the birds actually sorta wanted to work. Taylor Baker, Flea-bag, J-hawk, Fred & Gipper on Chuck's beaner. Limits of eater's.

30 Birds
16 Mallards
9 Gadwall
3 GWT
1 Wigeon
1 Pintail

PM . . . Amy's

Tuesday, January 17, 2012, J-Hawk, Fred & I tried a p.m. shoot over semi-dry conditions on Amy's. It was tough. 35 mph north winds combined with mid-40's temps made for a bone-chiller. Lots of working birds, but had to have 'em inside 15 yards to get 'em in the wind. We left with 12.

12 Birds
6 Mallards
4 Pins
1 Speck
1 Gaddie

For The Record . . .

Memphis Blind:
437 Birds on 28 Hunts: 15.6 BPD
Mallards: 50
Gadwall: 21
Wigeon: 02
Pintail: 08
Greenwing: 25
Shoveler: 307
Redhead: 05
SnowGoose: 08
Speck: 08
Merganser: 02
Coot: 01

Charles West:
214 Birds on 12 Hunts: 17.8 BPD
Mallards: 15
Gadwall: 92
Wigeon: 01
Pintail: 01
Greenwing: 06
Bluewing: 01
Shoveler: 92
Snow Goose: 05
Bufflehead: 01

Charles East:
30 Shovelers on 1 hunt.

Lost 20:
37 Birds on 2 hunts: 18.5 BPD
Mallards: 11
Pins: 02
Greenwing: 09
Shoveler: 03
Snow: 04
Speck: 08

Jones:
31 Birds on 1 Hunt
Mallards: 01
Shoveler: 26
Snow: 01
Speck: 03

Gaylon's:
23 Birds on 2 hunts:
Mallards: 01
Shovelers: 22

This Wind's About to Piss Me Off!

Taylor Baker, Fleabag, J-Hawk, Gipper, Cannonball. Memphis Blind. Clouds, 55-degree starting temps, and winds at 35-40 from the South. Extraordinarily tough shooting, but we came out with 20.

20 Birds
7 Shovelers
5 Gadwall
4 Mallards
3 Pins
1 Coot!

We're Still In The Game

Granted, it ain't hammerfest down here, but we're takin' out a fair number. Today it was John, Jordan, Blake, Grant, Olivia and I, and we managed to wack 25 of 'em in the Memphis Blind. Not too bad, considering the circumstances.

25 Birds
7 Mallards
13 Shovelers
02 pins
1 Gadwal
1 Snow
1 Speck

When God Smiles On Ya . . .

. . . Ya really can't screw it up. Blake, Fred, J-Hawk, Gipper, mystery guest. Back to Chucks. Smokin' ducks from the treeline on STIFF West winds. 30 birds.

30 Birds
11 Mallards
10 Gadwall
01 GWT
03 Shovelers
5 Snows

Well . . . Sorta.

Friday, January 13. Chuck's, over ice that the birds kept thawed overnight. Temps hovering at 23-25 degrees. Papa, Blake, John, J-Hawk, Tasha, Squid, Dave, & the Gipper. It was tough, but we came out with 47 for the day.

6 Gadwall
1 Pintail
1 Wigeon
39 Shovelers

And We're Back!

Cold weather! We took off January 10 & 11, yielding to fatigue and the rigors of hunting in mild, crappy weather. As of today, Jan. 12, we're back! Strong winds pushing 30 mph, temps in the lower 30's, p.m. hunt on the west side of the Lost 20. NICE! Left with 25.

11 Mallards
9 Green Wings
2 Pins
3 Shovelers

Crappy, Crappier, Crappiest.

It hasn't gotten any better. Today, I took to the Memphis Blind with only Cannon to accompany me. It sucked.

3 Birds
2 Specks
1 Shoveler




On Sunday, Jan. 8, Fred, Blake, Jordan & I gave it our best shot. Wasn't enough. We left with a grand total of 2 Snows, 3 Shovelers for the day.

5 Birds
2 Snows
3 Shovelers

Tough, Indeed.

Today Haun, Blake, Fred, Tasha & I eased back out on the Homer. Slow, to say the least. NW winds at 15 and 50 degree temps didn't help. 4 Birds.

1 Snow
1 GWT
2 Shoelers.





Yesterday we played host to the MS Flyway Rambler for the first of 3 days. It was a gift from God himself that we found a few birds on the zero-grade east of Gaylons. Started at 1:30 and left at 4:30 with 17 Shovelers.

17 Shovelers.




Thursday, I did not hunt.

Gees, We Sure Need Some New Birds

Prolly not gonna get any of 'em any time soon, either. Yesterday we tried to repeat the mid-afternoon feeding frenzy ambush on the birds. Unfortunately, they figured us out.

It should be noted that Amy's & GW's have been locked out by douche-bags hunting 30 yards from the borders on ground owned by adjacent landowners. Ray's is a nullity until we get fresh birds, and the 20 & Jones have been played out by snow geese. That leaves the Memphis Blind & Chuck's East & West. The unfortunate reality is that we're now forced to put waaaaay more pressure on those two locales than we're comfortable with, especially when we're hunting well-edumacated birds that have been here since October.

Fred, Tom, Grant & I eased into Charles about 1:30 yesterday afternoon. One flock of grey ducks showed, and we carved 2 out of it. Thereafter, it was quiet. At 4:00 we decided to try a 3-cornered 10 acre field next to a reservoir, and we killed another 5. Not terrible, but not exactly swarms like we want to see, either.

7 Birds
1 Mallard
2 Gadwall
5 Shovelers.

PM Over Ice . . . Gotta Love It

J-Hawk, Johnny, and the Gipper. Chuck's. It was 22 this morning when I got up. SE winds at 10 m.p.h. We dropped in to Chuck's at 1:30. We left at 3:30 with full bags. Last round of shooting was a Scotch Double on Gaddies that would have put us one over the limit if it hadn't been a one-shot kill.

19 Birds
2 Shovelers
3 Mallards
14 Gaddies

I Can Only Hope We've Bottomed Out

Well, today was a low point for the season. Reece, Fred, J-Hawk & I returned to the Memphis Blind. Were it not for Cannon's exceptionally long retrieve on a crippled snow goose and the continual chattering of our teeth, the day would have been utterly void of anything resembling excitement. Bluebird skies, NW winds @ 20 and temps hovering right around 30 degrees. No ducks. 2 Snows. Dear Lord, it was cold.

2 White Geese.

The Grind

Today. Meredith, John, Blake, Hunter, & I. Memphis Blind. 8 Birds

8 Birds
2 Wigeon
1 Snow
5 Shovelers




Saturday. Franks, Garrett, Olivia, John, Blake & I. Homer. 14 birds.

14 Birds
7 Shovelers
2 Pins
2 Gaddies
1 Redhead
1 Speck
1 Mallard



Friday, December 30, Blake, J-hawk, Fred, & I. Chucks on a p.m. hunt. 9 Birds.

9 Birds
6 Shovelers
3 Gaddies