Results

As some of you know, I just started getting into waterfowl hunting last year, after a friend invited me to join him on a hunt.
 
Since then, I've done a lot of reading and watching and gone on a lot of completely unsuccessful hunts.  Over the past, week, however, I've finally started to see some rewards.  Until this week, my only two birds were taken while hunting with some guys who invited me along, put me on the birds, and basically did the hard part.  While it was an awesome time, and I enjoyed the hunts, I still really wanted to get a bird on my own.  Earlier this week, it finally happened, and I got my first bird on my own, a hen wood duck.
 

 
Yesterday, I added my first mallard drake to that as well, on a hunt with a new friend.  No pics of that bird though.  After spending some time in the bottom of a canoe, it was rather ugly.
 
Just wanted to share the excitement at seeing some results after a lot of time and effort. 

You are the man Cold.
Nice job and Congrats
Mike

Good deal Cold...you are hooked now ma man...
Got my fingers crossed on the river freezing in Jan.  Soon as we get a good freeze with snow I'll have you come up this way...
 
I was out saturday...we only saw 2 mallards & 2 black dux...no birds flying untill after shooting hours...we had about 10-15 over us on the way back to the boat launch...saw lots of mergansers...
 
today would have been a good day...its almsot dark out there and its only 2:56...
 
Krott - I think I finally found the "sweet spot" on the foiles double reed...

Very Nice..  Something classic to look at when you see a wood duck laid across an Ithaca.

Hummer82

Very Nice..  Something classic to look at when you see a wood duck laid across an Ithaca.

Good eye.
 
As a southpaw, it's one of the few I can use easily.  Luckily it's a great gun and I love using it.  While I'm in the market for a lefty 12 ga., this 20 has done everything I've asked of it.

I'm booked all day tomorrow...but I may see if I can sneak out in the morning for a few hours at dawn.

My alarm went off at 5, I got up, sat up and was starting to get clothes out, and listened to the wind howling, and the trees outside creaking...and went back to bed. 

Good time to be out cold. Its time to be out in front of your blocks....oh wait, the NW season is closed. my bad, enough said! 
 

Pfft got 36.2 with a loaf of bread and a baseball bat.

Cold


Questions for the duck hunters:

Do you think a flock like that will stick around until Saturday?  If so, do you think they'll be wanting to be in the same spot?  If not, do you think new birds would tend to gravitate toward the spot they were in?

 
Big IF here, but if the water stays open till Saturday and if they're not hunted, I would roll the dice and hunt it the first chance you get.  It's just going to be cold the next few days and no big weather fronts that should spur them to migrate.  My experience has been that if there's open water and food available that unpressured ducks will stick around as long as they can, especially mallards. 
 
There are a few very small ponds fed by springs around where I hunt that have little pockets of open water until the temps really drop.  Each will hold mallards - at times between 50 and 75 - until they are totally frozen. 
 
BTW, see you found your way over to duckhuntingchat.com.  I'm drod on there.  Lots of good info there.