End of Duck Season

Rauly · 01-25-2004, 06:36 PM

Well Get Bit and I went out tthis afternoon for the end of the duck season. The season ended okay for us. The early season was slow. There were some guys across the highway from us that must have been hunting a differant zone. They were still shooting at 6:00pm. They must have had flood lights on thier pond to see the ducks. :whazzup: We hung out for a while and watched hundereds of ducks come pouring into our lake. Mallards, Pintail, Teal, Widgeon and Woodducks. What a sight! They were lading 5 feet away. The dogs were going nuts. Now I have to wait till October for them...but watch out geese I'll be after you soon.

Rauly

nitrobass · 01-25-2004, 06:42 PM

Yep, its a sad deal when you have to put away the decoys and gear for the year. This year was better hunting for me than the last couple, so no complaints.
9 more months and we can do it again!

Boatdog · 01-25-2004, 06:52 PM

Thanks for the report, Rauly!

Isn't it cool to have birds landing on your head (so to speak) in the dark, right after you get set up?!

It is very sad, now that the season is over. My duck intro was a blast, and now I'm sad I have to wait another year. :depressed:

Luckily for me, I didn't have time to develop the 'full blown' addiction this year! I got out two times near the end of the season, and both were excellent, thanks to Oregonredsides and Skahorse of Team Cast and Blast !

Oh well, time to reflect on great memories, and dream of 'next year'.

skein · 01-25-2004, 07:29 PM

Yep, Birdhunter and I went out Friday and closed the season out with 3 mallards and a widgeon.

I came home, cleaned everything up with extra care, and set the dekes in my shop to dry before I put them away. I'll separate them into groups, one that are in good shape and one that contains those that need some paint.

Geese are the last hurrah, and I'll be out the 11th and beyond, but that, too, is drawing to a close.

But it's not all bad. I've been loading .222 and 22-250 ammo in my spare time. The rats will be poking their noses up before you know it and I've got some farmers who count on my help.

Just in time to save me from the doldrums. :grin:

Skein

fishncliff · 01-25-2004, 07:51 PM

Just got back from Skagit Flats up north of Seattle.We hunted through a hurricane(wind 25mph,rain,snow,hail,cats sleepin with dogs) :shocked: yesterday and wind and rain today.We shot up some big northern mallards and pintail.Had 1 bird flop into the slew and a seal come up and ate it. My son was not a happy camper.Big birds, lots of fun.

Met a guy yesterday who claimed he shot a record snow goose.Snow goose season has been closed since Jan. 4,we have been telling this guy for 2 weeks about the closure [img]graemlins/icon_argue.gif[/img] , so naturally we were curious.
He opened the trunk of his car and pulled out a white bird with a 3 ft neck,Tundra Swan.hoo-boy.Federally protected bird,big fine. :shocked:
Well about that time a tan Ford f250 was pulling up,Federal duck cop.I and my partner told the guy it probably was a record "goose", and the guy in the tan truck could certify it if it was a record.
Well the F&G cop stepped out and checked my partner and I and we told him the guy had a record "snow goose".His face went pale and he said "Let's see it" Once he saw the "goose", he took down our info and said for us to leave.
We were asked to come down to the Police station in Stanwood to ferify info and make statements.The F&G cop told us the guy lost his gun, received a 10,000$ fine and would probably lose his license for up to 5 yrs.
I love it when a plan comes together.

Can't wait for next year. :grin:

Fishfaced · 01-25-2004, 08:57 PM

We picked up the spread and cleaned out the lockers. New oil on the guns and the dog gets to sleep in on Saturday morning now. Does any one have any good ideas on how to wash in inside of your waders? The too have had a long season and have a smell of their own. I don't think they are going to fit in the home washer. Any ideas? I guess I could hand wash 'em. just wait till next year! We are going to put out more decoys and....

willametteriveroutlaw · 01-26-2004, 08:00 AM

Me, birdhunter, coot22, and my buddy mike went out on some private land outside Corntown yesterday and shot 3 mallards and 2 teals. There were alot of birds flying early, and plenty around. Just not many that wanted to cooperate.
BTW, Birdhunter can run down a cripple better than most Dogs I have seen

:grin: . It was a good time.. Only 260 or so more days till next season.

Steeliehunter · 01-26-2004, 08:53 AM

Well I might as well chime in and brighten things up. Saturday was great we decided to spend the morning trophy hunting pintails on one of our flooded fields. At any time you could look up and see 20 to 100 birds working the flooded field even when we were standing outside of our blinds. All four of us shot beautiful bull pintails. Finally one to go on the wall with my albino pinner. Then Sunday I get the call to hit one of our other ponds and lets just say GREEN HEADS GREEN HEADS GREEN HEADS.

We have a combo of flooded timber leading into a open pond. Needless to say we finished the season on a high note with 3 limits of all GREEN. I just hope I can carry this into the last goose season. By the way WRO you know of one of the places I was hunting.

Dr Strangelove · 01-26-2004, 09:10 AM

I started my season off with green wing teal, and as the luck of closure would have it a huge flock of GWT graced our blind to finish our hunt. The in between has graced my plate with mallard, pintail, and bluebills. I've had a good year, but not nearly enough for my pleasure. Oh well, time to sharpen up on my clays and get the SBE dipped.

willametteriveroutlaw · 01-26-2004, 10:57 AM

SH,
I think I may have an idea where you were @

. I never hunted that this season, the guy who I hunted it with left fot the services. We should try and hit some geese in the third period.

Wreckless · 01-26-2004, 01:49 PM

Sea Bass and I spent Sat. and Sunday in the blind on the lake in Gaston (Thanks Tim)......not red hot, but we managed to scratch out 6 birds Sat and 7 Sunday. We coulda taken a 21 bird limit of Pintails both days......it was great to watch 'em work.

The highlight of the day was Sea bass' 14 year old son skipped a wrestling tourament to hunt with us and KILLED A BANDED BULL SPRIG!!!! Congrats Nick!!!

I'll go home tonight, put away the duck decoys :depressed: and wash up the goose decoys