Hunt'nFish Waterfowling Report: Lessons Learned

[Hunt'nFish]

I'll share some things I learned over the last 2wks.

• After pushing a marshboat across the ice and into open water, you can't paddle it back up on the ice.
• Swinging a mushroom anchor for 1.5hrs to break ice IS tireing.
• Limits only come on the fowlest of days.
• A couple bags of gravel for traction on those icey boat ramps might be useful.
• When you see your boat trailer tire pass you on the highway..... stop, QUICKLY!
• Yes, sparks can fly even when raining.
• Best to check your lug bolts after using a new launch. You just maybe encroaching on someone's turf.
• Should the above happen to you, having 5 spare lug bolts in the truck can help w/ the pain & suffering. (I do now)
• Robbing 2 off the other side WILL get you to Les Scwab....slowly.
• Yes, Harvey's Marine has EVERYTHING you could need to repair a boat trailer in order to hunt tomorrow.
• Drag caster wheels on the rear cross member might reduce repair costs.
• It can rain hard enough to fill a sled full of 6" of water during a hunt. And 8" more over night. (Pull the plug out overnight.)
• Battery terminals & fuse blocks should be mounted higher than the floor....or expected water depth.
• Always handy to keep a spare battery charged and ready to go.
• Wise to turn the motor over breifly at home, rather than the launch. (glad I checked)
• Dog ladders don't float.
• ALWAYS bring the 10ga, even if you don't "plan" to see any geese.
• When hunting w/ friends, check the boat for unwanted Buffleheads.
• Ducks can freeze solidly to the boat deck.
• Bufflehead Chili really is good.
• Sometimes "I was out duck hunting ALL day" is an acceptable alibi to the local Sheriff Deputy.
• There are more than one white Dodge out there, and no I don't know Mrs. Robinson. Honest.

I had an AWESOME 2wks of holiday hunting.
Some days good, some day ho hum, but ALWAYS an adventure.
9 hunts in 16 days...approaching close to 40 birds. I'm ok w/ that. I need more shells though.
Hunt'nFish

[STRUTTIN-1]

Nice.

[kodiakfisher]

I'm jealous why did you get to learn all the important things!

Kodiakfisher

[xstreme357]

sounds like you had an interesting two weeks to say the least?!!

[Lucky one]

Did someone really loosen your lug nuts cause you were in "their" spot?

[Adjhunt]

Originally Posted by Hunt'nFish

• When you see your boat trailer tire pass you on the highway..... stop, QUICKLY!

That was the best post I have seen in a long time
Thanks for the humor, and I'm glad you weren't hurt in the process.

[Pelagic Baitboy92]

9 hunts in 16 days...approaching close to 40 birds. I'm ok w/ that. I need more shells though.


try 93 ducks and seven geese in six days
one of the geese was a white front, one a snow, and one was a 14.7 lbs honker.

[DTSportsman]

Mike i'm glad you're OK, but for the second year in a row i'm also glad you're the one that taught me a lesson in what not to do while boating. As alway you are a WEALTH of knowledge. Thanks for the

Daryn

[merrile]

40 birds in 9 hunts Aint Seen that all Season! Glad to see you made it back safely! Can I add to your list? I got a few lessons learned I would like to share!

Originally Posted by Hunt'nFish

I'll share some things I learned over the last 2wks.

• After pushing a marshboat across the ice and into open water, you can't paddle it back up on the ice.
• Swinging a mushroom anchor for 1.5hrs to break ice IS tireing.
• Limits only come on the fowlest of days.
• A couple bags of gravel for traction on those icey boat ramps might be useful.
• When you see your boat trailer tire pass you on the highway..... stop, QUICKLY!
• Yes, sparks can fly even when raining.
• Best to check your lug bolts after using a new launch. You just maybe encroaching on someone's turf.
• Should the above happen to you, having 5 spare lug bolts in the truck can help w/ the pain & suffering. (I do now)
• Robbing 2 off the other side WILL get you to Les Scwab....slowly.
• Yes, Harvey's Marine has EVERYTHING you could need to repair a boat trailer in order to hunt tomorrow.
• Drag caster wheels on the rear cross member might reduce repair costs.
• It can rain hard enough to fill a sled full of 6" of water during a hunt. And 8" more over night. (Pull the plug out overnight.)
• Battery terminals & fuse blocks should be mounted higher than the floor....or expected water depth.
• Always handy to keep a spare battery charged and ready to go.
• Wise to turn the motor over breifly at home, rather than the launch. (glad I checked)
• Dog ladders don't float.
• ALWAYS bring the 10ga, even if you don't "plan" to see any geese.
• When hunting w/ friends, check the boat for unwanted Buffleheads.
• Ducks can freeze solidly to the boat deck.
• Bufflehead Chili really is good.
• Sometimes "I was out duck hunting ALL day" is an acceptable alibi to the local Sheriff Deputy.
• There are more than one white Dodge out there, and no I don't know Mrs. Robinson. Honest.

I had an AWESOME 2wks of holiday hunting.
Some days good, some day ho hum, but ALWAYS an adventure.
9 hunts in 16 days...approaching close to 40 birds. I'm ok w/ that. I need more shells though.
Hunt'nFish

[BrotherWolf]

16 days and only 9 hunts??? whats wrong wif ya??????


wow ya beat the heck out of the S.I BIRDS/HUNTER ratio witha 4.4 average

[waterfowlin101]

Oh boy...you guys are going to hate me....

Before today I hunted 21 of the last 24 days.....

I'm still counting the birds.

Nice post Mike!

[duckboy]

sage advice.

[Nw dukn]

[HOGGEMIN]

WOW Mike not sure if I want to go hunting with you after all..................

[Adjhunt]

Originally Posted by waterfowlin101

I'm still counting the birds.

Keep the number to yourself

[Reel Knotty]

Great post!

Thank you for your list of lessons learned...it very well might save me from saying 'Don't ask me how I know this...'

[pintail]

Many great lessons learned and you still had a great time. I would like to add a lesson I learned: snow covered mud puddles are VERY slick when walking in waders. Good hunting

[Old Guys Rule]

Great post Mike. Sounds like you had a fun holiday.

You forgot one more item: Bring a shovel so you can chip an ice free path back up the boat ramp....

[Headhunter]

I sometimes think you teach Tred Barta how to do it "The Hard Way".

Sorry I missed the flying tire and sparks but glad you and the girls were ok. It has been a fun adventure this year discovering new places to hunt.

I bagged 32 ducks and a couple of geese in 7 hunts. Not a bad three weeks of ducking.

Let’s finish strong down the home stretch!

Jimbo

[AtItAgain]

Originally Posted by Hunt'nFish

• When hunting w/ friends, check the boat for unwanted Buffleheads.

Hunt'nFish

Sorry, about that I was in a hurry to beat the snow over the pass and didn't realize my mistake until I got home.

[DogZilla15]

Thanks for the laugh and great advice.

Let me add another....

Never let someone else hook up your boat trailer......and yes. Don't ask me how I know....

[Hunt'nFish]

For Pics you can go here:
Hunt'nFish Waterfowling 2008-09

My only regret is that I wasn't getting...and feeling so old. There were a couple days that I SHOULD'VE been out hunting but instead decided to wimp out and rest. Perhaps being in a little better shape would help. but in my defense, I lost close to 10lbs.

Seriously I don't know what happened on the lug bolts. they don't loosen by themselves. I can only conclude the obvious, someone loosened them at some point, somewhere along the line. Maybe someone attempted to swipe it and was spooked off. Perhaps. but the short of it, is if I were better about looking over the trailer better, I might've caught it before it came off and ruined a tire.
But the drag casters on the rear cross member are a good idea. If nothing more than to prevent it from dragging when you come out of some of those steep entrances/exits at foreign fuel stations. I cringe when I hear it drag.

Simmered up another kettle of mallard fajita meat last night for wrapping and freezing.
I've learned that if I cook it, let it rest a day, and wrap it up into smaller frozen packages, my wife will use it. And when done this way it tastes like any other fajita meat. yummy.
Same with stirfry meat and chili meat. Anything to stretch the dollar and extend the deer & elk freezer reserves. And it's wild meat, untainted by the meat industry, and free of hormones, dyes and other crap. And I mean crap literally.

We had one of those door to door meat salesmen stop by the other day while I was out hunting. And my wife told him we were set fine for meat. He inquired why not & she told him we don't buy meat. He inquired further and she told him why pay $5-10/lb for your meat when we have all this wild deer & elk meat. He then said he had seafood too. Nope, we have plenty of halibut, tuna, bass & walleye. (Actually we're out of tuna...didn't go out last year on account of fuel prices.) He then wanted to trade.......wife said no thanks. I felt warm inside when she told me.
We then had teal stirfry for dinner last night. The kids LOVE teal & so do I.

Don't get me wrong, I love duckeroni too, but seems a waste not to serve duck on the table rather than as a muchie. But I suppose that is more because I am such a cheap guy i don't want to pay the $$ they want to process it. NOW......if I could do it myself..... Yes, I need to find a funnel set for my grinder. I don't think it's particularly hard to do....is it??

Anyway, I'm rambling on. Thanks to those I hunted with. Loved every minute of our time afield.
Wish I'd taken more pics, but to be quite honest the weather, and getting home before the wife had to be to work, had my mind on other things besides pics.

Did get the girls out for another hunt. They were with me when the trailer tire came off. Real troopers though it all.
Cost me a trip to DQ for treats afterward though. But to be honest.....I needed to decompress as well.
Hunt'nFish

[Headhunter]

NOW THAT IS WHAT MAKES THE SEASON RIGHT THERE! AWESOME!!!!

[/quote]

PS: I have some jars of TUNA with your name on it.

[Primetime]

Congradulations on the great season you had and the fantastic picture of "pink boots and warm smiles".
Hunt'nFish



[/quote]

[Hunt'nFish]

Thanks Guys. We gave Mom the day off.
3wks of kids w/o school & snow, was wearing on her a bit. A clear case of cabin fever.
7hrs in the blind was more than I expected from them, but it's all about breaking up the day w/ periodic hot coco, stew and spiced cider breaks.

I gotta tell ya, they are a great help at picking up decoys w/ the boat when the tide floods ya out.
All I had to do was paddle around and hook the cords with the paddle and they took it from there.
And my oldest was criticizing my jerk rig attention, so I let her take over and "show" me how to do it properly.
It was all I could do to keep a straight face.
Hunt'nFish

PS: I corrected the pic link above. Should point to the right folder now.

[goosegunner]

Will you share your Mallard fajita meat recipe? sounds awesome.

[Hunt'nFish]

No real recipe to speak of. Just rinse meat well, soak in salty water for a day to pull out the blood. Slice across the grain into 3/16 to 1/4" slices, toss meat into a big kettle w/ a little oil on high heat, sprinkle liberally w/ bulk taco or fajita spices and a couple spoons of sugar, then bring to a boil. No need to add water, lots will cook out of the meat. When meat is cooked but med rare, turn off the heat and let cool on the stove top. When cool, remove to fridge and let rest for a day.
Portion into ziplock sandwich sized bags with equal amount of the juices, squeeze out all the air, and wrap in freezer paper just like you'd wrap deer or elk meat. Mark w/ sharpie pen and relocate to freezer for latter use.

Do the same w/ stirfry meat, only use Teriyaki sauce and Chinese 5 Spice, garlic, ginger, thyme & parsley.

Same w/ chili meat, only cube the meat and cook w/ bulk chili spices.

When you use it, drain off the juices and use as normal. Only difference is you don't have to cook the meat now, just dump it in when the veggies in the fajita pan or stirfry pan are sauteed to desired tenderness.

For the Chili....."Swamp Puppy" has a duck chili recipe over on the recipe forum.

On the stirfry meat, you can choose to marinate it and NOT cook it. Slice, marinate for 3days, and package for freezer in dinner sized portions. This gives you the option to change your mind and use the meat for teriaki duck jerky. It's already sliced, marinated and ready for the smoker. The only difference is I like to thaw the meat, add brown sugar, a little salt, course ground pepper, liquid smoke and dry on the dehydrator.

My jerky recipe is all over this forum. Just do a search for "Knifong Family Jerky Recipe". 30yrs in the tweeking. very tasty stuff. If you choose to smoke rather than dehydrate, simply omit the liquid smoke and smoke w/ your choice of wood chips....apple, cherry, alder, mesquite, or hickory.

Also, those little breast fingers that lay under the breast.....save those and toss into a ziplock w/ little peach/apricot brandy. Marinate in fridge for a couple days then freeze. These are sacred little guys and are saved for use w/ Waterfowling 101's famed "Apricot Duck Kabobs". I'm sure the recipe is on here somewhere, but basically you cook the meat in the brandy & apricot preserves until tender, lay a slice of bacon on the board, lay a duck tender across it, brush a little more preserves on it, lay an onion scallion on it, a slice of sweet bell pepper, or any other veggie of your choice. wrap up in the bacon, stick w/ a tooth pik and grill over slow heat until the bacon is browned. Serve right off the grill w/ a bottle of cold local amber ale. Of course you can use the rest of the breast if you desire.
This stuff is the bomb! In fact, I think it's time for Jon & Annie to have us all over again.
Hunt'nFish

[Chesapeake]

Interested in your girls pants. Did your wife sew those for them?

The only place I've seen that fabric pattern was on some material I bought at Walmart a while back.

Looks like you had a great holiday season.

[Hunt'nFish]

Originally Posted by Chesapeake

Interested in your girls pants. Did your wife sew those for them?

Yeah,..... right. My wife sew?
No, those are DU kids Bibs I picked up at the Oregon Waterfowl Festival a couple years back, when CaptainDan was selling off a bunch of the old merchandise from Browns Landings when the new owners took over.
$10-15 a pair. Pretty tough bibs. $$ well spent.
My youngest wants a REAL camo coat. So I know what I need to be on the lookout for now.
Anyone have one thiers have outgrown? She's 6 going on 16.
Hunt'nFish

[1bigfish]

Originally Posted by Hunt'nFish

I'll share some things I learned over the last 2wks.

• Battery terminals & fuse blocks should be mounted higher than the floor....or expected water depth.

Hunt'nFish

That's for all the lessons but I figured out one of them years ago.

[The_Duck_Master]

No wonder you took a day or two off. Sorry I missed all the fun.

[Tar Heel]

Just when I thought I was having a calamitous season... I feel better now. Thanks from all of us for whom things don't always seem to go as planned!

Hey, have you got one of those compact battery charger/air compressor rigs? Mine has saved my tail many times over the last several years of motorboat ownership, both in jumping my car AND my boat, and inflating my trailer tire that has never held air. I think I got mine at Costo, but I have seen them at Joes as well.

[Beamerfish]

HuntnFish, It is difficult to escape a certain concerning trend in your posts over time. A few random (mis)adventures from time to time is one thing but whoa there big fella. Way to live large and push the envelope. Thanks for posting. And for god sakes, be careful out there. You are saving probably hundreds of lives by your cautionary example of what not to do. (And anyone that would loosen someone's lug nuts is chicken.... when you know.)

[Quaka Wacka]

Good stuff Mike. Looks like a great couple of weeks.

[Hunt'nFish]

Oh I don't live vi carelessly, quite the contrary.
Stuff happens, it's all in the way you deal w/ it that makes the difference.
Developing a good morning duckboat checklist helps

Fuel, battery voltage, boat keys, tool bag, boat & trailer spare parts bag. (wire, crimps, fuses, hub bearings, nut and cotter pin, extra bearing buddy
trailer lights ok?, tires flat?, lug nuts tight? Spare tire (is it flat?), spare lug bolts.
Enough hitch locks & cable locks to wrap through the wheels/frame to feel comfortable enough to leave it along the highway over night? Motor locks?

Boat retrieval gear: 2ton come-along, strong low stretch anchor rope and a Danforth sand anchor for those treeless sand flats.
IFish DA Call List, check. (does the wife have it? Does she know where you'll be hunting? And w/ whom?)

Stuff happens, hunt hard and deal w/ it. Just be somewhat prepared and self reliant.
Having a good set of hunting buddies helps a lot.
(There for a bit, I thought about calling upon Swamp Puppy to borrow some lug bolts off his trailer to get the boat home.)

I share these lessons to help others be prepared.
Please share your lessons learned as well.
Hunt'nFish