Astoria Ducks and a floating hotel!

[Capin' Dan]

Looking for information. Has anybody been hunting this area? I'm going that way this Thursday (Not to hunt). I'll be looking at the islands and trying to figure where to set up a blind or which islands seems to produce the best.

Looking for interested parties for a duck shack to be located down that way. I have a line on an old houseboat that I was thinking of purchasing and mooring down there somewhere. I would like to fix this up to sleep 6. We would be able to pull our smaller boats up to it spend the night and be ready to go the next morning. I'm willing to set something up I will be hunting on Thru, Fri and Saturday's usually so I could set something up for the other days. We could probably take up to 10 people for this and split the days up or set up some type of drawings when conflicts with dates arise. We will come up with some type of constitution that is fair to all participates. We will do a one-time buy in and then annual dues for upkeep. You can sell your spot at anytime upon approval of members or maybe the members will buy your spot if you decide to sell. These are just some ideas. If anyone is interested please contact me. I do not know what the initial buy in will be yet still being the horse trader on the boat. The boats motor isn't working right now and I'm not sure about the out drive. I really do not care about these things because I'll tow it behind my boat to its moorage location. If someone that is a member chooses we can get the motor and out drive repaired and possibly use it for some summertime fun or a floating hotel for the salmon season. We will have to work these things out with the participates. The uses could be boundless for this as a floating hotel. The boat will be trailored and stored at my place or at a storage facility approved by the owners at the end of the season. I will be looking for moorage locations this Thursday and doing some scouting.
I hunted this area only once last year and it was super tons of birds.

Contact me if you are interested.

Dan!

[ 10-14-2001: Message edited by: Daffy Duck]

[ 10-14-2001: Message edited by: Capin' Dan ]

[bigshark]

CaptDan
Where were you when I needed you? Your venture is a winner. I have hunted Horseshoe
and Russian for years and IMHO let me tell you it is the best refuge hunting in the state. Are you a first-timer? If you are, you will need to know about the birds rafting up at Sand and until the tide floods it, the shooting can be slow. On the other hand when it floods and the wind kicks up, you can shoot a limit almost anyplace. If you have the time, just take a map of the refuge and sit at Aldredge Pt launch and listen for where the shooting is coming from.
It will tell you alot. If you are not a first-timer you know about the shallows that are everywhere. A sled with a pump is better than my prop. The sloughs and their little lakes in the middle of the islands are really neat to hunt because you are out of the blow and the ducks will boil in on a good windy day. Russian can be dangerous getting to and from when the water gets rough. As you may also know it is a very big
refuge and can hold a lot of hunters without
being like a Sauvie-madhouse. Hope this idea works out for you and the participant.... I don't think any of you will be sorry. The number of birds that refuge holds happens to be the highest in the state. Good luck!

[Jellyhead]

Dan,

You will not be dissapointed down there. The hunting can be incredible! Limits were easy on the opener, and when the northern birds come, you'll have fun.

As far as mooring goes, You may have some problems. I would definitly anchor the houseboat out of the refuge boundries. There are some permanently moored duck shacks down at russian Is. but they were there before the refuge was created and were granted "grandfather" rights to be there. OSP and clatsop sherriff may tell you to re-locate if you plan on leaving it there all season. Contatct the state division of lands, and check on leasing tidelands for more permanent mooring ideas.

Sounds like a neat deal, But not for me. The area is huge, and would take a lifetime to completely figure out.

Good Luck

Aaron