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Journal update 11-22-2009

Well, vacation began on Friday 11/20. I went out to Marias Temps Claire and attempted to draw in alone. This was not my morning. My backup plan was a trip to Dresser Island and to jump a walk in blind. I carried about 18 decoys, mostly wood ducks and some mallards. I found an unoccupied blind and waited for 6:00 am. The blinds become public domain at 6:00 am unless occupied. I quickly set up my decoys, shooting time was 6:18 that morning and birds were already on the move. There was a quick flurry of activity with fast moving wood ducks everywhere. I managed to connect on my third shot with a drake. The water had some flow and a chase for the downed bird ensued. I am sure it was comical if you were watching. It took about 1/8 mile and a long stick, but the bird was mine. The total chase and return to the blind took about 15 minutes.

The morning was warming quickly and the action slowing equally. I got 2 more shots, both misses, before the action ended. I sat there until 10:00 am watching the wildlife. There was little shooting that could be heard and I decided to pack up and head home. I was walking out and heard some solid duck noise in the timber. I saw a small flock of mallards using a section of one of the interior sloughs. I shucked my gear and removed my shotgun from its case. I was able to sneak around and jump the mallards. I took a bead on a drake and he fell with the first shot. The water in this pool turned out to be a little deep and I had to toss rocks and small logs into the pool to create waves and wash the duck to me near the bank. I knew a guy that used to keep a breakdown fishing rod for this very reason in his gear. I am thinking of throwing mine in the truck for next time. By now it was nearly 11:30 and I am tired. No more jump shooting today ! I am meeting a friend and bringing my son along tomorrow.

 Saturday morning:

 We awoke at 3:15 as usual. We met with my friend Andy at Cabelas at 3:30 and headed back to Marias Temps Claire for the 4:15 draw. Luck was with us today as Andy drew #1. We had plenty of time as we headed for pool #8, one of the best on the area. This pool is a bit of a hike and we had increased the decoy count to about 30 birds along with gear for 3. We were set up well before the 6:20 shooting time and enjoyed the sunrise. The birds were active with the cooler morning temp and light fog.

The birds are already a bit call shy. I am sure most of these birds are still locals that have been educated for the last 3 weeks. Shortly after shooting light a pair of shovelers decided to pay our decoys a visit. When the shooting was over we had 1 of the 2 on the water. The birds really didn’t want to work very well this morning. We allowed a couple groups to go without a shot while thinking they would come back for another look. We decided to shoot on the second pass and things got more active. No additional birds, but some shooting.

We had a pair of mallards head directly to us. Andy was in position and missed both times, my son also missed and I never fired, the birds were not in my fire field. The next mallard came down the same route and I waited for Andy to shoot. I looked and saw he was not ready and the bird flared to my side. I dropped him with a single shot. The morning passed with no more shots fired. We did enjoy a show put on by a pair of eagles that paid a visit to our pool. The majestic birds put on quite an aerial show while searching for food. We were also entertained by a hawk chasing a woodpecker for a couple minutes. I think the hawk is still hungry. The morning again was warming and the birds quit flying. I and Andy were meeting another friend for an afternoon hunt at 3:00 pm. My son had a prior commitment for the afternoon, so we decided to call it a morning at 11:00.

Lunch, a quick nap and off to the Cuiver slough. We met Chris at 3:30 and headed for an interior pool. This was primarily a wood duck hunt. We set our decoys and had birds working quickly thereafter. Groups of 3-8 would quickly drop in and pull out of the decoys. We usually picked a bird from each group and quickly had a nice rack of mostly drakes. We were thankful for the limit increase on wood ducks or this hunt would have ended too soon. While waiting on the last couple woodies, we did have a flock of mallards visit. Four mallards fell in a volley of gunfire. These birds finished to the decoys better than any I have had yet on the conservation areas. We did get the last group of wood ducks to come in before shooting ended and each managed our limit of 3. My day ended with 3 wood ducks and 2 mallards. All were drakes. Andy had 3 wood ducks, 2 mallards, and a shoveler for his day. Chris had 2 mallards and 3 wood ducks for his day.

 I asked Andy if we were meeting on Sunday at Columbia Bottoms, he decided he had enough for the weekend. My son had an early tournament today, so I chose to go watch him instead of hunting alone. I and 2 other buddies are headed back to Marias on Monday. I will update again on Thursday ( Thanksgiving ). I have a buddy coming to town for a hunt either Wednesday or Thursday morning and I will go out alone Tuesday unless someone wants to join me ?