It isn’t long after returning from a morning duck hunt that Colby and Davy Daniels are already getting ready for the next day.
“The phone will start ringing, with people double checking directions, asking where to find this or that, telling us they forgot their boots or their shells or something like that,” Davy said. “We help them get whatever they need, get here, and get checked in and ready.”
Guns are cleaned, ammo checked, four-wheelers gassed up, etc. Then, later that afternoon, Colby rides the fields to check the blinds, watching right up until dark to see which areas ducks and geese are really working to help make the best possible game plan for the next morning.
At 4 a.m., the guides gather at Davy’s kitchen table, have some breakfast and make assignments for the day before meeting hunters at their cabins.
Then comes the hunt, which usually ends by 11 a.m. They get out as soon as possible to let the blind rest and help the next day’s hunt.
Cleaning ducks, helping hunters pack up and get on their way and a bite of lunch and the cycle starts again. Usually 50 to 60 times a year
All of this doesn’t include making sure fields are pumped up, blinds are rebrushed, etc.
“It’s hard work, but we love it,” Davy said. “Later in the season, it can get pretty tiring, especially if the hunting is tough and we have to move around a lot.
“But that’s why we are here.”