I asked for a strong cold front, and I got it. I asked for some wind, and I got it. I guess I forgot to ask for ducks!
With mile-high expectations, my brother and I ventured out into the frozen marsh on Saturday to endure the swarm of ducks that was certainly to come. We left scratching our heads. My son decided to stay home because of the cold, and maybe he is the smartest of the three of us.
My brother Art and I managed to bring home four teal. While our shooting was not perfect, I don’t think we had much to shoot at. Not at all what I was expecting with this weather. I think we should have had eight teal instead of four, but we honestly did not have a single big duck come into the pond. I only saw one flock of big ducks the whole morning: They made a wide pass on my blind, and then went over the next pond where they got shot at. That was the extent of the big ducks.
I can’t say we need better weather. I can’t blame it on the decoys. I can’t say I spooked them with calling. Many of the ducks that were in the area did come by our pond and got shot at – we just didn’t have that many opportunities.
All I can say now is, “Where are the ducks?”
I made five hunts in the first split, and took home a total of 17 ducks. Now, I understand that I have an “economy” lease and don’t often take home bunches of limits, and I am OK with that. But I usually have more ducks in the area than I have this year.
After opening day, the hunts were practically over after 7:30 a.m. This Saturday, we stayed in the blind until close to 10 a.m. thinking that the big ducks would be there any minute now. The initial flights of teal came through at sunrise, but the big ducks were not following up as they often do. That is what we are missing.
On the positive side, the north winds of this front did drain some of the water out of the marsh, and it is closer to normal levels now. This may be a reason that ducks are more spread out, and if the water continues to drop and they lose some feeding/resting area, then maybe they will return to my lease. I do have plenty of feed in the ponds, so again, I am optimistic in the second split.
Let’s hope the two-week break will allow some more ducks to move down to Louisiana and settle in to the marshes. I assure you that I will still eagerly go out in the cold or rain with high hopes of many feathered friends in the sky. While I am a little disappointed, it is the hunt that I enjoy much more than the killing. The time in the marsh is a blessing to me, even when the barrel is cold.
I have seen a few posts recently about duck-call preferences and decoy comments, so next week during the break I will offer my philosophy on calling and decoy use.
Until next week, I hope you shoot straight and shoot often.
