Shielding my cold cheeks from the brisk wind, the stars and distant city lights helped guide us to our next adventure. There was so much activity! Ducks were flying all around us before and at shooting time. We set up the blind and decoys right at 7:25am. The beautiful sunrise was so alluring and captivating, I couldn’t help but snap some photos.
It didn’t take long for a mature male widgeon to land within our decoys. He was down and in Boone went to retrieve him! I had a couple more opportunities, but unfortunately missed. I wasn’t phased, but instead focused on a large team of snow geese across the bay. By 8:20am, the snow geese started to pick up and head our direction. Flying towards us, we waited for the opportune time for them to be close enough and directly above. I wasn’t successful, but my other half was able to get one down. In Boone went again!
This beautiful weather we’ve been having is amazing to enjoy, when not hunting! It’s just too pretty, not to mention warm which causes the ducks to be MIA or beyond lazy this season!
The next day we headed to the same location, but further north. Another beautiful day was ahead of us. This time we added 3 more to our hunting party, which included an additional boat and 24 more decoys. I gotta say, it’s unbelievable how much more the ducks are interested in your decoy spread when you have more than 12 set out.
Before our hunt, we expected the snow geese and ducks to be across the bay. Instead, they were further south and almost out of sight. Regardless of this downfall, we still managed to get a handful of shots off for a total of 4 ducks for our boat. I was able to get one down, a female northern shoveler. A combination of boat rides, beautiful weather, shooting and retrieving made for an adventurous weekend!
Tiffany’s Hunting Trip Takeaways
- It’s ideal to hunt when there’s wind and rain in the forecast.
- Match your decoys to the ducks you want to lure in.
- Knowing when to call ducks is more important than knowing how.
- Pay attention to the small details. Anything sticking out of the ordinary will deflect the ducks.
- For a valuable tool, keep detail records of your hunts and trends.
- Second guess chomping down on that Nutrigrain bar because most likely it’ll be your turn to take the next shot and you wont be prepared. This results in a very low shot, laughter and tears.