Final Day of Duck Season in VA

Saturday was the final day for Waterfowl season in Virginia and it was a cold one. With temps below freezing all week, things were starting to freeze up and birds were heading for bigger water. We decided to do the old find a spot that was holding birds and break a hole for them to land and wait for the to pile in. We drove to our spot breaking ice with the boat the last 1/4 mile.ONce to where we wanted to set up, we broke a big hole in the ice with the boat maybe 80ft x 50 ft and peppered it with decoys. Before the decoys were in the water, our trail in had refroze locking the place back up.

 

Once set up we waited, and waited, and waited. Nothing decoyed. Saw a few birds but nowhere near the numbers that we saw just days before and all of them wanted to be on the river. By 10am I decided we needed to make moves to salvage the day the view was great but the hunting was not!

 

 

 

We headed back to Seaford to one of my shoreblinds to try and scratch out a few birds but it was doubtful it would be a memorable finish to the season... boy was I wrong. We were setup by 1pm for our evening hunt praying for even a couple buffleheads to slip in just so that we didnt get skunked on the final day. Boy were we surprised... we did end up with some buffs in the decoys... along with canvasbacks, bluebills, ringnecks, ruddy ducks, black ducks, mallards, mergansers, and even a couple surf scoters. Most variety I have seen from that blind.. EVER. We proceeded to close out the season on a good note after all. One of my good friends even managed his first canvasback an hour before the season ended.

 

 

Lesson learned is that when we get a heavy freeze, stay close to home and hunt saltwater. With all the backwaters and local ponds froze solid they had nowhere else to go but migrate south or open saltwater... I guess they chose the salt!

 

 

 





Land, Air, and Sea Part Two

Monday, since it was a holiday for me and Kegan, we headed back to our scouted spot eager to see what the day would bring. We took our 6 jugs with us again to see if the first time was just good luck. Pulling out of the ramp at 5:15am we deploy our jugs along our route this time all closer to the spots we caught our fish the day before. After getting those out we make our way to our location and get the decoy spread out and looking good. Time is running short and legal shooting time is 15 minutes away. We get in the boat start to set the blind up and I hear that sound we all love to hear just a hair too early, the sound of birds landing in the water 25 yards away. We have no choice but keep setting up and quickly the pair of wood ducks flush just as fast as they had appeared.

First a group of 5 teal pitch in and I manage one at about 15 yards. While that sounds like an easy shot, those who have seen a teal on the wing and know how small of a spread you have at 15 yards know that this was no easy feat. It was a beautiful drake at that.  minutes later another wave of teal this time I get a misfire on a #3 heavy shot... dud... WTF!

By this time the tide had gone out and we were sitting high and dry on mud so we were in it for the long haul, no moving the boat or retrieving ducks for a couple hours but the way the bank was, the downed birds would be waiting for us on the way out of this narrow creek. 

Next bird to come in range is a black duck he circles once and on his second pass looks like he might just commit fully as he is dropping altitude steadily. Then right overhead at 45 yards he flairs and decide now or never and pop two shots. First fluffed it and second took out the wing. BIrd crashes down with a THUD! on the dry bank across from us about 50 yards away. No biggie we will pick him up on the way out.

A little while passes with a few flocks not giving us attention or no birds in sight thne I see 4 birds speeding towards us from about a mile away and sky high. I give one long hail call and they lock in like a missile and here they come. As they get close I can tell they are black ducks and so I am out on them as our limit is one per person so it is all on Kegs. Just as they are about to get in range 2 flair left, then one more, and and as the last one begins to flair he crosses the invisible "TAKE EM" line and my partner seals the deal with a great shot. 

You remember my duck on the other shore, well about this time I look over to see him hobbling towards the water through thick cover. I quickly shoot two times and it jumps in the air a couple feet and appears to be down from where I am.

We get a couple more uninterested birds, get checked by undercover game wardens who are dressed to look like duck hunters and then proceed to pack up.

we grab our birds and I go to grab my black duck and low and behid he has vanished... GONE! Just an indent where he landed a few feathers and blood. I looked for a solid 45 minutes but to no avail he pulled the Houdini on me.

We check traps and find two nice muskrats then off to pull jugs. Two more nice catfish and we are officially all smiles for the ride home and a successful Land, Air, and Sea SLAM!

Land, Air, And Sea Part One

With duck season winding down here in Virginia next weekend, me and my buddy Kegan decided to try for the trifecta of fun. The land, air and sea SLAM.

We loaded up some 110 conibear traps on bamboo poles for muskrats, some of my homemade catfish jugs, and set out to scout for ducks on Sunday to hopefully get us the upper hand for Monday. We launch the boat at 8am and set off for the spot we have seen ducks in the past. While in route we stop every so often and throw out a jug with a piece of cut menhadden on the hook. We put out 6 in all covering 3 miles or so.

Next up, the muskrat traps and look for ducks and geese at the same time. Jackpot! Muskrat huts and ducks... all in the same marsh. We nose in slowly to gently push the birds out and begin setting up traps for these marsh detroying critters. You see, muskrats bore tunnel systems all through a marsh and eat the roots of all the grasses that hold the delicate eco-system together. This is why trapping them is important and they are also worth about 8 to 12 bucks each for their fur so its a win/win!

With birds found, buoys soaked for a while, and traps set we start back for the ramp.

First jug, go to pull it up and once i reach the end of the slack I feel that tell tale twisting roll of a catfish on the line... a nice little 6 pounder. Not too shabby for my first time jugging in years. Next one.....nothing..... next one nothing..... After two cleaned out hooks we pull up to our 4th and just as I think that nothing is on the line, I feel something come tight and some serious weight. BAM!!!! A 23 lb catfish! We retrieved the rest of our jugs and called it a day. Pretty good way to spend a sunday in my book.

Saturday Duck Hunt

Sorry for the long delay between posts, haven't been getting the time to document the adventures lately but getting back in the groove now. With a cold front pushing down this weekend I thought it would be a good time to hit the saltmarsh for some waterfowl. I have a co-worker new to the area who fowled in Georgia and was longing to give the Chesapeake Bay gunning a try.

I loaded up the boat with 30 goose decoys and a small puddle duck spread to put out and headed to one of my local spots. Got the decoys set and boat blind ready by legal shooting time and then all there was to do was wait. 

We started seeing flights of birds coming off roost and could have easily taken a few mallards that blew by had i seen them coming but such is hunting. After about 5 minutes a group of mallards burned by, i pulled up, shot once despite being a long shot and low and behold one of them folded up and came down making a splash.

Soon after we had a jag of gadwalls do the fly by and we proceeded to let loose a couple rounds. Two birds fell from the sky. Both were crippled but still swimming so I opted for the lively one to chase down first. With the strong tail wind they had landed an easy 80 yards away. while getting the first one, the second one puled a houdini move and literally disappeared before my eyes.

 

 

Shortly after 9:30am we called the hunt  after not seeing any birds for a while so that we could make it to Pop's Drive-In in Grafton for their famous breakfast. Boy was it worth it. Everybody had a good time and some killer breakfast. What more can you ask for?


Photo of the morning harvest with the Virginia Traveling decoy. This year it is a black duck hand carved by a friend of mine. We mail it around the state to a different group of hunters from the DuckHuntingChat.com forums for fun. Everybody writes a story and keeps tally of the species and numbers shot over it for the year.

Roadtrip to North Dakota

So me and one of my best friends decided to take a trip to the duck hunting capital of the world to see just what all the hype was about. It did NOT disappoint. I did not take piles of pictures because they just did not do it justice but I will add some just to give the feel.

There was no way to prepare for such a change in enviroment between duck hunting on the east coast by boat the whole time to scouting by truck and jumpshooting sloughs full of every variety of duck native to North America. We freelanced the whole trip without any guides doing it all from what i had learned from a couple locals over the web the week prior. Rather than detail every aspect of the trip I am going to touch on...........

WHAT I LEARNED IN NORTH DAKOTA:

1. Always research and then research some more your lodging options.

We paid our deposit almost a year in advance prior to driving out to ND from Virginia. We thought we had found great accommodations only to show up to what was a rundown doublewide trailer that has water spots on the ceiling and wall, stank horribly of stale beer from long past, old food in the sink, and carpet the color of mud... wait it was mud. I won't mention any names (Coteau Lodge in Goodrich ND) but make sure you really get a feel for the place you plan to stay. We ended up being rescued by a forum member on Duck Hunt Chat that was awesome enough to let us use his fathers lodge FREE of charge ( MIKE YOU ARE THE Mutha F-Ing MAN!).


  The second half of the week we had booked a place called Little Brown Cabin in Montpelier and it was gorgeous! I would HIGHLY recommend it to anone looking for a lodge in the area. It even had a wood stove & washer/dryer.
 

Little Brown Cabin

2. Adapt and Overcome!

As said before I have never done any field hunting or much pond hunting for that matter, more big blinds on even bigger water around the Cheasapeake Bay. Watch where the birds are heading and take note of all the details like what kind of vegetation is in the water, what kind of cover is nearby, water depth, species that are co-mingling and you will find success!

 

 

3. Take the Time to Meet the Locals!

 

Alot of people are introverts and would rather keep to themselves but and  HUGGGGEEEE BUT! is you might miss just out on some of the most fun of the adventure that way. We met some VERY awesome people that we will definitely track down next trip out.

 

 

Dani from the bar Dani's Place in Gackle, ND was very nice and makes the BEST chocolate chip cookies and Chicken Ranch Pizza EVER!

 

Mike and his dad, Jay, who we can't thank enough for not only providing us a place to stay, but also being such fun people to sit, talk, and learn about North Dakota from. Nothing like talking about hunting and how things are done in different regions of the country over some of Jay's home smoked cheese!

 

Last but not least the guys and gals of Dally Up! Bar and Grill. They were a riot! Blake, Mel, Terry, and Jeannie made the town of Montpelier so welcoming, fun, and full of laughs. all around good time. Where else can you donate a bunch of VA Oysters and then get stuck being the one to cook them on the griddle for everyone to try. They were a HIT!

 

 

 

4. Take Good Company Along!

 

I opted for one of my best friends and someone I knew would be about the journey just as much as me. If you take someone just to take them, you might just leave them there by the end of the week. Me and Chris know each other well, can read each other's mood, and react according whether its, " Quit being a Puss!" or better off letting that one simmer. THere is no one elses I would have rather had by my side when it comes to an outdoor adventure than my bud Chris, and Jake the Dog!

 

And now for the Pictures!!!!

 

Trophy of the Trip!

 

 

Jake hiding in my layout blind

The Town of Gackle!

First Day, Decoy spread

Me and Jake, Last morning on the prairie

Sunset Around Streeter by Mike

Chris Breaking Ice



 



Early Season Split of Duck Hunting Adventures

In Virginia we get a 4 day season in the middle of October. It is a good time to harvest a resident ducks and a few migrators that have trickled in. Usually it is in perfect unison with the Wood duck migration.

We hunted a couple days of it and had a great time.

 

FRIDAY/SATURDAY

Friday night myself, Jake The Dog, and 2 of my good friends, packed up gear and hiked an hour through some of the thickest woods I have traversed to take a shot at a beaverpond on some public property. After many twists and turns and unneccesary zig-zags in the pitch black with just a compass we finally reached out destination. We strung a rope from 2 trees draped a tarp over it and tied each corner off to make an impromptu A-frame tent to call home for the night. By this time we were soaked from our walk from sweat and occasional rain along  and with everything in the woods being drenched from our days of rain.

 

 

 

It paid off with a few flights of Woodies and an early morning double for me. The experience itself is what I will remember for a lifetime. Good friends on a common mission that is not easily attainable for the struggle is what make it fun.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Afterwards we picked up camp loaded everything on our backs and hiked it out to head home for much needed sleep.

 

MONDAY

 

 

Monday morning with heavy winds and flood tides from the Noreast blow over the previous 5 days we decided to hunt a local marsh that was up in a creek in protected waters. We all got to the ramp on time, got to the spot and got the decoys set in good time. As soon as legal time hit we started seeing flights of birds and it continued until about 9am.

 

Ended up with 3 mallards purely due to letting a few pass us by to err on the side of caution as to shooting towards land with some houses in the distance.  Both of the gunners with me got their first mallard so it was a good day in my book. After sitting until 10am we called it, grabbed some lunch at Pops Drive-In and headed home.

 

 

 

All and all a great first split for the season! Now time to get ready for the 9 day North Dakota trip in 10 days!

 

HOW - TO: Crab Pot Buoy Decoys

I saw the idea of making decoys out of crab pot buoys a while back so while out scouting the marsh I decided to start collecting the the ones I found out in the marsh. I have been wanting to do some sea duck hunting but DID NOT want to spend 80.00 per six pack for 3 dozen Scoter and Old Squaw decoys.

Well I have about a dozen saved up now and with seas duck season right around the corner I thought it would be time to begin the project. I chose to make scoters because that was I needed but i plan on making some of every species and selling them as decoration or functional use as an actual decoy.

Over the next couple months I plan on making a pile of these things so if you or anyone you know would like to purchase any let me know. I will be selling singles for $15, mating pairs for $25, and 6 for $60.00. If you have a species you prefer I can custom a set too so just shoot me an email or message online.

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Step One: Cut the buoy in two evenly down the middle.

 

 

Step two: Cut out decoy heads from whichever kind of wood you would like. Cedar works well as it does not rot. Do not use laminated type wood or it will separate when wet.

 

Step Three: Trace a spot on buoy using the head as a template. Cut out that area to make a spot for head to fit into buoy.

 

 

Step Four: Glue heads to buoys and let cure overnight

 

 

 

 

Step Five: Paint them to your likings and you are done. For show leave without a keel and for actual hunting add a keel.