Opening of Duck Season 2003 Page 3

Opening of Duck Season 2003 - Page 3
"Howlin' at the Moon"

Dick and I could have kept at the redfish all afternoon, but it was getting late and we needed to get back so Joe and I could go set out the decoys so we returned to camp. Joe and I went to put out the decoys and noticed that the main blind needed more cover. So we went to the bank of one of the canals and cut more small trees to use as cover. We then set out the decoys and headed back to camp. We were all tired from a full day of fishing so we went to be early.

Saturday morning we woke up around 4:30 a.m. Dick fixed coffee and we were all happy to see it was starting to get cloudy and we had a pretty good north breeze blowing. We headed out to blinds and we were in the blinds and ready to go by 5:30. Ten minutes later the first bit of light started coming out from the east. I heard Joe and Dick open the season with a barrage of gun fire a little while later. Five minutes after that I had a teal land in my decoys. I couldn't see it so I shot in the general direction hoping I'd get him with the 2nd shot after he jumped. He jumped up on the far side of the decoys and flew away from me. I let off my other two shots but missed. I was disappointed to start the season that way.

As I listened to Joe and Dick fire shot after shot, I could only sit and wait for action to come my way. Not much did. A couple of loner ducks came near and I did shoot at a couple but everything was passing shots and none wanted to decoy. Finally just after 7 a.m., a loner teal came in from the right over the canal. I saw him in time to get my barrel on him and down him with one shot over the pond. The tide was low and falling and there wasn't much water in the pond so I decided to go retrieve the duck before all the water was gone. I got back in the blind when Joe and Dick came to pick me up. They had shot well - a couple of pintail, some grays and teal.

Joe brought me to main blind so I could get a chance at more ducks while him and Dick went back to the camp for breakfast. I shot a teal within the first 15 minutes. A little while later, I spotted two mottled ducks come straight in from in front of me. I had my barrel up and was watching them come in when I determined that they would both be crossing in front of the barrel at the same time just before they landed. So I waited and with one shot just before they lit, I knocked them both down. One was dead and the other started to swim off crippled. I let off two more shots but he was on the far end of the pond. With no piroque to chase him I could only reload and keep firing, hoping to stop him. I never did. He swam off. When Joe came to pick me up, he brought along his dog Annie. We had Annie work the marsh, but she couldn't find the duck. We went back to the camp.

Joe and Dick wanted to go fishing. I really didn't want to go, so I stayed behind and cleaned the ducks. They were gone a long time and I'm glad because it took me a while to pluck six of the ducks while I breasted the others. They only caught a few more fish, but some were small enough for the ice chest.

When they returned, Joe cooked hamburgers. We ate, listened to football, drank a few toddies and relaxed before the evening hunt. At 3:30 that afternoon we returned to the blinds. By this time, the overcast skies had cleared. Even though the wind was still out of the north, it was a blue-bird type of afternoon hunt. I shot one gadwall. Joe and Dick did not shoot anything.

When we returned to the camp that evening, it was dark. We weren't real hungry so we ate ham sandwiches for dinner. The toddies were flowing and we were getting pretty fired up. There was football on the radio and the fire was ablaze. As we looked to the east we saw the full moon start to disappear in what was to be a near full-eclipse. The effects of the alcohol took hold and the next thing we knew, all three of us were howling at the moon in a way only we knew how to. Annie must have thought we were crazy. And I suppose if anyone had seen us, they'd have thought the same thing. We laughed and carried on for over an hour. Eventually I looked at my watch and saw that it was 9:30 and decided I'd better get to bed. Joe and Dick came in after I did. We slept well that night.

The next day we headed to the blinds early again. It was a warm morning with little or no clouds. Not much was flying. Joe and Dick shot a few ducks and I didn't shoot anything. We headed back to camp, packed up and headed home. In the end, we ended up with 20 ducks - 3 pintail, 6 gadwalls, a mottled duck and 10 teal. But it was another excellent trip for Joe, Dick and me. It was a decent start to the season. Can't wait to go again. Thanks guys!