One reason is the weather. Aside from one large rain storm that moved through last week, it's been bright, sunny, and calm. Although I am definitely a rookie when it comes to duck hunting, I think most would agree that 65 degrees with a light East wind is not ideal for moving birds around.
The hunting did pick up a little during the storm that moved through. John, Peter and I took advantage of this and managed to have a great hunt where the group got 13 birds. The ducks were decoying very well with a little help from the calls of JD and Peter. In fact, one pair of Gadwall dropped in while a vehicle was on the access road right near the blind. They didn't seem to mind the mini truck or the three guys standing there on levee. We killed the first bird and the second one circled around and locked up again on our spread. Needless to say, he didn't survive the second pass. Not a very smart bird.
Actually, there were very few passing shots that night. I think every bird killed was cupped and coming down to our decoys. Such a cool thing to see birds locked up and diving down toward you. It's also pretty cool when the guy standing next to you in the blind has been hunting for over 70 years and he smokes a bird before you have a chance to pull the trigger. Nice work Pete! He still doesn't miss a beat.
JD got very lucky that evening and managed to drop a black mallard which, I'm told, is very rare for the Missouri flyway. It was awesome being there for this. Apparently, the first duck John ever shot was a black duck with his dad when he was 6 or 7 years old. John has been an avid hunter ever since and this is only the second black duck he's killed since he was out there that day with his father. A great story, great bird, and great evening in the marsh:
There's some weather coming in this week: 15 - 20 mph Northwest wind, rain, and colder temperatures. Wednesday and Thursday are looking ideal. Stay tuned.
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