Almost Over

Our last hunt was Sunday the 13th. A late start to the day and one was left to wonder, if the day started too late. While setting up decoys there were about 30 ducks wanting to come in. There was plenty of water and the ice was extremely thick. Settling in after about an hour of setting up in the 40 MPH North winds, the gun was loaded and here comes 15 ducks. Couple swings and a drake dropped right in. Decided to blast him and that was it for the day. Did see some migrating groups of ducks, but nothing huge to speak of. According to the Legends Ditch success, it seems as if the action was in the morning. Oh well, chalk another one up for the ducks. The lake is froze, the pump is off and the deeks are in the mobile destroyer. We've officially completed our first year at the Ditch. We'll be back at it in the Spring for the Great Snow Goose Chase. See what happens then. Have lots of plans and are extremely happy with the inaugural season at the Ditch. We will be mobile until the late season closes and, wives permitting, until the geese are gone or the season is over. Updates will come as we find some fields to go get 'em. May just spend tomorrow in the South Ditch tomorrow just because it's hunting season. Then again, may not! It's friggin' cold! Check back for the latest and greatest and thanks for all the hits.

Birds but no Action

Reports from all over the eastern most part of Nebraska says that large concentrations of birds are all over the place. Migration activity must be happening outside of our watch. All of the sudden there are thousands of birds. Desoto Bend and the surrounding/connecting Missouri River system is packed right now with Ducks and Can's. If you call over there and get a bird count it will be disappointing, but I'm here to tell you there are far more birds around than the one's being counted. We've been tracking birds all week and if you have the time there is plenty of action to be had. For us we haven't had the shooting we would like. Tuesday reports showed success at the Legends Ditch as well as the South Ditch. Old faithful, Professor Binelli, spent all day Tuesday at the South Ditch (snow and ice pic above). I believe they walked away with 3 Mallards and 1 Can. Also, on Tuesday, a new name to the blog, Little Bud was over by Valley and observed thousands of ducks coming off the Platte and feeding into a field just over the HWY. The ducks were wanting in this field so bad that they were landing on the gravel road and walking in. Can you imagine that? By the way, we have permission for that field, but haven't had the time to run over and see if they are still there. Today we spent about 6 hours at the South Ditch, saw very few birds and fired no shots. Weather reports for Sunday look to be very promising for us waterfowlers. Hopefully I can get a chance to cycle my gun. I haven't fired a shot since November 30th. Can you say frustration? That's it for now. Check back for the latest and greatest and thanks for all the hits.

Hay Ditch Turkey Day (a little late)

Fickle Birds

Well today was supposed to be "the day." The #1 field we've been watching was empty yesterday so we decided to check out another one that we had permission on. "Jack Pot." Loaded with birds last night and they've been feeding there since at least last Thursday. Unfortunately, the ducks didn't like our sights and sounds and lit less than 200 yds from where we were set up. Managed to scratch just two while thousands fed in plain sight. We have until Thursday over there to get in on any duck action as the location closes down. Still have a while for the geese as long as we can get permission and find the time to track 'em down. Some weather coming and it's getting real cold up North, this could be the week where we get out last go around in the Ditch. If things hold out, we'll be up there this week for what will probably be our last time until the beloved Spring Snow Goose Chase. Nothing going on around the Ditch or down at the South Ditch. DukMaster and Waterfowl Wizard spent the day around Valley yesterday and scratched 8 Can's while the South Ditch was man'd the entire day. Professor Binelli hung around until close and received nothing in return. For everyone waiting for one last push of birds before calling in quits, it will probably happen this week. That's a wrap for now, well keep you posted. Check back for the latest and greatest, and thanks for all the hits.

Timing is Everything

We've got it all planned out. The birds are setting up perfect for the next real hunt unless they decide to feed where we don't have permission. This morning we were set up by about 620AM and waited, and waited and waited. We all had to be at work by 1030AM, so we decided to pick up at 920AM, with not a shot fired. Loaded up and driving out we seen 'em. Too late, again! Just as we were pulling out here they come pilling into the spot we were just laying down. I seached for a picture that closely resembles my imagingation of just what it looked like after we left. News at 11AM reported that they we're still feeding. Wishing we could go tomorrow but we all have to work! Sunday is the day! Made another secretive drive by the field at 450PM tonight and it was loaded again! Sunday is the day! As long as the field isn't empty of food we'll come home as successful hunters. The South Ditch will have hunters tomorrow so I recon we'll get a report. Check back for the latest and greatest, and thanks for all the hits.

Hours in the Truck

Well the AM was spent driving around looking for birds. Found plenty but found no cooperation. The area where the birds are floating around has set-ups in every other field. Pretty tough to get in on the action with so much competition. Spent some time at the South Ditch today and nothing. Saw only 4 or 5 bunches of birds all working the river. There was plenty of water despite to cold, cold weather. Around quitting time I managed to run into two fields with feeding birds. After a few hours of phone tag, we got permission. A few guys are taking Friday morning off and hoping the birds are going back to the same field they were observed in tonight before quitting time. See what happens in the AM. Definately worth the chance. Only thing I worry about is the wind switching. Will they still feed in the same direction? Gotta run, check back for the latest and greatest, and thanks for all the hits.

Long Day

Woke up at 5AM, looked outside and saw snow and huge North Winds. Couldn't wait to get to the Ditch. Spent about an hour breaking ice and setting deeks. We settled in at 711AM and loaded up. No reason to do that. We sat, and sat, and sat, and sat. I couldn't believe my eyes, there was nothing, and I mean NOTHING FLYING! I can't believe I wasted a day off for this. One thing I guess I should always remember is that a bad day hunting is better than a good day at work. Can't really figure it out, we had a bit of weather North and it just didn't push the birds down. After talking with DukMaster we came to realize that all that's left to the North is Northern Mallards and Can's, and it will take 5-6 inches of snow to cover up their food and unless that happens, they ain't movin'. Also, after talking with Waterfowl Wizard, I realized it was time to get out of dodge for now. We took every decoy that doesn't float out of the Ditch today and threw them in the Mobile Destroyer. We're hoping to catch a few fields between now and the 5 or 6 inch snow that may or may not come to South Dakota. Lets face it, by the time the final push happens all we'll need is a small hole and a shotgun. Not real sure where tomorrow's action, or lack there of, is going to come from. Three options are on the table and I'll know what I'm doing when I wake up. I can go to the Ditch, I can go to the South Ditch, or I can drive around where the ducks are and try my luck with the land-owners. Scouting is the "leaner" right now as we'll have a full staff Sunday that hasn't emptied their guns for quite some time and it'd be nice to set up for a sure thing. That's all for now. Check back for the latest and greatest, and thanks for all the hits.

Duck Fever Tomorrow

Not much going on around the area again today. 4 in the Ditch in the AM tomorrow and wouldn't miss it for nothing. Weather setting up for great push day, snow and big winds in SDak and the same here ending around shooting time. The front started in Canada, moved to NDak, in SDak as I type, and here in the AM. We're down to the last 2 weeks and if we don't start shootin' tomorrow or Thrusday, we'll probalby pick up the spread and become mobile for the remainder of December. Check back for the latest and greatest, and thanks for all the hits.

Where did they go?

Todays action was light to say the least. We had one hunter in the Ditch today and about 5 groups of migrating Canada geese was all that was observed. Nothing worked! It turned into a short, short day. Again, nothing going on in the path of Migration. The weather reports say there may be some snow with big North winds up North. A front is pushing down from Canada to North Dakota tonight, from N Dak to South Dakota beginning around Noon tomorrow, and then pushing through here on Wednesday. We are due to have big North winds on Wednesday and Thursday so we should see another push. I was ready to say that I would do anything I could to get to the Ditch on Wednesday but I pulled up the South Dakota Waterfowl counts and...wow, WHERE DID THEY GO? The S Dak Game and Parks does a Missouri River flyover every Monday and agian...wow, WHERE DID THEY GO? Last weeks duck count was at 224,600 today it's just over 98,000. Last weeks Canada goose count was 117,000 and today a measley 69,000. Not the info I was wanting to find. I was hoping that the numbers had stayed the same the last week, but not the case. It appears that the birds have been moving out of our sight. We have just 16 days left until we're done with the ducks, I sure hope the remaining 98K find there way past our Ditch. The birds are flying wild over by Valley and as far West as North Bend. It seems right now that the potential is all over there. Grab your laydown, fill up your truck and go find 'em if you have the time. We're still holding out hope for Wednesday and Thursday. By now most of us have logged some serious time in our respective ditches, far too much to give up now. The birds will be coming our way we just have to hit it right. Check back tomorrow for the latest and greatest, and thanks for all the hits.

A Little Action...

...would be a lot more exciting to write about. Hello again everybody. Another day in the Ditch and another day without any ducks. We've now been 10 calendar days and 4 hunts without shooting a single duck. The day started off a bit promising as we had ducks right before shooting time, 8 Can's from the North right after that, and another 4 Can's from the West right after that. We started hollering at the 8 from the North and they just weren't interested, they had the G'Ditch in mind the whole time. 4 of the 8 peeled off and dumped, the G'Ditch hammered two and we managed to call back one to our hole and dropped him. He fell so close I ducked when he was coming down. Didn't have to leave the ditch for the retrieve. It's now 730AM and little did we know it, but we're done for the day. Barely any other birds moving, saw 5 groups of high migrating snows. The only other excitment was laughing about one man's need for a 9AM hike to the weeds to drop off last nights' supper, report came back: found it and didn't have any residual in the waders. Considering the conditions, that's a success! We pulled out about 10AM, second guessing ourselves, but it sounds as if we made the right call. All reports around the area are pretty much the same. Not a whole lot going on. I ran into some MO River boat hunters back in town and they stayed out 'til 2PM North of Decatur, they shot one Mallard and one Wigeon. They reported that there was nothing moving on the river other than birds that have been around. We all had the wind today, we all had some moisture today and we all had cold temps, appartenly a guy needs to be a bit more selfish and get a snow storm in the Dakota's too. I really thought we'd do it today. It was an ideal migration day, unfortunaley the brids didn't agree with us. No telling what will happen this week. There are some good winds but I just don't know if that's enough right now. I think we need another 6 inches of snow in South Dakota to see another push. That's it for now, we'll keep reporting as we hear any information. Check back tomorrow for the latest and greatest, and thanks for all the hits.

Sold on Sillo Socks

Hello again everybody. The Turkey Day hunt at the Ditch was a bit disappointing. Not a single bird taken and we headed home at 915AM. We did have 3 mallards wanting to land on top of us as we were breaking ice, should've been there about 15 mins earlier than we were. As you can see by the picture, we were pretty froze up and didn't provide much of a landing strip for passing by ducks and geese. We did hear some shooting around the area, nothing too outrageous but shooting nonetheless. The best report of the day is in reference to the title of the post. I talked to Wizard, you know, the guy who decided to go for the sure thing on Turkey Day AM. Again the Hay Ditch pounded the geese. They started flying at 820AM and the 4 of them were done by 845AM. It took just 3 bunches for them to be done. Now Wizard arrived at the Hay Ditch with fairly high expectations, and he was not disappointed as the Sillo Socks inventor is a friend of the captain of the Hay Ditch and he was there to hunt with them. Now if that wasn't enough, they had a film crew with them. When the shooting was over the boys spent about and hour calling geese down so the crew could get some good pics and videos. Far as Wizard is concerned guess it's better to be lucky than good. Now I've been a Sillo Socks snow goose guy and the boys at the South Ditch have sorta picked fun at me for doing it. Guess what, after the stories that Wizard has shared the last few days, the South Ditch now has added Sillo Socks to their spread. Whose the dummy now? Guess I was a bit ahead of my time. Not much more to report, if we hear anything on today's action we'll be sure to post. I can hear the South Ditch banging from my house and as I headed to work this AM I heard 'em shooting, expecting to hear good things. Check back for the latest and greatest and thanks for all the hits.

Love the New Ditch

The New Boys are tearing it up! Hello again everybody. Todays best report comes from the newley-added Hay Ditch. Those boys are slammin' geese. Another morning of early-out limits. 915AM 5 guys 15 Can's. I'm beginning to wonder if during harvest the sieve size was perhaps in the hunters favor. They just seem to be pounding the new birds quick and hard, could be their decoy setup (picture shown). What a great thing. So great that Wizard is foregoing the long standing tradition of the morning hunt on Turkey Day at the South Ditch. Guess it's not all about the commeradery. You know what they say, there's only two things that can keep you away from the ditch, death, or a better offer. Guess he's exercising his right to choose. The South Ditch did report some movenment in the early AM and managed another Can along with one duck, a goldeneye of all things. The Can race is now tied, SR has caught up with JB, should be an interesting weekend down there. Some unusual South to North Migration this afternoon at the South Ditch. As the afternoon temps rose, so did the body count. 1PM another 130PM another 2PM another, what was 2 guys at noon turned into 9 by sundown. Looks like I need to send them all a copy of Muck Bottom Outfitters DVD, WEATHER WATCHING FOR DUMMIES. Who'd a thunk it? 52 degrees and 9 guys. Looks like all their wives were cooking for tomorrow, I couldn't think of a better time to get out of the house! The Legends Ditch had a tough day. Plenty of birds but it appears after reading their story that my buddy finally found a good day to zoom by their pond. Sorry boys, I needed some overhead views of just what's going on over there. One member of the Muck Bottom crew went out this AM and field hunted geese just West of Fremont and he called me at 815AM. 3 guys 9 Geese and done. Good for him, he just got back from deer hunting all week around Niobrara and his wife is super happy with him right now, he was excited to be home early. By the time the report comes out tomorrow, we'll all be stuffed and probably sleeping, so I won't take offense should there be no hits until Friday AM. If you can...Check back tomorrow for the latest and greatest, and HOLY CRAP, check out all the hits, THANKS a MILLION everybody! Over 1000 the last 24 hrs.

HHHHHHHHOOOOONK

Can you say Canada? Hello again everybody! Another morning of Geese, Geese and more Geese. The South Ditch report included migrating birds, once again, with mishaps, once again. One giant Can taken home and plucked. The Canada Race down there seems to be getting close. SR is one behind JB with DukMaster and Prof. Benelli trailing ever-so-closely. This coming weekend will tell the tale. Don't know which one will claim all the birds when they are all there at the same time. Guessing the lefty's will lose! Recieved a report from a new group, the "Hay Ditch", we'll call them. They limited on Geese both yesterday and this morning. Something like 4 guys 12 geese and done by 830AM. Also, tonight they had a guest, which is how I found out about them, Waterfowl Wizzard reports that Canada geese were all over the place coming off the lakes around Valley at 15 mins before quitting time. Wizard said they had 60 comin' in and a little plane decided to bug 'em out as he flew by for no other reason than to piss them off. There has been a huge influx of birds around Valley since Sunday afternoon. A guy might want to do some scouting over there if you can find some time. I'm anxiously awaiting the Legends Ditch report but I haven't found a new one yet, maybe they didn't get into anything worth writing about, be hard for me to believe with all the action right now. Well tomorrow evening may just be a good time to come down with duck fever so hopefully we can get back in on some action, rather than reporting what we hear. Definately be in the Ditch Thurs AM, so check back for the latest and greatest, and thanks for all the hits. By the way on the 18th we were getting close to 4000, right now we are over 5000, almost to 5100 in just 7 days. Thanks Again Everybody!

Reports say...

Canada goose migration underway. While I would prefer to report on our success in sighting and shooting Canada geese, I must resort to reporting what I have heard. The Ditch was empty today. Pretty much everyone around the area reported that the geese are on the move. Success rates vary from plentiful, to seen and heard but no shooting. One late report from the South Ditch was a bit confusing. The birds were there but the manner in which they worked is the confusing part. According to reports they had 60 geese locked and coming, the point man stopped calling about 60 yds out and the geese took off. He didn't get the memo on calling geese to the water. I may need to send him a copy of Muck Bottom Outfitters CD, CALLING GEESE DOWN. The confused hunter interrupted the phone call with a "gotta go, got 12 more coming." I never heard anything again so I will assume that in the last hour or so he shot at least one goose. If not I may need to send him the Muck Bottom Outfitters DVD, PREVENTING THE SKUNK, starring SureShot and IceBreaker. The Legends Ditch did extremely well today with almost 30 Can's. All areas reported virtually no ducks. The Canadian hunting reports, last update on Nov 21st, says that the birds are still up there too, so we have plenty of time. The weather reports haven't changed much, no precipitation or heavy clouds for quite some time, but the winds will be favorably North from Wednesday to at least Sunday. It's time to log some hours in the Ditch! We will have Zero bodies in the Ditch until Turkey Day. At which time we hope to be shooting GEESE. We've had some icing issues and we may be done before we get there, we'll see what the day brings. My chainsaw and sledge hammer are ready to roll, if that doesn't work we can always make more coffee...I'm not against hangin' it out in the cold weather just haven't figured out how to get rid of the yellow tint left on the ice. This time of year is not set up for quick hunts unless you have a re-incarnated friend who came back as a goose. The old 10-2PM wives tale about when the geese fly should play out well the next week or so. Well that's all for now, check back for the latest and greatest, and thanks for all the hits.

Holy...Geese

Well, the morning produced absolutely nothing for the boys at the Ditch. We had one group of 8 ducks want to work, an itchy trigger finger followed by a "click" and then followed by a couple late shots led the birds safely to freedom. The morning ended rather early as there was nothing, and I mean nothing going on in the way of decoyable birds. Late in the day, around 3Pm or so the migration of Snows and Blues was well under way. I haven't seen birds like this anytime in the last 7 or 8 years. You used to be able to see these birds every year when they would stop over at Desoto Bend, but as of late that hasn't been happening. We've heard for quite some time that there isn't much water to the North and with the recent cold temp's the birds are on the move. I can't tell you how many birds we saw today, the constant streams both high and low, kept you busy. Saw a very limited amount of ducks and very few Can's until late, quitting time late. Nothing harvested today from the Ditch. Reports from all over the area mirror this one. Lots and Lots and Lots of migrating birds today. We don't have much coming in the way of favorable duck hunting weather other than tomorrow's wind. The ducks and Can's should be just behind this huge wave of snow geese coming into the area. We have about 3 weeks left in our duck season before we pack up the deeks and go scouting in the "late season" area's, sure hope we catch them soon. I am certain of one thing, if you're reading this and you have the ability, or perhaps the creativity, to get out tomorrow, I would do it. Unfortunately the Ditch will be empty, we will post what we hear so check back in tomorrow for the latest and greatest, and thanks for all the hits.

Area Reporting

Well another good push of birds reported all around the area. Success rates at all locations were about the same. The South Ditch reported 6 Mallards, and get this, 3 Blue Winged Teal. WOW! This late? Another new group to the report is what we will call the River Ditch. They found 10 ducks today that wished to go home with them. So all in all the reports were that of minor success. All reported migration action. The weather reports show a strong snow storm moving across NDak and SDak stretching just into Nebraska. The storm is moving dead East and should have the birds pushing tomorrow as well. The Legends Ditch celebrated a couple birthdays today to go along with their limited success on ducks and Canadas. Judging by the picture I would say he turned 39. Well, as a wise, wise, man once told me, "tomorrow is the day." We'll see about that. Out in full force in the AM hoping to meet up with some suicidal ducks or geese or both. We know it has to be that 'cause we sure ain't been shootin' good. Check tomorrow for the latest and greatest and thanks for all the "hits."

Limited Movement

The Ditch trip today was pretty fruitful considering we saw little to no ducks. No migrators, No locals, and ZERO geese. We worked the spread for about 40 minutes before shooting time 'cause it was all pulled out due to ice. This morning, much to our liking, we had no ice. One minute after shooting time, we had 5 ducks come rollin' in, they ended a bit long but we managed 2. A pair came in and we took them both, we had one more come in that landed to the North of the deeks. We waited until he floated far enough South to put on the great "sneak." Success! All drake mallards today. We managed to unload 4 times today. And yes, if you're keeping track, that's one more round than I described above. Lots of shooting but could've used a little aimin' oil to get the success rate a bit higher. The South Ditch took just one duck home, but hammered 3 Can's out of 8 that came right down after some sweet coaxing. The age of cell phones once again provided the sounds of the birds to a few other South Ditch boys, Waterfowl Wizard and DukMaster, while they were at work. This was a technologically advanced call, as the Master conferenced in Wizard. Guess now I see why everyone calls us psycho's. Well tomorrows update will most likely come from the South Ditch as the Ditch will be empty. Check back tomorrow for the latest action.

Location, Location, Location

After countless weeks of watching the resident ducks request fly-by's and the migration on a holding pattern, we tried a little something different this AM. It was decided that DuckDominator and his Wednesday AM guest would take a different approach. They got to the Ditch location just before sun-up, they stayed in the truck and gazed at the skies. The first bunch came out about 730AM and the chase was on. Down the road, turn right, up the road, stop, up the road again, stop. There it was, the acreage that was apparently the Geisha House of the duck world. Hundreds upon hundreds, if not thousands of ducks piling into a 20 acre set-aside that was flooded and elegantly planted with Millet, with a little "honey hole" right in the center. After about an hour of sitting, watching and waiting for some movement at the nearest farmstead, finally someone was alive. DD rushed to the house and asked for permission to visit the Duck Hunters Dream spot. Meanwhile the rest of us were at work figuring just how to get out tonight in time to hunt. Little did we know it was all for not. The call came and I could hear it on the other end, the sound of disappointment. Denied! Apparently no one is allowed to hunt there because he's wanting to rent it to someone, but has no takers. So rather than let us crazies hunt it, it sits idle. Kinda like having a Dodge Viper, or Chevy Corvette, in the garage with 113 miles on it, man it looks good, but don't drive it! Nonetheless, the chase was not over. Another drive around the bottoms lead to another "spot" just a few miles away from the Ditch. After about an hour of chasing down farmers and land owners the hunt finally ended. They found another gracious land owner who was willing to let them set up. After cleaning out their UnderArmour, they got 2 Robo's, 4 GHG resters and 2 laydowns and headed to today's "Ditch." A picked, unturned cornfield with standing water in a large low spot in the middle. The hunt started just after 1PM, by 102PM this first text message came: 1 Greenhead. By 2PM the 2nd text came: "man we can't shoot." I laughed and asked just how many they were seeing. The response indicated they should already be home. The afternoon showed the area frustrations, as the ducks would work and work but just would not finish. They moved the Robo's with no luck. They moved the laydown and added more camo with no luck. Finally after 2 1/2 hours of no shooting and seeing thousands of ducks, AH HA! Try turning off the Robo's. Well that was about 440PM and at that time they had 1 duck. By closing time, 501PM, they had 6 Greenheads in the bag. If they could've figured that out at 103PM they would've been home early. A pretty good hunt considering the conditions. If you are mobile, your "mousetrap" just doesn't matter. Hunting again tomorrow at the Ditch. Check back for the days' action.

Holding out Hope

Wow, we've now had over 4000 views, that a good bit more action that we've seen at the Ditch as of late. As the title reads I'm sure you are all here wishing, as are we, for great success, seeing lots of ducks or wishing for some news other than the ill-fated "no bird." Seeming like an exicted lab, or retrieving compannion of your choice, just after he hears the calls and then the shots, he hears "no bird." A truly horrible command, or shout that sets you back in your seat and you can't help but say "damn." Well if your into following waterfowler reports the action around the area is a bit sluggish to say the least. The Ditch has now been empty for two straight days and I have a sneaky feeling we haven't missed much. The South Ditch report from yesterday yielded ZERO birds. I've been keeping tabs, as always, on the Legends Ditch and they ain't been doin' nothin' either. So the migration is at a bit of a standstill. I can't help but think that the next two days should bring an influx of migrating birds to the area. But who knows? Chilli temps, North Wind and willing hunters, gotta be something coming, right? Thanks for all the hits and check back in tomorrow for the action.

Remember it's only Mid-November

Sun-up saw the lake iced over again, so the first 1/2 hour at the ditch was spent breaking ice creating a honey hole for the passing over ducks and geese. Only one problem, the passing over ducks and geese didn't really care how good it looked. The morning was spent using phrases such as Con-Trail and Stratosphere. Not a good sign when you're needing a low ceiling or precipitation. No wind at sun-up but around 9AM here it came. Great Northerly winds blew the hole open, could it be now that the passers by would stop for a drink? No thanks! Along with high birds we had the local river ducks requesting fly-by's all morning. They would swing and sail and take off. The best looks we had were while we were setting deeks at shooting time. You could only say, "come on", "you gotta be kidding me", and "what the heck is going on" so many times in the AM until you just give up. So that we did. We did manage to take one duck with us preventing the ever-feared "skunk." The duck taken was one of the most prized of dabbling ducks of the central flyway, the Anas Clypeata, or to the layman an Eclipse Drake Northern Shoveler. For further clarification, Spoonbill. The official name of Anas Clypeata is left for interpretation. Not much in the way of major weather forcasted the next 10 days. The temps are beginning to stabilize, below freezing at night and low 40's during the day. Plenty of North Wind for us Migration hunters, but unless Mother Nature brings some precipitation or low clouds, we're gonna just watch 'em all fly by. There's plenty of season left, and we've yet to see much of a push of Can's. One report from just over the US/Canadian border says they just started seeing the big Northern Mallards and Black Geese. That's great news for us and bad news for them as their season is about to end. Still plenty of time! Check back tomorrow for the latest and greatest of Muck Bottom Outfitters Waterfowl Reporting.

Sundown - Finally

The Ditch was occupied for a later morning into early afternoon hunt. The birds were all over the place again, but showed no cooperation. Just one good work from a dozen Can's only to have them bug out at the last second. Zero birds in the bag today, however, not due to the lack of movement. High birds, medium birds and short birds all acted the same today. The snow geese were on the move like we haven't seen in quite some time. The G'Ditch did have some luck based on what we saw, they probably left with about 15 or so birds. The South Ditch boys had a somewhat tough day as their final morning report came early afternoon with just one duck. Again, not at all due to the lack of birds, there are plenty. In the South Ditch, the aiming oil took affect mid to late afternoon and they managed another 4 ducks to close out the day. The Legends Ditch was apparently frustrated as well. Thank goodness it's not just us rookie's with little success. The Weather tomorrow is at least changing from cold and wet to dry and warmer, maybe that'll bring them down. Sure haven't had any help from the rain or big winds as of late moving the birds from the stratosphere. As a wise man once told me "tomorrow is the day." Check in tomorrow for the days action.

A New Era of Hunting

Whew, got home just in time. My cell battery was just about gone. I would like to tell you all about my day of duck hunting, without getting wet, without getting cold and without coming home with ringing "pit" ears. Cell phone rang at 830Am with update. Cell phone rang at 9AM with update. Cell phone rang at 930AM with update. Cell phone rang at 10AM with update. 1030AM hadn't heard update and called, finally just what I was waiting for. The man on the other end made my day. He hit the little green button and put the phone down. I immediately switched from handheld to speaker and listened to the sounds. I did it, I wore the guys out just at the right time, a live group of birds working, the sounds of goose calls blowing out the speaker on my cell phone, and the grand finale, "TAKE EM", the sounds I had been longing for all morning. You see, I woke up at 6AM and heard the wind a blowin' I looked at the weather and decided "heck, I've hunted enough already, I'll just go to work". Ha! I had no choice but to go to work, taking off two weekends in a row with "duck fever" just doesn't bode well with the bosses. So the Ditch was empty. The action just described was from our good friends at the South Ditch. Their take for the day was 10 ducks and 1 giant Canada goose. The South Ditch reported action pretty much all morning. Don't know if they really know my craziness, or if they just wanted to rub it in, either way it was great. For those of you who know what I'm talking about, which I would guess would be the greater majority of those who read this blog, the live, working bird phone call you get from the ditch, when you're not there, is the next best thing to being there. Thanks to "SR" and the South Ditch for all the updates and hitting the little green button just in time. The sounds are the next best thing to live action. Migration pace along the Missouri River is above recent averages right now, hopefully it will keep coming at this steady pace. We've been missing this pace the last few years and if this keeps up we should have a great season. Update tomorrow, be sure to check in.

Mainly a Day of Watching

The morning started off with 15 ducks right away, here they come. Only the guy calling the shot couldn't get 712AM out of his mind, so we didn't shoot. It was 645AM and we were 3 mins past legal and they were right there! Never fear 5 mins later here come 3 Widgeon right into the pocket. Two guys, 4 shots, 3 Widgeon. By far the best performance of the season. We had another group of 8 teal come a buzzin' around 9AM they swung right in the pocket and we hammered just one. I gotta admit, they were so close together that I figured, "ah just throw it in the middle", they' ll fall, not the case. I was left to fend for myself about 10Am with 4 in the bag. While I threw down another thermos of coffee, the resident ducks were heading out to feed. I would say there are at least 2000 ducks feeding around the area. The saddest part of the day was just after 1030AM. I had 100 ducks come from the NorthEast sky sailing and dumping, sailing and dumping, they responded well to the call and began to set up. Just then about 75 Snow Geese come from the East 75 yds high and took all the ducks with them! Even with the Dead Meat singing, there are some things you just can't compete with. Just after 11AM another 60 came a dumping and sailing, "one more swing", and they did, "one more swing"and they did, "one more swing" and they did...see where this is going? I had two good shots but waited for the "one" that never came, unloaded on the 4th best look I had and scratched just one. The day was a bit frustrating, you see so many birds that just won't respond. They've been here for a while and have their pattern down, not much we could do the get them to skip a wing beat. There was an above average amount of shooting around the area considering there was little to no migration. Well, more favorable winds and weather coming and if you were to walk outside at this very instant you will hear snows and blues by the hundreds. We may not have any attendance until Sunday. Keep an eye in the sky and an ear to the phone, we'll keep you posted.

Mixed Sightings - Few Ducks

The Ditch was man'd today and as promised here is the report. From sun-up to 3PM the ducks were steadily moving around. The mid-day lull only lasted about 45 minutes. These were not the migrating sort of ducks, but the been here for a while sort. Seemed as if the weather the last few days had the residents hunkered down a bit and now that there was no rain they were all moving around. Had some competition with G'Ditch today. Took turns calling birds from each other multiple times only to have the ducks bug-out on both of us. The G'Ditch left with 6, we think, and we managed to scratch 4. The South Ditch was man'd all day as well and no success to report. Very few ducks on the move, they did fire a couple rounds, but nothing dropped. The Ditch will have hunters again in the AM so we'll have a report late afternoon concerning the action, or perhaps lack there of. So tune back in for the stories. By the way: My family duck doctor has commented on the up coming weekend and his concern for my health. He said to stay at home from the ditch Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Crazy fool, he must have been talking with my wife! C'ya next time.

Looking for a New Duck Doctor

Well according to the jet stream forecast, this weekend will bring yet another push of birds. I'm looking for a Doctor that can correctly diagnose Duck Fever, the last guy wasn't close. The image is showing a very promising Saturday. Todays action report was from the South Ditch. An unorthodox 9AM to Noon hunting trip yielded one Greenhead. The up side to that was it only took one shot. Good shooting! Looks like SureShot SR, is doing his part to keep up the namesake. Just two bunches observed. Well that's today's excitment. In the Ditch tomorrow so expect a report when it's over.

Yes Those are PINK Boots

Well, we weren't in the Ditch today, so I thought I would replace the Report with a picture taken Sunday at sundow that shows us why it's so important to pass on the passion. Simple things like a little girls smile is worth the wind, rain, snow, ice and bone chilling cold. "Hang up my dance shoes daddy and lets get to Cabela's!"

Reports from around the area are minimal today, not much going on and we had some early afternoon rain so I believe almost everyone gave up early. Weather reports say changes again Friday and Saturday. We'll keep it coming as we hear it or live it.

Minimal Success - Tons of Birds

SUNDAY REPORT - The first migration has definately begun. Ducks and Geese have been on the move since late Thursday and the push continued into yesterday. The AM hunt Sunday was a bit disappointing. Not for the lack of bird movement, but for the lack of preparation and aiming skills. We got to the Ditch to see about 1/2 inch of ice covering 100% of the pond. The bubblers didn't get turned on and we left all the deeks in the water from Saturday. We broke some ice and cleaned off the deeks. We decoyed just two teal before 8AM. A group of 9 Can's came rollin' from the North and worked for about 10 minutes, only to come down just outside the farthest deek, two guys, six shots and not a single bird fell. As hearts were racing and choice words a flyin' we couldn't figure out why they did what they did. So back in the water we go. Broke more ice, brought the deeks in much closer and sat and waited. Just before 1PM a group of 15 Gadwall rolled in as one of us was walking to turn on the pump. Dropped one. The afternoon hunt yielded another couple ducks, admittedly should've left with a minimum of a one man limit from 2PM to close, but not the case. Saturday and Sunday we never really worked a big group of ducks. Seen a ton, just not a lot of cooperation. There was moderate success all over the area, but no reports of raining ducks. The birds should be around for a while now and there will be another push. More reports to come.

Big Groups Flyin' High

1PM Saturday: The Waterfowl viewing blind has been busy this AM at the Ditch. Big numbers still migrating into the area. Lots and lots of snows! The bigger groups of ducks are staying up, but 1's, 2's, 3's and 4's coming in at a steady pace. Final update had us with 9 ducks, 2 teal and 5 Mallards, 2 Gadwall. South Ditch report has them at 4 so far. Our Ditch is now empty for the day. Will have a full area report later this evening assuming we hear numbers.

Good Breakfast - Should've Stayed

Anticipating a push of birds along with a long, long day we stopped in at the local Pump N Munch and gathered up some necessities in order to hang all day. We ran into the boys that hunt just South of the Ditch (from here on out named: G Ditch) and they were going to be full today. The NW Ditch looked full when we drove by their shed and I'm certain the Legends Ditch was as well. So here we are, all of the locals full as a tick...just one problem, NO BIRDS. Well I shouldn't say NO, but I can say few for the conditions. The NW Ditch shot 3 times, the guys to the South twice, and us just once. A truly disappointing day. Looks like I need to switch doctors. The South Ditch had just two hunters this AM, and saw just one duck last I spoke with them. They haven't called so assuming they've vacated their Ditch as well. Maybe tomorrow will be the day, who knows? Maybe the wind was blowing too much, maybe our four locations just weren't good today. The telling point will be the Legends Ditch. If they post a good hunt, then it just wasn't meant to be today for us and a few others. Tomorrow is a different day, and with that comes different hope. But we need to remember it's only the 1st week of November. If anything happens today around the area we will be sure to post. Check back for updates. UPDATE: 740PM FRIDAY NIGHT. They're here! Reports from all over the area, ducks, snows, and can's all here. I received a call about 230PM saying that the birds we're starting to come. We chose to stay home, only to be disappointed in our lack of faith in Mother Nature. The Legends Ditch had late in the day success. So it appears that good things come to those who wait. I knew, I just knew it. With the wind blowing like it was and the snowfalls to the North, there was no way they weren't going to make it today, we shouldn't have given up hope. A one man crew, DukMaster, from the South Ditch managed 3 widgeon out of a bunch of four, a triple. I guess I gotta believe him, I wasn't there. But, there's a downside! Apparently he called 15 Can's down with their feet out shortly after that, 3 shots and nothing, now who's the Not-So-Sure-Shot? Can't give 'em to much heck, he did get a triple. Well, the morning may be one of those days where you just don't come up for air. The trip is scheduled to end fairly early for me, but I may see what I can work out. Someone will be there all day! Don't forget to check back in tomorrow. Aim straight!

The Push Has Begun?

The AM weather report on the way to the Ditch was just what we were looking for. The Severe Weather Statement by the National Weather Service said: Wind Advisory in Eastern Nebraska from 9AM to 6PM with wind from the West and the NorthWest gusting at 35-40MPH. Well, those crazy weather guys were right again. The wind blew from the SW all morning and most of the afternoon at about 15MPH. So they nailed it! We had some good migration activity all morning, new duck groups totaled about 10. The local birds were flipping around as well. We had 4 or 5 bunches commit, we had 2 groups finish outside the spread and out of shooting range. One other bunch worked well and for fear of losing them outside the spread again, we took a long marginal shot and managed Zero! We headed out just after 10AM with zero in the bag. Hoping those extremely accurate weather people were going to be right at some time today, we headed back to the Ditch around 1PM with hopes of ducks "raining" from the sky ahead of this front. Well it wasn't what you would call "the day", but we did see a lot of migrating ducks, pelicans and white-fronts this afternoon. We had a single mallard come in following an "oh" from the other side of the blind. Now usually an "oh" is followed by "cover-up" or "don't move", this oh, was followed by silence, meaning only one thing, Ice Breaker was gonna shoot and Sure Shot was not. After 3 shots a drake mallard finally fell. I flipped the door open only to see 30 more right behind him, yep you guessed it, they didn't come in. Where there's one, there's more, remember that! Always look up before you take the single! Well we managed to take home our first Mallard of the season. Tomorrow looks like it may shake up to be rather productive. I took my duck doctor's advice and called in with duck fever. We will be out in the AM for sure, see what happens before committing to the whole day. Haven't heard any numbers from around the area, but didn't hear a whole lot of shooting. Expect a report after tomorrow's hunt. If it's not up by 1PM, then I ain't comin' home 'til dark. We'll keep you posted.

GET DOWN AND GET READY!!!!

I just recieved a health advisory notice from my duck doctor, thought I would pass it along to all of you so you are well prepared for the weekend. Email says:

Just got off the phone with Waterfowl Wizard. He and his little buddy are in ND pheasant hunting with a goose hunt mixed in for tonight. They are in a winter storm watch with 8” of snow predicted for tomorrow and Friday with STRONG NORTH WINDS!!!!!!!!!!! Tomorrow maybe, Friday for sure. As your DUCK Doctor I feel in order to cure the forthcoming outbreak of duck fever you need to take Friday AND Saturday off. Failure to do so may cause permanent damage to your shooting eye.

Twas the Night Before Election...

...and all through the house, not a duck or goose a stirin'
not even a field mouse.
Well I definitely ain't no poet, but that's about as political as we're going to get here. I typed the word "election" what else do you want? According to the Gate Keeper there were some specks coming into the area today. A driving report along I29 North indicated ducks, ducks and more ducks from SD border to Sioux Falls. Sounds like they are staging for the weekend push. Old reliable,(insert favorite weather man here) , says that we will have some strong Northerly winds Friday, Saturday and even into Sunday. We may even get some snow on Friday, boy can't wait for that! Well for all of you who tuned in because of the political reference in the title, sorry, if it isn't on Saturday Night Live, I don't care to talk about it. For those of you who tuned in for a duck report, sorry, they aren't here yet and we didn't shoot any today.
We got our store up and running so if anyone is interested in a Muck Bottom Outfitters shirt(above) they are available. Check the link at the top right of the page. If you're not interested I strongly urge you to keep reading. We are selling these shirts for the betterment of duck hunting for us. The proceeds go directly to us to build a better mouse trap. We will not donate anything to anybody. We need more decoys, more robo-ducks and bigger guns. If you choose to purchase one, you will not be able to deduct it on your taxes. We may send you a thank you card, but no promises. The purchase of a shirt means you will wear it proud and plug us, while you have it on, with no reward for yourself. Now that's what I call the Straight Talk Express! Thanks for reading and we'll keep the reports coming as we hear them.

Lots and Lots of Ducks

Early sunrise brought non-stop ducks for about 1 and 1/2 hours. We were not fortunate enough to get into any, but we did manage to see all the ducks in Burt County. Man there are a lot, it's nice to know the birds that came down a week ago are still here. A single snow goose popped in just before shooting time and sat there until we were legal and we snuck up on him. About 35 mins later we had two more geese commit hard, and we got them both. Kind of an unusual pair, a single mature big adult snow goose and a small immature Canada goose. One or both were obviously confused as to who they should be pairing up with this time of year. The NW Ditch had to have hammered ducks this AM, they had at least 5 rounds, with what sounded like 6 0r 7 hunters in the ditch. Haven't heard their numbers yet but I'm guessing they should be pretty good. The South Ditch saw just one bunch of 30 ducks over the river, so nothing going on there. This week looks to be promising as the temps are supposed to dip with a mild Low Front moving through mid-week. Wednesday or Thursday will be the next day out for us. It's now November and when/if the wind and weather switches, it's time to start taking a few mornings off, no reason to save them now. Duck Fever has been known to strike 5 or 6 times from November to the end of the year, even though I got my flu shot, I'm certain I'll get it again this year. We'll keep you all up to date as soon as we hear something new.

Good News from the North

No action from the Ditch to report today. Judging by the repeat of yesterdays weather today, I'm sure there wasn't much going on. However, reports from Santee and Niobrara say ducks by the thousands the last 5 or so days. One report heard was that a group of hunters around Niobrara indicated success of over 140 ducks in a couple days. In other reports, hunters heading to Santee after hearing of large numbers of birds migrating into the area. Nothing but good news for us guys to the South. The South Ditch reported just one in the bag for the day, one rabbitt that is, that popped out in front of the DukMaster's truck on the drive down. Nothing moving but decoys in preparation for the North Winds and fronts to be moving through Thursday and Friday. That's all for now, tomorrows report will hopefully have some success. See you then.

Cloudless, Balmy and Calm...

...the perfect mix of conditions for a great hunt. Yeah right! Well a few more hours logged in the Ditch and another Zero. The conditions were more like early summer than fall, but can you really complain about the weather? Well sure you can if you're a Waterfowler. While most people we work with, hang out with, and talk to, are loving these unseasonably warm temps, us "crazy's" are wishing for wind driven snow, low ceilings and temps just above freezing. What can one expect when just under 2 weeks ago we saw our first push and less than 7 days ago another one? When it starts, it's hard to take when it just shuts off. The short trip back to town via some county roads uncovered some concentrations of birds lying around on un-hunted, un-disturbed WRP projects. A little drive around this "bottom" and you'll soon see why the birds get smart quick. In just over a 6 mile stretch there must be at least 10 set-up's all large and on large bodies of water. No wonder they don't just swing around and let us "take-em". There's a ton of competing spreads up here and all with the same thing in mind: Get up early, have some coffee, BS a bit and go home. We just haven't convinced the birds of that, these are waterfowl viewing blinds hasn't anyone told them? Well that's the report for the day.

THANK YOU LEGENDS DITCH!

I would like to say THANKS to the guys in the Legends Ditch, it appears that Killer Karl has found this blog and has posted it on the ever famous Kohler Report (http://www.ducksrdead.blogspot.com/). I used to be on the email list for the report and then when it moved to the Blog I thought it was great, I must admit, the idea for the blog I did COPY. We all have people we talk to concerning our hunts, why not post them on a blog, it is a great idea, thanks Carl. The Legends ditch is just that, a legend! We've all heard the stories from back in the day and remember when "what's Kohler doing?" was a part of every waterfowlers conversation. Heck it still is today after all these years. With their Blog we can have it whenever we want it. Maybe someday people will ask "What's Muck Bottom doing?" I seriously doubt that as none of us have the time to dedicate to the sport as RK has. We all share the passion but aren't lucky enough to make it come true as he does everyday. So, with that I again say THANKS to Carl for dedicating, almost entirely, today's Kohler Report to us "sand bar" hunters who drive Dodge Trucks and Chrysler Vans, who have names like SureShot and DuckDominator and who have smoke pole's with names like "Feather Duster." You will see the duck character on our trucks and on our trailer when we go by the cafe in the morning, or head back home after a hunt. Just in case you're wondering, the trailer has a life-sized Bill Callahan VooDoo Doll in it, we use it to pattern our Marlin Bolt Action goose guns.

Shorts T-Shirt and a Sun Tan

Well you're definately not going to hear about how many ducks we saw migrating today. There were just too many to count. Ducks by the thousands coming from North belly up. WAKE UP, WAKE UP, WAKE UP. Sorry I was dreaming again. Today's temp on the way to the Ditch was 33 degrees, we were hoping for it to stay there, but the Sun came up and boom 60, just like that. We headed home about 1030AM with two Widgeon in the bag. With the loss of our old friend ICE we had to play birddog. First one took only 5 shots. One miss, One hit, One miss, One Miss, One Hit. DANG cripples! That action packed 15 mins started off the morning. Soon after, we had two Blue Bills come screaming in right at us, called the shot a bit late and...yep you guessed it, nothing but wad's fell to the ground. We we're packing up about 915AM and took the 4wheeler to the trailer to bring in some gear, I parked right behind the blind, we took out the robo ducks, untangled some deeks and..yep you guessed it again, ducks from the North about 15 or so, migrating sort of ducks just appeared out of nowhere, they responded to the call, banked, saw still water the 4wheeler and a wide open black ditch. Even in those perfect conditions just described, we didn't get into them. We decided to stay another hour, as I'm sure you all would have. Just as we were loading up to leave another Widgeon popped in just outside the deeks. The great sneak was on! Normally I'm not much of a "sneaker" but we hadn't had much luck so I gave him a try. Got fairly close as he got up on the other side of the CANADA deeks and almost didn't get the shot off. He banked right back in and we scratched our second bird of the day. That's it for today's action, the North West Ditch had 3 rounds today, haven't heard how they did. We should have the Ditch manned all weekend so keep checking back for the latest action.

60's and 70's?

Here we are 2 days away from Halloween and temps are approaching the mid 60's. The forecast has it going higher the next couple days. Well as avid waterfowlers, the sun and balmy temps almost never bring ducks, especially after a front just moved through. Halloween weekend has brought snow storms and freezing rain in the past that has lead way to some great days, looks like it'll be "Christmas hanging lights" weekend this Halloween. Still holding up hope until the AM report from today, nothing, nada, zip, ziltch, the occassional groups of 7 to 10 ducks is all that was around today, nothing in the way of migration. A single shot fired at a single teal and missed, that was the only action. The message boards and field reports confirmed the SureShot Predictive Index saying Sunday/Monday push of birds. The Fremont Area reported a MASSIVE amount of birds moving in Monday along the Platte River, and we all know how well the Legends Ditch did on Sunday, so there was a big push, just not in line with our Ditch. We'll be out in the AM and expect another report when it's over.

Hurricane Winds - Few Ducks

A couple of brave soles from the Halloween party managed to get up and go to the ditch. A couple of us, going on 3 hours of sleep, decided to stay in bed as the clear skies and lack of wind at 5AM just didn't look promising. After a morning of picking up Big Foots, rounding up deeks that had moved with the wind and the dipping robo-duck lost battery incident, the boys headed back to the couch for an afteroon of football with 7 ducks in the bag, along with a single ross goose. So we've managed to scratch our first goose of the season, finally. I just recieved a text message from one of the "sleepers" from this AM who went out at 130PM and it said "pointless!" Sounds as if he's on his way back and giving up for the rest of the afternoon, it's now 430PM. My earlier thoughts were to perhaps take my first morning of the season off in an effort to scratch a few birds before work, but based on the text message I just recieved there seems to be no reason to do that. The South Ditch (blair boys) reported 9 ducks during the morning shoot with very few birds migrating. The "Legends Ditch" to the South reports there were Ducks and Geese all over the place according to what I have heard they took 30 Can's and almost 13 limits of ducks. What is hard to believe is that we didnt' see them 6 mi North and the South ditch didn't see the 15 miles South. Guess that was the spot to be today. All locations reported seeing migrating birds at Oxygen Mask levels. The weather man is saying 29 degrees tonight with NW wind again tomorrow at 15MPH and 21 degrees tomorrow night, that's getting down there. Only thing wrong with that is it looks like from Wednesday on 'til the following Tuesday the temp's climb back into the 60's with unseasonably high low temps. It appears things will be shutting down a bit after tomorrow. Our next hunt will be Wednesday AM, I will post all I hear from around the area.

"nothing to be proud of rusty"

Another day in the ditch with very little action. Admittedly should have taken a one man limit but nada. Saw the area birds going into another setup just a mile or so away, the guys over there shot more than a dozen ducks as of the last report. The South ditch (outside of Blair) managed 5 ducks on the day with a good mixed bag, gadwall, widgeon, spoon bills. The whole gang will be out tommorrow AM hoping the North wind blows in a few more new birds. If we don't see a trickle tomorrow we should see it on Monday, problem with Monday is we'll be empty. We will keep you posted.

Personal Note - Sad Day

All those that know me, know that my dog Ice has been by my side for many years. He has passed today to a better place. He got several retrieves this fall before heading home...... A hunter has several dogs in his lifetime, many times one stands above all others and Ice was that one..... He was the best!!!!!! I will miss him. Maybe my Dad can throw him some bumpers until I see them both again.....

Good Conditions No Ducks For US

As we left for the ditch, the rain was coming down, again, at a fairly steady pace. We made it to the blind after pushing through about 3 ft of water on the four-wheeler. We settled in about 10 mins before shooting time and right as the rain ended. The wind was blowing about 12 mph out of the NorthEast. I really don't know that exactly, but it was more than 10 mph and less than 15 mph, sure sounded good though. 15 mins after shooting time we had teal, belly up, 'bout 7 of them came screaming right it. Now belly up is something we haven't experienced a whole lot, so that alone was a positive note. Two guys, one measely teal. And yes, we emptied our guns. We thought we dropped two but no luck. Not real sure why only one, they were right there! Well, that about does it for the day. We saw a decent amount of birds and heard quite a bit of shooting. (Updated 10/24) The guys about a mile1/2 West and 1/4 mile North scratched 32 of the ducks we saw moving around, and they left at 1PM. The ducks have been here since Sunday afternoon and they pretty much got us figured out. It was tough leaving but we headed out about 11AM after not having pulled the trigger since sun-up. Conditions were about as "ducky" as they could get, low ceiling, overcast, damp air, and good wind. Sunday or Monday looks to be the next chance for new birds. We will have a full crew in the AM Sunday if we can all get up from the Halloween/Costume Party Saturday night. Considering costume-ing up in my waders, coat and hat, just so I can save some time in the morning, don't figure on getting much sleep. That's it for now, might have some attendance on Saturday AM, if we do I'll put in an update.

Rain Rain Go Away

Much anticipated heavy Northerly winds gave way to a soaking rain. To start off the morning 2 teal came right in and we took them both. Shortly after that it rained, and then a bit later, it rained. When the rain let up a bit a group of 4 came in and we managed to drop 2. Did see ducks floating around in between rains. Most ducks observed appeared to be just getting exercise showing no interest in sitting amongst the spread. Compared to Sunday afternoon, the amount of birds was disappointing. We packed up around 11AM and called it a day with 4 teal in the bag. Not the day we were looking for but a cold, wet, windy, rainy day in the blind is better than a good day at work. It sounds like the rain should start to give way around 8AM Thursday, the ducks should be right behind. A prediction from one of the boys says "sometime in the next 36 hrs we're gonna have ducks everywhere." Based on the DU article "think like a duck" (posted and the bottom of this blog) he may just be right. If it doesn't happen tomorrow I hope it holds off until the weekend. None of us are able to make it to the ditch on Friday. We will be up and at 'em early tomorrow hoping for a little cooperation from Mother Nature. Coffee and heater's will be a brewin'. Expect another report after the hunt. The SureShot predictive index says don't miss Sunday/Monday give it a chance and it'll happen. Jet Stream setting up to make a huge push Monday, might just be the day to call in sick.

PM - Unexpected Afternoon

With the temps climbing into the upper 60's and the limited amount of AM luck, the afternoon turned into an above average push day. From about 1Pm on there were constant groups of gadwall coming down and looking at what was going on. My phone was lighting up with text messages: Got 4, Got a couple more, just limited on Pintails, etc, etc. The good action started about 230PM and didn't stop until around 530PM. As I said in today's earlier post, we scratched 4 this AM, a couple guys who stayed scratched 3 just after noontime and the late boys, 3 and a happy youngster, scratched another 8. They managed to limit on Pintail which is no small feet! This front coming through is definately pushing some bigger ducks south. We worked ZERO groups of Mallards. Today's bag included Gadwall, Widgeon, Pintail, Teal and another dang Shoveler. That pattermaster just can't seem to find anything else. The afternoon birds provided much, much more cooperation than the morning birds. It's good to have new birds! Sounds like we have this system setting up on us the next 4 or so days with mixed North and East winds. If today is any indication of the rest of the week I would recon there will be plenty of opportuntity the next few days. The group is done until Wednesday AM we will have a report then.

AM - A Little Action

The front coming from the North is pushing a fair amount of smaller ducks down despite the South winds. We observed plenty of high migrating ducks during this mornings ditch trip. We had 4 rounds today managing just under a handful of birds. The wind had 'em working outside the spread and the shots were very marginal. We all managed to burn through some shells but that was about it. The picutre says it all. When the owner has to be in the water with the dog, you know it was a long shot with a wounded-bird retrieve. There was a lot of shooting around the area, so it sounded as if all had good action. Cooperation from the ducks was hard to come by, we had 6 bunches land outside of shooting range. They would work the spread and land about 65 yds away from where we wanted them. There were also numerous groups of spooky ducks that would work us, work the guys to the south, work us again, work the guys to the south and then take off. Very Wary Ducks! Not sure if the competing spreads had 'em all jacked up or what. Can't wait for a big North wind day.

OFFICER PLEASE I'M TRYING TO GET HOME IN TIME FOR CHURCH: While all of Tekamah was in Church, we found one representative from the County who was not! It appears that 40MPH North of the school is a bit too fast. We mentioned that we were just talking ducks and not paying attention, "it's not even good yet" he replied. Thank goodness he keeps track of the ducks. Have a good day sir.

HOLD THAT THOUGHT - Just got a phone call, 3 more ducks down the two guys who stayed had some more chances. According to the report, they've seen hundreds of ducks since we left at 1015AM, it's now 110PM. The other guy who left with me is heading back out with his son. I'm watching the Chiefs, my boy is taking a nap, my wife is in Omaha and I can do nothing except sit here and wait for the updates. I'll check back in later.

According to the DukMaster

If you can trust this guy, there are ducks all over up and down the the MO River from Decatur to at least Blair. This handsome fella, hunting just outside of Blair, sent me a bit of a "ha-ha-ha" your working instead of hunting picture. What he forgot is that we have this blog, so I can post his ugly mug right here. Hope you all are having a good day.

Two Day Mixed Bag

Wednesday - AM walkdown kicked off whitefronts by the dozens. Plenty of new ducks in the area, mainly Gadwall. Non-stop action until about 930AM. Managed 6 ducks. There should have only been 5 but I guess a shoveler came by at the wrong time and found the pattermaster. The morning action warranted a 1/2 day off of work, only to yield a big fat ZERO. No decoying birds in the afternoon and into dusk. Nonetheless still a repectable day.

Thursday - Got a bit of a late start, arrived in the ditch about 815 and kicked off just a few ducks. After the Wednesday walkdown and North wind all day, I was hoping for a "reserve" on the walk in. Who knows, had I been there earlier, I may have seen that. Shortly after settling in 4 teal gave a buzz and I scrached just one. My focus was a bit off as I was really hoping for some of the Wednesday ducks. After fetching up the teal I had a group of bluebills come from the South, luckily I was ready and I knocked down one, alive as can be in the NW corner of the lake. I made the trek and found him nesstled in the weeds. Good thing my "sniffer" was working. Folowing the bills there were tons of ducks floating around the area, but no committments. We had no wind, the clouds had moved on and I left the Robo Duck in the trailer. I went out and messed around with the decoys, returning to the blind just in time for a huge group of Widgeon. They worked extremely hard over the spread not sure just where to go. 4 dropped out and came hard, no doubt due to the sweet music coming from my Folies Dead Meat Mallard, and just one ended up in the pond. Shooting was a bit off today but still managed 3 ducks. Again no Canada Geese, and yesterdays Whitefronts had apparently moved elsewhere. I gave it 'til 1PM and called it quits for the day. Next hunt will likely be Sunday AM with the whole gang, should be able to have a least two hours of non-stop ducks.

Late Start

A 2PM late hunt on Monday and nothing. Just a couple of shots fired. Kicked off a large number of teal, gadwall and a few pintail from the pond. Good to see some bigger ducks flipping around. Zero birds in the bag for today. It was an unscheduled trip to the ditch so the expectations were minimal. Thought a few more birds would have been visible after the rain ended, figured they'd been sitting tight all morning, but not the case. Next hunt tomorrow AM hoping for the morning caos of teal to sharpen our shooting.

Evening Miscue

On the trip back to the ditch we found out that the 45 mile/hour wind had shifted some deeks, so while the re-designing of the spread was going on we had a repeat of this mornings first 40 minutes. A short lived rain shower almost gave way to dryer, softer seats at home in front of the TV, but they stuck it out. First group of workable, bigger ducks came from the north about 200 yds, "close up" is the call, in the act of closing up there were ducks coming from the South, at about 8 feet, one "filet-o-duck," courtesy of pattern master, dropped as the group from the North headed out on the sounds of shotgun blasts. One more in the bag for the night ending up with 6 total for the day. Again, no local geese observed and very few "bigger" ducks. With the weather changing tomorrow, we may get a few ducks floating in on the North wind. Work calls the next couple of days and it's a bit too early to call in with "duck" fever. Wednesday will be the next day in the ditch.

First Hunt

Finally, opening day for the group. Unfortunately all of us had to work on Saturday, but we did hear some reports of some success on local geese in the area as well as some teal moving through. Shooting time was just after 7am and from then until about 750am there were teal all over the place. We took 5 teal for the day. Had 3 go arounds and boy them suckers are quick. Had a few decoying issues so all shots were marginal at best. The 20+ mile/hour wind proved to get the best of us. Zero Canada geese seen and less than a handfull of "bigger" ducks. The PM hunt will prove a bit difficult according to the weather man, rain and wind, should be interesting.