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.