Why Wouldn't it Happen This Way

Today, on an unplanned Ditch trip, we pulled up to the lake thinking, boy there is a lot of water left shinning on the lake. You see about 10 days ago we pulled the plug and it didn't seem as if there should be that much water left, it just didn't make sense. We unloaded the ride and headed toward the lake. As we got closer, we realized it wasn't water glistening in the sun! Thouasands of Snow Geese resting in about 2 inches of water and muck. There were tons of ducks and a relatively large amount of Can's sitting there too. It truly looked like a waterfowl reserve. Why wouldn't it be packed when there is hardly any water and deeks in a huge pile in front of the blind. Next year we're going to pull the plug about a week before the season and just decoy the mud and 2 inches of water. WAIT! I said we were never going to do this again. Amazing how a few thousand birds resting on your spot can change your mind. And so it begins again. We've been making regular trips to the ditch, ungun'd and uncamo'd just checking things out as the water receeds. The new sit and shoot should be finished by week's end and we're hoping to start covering it so the native grasses can grow through all spring and summer. I have a feeling that even though the season is over, we will continue to make these weekly trips up there to get the "condo" just right, don't want to be uncomfortable in the fall/winter. Just thought I would give a little report today as to what we saw. Many of you, I'm sure, have experienced what you thought was failure, only to realize you were just not patient enough. Keep checking back for the latest and greatest, and thanks for all the hits.

It's Over For US

Here we are just a few days away from April and we have nothing good to say about the Great Snow Goose chase. All of the rags have been burned, the socks thrown away and the floaters painted black. We had a good time viewing all the sights of the spring and managed to take just one snow, and that was on the sneak. Not a single bunch decoyed and the work just wasn't worth it. We will never do this again! You need way to many deeks to make this work and I'd rather spend the money on Can's and Ducks. Our spring season is over, and boy, talk about conservation, not a single shell fired through the gun, about the only thing wasted was time, but then again, any time spent outside watching and learning isn't really a waste. We are slowly moving around the lake, and laying ground for a new "house" on the lake. Progress has begun and we hope to be done by the time the grass starts growing so as not to disturb the natural look come this fall. We've decided to try a "sit and shoot" style blind and construction is underway. We'll post some pic's as we go along and if you're interested you can check back. Like always, thanks for all the hits, and I'm sure our construction efforts will be worth a good laugh, if you can find the time.

What Month is This??

Hello again all my technologically advanced and well connected Waterfowl enthusiast friends. The cold weather, ice and snow makes a guy wonder just what time of year this is. It's down right cold out there. I haven't heard any real report for today but did observe some great migratory sort of action today. As I peeked out the windows at work, after the snow and ice gave way, there were thousands and thousands, string after string, of migrating snow geese. Only thing was is that they were all heading South. Yes, that's right South. These were not local birds flipping around looking for a new dinner table, these were higher flying strings of migrating Snow Geese heading back South with no apparent stopping point anywhere close to here. I had heard of a snow storm warning in South Dakota and it must have been true based on what I saw today. So here we go again. Time to fire up the horns, oil the guns and set the deeks. Oh wait, we already did that! They'll be coming back as soon as it warms up again which according to forecasts should be this weekend. If you haven't been out yet, now is the time. Get down and get ready. The Ditch will be man'd on Thursday and again hoping for a successful report. I was anxiously waiting for the Legends to report by I haven't seen one yet. Curious to know if they saw all these birds coming back. That's all for now. Check back for the latest and greatest and thanks for all the hits. MBO

Still Going...

The birds are moving. A large number of the Can's we've been seeing have apparently moved North lending plenty of space for the thousands, and thousands and thousands of ducks lying in every pot hole from Tekamah to 20 miles South. Snows are here in good numbers, but choosing not to play. A 2PM to 6PM hunt yielded no birds. Not a single group would play. Plenty of birds to decoy today, but nothing happened. By not being in the Ditch the last two days, I believe we missed them coming into the area and now they are here and hard to decoy. Beginning to wonder if we're ever gonna shoot. Not being expert Snow hunters I'm going with the belief that all these birds are "old" birds and the "juvy's" are coming still and they will give us a chance. Doesn't that sound like a typical waterfowler? Always holding out hope! The Legends Ditch is ready for some warm bodies to occupy the pits as they had good numbers decoying today with only one shooter. Wish we had that problem! Sounds like I need to scramble the F-16's again to keep the geese out of there to give the rest of us a chance. As one report says they're decoying well and another saying they're decoying poorly, you just never know. One thing you can be sure of is this: YOU CAN'T SHOOT 'EM FROM THE COUCH. We will keep it coming as we hear it. Check back for the lastest and greatest and thanks for all the hits. MBO

Migration Has Started

Hello again all my technologically advanced and well connected Waterfowl enthusiast friends. Well this post is a bit late. We hunted Thursday and observed a large push of new birds into the area. Many, many, many new Ducks, Cans and Specks as well as a decent number of Snow's. The morning fog and little winds lent itself to zero decoyable birds. All groups of Snow's large and small responded well to the "firing of the horns" but wouldn't finish. They all just floated around the sky wondering just where to land. We sat out until about 1PM, but the high sky and little wind just kept 'em going. Wouldn't you know it, the wind starting howling as we were loading up the trucks to go home. The Snows that we did see didn't appear to be sticking around. It's now Sunday and the area reports are of little success thus far. We were almost 100% iced up on Thursday but I recon by today after the big rain and winds the last few days we should be opened back up. Phone reports today and yesterday have Snow Geese all over around Desoto Bend and the adjacent areas. Fridays report for the "Hay Ditch" was of no success and no large numbers of Snow Geese. The Ditch will be manned later this afternoon and I'm hoping for a good report. After doing some checking, it appears that History has the birds showing up sometime in the next 5-10 days. We'll see how that all plays out, hopefully our schedules allow us to be on the move when the birds are. The SSPI (Sure Shot Predictive Index) is still saying around 100 for the Conservation season. The success and action should be starting anytime, we'll keep up with the news as we hear it. As always, check back for the latest and greatest and thanks for all the hits. MBO