Not Today

Well today was filled with wishful thinking and excitement. Winds were howlin' on the way to the Ditch, sky was covered with clouds, breakfast was packed and the thermos was full. Settled in expecting pre-shooting time birds flippin' around the lake. Didn't happen and didn't kick off a single bird on the way in. One would've thought that with the late migrating action last night there would be birds sitting. Again, not the case. Within the first 15 minutes of shooting time we saw a lot of Geese, all Can's. The continuing push held together until around 9AM. Constant efforts to pull birds for a solid 2 hours. The cloud cover blew out way to soon. Needed them to hang 'til around noon and would've fared much better. All the local Ditches were fully man'd based on the action/traffic on the way there. Imagine just about everyone had similar luck, or lack thereof today. Did manage to have one group of ducks come from 35,000 feet just before noon. Worked us over pretty good and wouldn't come inside of 50yds before they bugged out. Walked out shortly after that as lunch was not packed. Saw plenty of geese again and very little ducks. Where are they? Does anyone know? Can't seem to find a single ditch having much luck on the "quacks." We didn't plan the year for geese and left way to much of the lake standing with weeds and cover. Almost impossible for us to pull 'em in on a relatively "closed" lake. What we did plan on was a mass exodus of ducks. That just hasn't happened yet.

Far as I know the 17 guys in the G'Ditch didn't harvest a bird today. May have happened late, but didn't happen while we were there.

Kohler West MC Wrote: Today was not the day...it should have been but it was not! 4 bunches of Canadas tried us and only 1 bunch provided the "Kohler classic" shot at under 20 yards. 8 birds in the bunch...7 down and 1 cripple we could not find. Lots of Snows & Blues moved again today but only 4 ducks spotted. We have changed our thinking from count on the ducks and hope for geese to count on the geese and hope for ducks!

South Ditch saw a lot of geese again and on last word, no harvest.

South to the East Ditch took home one Canada. Didn't get into 'em big but managed to take 1 out of 3 that worked.

That's all for now. Hope the ducks come soon. Check back for the latest and greatest and thanks for all the hits. Email us your report.

Late Movement

Hello again all my technologically advanced and well connected waterfowl enthusiast friends. Welcome to Muck Bottom Outfitters Waterfowl Report. Today was an interesting day to say the least. Just before noon it was 50+ degrees and no wind. No calls received concerning any action in the "Ditches." Then just after noon the wind started blowing and some sky cover moved in. Still no word. About 330PM the phones rang. Reports from two locations had ducks on the move. Not just ducks, but Migrating Mallards in big numbers up and down the Mo River. Lots and lots and lots and lots and lots was one phone call. The other call included the word "thousands." So it appears real movement has begun among the ducks. The weather right now is 42 degrees with minimal West winds. By 6AM the winds are supposed to be whippin' from the NW with gusts up to 20mph. Lets hope there is some action to be had in the AM. Did receive an email report concerning today. I read that RK and the boys got into the Can's again. Let hope tomorrow brings good fortune to all of us "patient" hunters.

Kohler West MC Wrote: No shots fired, 5 bunches of Canadas spotted. 1 bunch of 75 tried real hard to play but must have felt 63 degrees and no wind was not the right look. Tomorrow will be the day!

Check back for the latest and greatest and thanks for all the hits. Email us your report.

Friday Success

Kohler West MC Wrote: 3 Canadas 1 Cackler 3 Snows and 3 ducks...not bad for 67 degrees and little to no wind. Only bad part was missing out on 11 Canadas at 12:00pm, they must have heard the noon whistle and went to see what was going on in town.

Definitely a sign that there are birds around. 67 degrees and got some shootin'. That's all for now keep checkin' back and thanks for all the hits.

Another Report

Received another report from Turkey Day. Waterfowl Wizard wrote: Hunted the Hay ditch on Turkey day. Killed 5 big geese. Ditch Honcho said that many more geese are roosted across the road and must be sittin'. He believes that we only saw a fraction of them come off in the AM. He's out huntin' today. Will keep you posted with any reports.

Post script; We continued to see migrating flocks of dark geese, in the morning, no ducks on the move.

Funny how that works. We've been watching some large groups of geese the last 4 or so days and they come out like clockwork at night but are almost impossible to find in the morning. Maybe the nice weather only has 'em comin' out once a day to feed. Have some promising winds Sunday and some cooler weather and winds Wednesday and Thursday next week. Still holdin' out hope. That's all for now, will keep up with the reports as they come.

High Hopes - Disappointing Results

Hello again all my technologically advanced and well connected waterfowl enthusiast friends. Welcome to Muck Bottom Outfitters Waterfowl Report. After Tuesday's actions we rolled up to the Ditch Wednesday AM with high, high, high, high hopes. The Duck Doctor made a call and we had 3 bodies there hoping for, at the very least, a Thanksgiving Goose to cook up. 9 hours later we walked out with the worst possible wild animal you could come home with...that's right, the SKUNK. Fired only one round. The amount of birds migrating was unbelievable. Lots of Geese, both light and dark. Not very many ducks though. That part was a bit disappointing.

Got an email from a new reporter, down by Boyer Chute. D. Oz Wrote: We have had just a ball in October with the Teal and the Wood ducks. But the November weather is killing us. We've been hunting hard even the nice days. We are getting a few Canada's now and then we've shot four in the last two day's. The last two day's we are seeing a lot of geese mostly snows, but are seeing some ducks. Our season starts out better then last year. So far we have 102 ducks and 12 Canadas. Enjoy your web site, keep up the good work. I hope we all get into the duck's soon.

Kohler West Weds MC Wrote: Today's kill = 12 Canadas (all Cacklers) 7 out of the 1st bunch, 5 from bunch 2 and 1 duck (Pintail). From 11:30am through 3:00pm over 53 bunches of geese were spotted with 90% being dark. We saw 1 duck all day and he rode home with us, the only disappointing part of the day. Breakfast was 5 star!

Kohler West T-Day MC Wrote: 4 Mallard Drakes in a bunch...all in the pile...the only ducks seen. 12 bunches of Canadas with 1 bunch of 8 hanging over the lake when leaving. Timing is everything.

South Ditch Wed: A determined group held out all day. Had 3 Cans come rolling in and they popped up at 'bout 50yds and dropped zero. Had another 5 come a rollin' in later and dropped just one with 5 guns. They ended the day with a bigger group that just wouldn't commit. Again, reporting very few migrating ducks seen and nothing decoyable.

G'Ditch Wed: The part about this group that kills me is we can see 'em shoot every time from our location, sometimes they win, sometimes we win. They had the upper hand all day on Wednesday. When we walked out with zero, they had to have walked out with at least 20 ducks and 7-10 Can's. If that don't make a guy want to turn the shotgun around don't know what would. They were where they needed to be for that day and we just weren't.

That's all I got for now. There was some stories of great huntin' and some stories of disappointment. Let's hope all the birds aren't South. Check back for the latest and greatest and thanks for all the hits.

Are they comin' Yet

Got a great email from our new friend Spitfire and we may still be waiting a while longer even though the weather incoming is making us think it'll be now. Spitfire wrote: I have enjoyed reading your reports. We have a spot a close to you and have had pretty much the same results. Although I spend most of my time in a boat blind, this year has been dismal at best. Thought you might want an update from Up North. NE South Dakota has water and birds everywhere. I just got off the phone with a guy who has been smacking mallards in flooded fields. His report, according to the local people and farmers is that the “Northern Birds have not even arrived yet.” He also saw plenty of pintails and teal. Thought you might want that bit of good news about what’s to come…if it stops. I will be heading to SD in the next ten days and will try and report my results. Keep up the great reports…what would we do without technology.

So there you have it! Don't know what the next couple of days will be bringing from the North, but the Duck God's have to be on our side. We've all put in our time, energy and what seems to be never-ending expense. Surely they are on our side Be posting as we hear today, everyone is out. That's all for now. Keep checking back if you happen to be working and not out. Reports to follow:

1st Report 11 AM MC Wrote: Early indications point toward a poor decision to choose work over hunting today. 3 ducks, 3 Canadas on the pile from the 1st call then, “we’re covered up…I’ll call you back”…from the 2nd.More to follow...

2nd Report 1 PM MC Wrote: Non-stop migration…mostly Snows & Blues with some Canadas and ducks mixed in. “get out here” was not mentioned.

3rd Reoprt 1 PM - Call from South Ditch on the board finally today with one Pintail. Asked them if they knew it was Thanksgiving already!

4th Report 337 PM - Wizard wrote: Spoke to S to E Ditch around 2:00. Pulled nine canadas in after I left. Managed to only down 1. They did indicate a increase in movement after I departed. However, they also said that the ducks are not playing. Won't come off the river. Waiting for a recent report from the hay ditch.

5th Report 400 PM - Done at South Ditch 1 Pintail - lots of geese movin' ducks not playing at all saw a ton more geese, snows and can's, than ducks.

Quite a day developed, I just read that RK and the Legends pounded the birds good today. All parties involved took home limits. They reported many more workable ducks than everyone else. The winds are supposed to hold on thru Thursday. Will be at the Ditch in the AM, hoping to hear Duk Master's shooting calls come true. We need to have limits before running out of shells tomorrow. That's all for now. Check back, throughout the day, to see what's going on. Thanks for all the hits.

If it Ain't Now? When?

Tonight

Rain showers. Lows in the upper 30s. North winds 5 to 15 mph. Gusts up to 30 mph after midnight. Chance of showers near 100 percent.

Tuesday

Breezy...colder. Rain showers in the morning...then rain likely in the afternoon. Highs in the lower 40s. Northwest winds 15 to 25 mph. Chance of precipitation 90 percent.

Tuesday Night

Mostly cloudy. A slight chance of rain and snow in the evening...then a slight chance of rain after midnight. Lows around 30. Northwest winds 15 to 20 mph with gusts to around 30 mph. Chance of precipitation 20 percent.

Wednesday

Breezy. Partly sunny with a 20 percent chance of snow. Highs around 40. Northwest winds 15 to 25 mph.

And to that Duk Master Wrote: Wednesday is the day!! Ducks at 8:12 AM. Geese at 10:41 AM. You heard it here first from the Duk Master!

Tomorrow Might Be Worth It????

Hello again all my technologically advanced and well connected waterfowl enthusiast friends. Welcome to Muck Bottom Outfitters Waterfowl Report. Zero anticipation of action today so the Ditch remained unman'd again, and yes it is November 21. Received a phone call from the Wizard around 4PM this afternoon and he was wondering if anyone had been hunting today. He had some time to waste late this afternoon and was sitting at the South Ditch. Excitement rang in his voice and I could tell something was going on. There was about 2 hours, from 3PM to close, of migrating Mallards. His best guess was that he saw around 5,000 or so high in the sky. On a South wind even! The captain of the Hay Ditch had called Wizard and told him, in exact words, "IT"S ON!" Some new birds have moved into the Valley area and tomorrow is full of high hopes for the Hay Ditch and crew. For us, we'll have to hope the birds are still movin' around Wed and Thurs. With an already short week of work with the Holiday, almost no chance of getting any extra days this week.

Got a report from Kohler West echoing the same hopeful news. MC Wrote: Saturday 11/21 - 7 ducks, 6 Mallards 1 Hollywood. Sunday 11/22 - Zero, no shots fired. Did see 2 bunches of Mallards, no decoying. Never saw or heard a goose either day. Side note…scheduled off all of this week to hunt but altered that plan after yesterday. 3 of the guys are out today and based on their report I will decide on tomorrow. Hunting Wednesday through Sunday regardless.

That's all I got for now. We'll be updating as we hear, check back for the latest and greatest and thanks for all the hits.

No Guns, No Ammo, No Surprises

Hello again all my technologically advanced and well connected waterfowl enthusiast friends. Welcome to Muck Bottom Outfitters Waterfowl Report. Today was pretty much as planned. Slept in, made coffee, drank coffee, sent the kids off and then watched TV. Something came over me around 8AM that I just couldn't pass. I looked at the calendar, saw the clouds and just couldn't help but wonder. So...you guessed it, headed to the Ditch about 830. Loaded up the dog, left the gun, the bag and the calls at home. Figured if I was gonna see some ducks it'd be when I was least preparred. Normally that's how it works, today, not so much. The pooch and I headed in and settled down. Figured I'd give him a taste of the season too. So there we sat and sat and sat and sat and sat and sat and sat some more. After about 2 hours figured he'd had enough. I was just there to pound my thermos of coffee and see for myself the lack of movement. Got some great training in...a good dog needs to be able to handle a slow day. I did grab the dummies and dokens so we got about 30 minutes of retriving in. When you roll down the road a guy usually sees the birds floating around the area. Floating around the unhunted wetland, floating around the competitions layout, and floating around the Ditch after you kick them off riding in. Today...again...not so much. Didn't observe a single duck or goose in 2 hours. Did I somehow wake-up this morning in the spring of 2010? Guess most of us feel like that about now. Here it is November 19th, it's 50+ degrees, there's a ton of corn in the fields and there ain't no sign of waterfowl. You know it's bad when it's been 10 days since the Legends have posted that they were "still waiting." Not even as much as a breath of movement. Just to scratch the itch, drove around the last 30 minutes of light and was not disappointed. Did see some geese feeding and floating into a few fields. So there is still waterfowl on the planet. Just don't really know where they all are. Looked at South Dakota Missouri River fly-overs and they lost a ton of birds from the 2nd to the 12th and haven't yet posted the 19th flight. Squaw creek had 71000 Mallards a week ago and now have 75000. Didn't DU report that there were over 7million Mallards this year? That's an extremely low number for this time of year. The Goose numbers at Squaw Creek are disappointing as it went from 11000 to 300???? Heck maybe they just didn't count at the right time. So there you have it, at least there is something interesting to read, well at least I hope it's interesting. Expecting by morning to get to 18,000 HITS, wow, started the season around 12,000. I'm certain the lack of action is making the numbers climb as we are all clinging on to every available word waiting to hear something good. That's all for now. Check back for the latest and greatest. Email us your report.

Same Song - Different Verse

Hello again all my...what the heck...no need to go into all that. You know where you are and what you're reading. November 16th and 17th Report. The Chuckler Wrote: Ditto here on all accounts. I was so excited by the forecasts and so starved for action.............then so disappointed in the outcome. Went real early Monday with no sign of moisture in the air or on the ground, nice and cloudy and a pretty good north wind.....so thought it could happen anytime. Started hearing geese just before the opening. Then started seeing a few bunches of snows and blues high. Over half the groups were heading north up river at migrating height. Then saw some flocks of ducks al at 2,500-5,000 ft and above heading south. At that point was still convinced it was going to turn into a memorable day. Never did! All told, saw about 20 flocks of ducks and about 20 flocks of geese (mostly snows and blues). Had a small flock of each circle us at 5,000 ft........so did get some practice blowing the call!!!!!!! The flights slowed down as the morning drug on. We quit seeing birds about 9:30-10:00 AM.........pulled the plug about noon. Even though no shots, it felt good to be seeing birds again! On the way to lunch the forecasters assured us that there was just a temporary delay in the rain and snow for the area, with most of the heavy stuff falling to our south. They were still assuring us that we were going to get flight lowering conditions tomorrow. Our spirits refreshed we committed to Tuesday morning. Stars were visible out the bedroom window as I arose Tuesday. Clouds were clearing out as we walked to the blind. Had 3, blue wings, about 10 yards off the deck at sunrise.........waited for another pass that never came. Ended up being the only potential shot of the morning. Saw about 2 or 3 other small bunches of mallards trading around, but we apparently didn't get enough of the right practice with the calls yesterday! We sent them all your way! About 8:00 the sun came out in beautiful full force......announcing the beginning of a "blue bird day". About 9:30 we saw and heard a group of a dozen Canadians loafing down river looking for a spot. They were just over the trees........ and we pleaded with them to come closer! They wouldn't have any......and continued on down river. About 10 minutes later they were coming back up river, on the Nebraska side. For a few moments, I thought perhaps they might have reconsidered our offer. Not to be. We sent them on toward Tekamah. Nothing for 2 hours.......so quit at noon. All in all........ was hoping for more.......but good to see some birds. It is hard to keep an addicted waterfowler down. What amazes me.........is how can the forecasts be so far, far off......for not one........but two days in a row???????? Had planned to check in with you all earlier. Good looking Canadas on the web site!!!!! Keep up the good work! Maybe should have been in the blind this morning???!!!

Keep checking back for the latest and greatest and thanks for all the hits. Send us your report!

Hot, Mild or Fire?

Hello again all my technologically advanced and well connected waterfowl enthusiast friends. Welcome to Muck Bottom Outfitters Waterfowl Report. Well we all saw the weather yesterday and it looked and felt like it was a "fire" day. A day where you just should be out regardless of prior commitments. Then the phone didn't ring, the emails didn't come and my attitude turned from "fire" to "hot", still thinking they were flying and everyone was just too busy to call. Then last night I got on the net, counted birds in South Dakota, counted birds in Mound City, and tried to find someone posting something successful from the day and nothing.

Then I got an email titled November 16th Ditch Report: Had calls and emails flying yesterday. Snows moving high, Canada's moving high and Specks and Snows landing at the Hay Ditch. A note from Kearney had and influx of "chickens" (cacklers). But, around 11AM, when it was all said and done and the phone slowed down, the final total from all the emails and phone calls was a whopping 2 Greenwing teal shot by 1 guy out of the South Ditch. Pretty impressive for November 16th. One the bright side, there has to be thousands of birds still to come. That's all from the Duk Master.

And then - got another email! Waterfowl Wizard wrote: Spoke to the short guy.....He just returned from N. Dakota on a pheasant shoot. He reported millions of geese in the Garrison area (snows and canadas). He also said that he saw very few birds in S. Dak. on the way back. Looks like we will be waiting a little while longer......................................WE NEED A WINTER STORM!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just like that, it turns "mild", and "mild" only because you could actually see birds flying and migrating, other than that pretty much a bust all around. Definitely not the reports we were hoping for. That's all I got for now, check back for the latest and greatest and thanks for all the hits. Email us your report.

Gotta Find A Way

Hello again all my technologically advanced and well connected waterfowl enthusiast friends. Welcome to Muck Bottom Outfitters Waterfowl Report. After the lack of migratory bird action we decided to keep a watchful eye out around the area just to see if we could find some birds. The early part of the week brought a few new birds into the area. Some scouting W-TH-FRI-SAT lead us to the field that a fair amount of Can's were using. About 5PM Sat night 2 determined souls wandered around with nothing but a "yes" on their minds. After a couple hours chasing tractors and knocking on doors they got the "yes" we were all hoping for. Today started out early, and we pulled into the field around 545AM. "Six poles East, Four poles South. Six poles East, Four poles South." You see we just had to be on the "X". We unloaded the trailer, set the deeks, set the gear and poured a cup of coffee. Before shooting time we saw 5 groups of high snows, 730 and it was time. 2 Can's working hard, swinging, working, swinging, working, still working, should've shot but it was behind us, and BOOM...gone just like that with no shot. What happened? Chalked it up to bad luck and settled back in. 30 minutes later 10 came rollin' at us, gave us one swing and then down, 150 yds away. It's around 830 now and we were planning on all the birds around 930. Are we in the wrong spot, are the birds we've been seeing at night feeding in a different spot in the morning? The overthinking never stops! After about 10 mins and a lot of wondering, they got up and flew away. We decided to stay put. Just a few moments later here they come 'bout 100 of 'em, comin' right at us. Worked for about 15 minutes and kept going behind us, 3 or 4 would swing low and then pop up...they disappeared to the North and no shots fired. We jumped out of the laydowns and moved everything about 25 yds away in front of us hoping that would work. Not 10 minutes later here comes about 30. Setup and dumped, managed to coax them right to us with no swings. Two with feet down and 9 yds away, Take' Em. Managed to dump 3. Should've had more. After chasing a cripple down we had 3 in the bag and were thinking it was over. We had made the right choice by staying on the "x" from the night before. Just after 9AM we had another 7 come-a-rollin' towarad us and dropped 3. That's all she wrote. Took a 3 man limit home with us and made the wives happy gettin' home around 10AM. Live to fight another day! Saw some high bunches of snows most of the morning so I'm thinking a little push is beginning. MC Wrote: Saturday - Snows & Blues on the move. Saw a total of 2 ducks, both rode home with us…the only 2 birds to get over the decoys.Sunday - Snows & Blues day two. 1 Blue in the decoys to start the day…3 shot dispatch technique (2 warning - 1 killing) Had a couple bunches of S&B’s look and sail for a few passes. Saw 2 bunches of ducks…killed 4. 1 lone Canada was issued a warning shot and then put down at 15 yards.Now to the fun part…16 Canadas tried to interrupt breakfast…belly up at less than 20 yards right in front of the blinds! 6 piled up. A Kohler classic decoy and shot! Thanks RK for the lessons!

Might be worth the trip the next couple of days. Our new friend The Chuckler agrees: Out most of the day today. Saw about 20 flocks of snow and blues migrating very high, seen mostly before noon. Most flocks in the 20-50 bird size. Saw one flock of about 200 around noon extremely high. Had about 30 mallards on the pond at sunrise and managed to kill a hen. That was it for ducks...only saw 1 other duck flock flyin' the river. Quit at 330PM. Tomorrow and Tuesday could be the days to be there. Send me some birds! Regards, The Chuckler.

Sounds as it he saw the same birds we were seeing. We both left our spots thinking that tomorrow and Tuesday could be successful. Gonna wait til we hear something before making a Tuesday trip to the Ditch. That's all for now, there will me more reports in the AM, so check back for the latest and greatest and thanks for all the hits.

Great Email - We are Not Alone!

Hey: Just a quick Thanks!!!!!!!! for putting your web site up.  Good work!!!!!!!  Please keep it up. Glad to know there are outfits in the area that are experiencing the same kinds of outcomes that we are.  I had real high hopes for the DU Migration Report on the Net as a source of information like yours..... but that hasn't really worked out.  I really enjoy reading about your hunts and value the info, particularly since your nearby. We hunt just off the Missouri a few miles below Desoto Bend.  So we are just 20-30 miles south of you.  Been waterfowl hunting there for about 15 years.  However, I personally, have been hunting on, or near the muddy MO for about 40 years, from Plattsmouth to Decatur.  We have friends that hunt on the Platte near Yutan, others on warm water near Leshara, and others in The Basin near Hastings.  It has been very hard over the years to compare notes with them......as they are in very different environments and have always seemed to do much better on ducks.  Until the last few seasons...... we have always done better on geese.  Have never experienced years like the last few here and our results have been on a decline for about the last 10.....even though I hunt more....... particularly since I retired 7 years ago.  Wish I knew what was happening with the waterfowl numbers and migration.  The only birds I see more of are wood ducks, and Canada's, they seem to have increased on the "MO" every year for the last 10.  Every other waterfowl species I see on this river is way down, in numbers seen, from when I was 15-16 years old.....and that is not selective sorting of my memory. Where are the bigger ducks and geese this year??????? or for that matter the last 3-5 years.  Reports that I get say they have moved west in their migration flights.  When I was a kid there very few migrating snows and blues in CO and the western half of NE....now they are there by the thousands, spring and fall.  I finally see that the Feds are acknowledging this.......changes in the flyway.  At least this is mentioned on the Internet Desoto Bend front page, they talk about snow geese moving west.  But what about the ducks?  I have been up there asking questions for the last five years.  I get no answers. We were out this morning (Saturday) north wind, low ceiling....weather looked promising........about 8:00.....saw 1 migrating group of about 50 snows and blues, up high........one decoyable flock of 6 snows about 9:00 ...... we screwed up.......and that was it.  Not one duck!!!!!!!  No one popped a cap!!!!!!!  Quit about 11:00.  Back tonight or tomorrow. Keep up the good work and pray for birds!!!!!! The Chuckler

Notes to Pass the Time

Hello again all my technologically advanced and well connected waterfowl enthusiast friends. Welcome to Muck Bottom Outfitters Lack of Waterfowl Report. Got around on the net today and found some reports here and there concerning waterfowl. After hours and hours of searching for something I finally found it...there it was...nothing...nothing...nothing. No one's talking about anything. South Dakota hunters are talking about the fields being flooded and full of crops, North Dakota is wondering about where the birds are and us lonely hunters in Nebraska are pretty much dark. Did manage to get a couple emails that I thought would pass along. Our old friend Husker turned Gamecock wrote: Would be sweet if you could add me next year to the reports. I will be hunting a pit near Morse Bluff on the Platte and would be happy to give y0u what I'm seeing. As for now, I still stuck in South Carolina. I'll be back for good next summer. The hunting here sucks! I have put in for a lottery duck hunt the past 6 years that the SC DNR manages. I was fortunate enough to have my name drawn this year for the famous ACE Basin on the coast near Charleston. This is a major wintering ground for tons of Atlantic Flyway ducks and geese. The hunt isn't until January 14th but I can't wait. This will be the closest thing to real waterfowl hunting like at home in Nebraska. Your website rules, only wish you had a prostaff that I could join. Thanks
It's great to know that we sad soles here in Nebraska are not the only one's longing for waterfowl.
Another great note came from Waterfowl Wizard. Good thing about this note is that we may get the rest of the story and get something good to hang on to. Wizard wrote: Hay Ditch is ready for action...The captain has it looking really good. Me, Dork-Master and Prof. Binelli (aka Swim Suit Model) are heading out Saturday AM to clean up on any geese in the area. I've been told that the Sillo-Sock man and his crack research and development team have come up with a new type of "flyer". Prototype will be in the action on Saturday. Hay Ditch Honcho assures me that it will revolutionize goose killin'. Details to follow........

Well there's at least one group of hunters who are confident. The rest of us in fixed locations, with no time to scout, are stuck. What's a guy gotta do to get invited on a sure thing? You'd think all the props they get would lead to at least a "maybe we can work something out." Oh well, I'll just keep writing about it hoping there's a revolutionary invention coming our way. Course don't do much good right now. You could send us 100 doz deeks and there ain't a duck in the bottoms that'll see 'em. The weather looks a bit on the promising side as I managed to find a weather report with rain/snow mix in the forecast for Monday. Didn't see which way it's comin' from. The seasons luck will having in coming up from the South, I'm sure. Keep a watchful eye to the sky and your ear to the phone. When they start flyin' there is no room for tomorrow! That's all for now. Check back for the latest and greatest and thanks for over 17.000 HITS.

Mum is the Official Word

Hello again all my technologically advanced and well connected waterfowl enthusiast friends. Welcome to Muck Bottom Outfitters Waterfowl Report. It seems as if the season is at least 2 weeks behind schedule. While early reports had duck numbers and success high, there ain't nothin' goin' on right now. I heard a question posed to a fellow waterfowler from his dad who has a cabin by Niobrara. He asked him if the waterfowl migration was over already. You see he generally sees all the birds coming down the Missouri River, he thought maybe it was over already and he just missed them all this year. Sorry to report they ain't here yet! Did manage to receive a bit of successful news from Kohler West.

MC Wrote: A COMBINE WARNING has been issued in our area. Saturday - 7 Ross at shootin' time, 5 down - one banded bird. 3 ducks added later. Sunday - 1 Blue Goose...never saw a duck! Best B&G since the creation of the fork...worth the trip.

Thank goodness somebodys shootin' something somewhere! The ditch has been unoccupied for almost a week. One brave sole and a buddy rollin' out there tomorrow just to see what's going on. The offical quote was, "if there's anything even remotely close to shootin' range we're firing." Gotta love the spirit. Just got done reading the next 10 days of weather...and can you believe it...it's not changing at all. Sure it might get a little cold at night, sure there might be a 20% chance of rain here or there, sure the wind may be out of the North for 1/2 a day, but there ain't nothin' goin' on to make a guy think that waterfowl is on the way. We've officially shot 1/2 the birds this year as last year at this time. Important life changing decisions have been made and it's set in stone. When the word comes, no more work until the huntin's done. The end of duck season is creeping in , we are officially 40 days away, and with the weather forecasts, the 40 is gonna turn into 30 with little to no change. Best news now is that the crops are slowly coming out so the chance of a "fly-over" decreases every day that goes by with no push.
That's all I got got now, thanks for tuning in. Check back for the latest and greatest and definitely a big thanks for all the hits. Send us your report!

Definition of Rot

Hello again all my technologically advanced and well connected waterfowl enthusiast friends. Welcome to Muck Bottom Outfitter Waterfowl Report. Well yesterdays hopeful news got us rollin' before 530 heading out to move deeks and set up for the South winds. Got 'em all moved with 'bout 2 mins to go. Nestled in just in time for a Drake Pintail, gave two good swings and just as the alarm went off, he rolled out. Shortly thereafter a baker's dozen rolled by and there it was, those words we whisper on a marginal, or lack of, wind day "one more pass." Yep you guessed it, should've taken the shot. Passed up two shots inside of 20yds to wait for their feet to go down and just like that they were gone. Managed to get in a single gaddy and that was all she wrote. One shot, one duck. There were far less birds today than yesterday. Little did we know, but 9AM was the last we would see of any workable ducks. Occupied the ditch until darn near closing time. 64 degrees walkin' out was a far cry from 27 when we walked in. The strong South winds didn't help move anything around and for a short time we even had white-caps. Just two small migrating group of ducks observed today. Made a little drive past Desoto just before sundown and nothing observed comin' out for the nightly feed. Looks like this warm weather is going to hold and no breaks in the pattern for at least 10 more days. It's gonna be the middle of November before we know it and the early season hasn't really shaped up to be all that we hoped for. Last year we shot over 1/2 our ducks for the year in October. Really hoping that doesn't ring through for the 2009 season. There has been plenty of good hunts in the area, but our timing and schedules just haven't been in sync with Mother Nature. That's all for now. Check back for the latest and greatest and thanks for all the hits. Email us your report.

Signs of Life

Hello again all my technologically advanced and well connected waterfowl enthusiast friends. Welcome to Muck Bottom Outfitters Waterfowl Report. Good winds today gave high hope. Disappointment was not present today, finally. The walk down kicked off about 30 Mallards from the pond, a nice sight to see and the first real sign of migrating birds. Up to this point all we've been kicking off has been brown ducks and teal. Within minutes the first bird of the day was down. Within another few minutes the second bird of the day was down.
A great start to the morning. I could say the day ended there and should as there were no more successful shoots. So there you have it! Two ducks. Saw migrating snow geese, migrating mallards and even some more specs. Movement, up to this point, has been not existent since the uncharacteristic opening day. There were chances after the first 15 minutes but the sun played havoc with one man's depth perception. You see you can only follow the birds in so far before the East facing blind gets the best of you. Looking up after that will only make your face light up like the Christmas Tree in Time Square. After experiencing the first couple groups of decoying birds and the 10 yd shot that accompanied them looking down away from the sun seemed to be logical. However, when you imagine where the birds are before flipping the lids, you should be certain that you are right. What a difference 4 or 5 seconds makes with dumping birds. The bloods rushing, the birds are cupped and dumpin, the sun forces you to take your eyes off the birds...but that last look had 'em comin', you wait for just a couple seconds thinkin' they should be there, you flip...and...(insert expletive)...what you thought was 10-20 yds turns into 50-60. Shots fire out of frustration and nothing drops. Not only did this happen once, it happened twice. First time on a small bunch of Gaddy's and second time on 30 or so New Mallards. Now while you may be laughing about that, you know it's happened to all of us at one point or another. Whether it was the sun, a cell phone, an itch, fumbling for your call, or looking down too make sure you safety was off, it's happened! To all of us! The day ended a bit short as much of the early movement slowed to a bit of a crawl and a nap just seemed like a better idea. The bunks haven't yet been installed so a trip home to the couch was the afternoon plan. Good signs of mother natures clock tickin' on the birds. Goin' out tomorrow with the South wind forcasted and will definitely move the spread. That's all for now. Check back for the latest and greatest and thanks for all the hits.

Valuable Lesson Learned - Should Really Know Better

Hello again all mt technologically advanced and well connected waterfowl enthusiast friends. Welcome to Muck Bottom Outfitters Waterfowl Report. A 5 am wake up call and not much wind and clear skies. Decided to head out anyway. Arrived at the Ditch 15 mins before shootin' time and hurried in. The sounds of ducks and geese were everywhere. Lots of birds flipping around early and continued on for over an hour and a half. Was a loner today so I decided not to move the 100+ decoy spread and boy was that a mistake! North wind spread on South wind day. Sat and sat and sat listening to every spread within 5 miles light up the skies. The bottoms sounded like a shooting range this morning. Managed to empty just once on a gang of "bills" and no luck. What a frustrating morning! There are 5 times more birds here now than there was just over a week ago. Saw lots of Can's and heard Snows but never managed to see them. Wrapped up the day from 3PM to close and shot one beautiful spoonbill, so no skunk. Saw plenty of birds again and the new wetland is holding all of them, man I wish those guys would start hunting. Heard a couple reports from the weekend.

South Ditch: Friday Professor Binelli handled 3 Big Can's late in the day. Was hoping to get some action on ducks, but all he could do was watch more Can's piled in without a means of taking. He was the only one in the Dtich. Saturday, managed to wrap up 2 Geese,one banded, and a couple ducks.

South to the East Ditch: Saturday hammered 3 out of 3 Can's that came off the river and also took 4 ducks home with them.

Kohler West MC wrote: A killing crew this weekend handled just about every bird that got close. Ducks on Saturday, geese on Sunday.   Saturday - 14 ducks decoyed and 12 went on the pile…1 of 3 on GWT, 6 for 6 on Mallards and 5 for 5 on Gadwall.Sunday - 9 geese decoyed and 8 went on the pile…4 of 5 on Ross and 4 for 4 on monster sized Canadas. (Six sunburns also recorded

Not a whole lot going on around the area from what I gather. Today couldn've been decent but lack of preparation and laziness will never, ever, never, ever kill ducks. Treat everyday like it's "the day." No reason to be there if you don't! The wind switched just before sun down and 10-15 from the N tomorrow with some clouds. Although temps aren't cooperating the wind will be with gusts up to 25. Knock 'em down if your out. That's all for now. Check back for the latest and greatest and thanks for all the hits.