Trick or Treat

It's Halloween and how fitting for this mornings' hunt.  I would compare it to Trick or Treating on Oct 30, last night.  One would assume that you could dress up, knock on doors, and get some candy, even though no one would really be ready for you.  They wouldn't turn you away, but it would be work and the results would be far less favorable than waiting the one additional day to get to Oct 31st. 
We took home another 4 ducks and our only volley was 1 minute after sun-up.  The results were acceptable but sure was a long couple hours without really seeing anything.  We didn't have the normal hour of duck flipping around and not a single bird before sun-up.  Not much in the way of migration again today.  The weather is holding steady until about Thursday when it dips just a bit.  That's all I got for now.  Check back for the latest and greatest and thanks for all the hits.

And Just Like That...

...the migratory action was pretty much over.  After a morning Wednesday/Thursday seeing bunch after bunch of high flying geese, it ended abruptly today with very little movement in the way of continued migration.  The wind is now from the South and it's back to reality after a brief cool down and favorable winds.  The warm air will once again set in and this warmer October/November is going to continue.  A quick hunt this morning, ending at 9AM, reminded us of just how unstable and un-duck-hunter-esk this fall has really been.  Managed to scrape together a half a limit consisting of one teal and one wigeon and one duck carcass.  A slight oversight in the size of ammunition thrown toward the heavens left the first teal almost unrecognizable.  Made and adjustment from 3 1/2 BB Heavy Metal to 2 3/4 inch 6 shot for the reaming round.  Much better choice.

Heard from the South Ditch, and they never fired a single shot and saw less than a handful of groups of ducks, no group with more than 10.  So there you have it, today's action, or lack thereof, for this Friday before Halloween.  Any change in weather is not really predicted for the next 10 days so slow goin' is probably what we're gonna have for a little longer. 

That's all for now, check back for the latest and greatest and thanks for all the hits.

1st Wave Underway

Today started about 3 times before it actually started.  Once at about 1130PM last night, again at 141AM this morning, again at 323AM and finally the alarm went off at 5AM and this time it was time to stay awake.  That's what I call anticipation.  The big winds and late reports from yesterday made it tough to get a good nights sleep before it would all start this morning.  After exiting the trucks you could hear specks and snows by the hundreds flying above in the black sky, only adding to the excitement of the first real migratory hunting hopes of the year.  The sounds continued through moving deeks, resetting deeks and trying to find just what happened to the deeks in last nights big winds. After about 35 minutes of getting things back together we settled in, turned off the lights and poured a cup of coffee.  The sounds continued.  Whistling wings above gave way to splashes in the pond, as early morning risers were well inside gun range.  Two minutes before LST we had 13 ducks on the pond, 4 Mallards and 9 Teal.  The little one's were a bit of a surprise after yesterdays monsoon style winds.  In the final two minutes just one lone hen Mallard was left.  Just as we prepared to "yell" her up here comes some gaddy's hot and heavy like a dog in heat.  We waited for them and unloaded.  The only duck that managed to fall was the Hen that was already sitting.  She popped up after the first shot and a quick swing and shot dropped her down.  FRUSTRATING when they are that close and you just can't get your bearings the first time around.  The action continued for about 2 hours, and we had 5 in the bag.  One Mallard, Two Blue Bill, Two Teal and One Gadwall.  We sat and sat even after the direct action seemed to have stopped.  Nothing really paid much attention to us after the sun got up and glaring.  We stuck it out until right at Noon and then figured we could get home and make the wives happy by cleaning or doing laundry or...yeah right, straight Night Night Time. 
The snows and specks are moving.  There was always something in the stratosphere, as long as you could focus.  Saw very few migrating ducks and not a single bunch of migrating Can's.  It appears that the storms and winds up north got a lot of the early one's moving this way.  The weather is switching back to above normal for at least the next week, so what's around will stay around.  Might see a few that didn't stick around roll back North tomorrow with the 35+ Southerly winds predicted. 
South Ditch - Just one hunter this morning, much to his surprise.  Professor Binelli hunted 'til 10 and rolled out of there with his limit of Can's and 3 ducks to even out the game carrier on the way out.  I'm tellin' ya that guy gets more birds by himself than anyone I know.  He should write a book on the "right" days to hunt, he rarely misses when the time is right. 
Oh, and the "X" goose hunt we turned down went exactly as planned.  They were limited out by 830AM.  There will be another time.  That's all for now, check back for the latest and greatest or check us out on FACEBOOK.

Apocalypse Now

I have a dream...

Or perhaps a vision, or nightmare or false hope or whatever it is that one hangs on to when the N wind is blowing and there's weather coming and it's late October.

With varied success across the bottoms and further South, just what will tomorrow bring?  3 ducks in the Ditch today, all teal, and quit by 930AM.  3 ducks out of the South Ditch today from 1PM to close (gaddy & 2 mallards) and no one hunting at the G'Ditch (we don't think).  Who knows whats gonna happen.  I'll tell you this much, turned down a "on the X" goose hunt for the morning with promise of completion by 9AM just to hunt this wind and what appears to be a good push of new birds.  Observed just a small push of birds today until the clouds came in, then it was prevalent, maybe just cause we could see 'em with the clouds in the sky.  Just after dark the captain of the Hay Ditch was giving me play-by-play on Geese and Ducks piling into fields near his killin' spot.  Also mentioned specks and snows, those are definitely, without question, new birds.

We are fully committed for tomorrow with breakfast and a croc of chili for lunch.  Hoping to get to the chili!  The skies are supposed to clear by morning and don't know if that's good or bad.  Wind is favorable and a bit more "workable" than today with those gusts we had up to 50mph.  A guy can live with 15MPH but 50's a bit out of control.  Tomorrow should be a good shootin' day.  Got a funny feeling it will turn into the first all day "rot" of the season.  And don't worry...we will be discussing the 930AM leaving of a certain hunter, who knows better than to leave from the Ditch on a weather day like we had today.  Didn't even have to common courtesy to roll back up there once the clouds came in.  Amazed he's still married with that extremely low level of COMMITMENT!

That's all for now.  Check back for the latest and greatest and CHECK US OUT ON FACEBOOK!

Mission: Impossible?

Today's post begins with a mission from Duk Master regarding the most recent "Hello World" post. 

"Ok some of those countries make sense. Russia and China(Mandarin Duck) make a little sense. But what kind of birds or should I clarify, what kind of waterfowl does a guy shoot in Slovenia or Latvia? This we need an answer to. Your mission, Not So Sure Shot, should you choose to accept it, is to find the answers."

Slovenia : Mostly bird watching advocates.  In order to hunt in Slovenia one must first undergo, what we would refer to here in the US as, a hunter's safety course.  Now this is no easy task as the program lasts 1 full year before you are able to discharge a weapon for hunting purposes.  Whether by gun or bow, it's a year.  Slovenia is thought of mainly as wintering grounds for both ducks and geese.  By the end of the migration you will find birds in small numbers grouped no larger than 20,000.  Among the inhabitants of Slovenia are: the Horned Grebe (aka the Slovenian Grebe) Goldeneye, Tufted ducks, Mergansers and a large number of Teal.  You will also find White-fronted geese and the hard to decoy and much sought after Bean Goose.  Not many waterfowl hunters or outfitters in the region.  Which is why my research and training has led me to believe our hits from the area are from birders, bird watchers and perhaps even some well studied Ornithologists. 

Latvia:  Whole different story here.  Waterfowl are a very popular kind of game, and the opening of the hunting season on waterfowl in August could be considered more like a holiday for more than 19,000 active hunters of Latvia.  I contacted my friends from Latvia; Teodors, Mikelis and Kristaps of SIA Latvijas Safari Klubs (pictured above with nice harvest of geese).  They were kind enough to send me the picture and explain how I could possibly get it on a Wild Duck Hunt and Geese free of charge.  For 450 Euro ($626.04 USD) one could get in the possibility of free duck/goose hunting and they take care of the following:

1st day – transfer from the airport Riga to the hunting place;
2nd- 4th day – hunting;

5th day – transfer to airport;
Full board and accommodation;
Transportation during a hunt;
Hunt organization – 3 days;
Hunting permit;
Ammunition;
Possibility to hunt wild duck and geese free of charge
Not included:
Airline tickets;
Lodging, meals, travels, sightseeing trips - before and after hunting;
Alcoholic beverages, airport taxes & other items of personal nature;
Additional trophies (depending on season);
Gratuities.

Sounds like a deal to me, spend thousands of dollars to maybe shoot birds.  Just how is that different from hunting here?

So there you have it another "no birds" report from your most trusted news source Muck Bottom Outfitters.  There is snow and 35-50 MPH NNW winds from Aberdeen, SD all the way up to Fargo, ND all day tomorrow and into tomorrow night.  The forecast here says 17 MPH NW winds here Thursday so I'm gonna call it.  Thursday is the Day!  To take a line from a fellow blogger, I wouldn't miss Thursday for Nothing.  Well I might miss it for Latvia?  That's all for now, check back for the latest and greatest and thanks for all the hits.

Mission ACCEPTED and COMPLETE!

Hello World!

As we're trying to pass the time until something happens, it's simply amazing what you can find out about whose takin' a peak at what appears to now be, the worlds most trusted news source Muck Bottom Outfitters Waterfowl Report.  Look out CNN!  The map above shows where all of our hits are coming from. Below you will find the rundown, for the month of October, of the whereabouts of fellow technologically advanced and well-connected waterfowl enthusiast friends:

United States 1,914
Canada 28
Japan 27
Russia 26
South Korea 21
Germany 20
Hong Kong 20
Portugal 19
Philippines 14
Australia 11
Denmark 9
India 9
Slovenia 4
China 2
South Korea 2
Latvia 2
Russia 2
Denmark 1
France 1

There is a section of this blog that you cannot see titled "stats".  It gives you information concerning whose watching. When the night started we figured it was time write something, but didn't know what to talk about.  After searching and searching around the control panel of this blog, we found it.  Some real information!  Something to write about! There must be some sort of translator out there that allows this cheap entertainment to be understood internationally.  Now I have no idea why someone in China would be reading this.  I mean, other than the outstanding creativity and intelligence displayed, there's really not a whole lot here!  Did you even know they shot ducks in China?  I thought it was just cats, or maybe dog, or whatever it is that makes Sweet and Sour Chicken taste so good.  Could just be the "sweet" or the "sour" I guess.  The "chicken" could just be the "chicken".
What is most interesting for me is that there are people from the "meca" of waterfowling, Canada, reading this.  Almost any day they can drive less than an hour and shoot more birds than most of us do in a whole season. Goes to show you that Netflix, Dish Network and Time Warner are all missing the boat on the entertainment needs of our allies just to the North.  Get up there, there is money to be made!  With that my successful ramblings will abruptly end.
As for the last few days of hunting;  Nada, Nothing, Zip Zilch.  If you came here for a duck/goose report, I'm sorry.  Got nothing to say!  They haven't really started to push yet, and nothing was harvested over the weekend.  Sure hope the ducks start flyin' South soon. I don't know how much more creativity one is capable of. That's all for now. Check back for the latest and greatest and thanks for all the hits. If you're from another country and reading this, send us an email, we'd love to hear from you.

Weather Got the Best of US

Non stop ducks 15 minutes before shootin' time got a guys hopes up a bit.  There were all species of smaller ducks flippin' around just before it was legal.  Even had a drake Wood Duck land in the Deeks.  Then it happened.  Shootin' time.  Had one big bunch of teal land outside the deeks and a surprising group of 4 Mallards that escaped any and all steel.  They left unscathed,  not because of shooting but because "one more swing" was on their side.  Passed up two decent shots and regretted it for the rest of the time out there.  Left without firing a shot.
"Not So Sure Shot - Have you not learned anything in the past years? One more swing is the kiss of DEATH and not for the ducks. TAKE EM WHEN YOU CAN!". Said our friend DukMaster.

Saw about 10 or so bunches of migrating ducks way up there, normally you would complain about the heights, but it's a good sign of things to come.  Ran by Desoto today and saw snow geese that haven't been there the last few times by and 5 huge swans.  There seemed to be an influx of Canada Geese over there but observed very few ducks.   Hoping to fire some shots again this weekend.  That's all for now, check back for the latest and greatest and thanks for all the hits. 

Very Picky Day

The Duck season is finally starting.  It's not a huge start like last years snow storm on opening day but it's sure nice to see some new ducks around the area.  Not much in the way of Mallards, but plenty of Pintail and Teal still floating around and pushing South.  Had to be choosy today cause the amount of Pintail around.  Started the day with a drake followed by a couple teal and then a hen.  One guy walked out with 4 ducks and left early.  Still a ton of Shovelers around and decided not to fire at them today.  Was impressed with the shooting today at more season-like and realistic targets.  The B52's from Sunday weren't quite as hard to hit.  A nice small push of little ducks has begun.  Been hearing conflicting stories about the weather the next 10-14 days, dare I say "Duck Doctor" anytime soon?  Best refrain from that for now!  We are just 10 days away from November, which is hard to believe as nice as it's been for the fair weather lovers, me I hate it.  I'm certain most of you do too.  The first week of November generally brings a push of Mallards, but I'm guessing it may be moved back just a bit.  We'll be back in the Ditch tomorrow and a post will come again for those of you who are interested.  That's all for now, check back for the latest and greatest and thanks for all the hits!

Get By With a Little Help from My Friends

Everyone has a guy they know that knows just about everyone within about 50 miles of your location, right?  After some aggressive scouting and watching, a field was found and the only thing missing was permission.  We called our left hander out of the bull pen and he came through.  Made a call on behalf of MuckBottom and through osmosis, we got our permission.  Without him who knows, we could've been shooting "smiley's" wondering just how to properly prepare them for a meal.
We rolled out of town bright and early and found ourselves set up about 30 minutes 'til shooting time.  Had 8 guys today and were hoping that there would be 24 in the bag when we left.   We stood around and slowly sipped some coffee as we reminisced about days gone by.  Days when you could count on sitting in the Ditch in Middle October and the only thing keeping you from taking home a limit of Gaddy's or Wigeon was your shooting ability.  Seems like we're a ways from that right now.  After exchanging pleasantry's and evacuation of coffee we jumped in.  Not many sounds early on, and very little action.  We sat around for quite some time wondering just when the traffic would start.  Got a phone call from DukMaster about 7:40 wondering if anything was going on.  "Nothing yet, probably about 8:10" was the response.  "Well call me back at 8:11."  Here comes the first group of 5, coming from our right, just over the horizon.  They passed in front, a bit tall, swung behind, got a bit further out on the swing-back and then down they go.  Yep that was easy.  Just kidding, down they go about 75 yds off the mark.  Here it comes.  The over thinking!  While we were all relatively quiet about where those birds just set down, you could pretty much hear all the hamster wheels turnin'.  Did we miss, what didn't they like, should we have called more, flagged less, called less, flagged more...the possibilities are endless!   Should we walk them off, should we send the dog, should the guy closest throw a couple warning shots their way?  Then a few honks from the South quickly averted our attention, from the wandering/feeding geese already down, to the sky.  Never mind the group 75 yds away, these baby's are gonna play.  Sure enough they did, don't know how many we dropped, but the action from that point on was fast and furious.  Didn't pick up a single bird until we thought we were done.  After 3 groups of hard approaching and decoying birds we picked 'em all up and had 19.  Still 5 to go.  Had more birds coming as we were lining up the carnage so we hopped back in for round 4.  A bit of a tougher shot this time and we only grounded 3.  That's 22, we're almost home.  Oh and by the way, after 19 two guys put the guns down and began filming the rumble in the jungle.  So we got 20-21-22 on film.  Only two left.  We had a 14 yr old with us today, as we almost always do, and we decided to put all the guns away except his.  The last two he was gonna have to shoot, didn't matter how long we had to stay.  Next bunch was a group of 5, belly up about 30 yds in front of him.  Three shots and dumped 2, just hammered the first one and had to chase the 2nd one down a bit.  Got those on film too!  That's all she wrote.  We started shooting about 7:45 and were done by 8:15.  Fast and Furious may be a bit of an understatement.  Remember that phone call from DukMaster?  Little did we know that just 4 minutes after 8:11 we would be done and ready to pack up.  Truly a great morning.
Birds 20-22 are on video below.  Please keep your laughter to a minimum.  We didn't hire anyone to film and certainly no one to call.  But hey, proves that what sounds good to the human ear, doesn't necessarily sound good to a goose.  You can't learn to call like that on stage!  That's good-hard-aggressive-feet down- shoot 'em in the eye goose calling derived from years of watching and listening to geese call in the wild.   And for all who are wondering, yes these are more than likely local geese mixed with early migrants.   The NRCS USDA Wetland Reserve Program doesn't pay $3300/acre (or more) to develop wetlands that don't hold local birds, or stop early migrators.  Hunt 'em when you can - where you can.
That's all for now, the migration will start soon. Check back for the latest and greatest and thanks for all the hits.

Short Day

Hello again all my technologically advanced and well connected waterfowl enthusiast friends.  Wednesday was a bit disappointing as we had huge N NW winds most of the day Tuesday and all night.  When the sun came up the wind wasn't blowing at all.  There are still fair numbers of small ducks around and even starting to see a few Pintail.  Took home a couple tasty little teal this morning and unloaded on some pinney's with no luck.  They were just a bit tall, thought they'd come down but they didn't.  Is it time to re-think the Patternmaster?  Workable birds were just 4 can's before shootin' time and only 2 small groups of teal.  Hammered two out of one group and watched the other group get blasted by the G'Ditch.  They came our way, landed outside the deeks, got up, flew toward them, and with cannon's-a-blazin' they dropped 4, kept calling and called the other 3 or so back and dropped them all too.  Decided it was time to go after that!  Didn't get skunked and we're gettin' close to last years total already, which ain't sayin' much, but it sure is good to know we may be on our way back to normalcy.
Won't be in the Ditch again until Sunday, but things are starting to look up.  The weather is starting to get a bit colder and the Southern Portion of Canada has large numbers of white geese.  The Cormorants are flying at a relatively steady pace so the real birds have to be just a bit behind.  The SSPI (Sure Shot Predictive Index) says; Within the next 10 days we should start seeing the brown ducks.  Wow, really goin' out a limb there!  That will put us toward the end of October and really about right on schedule as in years past, excluding last season of course.  As we continue to see the water on the river stay at a high level there are new ponds, sloughs and run-offs everywhere.  All the water should get the birds shifting back on the eastern path and hopefully a more "normal" migration.  Only time will tell.  Keep and eye in the sky and check back for the latest and greatest. 

Great Sunday and a What you'd expect Monday

It's that time again, time for news from your most trusted news source Muck Bottom Outfitters.  445 AM was awful early Sunday but the price is a small one to pay to get on some geese.  Over the hills and through the woods on to the X we go.  Got there real early and set up about 100 or so deeks.  The setup went pretty smooth so with about 45 minutes 'til shootin' time, a small nap and some coffee was enjoyed.  Walked out just before noon with 11 in the bag.  The lack of wind really played havoc with the geese.  Not one bunch came from the same direction, or looked to set up in the same spot.  Moved the spread 4 times and bodies 2 in hopes of landing the perfect shot.  Can't really complain, but it was a very frustrating 11.  If you're keeping score, that's 32 geese in two days out of the same spot.  A great opening weekend for geese.
This morning some good old fashioned hard nosed hunting was on the mind of one of us and a trip to the Ditch just had to happen.  With the most inclement weather in days and nothing in the forecast, clouds and little shower seemed like a maybe.  After a couple hours, managed two teal and passed on numerous opportunities on "smiley's".  Nice to see there are still birds around.  Hope to be in the ditch Wednesday and Thursday and hope to be throwing some steel in the sky.
Managed to hear a story of a few guys around the area who hunted last night and this morning leaving about noon today without a bird in the bag.  It is early I guess, if your not into shooting little ducks, now is not the time.
That's all for now, check back for the latest and greatest and thanks for all the hits.

X marks the spot

Well not a lot going on with the temps as high as they are, unless of course, you're one of the 7 who were lucky enough to get in on the first day goose hunt above.  Yep that's right 7 guys 21 birds and done early.  Gonna hit it again in the morning and see what turns out.  The duck movement has slowed to less than a snail's pace with the last two days creeping around 90 degrees.  Will hopefully have some video/pics from a little action tomorrow morning, we'll see.  That's all for now, check back for the latest and greatest and thanks for all the hits.

Don't know if they were flyin'

Hope you are all enjoying the T-Magic show on ESPN.  Today was just too warm and there was zero wind, so no bodies in the Ditch today.  Had a warm body yesterday morning for about 2 hours before it was quitting time.  Not much at all going on around the area.  The warmth has settled back in which has been typical the last few years and it's simply waiting time. 
While out and about today I tested some new camo for Huntech. You gotta check it out below. That's all for now, check back for the latest and greatest and thanks for all the hits.

What a Nice Day

A typical early October morning was today's hunt.  Got a message saying that there were teal sitting on the pond early and that today's hunter passed on a group of "smileys" early.  Why? "Just Cause"  What he didn't know what that those sweet little ducks would be the only group that would give him a shout.  Not knowing what was going on after a couple hours, a message was sent wondering how the day was.  The reply was "sure was a nice day."  After no action the hunt ended late morning with Zero in the bag.    The birds around have pretty much found the safe zones among the bottoms after the weekend barrage.  Amazing just how quick they figure it out.  A couple thousand ducks are sitting just 1/4 mile away on an unhunted piece of property in the comfort of zero hunters or pressure.  Just waiting around for a new batch to find their way South.  Another day in the Ditch tomorrow AM long as the DU dinner doesn't get out of control tonight.  That's all for now.  Check back for the latest and greatest and thanks for all the hits.

More Saturday Success - Zero Sunday

Hello again everybody, it's that time again, news from your most trusted source: Muck Bottom Outfitters.  Some afternoon visitors to the Ditch late Saturday walked away with more success.  They added another 5 ducks to the bag, so all in all a 15 duck day for opening day.  Looks like the two first-timers had tons of fun and still made it home for supper.  Great Job!
We rolled out this AM hoping for a repeat of yesterday but were a bit disappointed.  All the people scattered around the bottoms yesterday morning stirring up all the ducks sure played havoc with us this morning.  Yesterday started off fast and furious, this morning I would say was slow and lazy.  Very few birds sitting when we walked in and very few birds at shootin' time.  We ended up taking a couple more, but only had two groups of working birds.  Saw a few additional groups but nothing to really write home about.  The wind was non-existent until we walked out, why wouldn't it be?  Just the luck I guess.  Well the first weekend had us with 17 birds.  Not to shabby!  We will definitely take that.  Non-Stop from here on out, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday for sure next week.  Possibly some fill-in days as well.  Just have to see what's goin' on.  Until next time, check back for the latest and greatest and thanks for all the hits!

Great Opener

Aquatic vegetation, tiny crustaceans, mollusks, alga and insects.............sure doesn't sound like a very good diet. But if your hungry for duck hunting and it's the season opener, you'll shoot any duck that decoys. Wrap it in BACON and move on! Word has it there is a cook at a Choke and Puke up in Canada that can cook 'em up good.
Hello again all my technologically advanced and well connected waterfowl enthusiast friends. It's time for another report from your trusted news source: Muck Bottom Outfitters. The season is here. An opening morning harvest consisted of Teal, Pintail, and if you read the first paragraph, the great Anas Clypeata. Yep, that's right, the Great Northern Shoveler. Managed 10 ducks in the bag at the end of today's hunt and really can't complain. That's more birds today than any one day last season, species notwithstanding! The birds set up really well and even managed to call a couple Can's to 2 swings over the top at 10 feet and eventually right down to the water. Too bad it's too early, trigger fingers were gettin' real itchy.
It was a good morning to take our guests, who flew in from Montana, out to enjoy the brisk morning air, good coffee and about "bogey golf" shooting. After the long morning hunt, it was back to the lodge for smoked ribs and smoked turkey, and then a well deserved nap I'm sure.
Tomorrow will hopefully yield the same results. If we can pound another 10, that would be 60% of last years yield in just the first two days. Until next time, check back for the latest and greatest and thanks for all the hits!