All She Wrote

Well it's been quite a while since the last post. It been crazy at the Ditch and have been getting home just in time to eat and go to bed and wake for the next mornings hunt. Had non-stop action the last week and it's been just crazy. Been shooting dozens of ducks everyday, finally! It all started last Saturday, the birds were coming from everywhere and we couldn't load fast enough. Every time we looked up there were ducks. It's been a long season and the time spent finally paid off. If you're reading this and believing it, you need to stay off the eggnog. Our last real hunt was a short 5 hour sit last Sunday. Didn't see a single bird in the air. The day ended with flipping the switch, winding up the cords and neatly stacking the deeks for a later pick-up. Was a long disappointing season this year. The ducks still haven't come through and we're pretty sure it's gonna be a while before they do. From day one this season has been unusual. We had that opening weekend snow and from that point on, nothing was predictable.

Got an update from the South Ditch on this seasons success down there. A ditch that is accustomed to shooting 150-200 ducks and 50-75 Can's in a season, they've managed just 12 ducks and 15 geese. Heard a story from a Mississippi River backwater boat hunter and his take this year was 4 ducks, and they are completely mobile. Last year they shot over 100.

Throughout the season, it seems that there were plenty of geese migrating, but nothing that showed a lot of interest and a lot that were flying at heights that are deemed un-workable. Our bird numbers this year were 1/2 of 2008. The reason is still unknown. We made some changes this year and I'd like to say that they were the wrong. Unfortunately I can't. No one has been shooting ducks, and the "where are the ducks" emails continue daily. We are all locked up and only have a few hours of picking up until this years season is officially in the bag.

If you're reading this, send us an update on your season's success. Just a simple terrible, great, or 'bout normal, would suffice for now. Good news is that it's time to start thinking, once again, about the Great Snow Goose Chase. We were non-committal when this years season started, but due to the lack of action, we'll probably give it another GO. Oughta be exciting. That's all for now. Check back for the latest and greatest and thanks for all the hits. We're gonna keep updating until the CHASE starts. We'll come up with something to say, something to talk about, or some insightful(yeah right) story or tactic. So don't give up on us, hoping we can come up with enough stuff to keep everyone interested.

Clearing Her Throat

The slightly over-weight, long haired, large bosom'd gal is tuning up. Spent about 5 hours this AM at the Ditch baggin' deeks, beating ice, and looking at empty skies. The sunshine was welcomed and was hoping for birds locked up sailing in. Didn't happen, only saw 4 Canada Geese. That's it, nothing else. Can't believe it's December 10th and we're all still wishing and hoping. Wishing the ducks would come, and hoping we are there when they do. This weeks efforts fell nothing short of miraculous with the incumbent weather. Don't really know of any Ditch that's been man'd the last 3 days. If we haven't been there we've tried to get there. When we did get there we shot Zero times. I heard a horrible story today from the Duk Whisperer, formerly known as SR, he told me he's fired his gun only 8 times this season, and 4 of those were at Teal early on. Now that's a sad, sad story. He's hunted the Ditch, the South Ditch, the Leshara Ditch and the Hay Ditch...man he gets around almost as much as Tiger...and really has nothing but camaraderie to talk about. We are gonna give it at least one more go this Sunday and see what happens. All of the changes we've made this year have done everything we had hoped for. We've had open water this whole week! Unfortunately there hasn't been any waterfowl to enjoy it. That's all for now, check back for the latest and greatest and thanks for over 20,000 Hits. Email us whatever you know. (Check out the 2009 Sites at the Bottom of the Page.)

Doe Rae Me Fa So La Ti Doe

Hello again all my technologically advanced and well connected waterfowl enthusiast friends. Welcome to Muck Bottom Outfitters Waterfowl Report. Headed our way to the Ditch this morning thinking today just might be the day. The sky was clear, the winds were movin' and the snow was finally over. Could it be now that the 1 million ducks in South Dakota would radio the tower and request a fly by? The drive was as good as expected with the snow packed roads. The trek East on the county road wasn't quite as pleasing. Made it only about 100 yds in before it was time to turn around. The E to W county roads are just no fun with drifts. So was today the day? Can't really tell you. I heard a report from the Hay Ditch that a lot of birds got off the lake this AM, headed in sort of a Southerly direction and never returned. Not good! Was searching the net today in hopes of something interesting and I found it. It's the graph on the right hand side. Explains where all the ducks are. The Mallard Migration has apparently moved to the Mississippi. You can follow the ducks, see the current concentration in South Dakota and see how the masses have shifted East. Explains a whole lot! Heading out tomorrow to either hunt or breaks deeks out of the ice and pick some up, never to return to the waters of 2009. That's all for now, check back for the latest and greatest and thanks for all the hits! PS - someone had mentioned a slightly overweight, long haired, large bosom'd female warming up the wind pipes, hence the title.

When it Looks this GOOD...

...they're gonna come in. Aren't they. Well the spread looked amazing today as well as the amount of open water. Can't believe that nothing happened. First light was great, as the snow was barely comin' down. You could look up and almost see the Mallards locked-up on the spread. Almost! The snow proved to be entirely too thick and it was time 'bout 10AM. That's all she wrote. Goin' out tomorrow hopin' the winds blow 'em down. The snow is supposed to be done by about 5AM, and last I looked, mostly cloudy and a bit breezy. South Dakota has snow, not quite as much as is coming down here, but with the big winds tomorrow, they're gonna move at some point. Are we gonna see 'em? Who knows? Can only guarantee that you won't see 'em from the couch.

Got a report from the Boyer Boys, D. Oz wrote: Sunday - we couldn't get the geese to work. The snow started and the geese quit flying. We were just about to call it around 2PM when we heard a goose. Looked out and four were on a string coming in. They circled two times and two left and two came. We got those two. A lone mallard pulled the other two away. Monday - we saw everything but ducks, no shots fired. We had six trumpeter swans come 20 feet over the pond, saw five sand hill cranes and some S&B's. Not hunting Tuesday and will wait out the weather.

That's all for now. Gonna be hunting hard the next 2 days, should pay off. Check back for the latest and greatest, and thanks for over 20,000 hits. Email us your report.

Winter IS HERE

Well first I must start off with a couple "clean up" reports from Saturday. Kohler West, MC Wrote: 0 shots fired. We did see 1 lone Mallard drake, 2 bunches of S&B's and of course 2 bunches of Canadas when we were leaving the parking lot! Tomorrow is going to be the day! Boyer Boys, D. Oz wrote: Well lots of bird watching today. The S&B's were wall to wall coming down river. Saw fewer Can's today and just a few bunches of ducks. No shots fired. Maybe tomorrow, God I hope so! Leshara Ditch, DucksNBrownDogs wrote: Saturday - one goose at first light. Saw some geese flying south and not as many ducks around.

All around the world, the same luck was had...NONE!

Now on to Sunday. I'm gonna make a guess here and say that we've had a big jump in hits cause you're all wondering if we had the "day", cause you didn't. Well the weather was movin' in and we decided not to venture out in the AM and planned to roll out just after dinner. Partially due to wind/weather and partial due to some minor over hangs. Got settled about 1PM and the snow followed shortly thereafter. Was hoping for some good action but the snow and wind made it almost impossible to see anything. Saw only 3 bunches of Can's, 1 bunch of ducks, a pair of drake mallards, a hen mallard and 1 small group of snow geese. We managed to fire 9 shots today on the pair and the hen and we hit absolutely nothing. Well I take that back...we hit one but it sailed about 1/2 mile into the unknown, impossible to find. Coyotes will be happy tonight! Also, if you've never seen a hen get shot at and then land in the deeks and then escape untouched after two more, you just haven't spent enough time in the ditch. Hunted snow up to sundown and nothing in the bag.

On to reports for today.

Leshara Ditch, DucksNBrown Dogs wrote: Was hoping, with the wind picking up this evening, things would start happening. Only shot one Mallard. Seen a couple flocks of ducks and geese headed South. Getting depressed, where are all the ducks? Kohler West, MC Wrote: It is very sad to say that today was not the day...we managed to shoot 1 Chicken (Cackler) and 6 Ducks. Stuck it out to the bitter end and found more winter conditions closer to home than at the farm. This snow could be trouble! South Ditch, Duk Master Wrote: Forgot to call after we left. Day started out fun. We were setting up with more dekes then usual due to the perfect ice hole. Had a lonie Canada LAND in the floaters 5 feet away from one of the guys standing on the ice. Sent the dog on a scare away instead of a retrieve( though she almost caught the goose). Of course this was 5 minutes before legal go time and no one had a cannon loaded. Anyway had another lonie lock and look but wouldn’t finish. Then had another lock, look and die. Had 2 more get close enough to kill but the “Litigator” and “Ole One Eye” couldn’t get the job done. Waterfowl Wizard showed up late( something about bad ice in the Scotch). Had another pair come REAL close and got dead in a hurry. The Swim Suit Model aka Professor Benelli showed up even later than the Wizard, same bad ice, but brought no luck with him. So for the day 3 Cans and 2 clean misses. Did see lots of migrating Cans. Also saw something from years past, DUCKS!! Had a few hundred come out of the South East and feed in the corn behind us. They wanted nothing to do with water. Had 5 guys at the start and Myself, Wizard and the Professor left 2 newbies in the Ditch when we left at 3:30. Once the snow started the show stopped. That was it. The Legends haven't posted since Friday, so their Ditch must be the same sad song.

I must agree with MC, this snow is nothing but trouble. We're going to be covered up by morning and no temps above 20's for this whole week. There is a doozy building up right now supposed to dump at least 6 inches on us Tuesday into Wednesday. This could be it for the migration. They should be movin' this next week ahead of, during, and after the snow. Better make some time to get out before it's over. That's all for now, check back for the latest and greatest and thanks for over 20,000 HITS!

Just One Report Today

Kohler West, MC Wrote: 0 shots fired. We did see1 lone Mallard drake, 2 bunches of S&B's and of course 2 bunches of Canadas when we were leaving the parking lot! Tomorrow is going to be the day.

By afternoon its supposed to be goin' tomorrow. Will be updating as we hear. Check for the latest and greatest and thanks for all the hits.

Phone Didn't make any Noise Today...

...so you know we had bad winds. However, if a guy tried to look outside when he could today you could see birds moving again. Received a couple reports after the day was done. One got sent to me and the other I had to play "bird dog" and hunt up.

Leshara Ditch, DucksNBrownDogs wrote: Today we had a few flocks of ducks circling but could not get them to commit. Not as many birds flying today as there was yesterday.

South Ditch, early hunt by Duk Master yielded and early morning exit. Nothing flying until on the drive home. Professor Binelli was at it again and made the trek just before lunch. Again, a great afternoon for bird watching and honing in on your calling skills. The Professor reported that it was another afternoon of non stop birds but nothing committing to the Northwind layout with Southerly winds. The snow geese were moving again in such fashion that one string took almost 10 minutes to complete the flyover. While spending 6 hours watching the skies, only 2 ducks observed. That's right, not 2000, not 200, not 20 groups, not 2 groups, just 2 ducks.

Seems as if all of us on this side of the state are seeing very few ducks. South Dakota says they have big numbers, but if they're leavin' they're not coming this way. Thanks to all the hard work of the WRP, the flyway is shifting West. All of us sitting on the Missouri River Corridor thank you so very much. One thing that has been promising is the number of Can's. There is definitely no shortage there. If you're set up for 'em and focused on 'em you'll get into them. The weather is calming down just a bit tomorrow before the Big Kahuna. Or, at least what they're saying will be scoop-able snow. The first of the year hitting us Sunday with North Winds could be the beginning of some crazy shooting, or quite possibly the end of the birds. Only time will tell. This next week looks to be the week to consult your Duck Doctor. Could have as much as 4 inches on the ground from an in coming Monday Night into Tuesday storm. Oh could it be true?

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

Cloudy with a Chance of Migration

Woke up this AM with the moon shinning bright and a small West wind. Was a bit disappointed in that and decided to roll out anyway. The winds switched abruptly and the clouds rolled in as promised by the weather dudes. Finally they were right. At shooting time had a group of 20 and we dropped 4. Sat for quite a while after that before our next action which was a lone drake with a death wish. One shot and he was done for. We sat and sat and sat. Saw some bunches of snows and quite a few bunches of Can's. Very little duck movement. Walked out just after 11AM with a one man limit of Mallards. Bout dang time! Didn't want to leave but all the texts and phone calls indicated no migratory movement and we sure as heck weren't seeing anything. Got back to the house and unloaded the dog, wishing there birds. The South Ditch managed to punish 3 of 4 Can's this morning and there was still a warm body down there waiting out the push. With the winds howling and late afternoon snow showers still in the forecast, the bug bit. Headed to the South Ditch in hopes of a great Canada shoot with Professor Binelli. He very seldom hunts for no reason, somehow it always seems as if he's shootin' birds in the late afternoon hours. What the heck, had a few more hours of freedom for the day, what could it hurt. Not disappointed in the decision even though a shot was never fired. From just before Noon to Shutdown, non stop migrating birds by the thousands. Not great at counting birds but I would guess we saw 50,000 birds migrating, almost all Carp and Can's. Just a few bunches of ducks. There were new birds coming in by the truck-load. Couldn't entice a single bird down from their comfort zone. Haven't seen migratory action like this, in a single day, for quite a few years. Even though no shot were fired, it was great to see birds again. Still wondering where all the ducks are. Who knows whats gonna happen the next few days. Lots of birds rolled in today. The Hay Ditch was hanging "no vacancy" signs in their deeks before they even crawled into the Ditch. Looking forward to hearing just how many minutes it took them to limit this afternoon. May find a field Sunday, may go to the Ditch, just depends on the weather.

Got one report so far tonight from the Leshara Ditch, haven't heard from them in a while. DuckNBrown Dogs Wrote: Well after the last couple weeks of a shot here and there on ducks and geese, today was a great hunt. Ended up with a 4 man limit on ducks early, the sky had new ducks, didn't see much for geese. Saw two huge flocks of ducks to shoot but close to our limit and didn't want to educate them yet hoping this continues through the weekend.

Got an interesting email today that I thought was worth sharing. Apparently we're getting worldwide exposure:
GOOD DAY,
MY NAME IS MR WILSON I AM A CONTRACTOR AND I LIVE IN THE UNITED KINGDOM AND MY SON IS INTERESTED IN HUNTING AT YOUR PLACE I WANT TO KNOW THE COST AND ALSO I NEED MORE DETAILS ON HOW YOUR HUNTING ACTIVITIES ARE LIKE

1 DO YOU HAVE ACCOMMODATION,
2 TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES,
3 DO YOU HANDLE FEEDING OF THE HUNTERS

I WILL ALSO LIKE TO KNOW THE HUNTING PACKAGES YOU HAVE AND PERIODS OR DATES AVAILABLE AND OTHER NECESSARY THINGS HE WILL NEED TO BRING ALONG FOR HUNTING HE WISHES TO HUNT FOR 2 FULL DAYS

I WILL BE EXPECTING YOUR SOONEST REPLY WITH PACKAGES AVAILABLE THE DATES AND AMOUNT SO THAT I CAN MAKE ARRANGEMENTS ON HIS ARRIVAL AND
PAYMENT OF THE HUNT

WARMEST REGARDS

Wow, the power of the Internet. To Mr Wilson: Dear Sir, unfortunately we are Outfitters by name only. We are just a bunch of guys with a pretty good duck spot who found the Internet and started writing about our hunts. While we're inclined to say we'd love to take your son hunting, we're just not that good to have him fly across the world to spend time with us. Unless he's interested in sleeping in a spare bed room, eating leftovers and drinking coffee, there are no more guarantees than that when hangin' out with our bunch. We are all flattered that you've thought of us and happy that you're reading the blog. We started this year saying "Muck Bottom is Goin' Global" little did we know it would be literally. Thanks Mr. Wilson for your interest, hope you find a great place for your son to hunt.

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

Tomorrow's the Day?

The good news started early today. Text messages about flocks and flocks of ducks moving. Phone calls wondering if the Ditch was man'd. Ducks down and in the bag by 15 mins after shootin' time. Pictures sent of one guys' first ever duck shot and taken home. Was very hopeful. But, just like that it was all gone. All the movement was done by 830. From then until 11 nothing flying. Until, that is, the hunters got to the truck. The hunting hound was put away, the waders removed, the guns cased, and one last look to the lake. Oh no...6 Can's floating at about 20 feet locked up over the top of the sit and shoot. If only they had stayed. Thought by now all the 10 to 2 talk would've kept 'em there till at least then but they just had to get home. Must have had a nap planned or something. When you have nothing but chores to do around the house, don't know what could possibly send a guy home with 20 MPH+ Northerly Winds. Wait...I know what it was...it was the fear of yesterdays replay. A 10AM to close with nothing but hunger to show for it. That must have been it.

Tonight's weather for tomorrow has more migratory winds and even a few snow flakes. This season's luck will have it 60 degrees by noon I'm sure. All the talk is that everyone will be full as a tick tomorrow in their respective Ditches, disappointment is surely going to pass us by tomorrow isn't it? Huh? Isn't it? C'mon, help me out here. Repeat after me, "tomorrow's the day, tomorrow's the day, tomorrow's the day." I once heard (on the Disney Channel) that if, just before you close your eyes for the night, you repeat something 10 times, it will come true. So lets all do it. Lets all say it 10 times tonight before we close our eyes. We can do it. Hey, it's not really that crazy, look at the stuff we do year after year just to hunt:

• dishes
• laundry
• clean house
• foot massages
• back rubs

Oh wait, that's probably just me. No one else here has to do anything "special" for that weekend away, that sat AM, that sun AM, or that day of the week when you roll out and 5AM and it's your day to take the kids. Anyway, hope tomorrow's the day. That's all for now, check back for the latest and greatest and thanks for all the hits. If it's really goin' tomorrow I'll let you all know, if you're not hunting. I think I've figured out how to text to this blog from my phone. Send us your report.

Calm Before the Storm

Well, one could've hoped for a bit of a push before this front began to move through. Nothing, nada, zip, zilch. The text message said "10am to close did not see or hear a single duck or goose. WASTED DAY." Lets hope they are all just hunkered down getting ready to ride the next 48 hours of migratory winds. I noticed the lack of a report tonight from the Legends Ditch so I'm assuming they stopped at "seven days and counting" and they saw nothing as well. The winds have begun and bits of clouds are starting to move in. Tomorrow, at some point, we should see some of those birds that are hung up by the hundreds of thousands in South Dakota. It may be a long day, but "rot" is definitely in the planner for tomorrow and Thursday. If you're going out, bring lunch too! We have less than 20 days for the ducks and with just a couple of free days a week, a guy, or gal needs to put in the time from here on out.

Got a weekend report from The Boyer Boys. D. OZ Wrote: don't have much to report from the weekend. Two big boys on Sunday. Lot of high flyer's and geese mostly darks. Maybe this week. Glad to hear the legends are finally getting into some.

The Ditch will be man'd in the AM, as well as the Blackberry. Email us your report and, as always, check back for the latest and greatest.