2009 Waterfowl Journal
Following last weekend's successful draw into Grand Pass, Dave Gaulden, Bill Shields, and Rex Watkins and I met at the Pass at 4:00 where I was fortunate to draw pill #6. That meant that not only were we going to hunt, but we would be able to draw the pool we had hunted a couple of weeks prior with good success. After heading out to the marsh, we spent the next hour battling the arduous task of dragging my layout boat, loaded with all of our gear, from one end of the shallow pool to the other, a task made even more difficult by the layer of ice capping the spot. We were a little tardy in getting set up, but we eventually buried into a strip of corn and waited for the action to begin.
Dave with a brace of Mallards
The first several groups of the morning swung into to take a peak, but with our dekes not showing much motion due to the ice, the birds all picked up and moved on. After only a few decent shot opportunities, we picked up and moved a bit to the only open water available. The cover was more sparse, which is why we had shied away from it to begin with, but the movement afforded by the chop on the open water would hopefully offset the cover issue.
The morning's hunt picked up around eleven as more birds began to move. After a flurry of action, the rest of us sat back to watch Bill drop his sixth bird of the morning, bringing the total for the day to twenty four. Our take consisted of teal, shovelers, a widgeon, gadwall, and finally a few big-bodied mallards. The day was evidence of why you have to stick things out, fine-tune your setup, and stay positive, as we simply were not where the birds wanted to be. The pool to the west of us seemed to be the target, as birds fell in all morning. Still, we managed to limit out by staying after the birds.
Bill with a thick-necked Greenhead
It would appear there are more birds yet to come, however, the coming week's freezing temperatures could prove to be a bane if the marshes freeze solid, forcing the birds to continue on without much of a layover. If that occurs, perhaps the lake hunts will pick up, as open water may become more of a factor than normal.
Posted by Mark Thompson, who is proud to support Smithville Marine, Skeeter Boats, Yamaha Motors, Mustad, 724Outdoors.com, Dave’s Custom Baits, and The Buck Stops Here Taxidermy .
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
