JohnP

Anyone know why the gate is locked and closed to River Run? Noticed it yesterday and that some of roofs were removed off of the pavillions? Are they shutting it down or remoldeling or raising the campsite levels up????? Just curious, hadn't heard anything on the reason for closing it.

Drove down the Y hwy this afternoon. Seen quite a few birds across from the scenic overlook and down by the old John the Diver blind. Also seen a few in the coves around Venice on the Lake down from Rockaway. A few in the cove down from Edgewater Resort, and just a couple in the Empire Park area to the Dam. Bull Shoals is on the rise quick and only seen one flock of about 20 geese in the mud flats below Shadow Rock campground and nothing from there to Barker Hole. Didn't get to venture any further down so that's all I got. With BS on the rise from the recent rain all the Corps flats should start seeing water in them which could get interesting if things start freezing up and snowing up north to cover up food.

Congrats.

Excellent post Justin and thanks for the info FnF and BW. I've used mostly a modified Carlsons choke and had decent results out of the 835 but never really have patterned it persay. Might be looking at a extended choke for the Affinity but I need to pattern the chokes in it to see how they compare. I'd say 90% of my shots are no further than 40 yds with most in the 20 to 30 range or close, like to see feet down and the wide eyed "OH S#*&" shine in their eyes as you pull the trigger .

Praying it's not just a good looking gun but performs as well as it feels .

Been using a boat anchor Mossy 835 that I bought well used for over 17 years and decided it was t.ime to pass it on to one of my boys for good. Been looking at venturing into the semi-auto world for few years and decided now was as good as any time. Been seriously looking at winchester sx3 for the past couple weeks and then got torn between that, the baretta a300, and the franchi affinity. Like the feel of all 3 and the shoulder good but the Franchi felt the best coming up into the shoulder pocket and the sight picture down the raised rib rail appealed to me better than the others that were flush . Now just gotta find the time to burn a few boxes shells thru her . My biggest fear tho as light as this gun is compared to the 835 is that when I pull up to shoot at incoming ducks that I'm going to end up throwing the gun in the water before I pull the trigger .

If you ever need any help swattin' away them pesky lil greenheads just holler . Never have field hunted for ducks, but can see how it can be blast with the right conditions. Not many crop fields over this way and few I know of I've never seen ducks or geese ever stack into them.

Awsome and congrats.

Congrats, sounds like a good hunt.

200 to 300 or more rafted up in the middle of the lake at Empire Park this afternoon. Also starting to see more geese in the area than I've seen all seen all season, hopefully a sign of birds starting to move from the north .

Had close to 300 gads scouted out sitting on Bull Shoals yesterday afternoon. Had plans this morning so wasn't able to hunt em til this afternoon. Put the boat in at 2 and surprised and pleased not to see any fresh tire tracks after this mornings snow. do a quick boat ride to the main lake and back up the creek just to be dissapointed in only seeing a pair of hoodies . Decided to go ahead and find a spot to set up and just hope that they'll fly in before dark. No luck, only thing I seen was 3 grebes that kept swimming thru the dekes. Talked to one of boys that was hunting in the protem area and they only managed one gaddie but did see 100 to 150 greenheads but knew where they wanted to be and never gave em a look. Oh well, needed to get the snow. Off the boat and blow the cob webs out as I haven't had it in the water in a couple months .

Awsome and excellent report DD. Doesn't surprise me to see the gwt as it seems like we always get into good all the way thru the end down on BS. What surprises me more is the lack of greenheads I'm not seeing ???? Scouted a spot on lower BS MoMo side that had 300 plus ducks on it this afternoon all gads and gwt not on mallet that I could see.

Great report as usual DD. Bull Shoals in the Cedar Creek / Snapps arear has been similar except for very few if any mallets according to my sons. Lots of divers, hoodies-buffle heads-and a few golden eyes with gads and shovelers. Seen quite a few woodrows first week but they've pushed out with the cold snap. Its early and hearing good reports of large numbers of birds still north in nebraska and iowa yet. Need a good snow fall up that way to cover up food and push em south just a bit .

Awsomeness right there. Haven't seen nothing like that this season just yet .

Definitely made you earn that one DD . Never crawled into a hole after one myself but I watched my old yella dawg barrel down a huge hollowed out log up on the bluff across from the first cut in Cockleburr chasing a hen mallet. Shot her and she glided across the cove and preceded to start up the hill. Whit and the hen made it about half way up the hill before she decided to run into the log with the yella cannon ball hot on her tail. Far enough in it that I couldn't see her and thought I was going to have to get a chain saw to get her out but she finally managed to back herself out with the duck in her mouth . Have to admit that I was alil worried about what she was getting into but that was her no quit drive. Also watched chase down a crippled buffle head across the mouth of Bull Creek and back zig zaggin' and diving everytime she just get to it before we were finally able to get to the boat to chase her and the duck down, that one was the one that convinced me to get a shock collar . Was able to get a shot on the duck and she picked it up and refused to get in the boat, swam it back to the bank and was ready to go again.

Did a drive around this afternoon and seen very few ducks on the lake. Hoping this front has short stopped ducks to the north of us and didn't push em further south. Of course a lot of the ponds were still open but Imagine that will change tonight. Didn't see hardly any ducks on trip down to Houston and back this past week so hopefully that's still a good thing .

Awsome and beautiful bull sprig and gwt.

Haven't even been in the south zone yet, still in deer mode but getting to point of not being so picky . Spending the week down in Houston with the wife so won't be able to get out till Saturday at the earliest if everything goes as planned and the weather is looking perfect for my kind of hunting, just hoping we don't get stuck in it on the way back . Boys have been hunting the Cedar Creek area and have been doing alright but haven't seen near the numbers they seen the first 2 days. 3 of them shot a good mixed bag of puddlers and divers ( mallards, teal, woodies, hoodies, a golden eye, and shovelers), said they haven't seen a gaddie, which is odd as usually about 75 percent of what we've shot in that area over the last 10 years has probably been gaddies. Haven't seen hardly any ducks on the ponds in the area either. Water levels are perfect for the potential of a awesome season once the ducks show up. Still have a lot of season left and I'm still trying to get a deer in the freezer. I'll start hitting the ducks hard in the next week or two, hopefully I've filled a deer tag or two by then .

Good job DD, know that cut well and have shot many a birds out it. those layouts don't tow well at all, sunk one a Schell one year pulling it behind a flat bottom going across the lake to A pool, saving grace is that we strapped the dekes to the boat so that was the only thing keeping from going to the bottom . learned the key is to move the weight to the middle rear and put the tow below the bow so raises it up just enough in tow. Those ought to work prefect for 4 R's.

Very nice and well done Billethead.

Any more 3 to 6 dozen is about all I throw most times but on small water a dozen or less. Of course I'm not hunting big open water like you do, just pretty much stay in the coves, creeks, and ponds. Had a hunt last jan. one of my boys and i limited out on greenheads and gads only using 3 dekes and a mojo up in a creek, less is more at the right times . Those days are few between but the right place right time it all comes together.

Yep yep. One of the spots on BS that I hunt there's another guy that hunts that I've gotten to know pretty well over the years and sometimes we'll hunt together but most times we'll hunt where the other isn't, 200 to 300 yds apart and if birds are working one of us we let em work and don't even pick up the calls or guns. We both manage to usually get in our fair share of shooting and it usually works well for both of us as it keeps birds from wanting to set down where the other isn't. Pretty cool to watch birds work and fall out of the sky a distance if one just watches it. Heck I can honestly say I've killed/shot at more birds without even callin' just let em work. Drives me crazy watching/listening to people call at every thing that flies by. thing that gets me also is all cockiness as if they've been duck hunting all their lives, their all know it all pros just ask em .

Congrats to u aswell Billethead. them dirty birds eat as good as the pretty shiny ones ;-)

Congrats FnF . Heard the same thing from some buddies that hunted BS and t-como yesterday that level of rudeness and respect for others was unbelievable. Only hunted opening day in the south zone once years ago and said never again, unless I'm on private ground where I know no one else should be. I hunt to get away from and bassel of of life and if I wanted to fight crowds id go to sdc or shopping .

As a friends dad calls em, that's a juvie Buffet Head . He tried convincing us one day that they were Buffet Heads, so now when we see em over the dekes we yell Margaritaville as the shot caller .