BilletHead

yep pretty slow. Ducks are as rare as hens teeth around here. Did manage ten in the last few days, BilletHead

Canada goose wing feather, Billethead

Good one John, Pat will want one now! That would make one neat picture too. Could you imagine someone coming over a hill, around a bend to see a pink flamingo in a decoy spread. One of all of us on here needs to take some ducks with one. I'll tell you if anyone does this I will carve and paint them up one of my poppers. BilletHead

Mrs. Claws goes duckhunting. After the weather report and thoughts of a sunny sunrise for a change we decided to make a Christmas hunt. No sugar plums were in our dreams last night just thoughts of waterfowl dropping from the sky. Big South wind and hit the same pond as yesterday morning. Did not have great expectations just the sunny morning would make it a good day. Set up on the opposite side from yeaterday. A few teal to the right, big ducks in front. To the left strung out goose floaters and a few more teal, and then land geese going up out of the water into pasture. (kind of a cove or cut) Plans for ducks to commit in front and geese if any sail by to there family of floaters. About seven thirty a pass of three gadwall and as I try to call them back a single mallard drake trys to join them. Crud I thought he would get with them an as goofy as gadwall can be leave out. Well he disconnected from them and began to work us. I told Pat he is first on the hit list as he circles dropping down. Then from behind the gadwall come back and drop onto the water int he cove to our left on Pat's side and at the same time the mallard puts the brakes on and drops intio the wind right in front hovering. I figured I would call the shot on the mallard for her to shoot but before I did she says shoot that bird. I do as she tries to shoot the gadwall which have now decided to get the heck out of Dodge. She misses and off they go. Not much happened after that except for the rather large gaggle of geese doing what they did yesterday heading to the same pond. Called it good s we got to wittness another sunrise together. Hom many times have I topld you I am a lucky man? Well I just did again. Snapped some of Mrs. Claws before the pick up. A far one of the set up. You can see her head in the middle, one a little closer and then a ho, ho, ho Merry Christmas one, BilletHead

You bet and back at ya Jerry and to everyone else too, Mr. And Mrs. BilletHead

Well have not went since the stab in the dark pond hunt until today. Mrs. BilletHead has five off in a row stating today so I abused her again this morning. Well kind of as she takes this in stride. We got up early like usual expecting snow like they had been calling for. We did hear rain last night but awoke to no particapation. We decided to just hunt the closest big pond/lake close to the house. Hooked the four wheeler to the trailer and down the road a half mile to the place. This is where there was a large roost last season that I posted photos of. Set up and then drizzle started which turned to wet snow showers. Ten minutes after LST Mrs. says geese! Huh I thought she can't be seeing them this early as I peered into the cloudy dark sky. Where ? Right there close to the ground. Then I seen them gliding low right at us. As low as they were I really don't think they seen us as I had the decoys close to shore in the stiller water like they were hunkered down in the hard north west wind. They pitched in the middle and we let loose. One dropped and the others hit the north wind and went straight up and faded out quickly out of range. I am still puzzled at how early they flew like teal do? Then wizzzzzzz went a duck by our heads. My first thought was a diver and as soon as it had appeared is vanished. Then it came back and before i could react in landed eight yards away in the middle of the teal decoys. On my side so I popped up and so did it and I flat mised, wiffed big time and it hit the wind and gone it was. I thought dumb butt as Pat giggled. Soon a single mallard drake came in cupped and comitted, no calling needed and it hit the waater in one shot. Yowza. Made up for the wiff. A bit later a single gadwall did the same and the mrs. took it out. Seen a bunch of geese in the distance going to where we can't, well maybe could just don't want to ask some folks. That was all as we started getting pretty wet even in the lay outs, BilletHead

Cool beans there John way to go there bud. After a week break I took out Mrs. BilletHead in the wet snow showers. We got three birds in the misreable stuff. I will update my BilletHead post later. Again way to go! BilletHead

Ness I did finally put a 60 watt bulb in one end. Turn it on only on the coldest nights. I would like to do the heat cube thing maybe next year. I have the neatest little butter crunch heads right now. Stunted little plants but so good and thick crunchy stems. BilletHead

Still eating lettuce fellows! I am so glad I did this. BilletHead

I think we are all in consensus they look good. Everyone has added there wishes too ha. Now to hijack your thread a bit more. I found some real neat foam. The kind you find in commercial streamer boxes that are so expensive. The foam came as packing when I ordered something. It is 3/4 " thick and more of an open celled foam. You can use a rule and cut nice straight lines (not too deep slits) for holding flies, streamers and poppers in my case. I found a plano 3707 box that was the right depth and cut my foam to shape. No glue just pressed it in and it held. Slits keep the foam from tearing up with hook in and hook out. Maybe find some of this foam thinner than I have. I know I like what you did Paul. The hand made painted boxes are cool and just the type of gift that beats the heck out of store bought stuff. BilletHead

Good idea. I think a guy could build his own and use a rare earth magnet. I have messed with these before and they are really strong. http://www.kjmagnetics.com/ BilletHead

Hey I like them all. Gets my mind thinking too. A rattle can of bedliner stuff might make them grip a pocket.

Very nice, Are the ones to the right painted with the textured granite spray? BilletHead

Oh Cody! That was such a great trip last year. I have not talked to Richard (Rich Mack) about going in February yet. Ham we took my boat last year (Rich Mack owns it now) and we did not have a galvanized trailer. We did take it to the car wash when we were done and gave it a good cleaning. It doesn't seem to have affected it that we can see. I too would like to Kayak fish the place but if you want to travel too far up or down river it cold be a pain. There is a lagoon of sorts across from where we stay that might work fine for the yack? I know we took the boat in there a ways and caught but almost made a mistake of going too far in there and with the tide coming in we about got stuck on a oyster bed! I was puckered up pretty bad until we got pushed off and the motor down. BilletHead

I never said we wouldn't fish with you Chief. I just don't want you to get me arrested or attacked by a coyote Ok I will fish with anyone on my bucket list, BilletHead

Nice Scott, About time for you to report. Again I know strange warm year. 24 here this morning though, BilletHead

Boy Ham I will try to get it back in line, A fishing outing with almost any member on this forum The BilletHeads

From Wrench *Billetheads popper-crushing River-X hybrids Isn't going to happen without the mystery boat BilletHead

Thanks for your report cpriest. I have never tried an evening hunt over water. May have to give it a go sometime, BilletHead

John we know if we stab once and a while sooner or later we might connect. My miss stabs make this one a bit sweeter though BilletHead

A stab in the dark pays off, Thanks for the reply's guys. I hope it does break loose for you all and us too. Todays hunt was at a pond a little over and acre in size. Geese roost here a lot. It is a half mile off the road and surrounded by brush, small trees and some cedars. North end some broom sedge, briars and then into a bean field. BirdWatcher made a hunt with me in the field last day of goose season last year when this pond was a mega roost the birds kept from freezing. When it is a mega roost I try to leave them alone and work the outskirts trying to keep them in the area. When we have a lack of birds all is fair in using the place. I had drove back a couple of times to take a peek to see if there was any birds using the place. Nothing but I knew maybe a chance at a goose if it was hunted. There has been about thirty geese pond hopping daily in the area. Still have not seen any in fields. Too mild of weather. Three miles from home so up at five and leave by six. Shooting time approx. six fifty five. Cold north west wind changing to north a bit later in the morning. Decided to put the layout on north side in the broom sedge grass. Enough wind hitting the water to make the decoys move so I scatter 20 assorted teal to the left, a dozen mixed mallard/gadwall to the right. A half dozen goose floaters in front and eighteen bigfoot geese along the bank and around the blind. Shooting time had arrived but still pretty dark to shoot so I settle down and wait. (forgot to mention scared off a bunch of geese pulling in to pond) So about five after out of the clouds drop three mallards. Two hens and a drake. Dropped a hen and a drake. Hummmm I thought ? While out picking up the two birds five more made a pass. Back into the layout three more mallards dump in and again did not even touch the call. Dropped two drakes. Got them picked up and back into the layout when a single gadwall comes in and down he went. Then another gadwall and down he goes! Got them picked up both drakes. I'm done with ducks in twenty minutes. Stab in the dark pays off. Wind is howling now out of the north and with the humidity I am getting cold. I decide not to keep on my greedy hat and leave the geese alone for the morning. Get ATV and trailer. Pick up the big duck decoys, then the teal. About half way through the teal I hear honking and over the treetops are fifteen cupped and falling. Crap I am caught basically with my pants down. Two passes and they are gone. On goes my greedy hat and I load up the duck decoys and again hide the hauling rig. Back into the layout for a spell. Cold wind going down my neck I get up and start begin to pace up and down shore trying to warm up. I then hear crunch, crunch I look down and there is ice forming on my wet waders. I thought no wonder I'm cold it is cold out here and then I hear more honking. Back into the layout and here come four locked up and dropping fast. Oh I thought this is going to be a sure thing. You know what they say about sure things? Well I let the first one touch the water and gun went to a blazing and three shots and one dropped. ONE Single uno . Boy I thought you messed up a SURE thing. I lay back down waiting for my bird to float to the other side. About the time it hit the bank off went the greedy hat and I got the haul rig back and started picking up, sure enough a pair came sailing in. I am QUITTING this time. Back across the bean field I went back to the truck and my fingers are getting numb. I don't know why but I got extra cold this morning. The stab in the dark worked, a good lucky guess works this time. Happy with my duck shooting but not so much on the geese. BilletHead

The last four outings report. When you think it is a sure thing it never works out like it is supposed to. Last Thursday the Mrs. day off we decide to hit the pond where we had got permission from the Saturday before when we had witnessed an amazing show of birds hitting that pond. Cloudy with some drizzle. Made a hide under a hedge. Set up looked great. Nothing showed, I mean nothing. Did see five in and out of the clouds going, going, gone. What a let down, what gives? Did they eat all the food there? Friday a solo where I have seen lots of geese crossing over the highway onto a pond and walking in to soybeans to feed. Liked the set up, this is going to be easy! So geese started flying, big bunches going into the pond across the highway where they should be coming from. Sure thing my rear. Two days skunked. So now to Saturday yesterday morning. I needed to kill something. So we (I) decided we should hit the roost for some, loafing for some pond where they had gone the day before. Mrs. would rather shoot a duck but here again a sure thing right? Well kind of. We spook/flush out about fifty and get set up. A couple come back but land in a cove across the pond. Soon about twenty go air born from the hidden cove right for us. We did take out two thank goodness. Stone hammer dead. Triple B's dead. We wait, and wait seeing more dump into yet another pond across a fence in a cow pasture. Mrs.is getting antsy, calm down it will happen. Give it another 45 minutes and she responds I have laundry, and this and that it is all bla, bla, bla to me. 44 minutes later again Bla, bla, bla. Ok, Ok I know you are ready. I pull the floaters as she folds the layouts, I start piling bigfoots and here they come with wings cupped and falling. I told you and I get a glazed look. Start carrying out and more sailing in, this time she gets the stink eye. HA! Oh well we have good eats. Did three cups of rendered oil and some fajitas to boot, The meat, Peppers and onions next, ready to load into tortillas, Served with an adult beverage of margaritas . Per the Mrs. wish for this morning back to the only ducks I know of in the neighborhood. Nothing new here and most likely some of the same ducks we have hunted here before. Set up for either or ducks/ geese. Thick clouds and windy, clouds suck but the wind makes the decoys dance. We did flush off birds as I suspected and a few came back for a look or two. I took out three green wings. Had ducks actually hover in the wind way up right over us picking out something wrong and then sailing off. A pair of mallards dropped from high later on. They cupped twice towards us but then right back up and back one more time to the outer limits of where I want to shoot but shoot I did and broke a wing. Had to wade out and three more shots to finish him off but another one for the pot. I was done and ready to quit. Mrs. says are you sure? Are we quitting too soon? Touché I thought from the day before! Well played my bride. Pick up and out of there checking a place on the way home. I stayed in the truck and watched the Mrs. peek over the pond dam. She comes back and says that's where they are. Five swans hanging out surrounded by forty mallards. Oh well that will be another day. Yes another day of spook them off and hope they come back? Stale my friends, warm and stale! Todays birds, BilletHead

Neat, pretty slow here the last three hunts, BilletHead

Oh how neat. On my bucket list. Beautiful bird and photo, BilletHead

Nice Scott! BilletHead