A First On The Last

[Bird Watcher]

Like Marty, I was finished....

This season has been akin to a bad relationship for me. I try to leave it and then I get drawn back in with the promise of change and that things might be better this time. We have some fun, but in the end the same dissapointment and shortcomings creep back in and I am left with the feeling that there must be something better than this out there. In the end however, the season is what it is and you can either go because you love going or you can leave it if you are that dissapointed by it not measuring up to your expectations.

So, that on my mind, I made a trip down to McDonald County to pick up my W2s Saturday afternoon. I'd forgotten to change my mailing address with my employer and they went to my old house. On the way, I swung in and looked at a place that will hold geese from time to time, but I have never hunted. As a matter of fact, I had never hunted McDonald county for waterfowl even though I lived there for 5 years. Well, sure enough, there was a nice flock of geese on a cattle pond in the pasture. The problem with these geese is that they spend there entire day in a 250 yd radius. They roost on the pond, then make a short jump to a rye grass pasture to feed. That's a big reason I've never hunted them. It kind of seemed too hard.

Well, with nothing better to do, we decided to give it a go. The plan was, wait until they jump out to feed, try to sneak in behind them with blinds and decoys and maybe get them when they came back....Nothing doing. The geese sat there in the field with their heads up and watched us set the entire spread. I had a bad feeling about how the hunt was going to go. When they finished feeding and started flying back in, it was like there was an invisible dog fence around the pond. They would come to the pond, but at 100yds, they would skirt us one way or the other.

A change was in order. What we were doing wasn't going to work. So,we went to town, ate lunch, took the garden shears and cut at least 20lbs of dead grass, came back and moved the setup and tried again in the afternoon. We had a little bit better luck as the day went on.

After all these years, my first McDonald County waterfowl hunt, on the last hunt of the season, and I spent it hunting all day with my Dad and Uncle.

P.S. I had a little fun with the flickr editor to protect the identity of the participants

I had a good time talking about waterfowling with all of you on here this season, it was a pleasure to meet and hunt with Marty-I know we will do that again sometime.

Here's to the 2011-2012 waterfowl season...it might not have been what I wanted, but it was all that I needed.

[duckydoty]

Looks like you made the best of it. Now we can dream about it the rest of the year in anticipation of opening day!

[Feathers and Fins]

Chris I lived in Pineville for some time and the county has some of the best waterfowling I have ever seen anywhere. But the kicker is it has to freeze for two straight days to happen... When it does Little Sugar creek is insane as is the elk between Noel and Cowskin. I have seen tens of thousands of birds using both in those conditions. Limits are a 5 minute deal. But without the freeze it seems like a baren waisteland.

Looks like you got into a few birds though.

[Bird Watcher]

Thanks guys.

Yeah, I hear about the creeks down there F&F. That's what's so weird. I lived down there for 5 years and I never hunted it. I would drive around and see the birds down there when the conditions were right, but I always had something else in mind with more numbers when the conditions were like that. This has kind of been a theme for my season. I hunted more local stuff than I ever have before and the weird thing is we had a lot of good hunts within 20 minutes of the house. I'm definitely going to remember that in years to come. I really like the gas bill of all this local hunting. I can hunt three weekends and use the same about of gas that I use on one trip to vernon county and still have the same results.

[BilletHead]

Good hunt Chris. Tell you dad he looks good in the FuManchew. Pat says If I darken my Van Dyke I would look younger so I said ok then she says stay gray. Yes it is expensive driving a trip like you do up here. But you would miss laughing at me. Geese all over here today. I have my blinders on though. Pat and I finished scraping the carpet off the boat and it is now at the body shop in like for the bed liner.

Mary

[Feathers and Fins]

If you start seeing White Geese "Mary" let me know. Season is still open on them and I like killing them.

[BilletHead]

"Mary" here, got to type a bit slower don't I ? I will be watching for the whites. Seeing some now and again. Only place I have seen them in the fields were South West of Sheldon. Those were staying near Camp Clark but they are gone now. Pat and I seen a bunch yesterday From and going to Schell I bet.

MARTY

[Feathers and Fins]

Ya the Schell flock ive tried for in the past and they are pretty much annoying. They go from Schell to a field just north of the Old Town Access and i havent been able to get permission for it. If they fly south its impossible to pattern them they hit a diffrent field each day. I have had limited success on them when they head South West on some fields around Lamar I have access to. That flock is just flat out unpredictable!

Now when the return migration starts there are a few places i know where to get them, im hoping they start the push north soon but I doubt it as it looks like snow is on the way this weekend.

[Bird Watcher]

Good hunt Chris. Tell you dad he looks good in the FuManchew. Pat says If I darken my Van Dyke I would look younger so I said ok then she says stay gray. Yes it is expensive driving a trip like you do up here. But you would miss laughing at me. Geese all over here today. I have my blinders on though. Pat and I finished scraping the carpet off the boat and it is now at the body shop in like for the bed liner.

Mary

That's what I should be doing. I got mine out and started it Saturday. After sitting since October, it fired right up. I wish I was fishing Today. It's nice outside.

F&F,

I saw the most I have seen all year heading South around Sheldon on Fri. Granted, it wasn't a lot of them, but it was the most I have seen. probably 500-1000 birds.

[Feathers and Fins]

Chris, Not meaning to sound a way but those numbers are transition flocks and normally un-huntable. I look for 5,000 on up for numbers to hunt. The reason is simple those large flocks are stationary birds that can be located going to roost at night, after you locate the roost the next morning you follow them to the feeder field. Normaly they will use it till about 10am then go back to the roost for water.

When they do there might be a few hundred left in the field, I go bust them out { NEVER SHOOTING THEM ) then set-up for the afternoon shoot. Thats a game plan that produces good shooting.

The other option is to catch them in the afternoon in a field. They will leave just before dark to go to roost and ill go check the field. What im looking for ; Example 40acre field with green sprouts all over it but a patch thats been eaten of not more than 5% of the field combined with no poop that is more than 2 days old.. If those conditions are there then the next morning will be insane. The key being the poop not being older than 2 days old.

Its pretty easy when you can get those numbers and conditions. Only hard part is getting permission some times.