The Mallards are Coming, The Mallards are Coming

A fellow club member on a trip to North Dakota as of the first week of October had not shot a Mallard.  They were all north of the Canadian  border per his report.  But they will be coming as they do every year.  Another friend reported there were only 50,000 Mallards at Sand Lake National Wildlife reserve near Aberdeen, South Dakota.  They will be coming.  They always do.

Sunrise at the blind

Temperatures in Bismarck, North Dakota were in the lower sixties to high fifties.  That is the same temperature pattern we are experiencing as we start the second week of October.  The beans are all out near the blind and the farmers were finally getting a good start on the corn.  Intermittent rain had slowed the corn harvest down, but with the south winds we have been having and what is taking place as of this writing, the ground will be dry.  Then they can get into the fields and get the corn picked.  That always helps as the birds will work the fields over for kernels of corn.  With all the wetlands and our 40 acres of open water, things will be good for the Mallards and better for the hunters.

Our man Jackson bringing in a duck.

In the meantime the boys will have to settle for small ducks made up of teal, wigeon, gadwall, and pintails.  The pintail season is about to end.  It is a dirty job, but someone has to do it. With the first blast of really cold weather the small ducks will be gone winging their way south to Arkansas and Texas.  In Texas, I have a friend that will be waiting in the rice fields for the arrival of the teal.  By the time the birds get that far south, they will have been called to and shot at all the way south from the Canadian border.  It is a wonder by the time they arrive at their southern location, they will even respond to a decoy or a duck call, but they do.

Jackson bringing in a duck right at shooting time.  Look at his eyes showing up.  The dogs are the best part of the day.

This next week I am not hunting at all.  Not unless something changes, and from what I have seen of the weather forecast, there are not any major changes in sight.  So what is a person to do?  You can always go up to the blinds and sit and watch the ducks tantalize you as they start to decoy, then wise up.  Their rear-ends remind them that they have been to this location before.  There is always the chance that some fresh birds have flown in, but checking the reserves up north, they continued to show a steady level of birds.  Why should they leave when they don't have to go south?  Water, sand and grain and a safe place to hang out is all they need.  Leaving the reserve can get dangerous and after they have been shot at once or twice, they learn really quickly.

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Good hunting, good fishing and good luck.  Hank

 

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Four Hours, Six Species

After the onslaught of the first few really good days, things slowed a bit.  If there was a south wind it almost paid to stay home.  However, if there was a north wind, you had better be in the blind.  In addition, all the beans had been cut, but the farmers were in the process of harvesting the corn.  Waterfowl like corn.  This late into the season, when the corn is out, the farmers may not get back into the fields to disc them.  This is a good thing for the birds as it will make feeding a lot easier and with all the water around, they will stay.

This was the day I could go, and a southerly flow was in progress.  Still, if you don't head to the blind, you do not get any shooting.  Time to poke holes in the sky was around 7:30 AM.  Arriving at the Big Chicken in Tekamah for breakfast at 6 AM would give everyone there plenty of time to get situated in the blinds.

This is what sunrise looks like peeking out of the top the cover.

It was starting really slow, then traffic appeared.  They were small ducks made up mostly of teal, gadwall, and wigeon with a few pintails mixed in for seasoning.  The nice part was we were seeing some mallards.  That was an excellent sign of things to come.  This late into the season, seeing the small ducks plus the first trickle of bigger birds, was truly amazing.  The small birds usually are gone by now, but the nice weather keeps them around.

Our main man Jackson with his owner ready to go into action.

 They came to the lake looking for water and a place to digest the grain they had been feeding on.  They found instead six hunters all patiently waiting.  Groups of three to six birds circled, responded to the call, and dropped into the lake.  It was truly a perfect picture of birds locking up and setting their wings to land near the decoys. 

Jackson in action.

The highlight of the morning was a flock of snow geese that wanted in.  They dropped down from a high altitude surprising everyone and locked their wings to glide into the lake.  They were probably tired from flying all night and wanted a rest and a drink before heading to Texas where my friend Dean waited in the rice fields.  They circled twice and then came within range.  The feeling was, "Don't wait for a better shot.  It may not come."  The call was made to take them.  That was a nice harvest.

Two birds out of the flock.

By noon, it was all over with.  The sky was totally clear, the traffic we experienced in the morning came to a halt, and it was time to go.

Good looking hunter holding a couple of mallards on the way home.  I wonder who he is?

It was an excellent morning and everyone took home birds.  The highlight was the snow geese that dropped into the lake.

Good hunting, good fishing, and good luck.  Hank

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The Small Duck Harvest Continues

I finally got out to participate in the biggest shoot the club has ever seen on the opening days of the season.  It was like Teal city along with some Gadwall, Wigeon, and Pintails, but teal make up most the the ducks in the area.  The amazing thing is we have never seen such big flocks.  Each day after the opener, club members and their guests continued to have some excellent small duck shooting.  They eat just like the big Mallards, but you have to cook more of them to equal the Mallard.

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Right after shooting, the lake looking straight east from the blind.

With northerly winds the shooting was excellent, but when we had southerly flow, with clear calm days the shooting was non existent.  If I want some great dining, I am always willing to take limits of small ducks if the big northern Mallards are not down.  Checking with Sand Lake refuge near Aberdeen, South Dakota, there was little evidence of any of the big Mallards coming out of Canada on their way south. 

Changing the decoys.  It just seems to be a never ending job.  Somebody always says, "We need to move the decoys."  Everyone agrees.  It is tradition.

We had breakfast at the Big Chicken in Tekamah, Nebraska by 6:15 AM.  Then we drove to the blinds by 6:45 to settle in and wait for shooting time.  On the day that I went up, we could shoot at 7:22 AM. Walking to the blinds by 7:00, the lake was full of ducks and geese.  There was something else on the lake that I could not make out, but it was really big and white.  There was no noise coming from these flocks and they did not jump and fly off as we walked to the pits. 

The Pelicans circling the lake.  They bothered no one, but we were all amazed they just hung around even after the shooting started.

Settling in and with a little light, we could see the lake was packed with Pelicans.  They must have migrated into the lake during the evening, spent the night, and would probably keep going south after sunrise.  They did not leave but just hung around.  What was amazing was when we shot, it did not bother them.  

This was a repeat of the previous days, but not near as heavy as the opener.  We stood up, laid our guns out along the blind and at shooting time we took our time and picked a couple of birds from each flock.  There were only five hunters, so the shooting was light.  The teal would whistle by first, heading south and riding the north wind, then hook back to land with the decoys.  It was at this time we took our shots when they were right south of the decoys.  It was quick, and you were lucky to get off one good shot.  One shot, one duck, and skip trying to hit another with a second shot.  This would only produce a cripple.  Then the dog would spend time chasing it down or we would lose it. In some cases hunters would wade into the lake and scout around the bank.  This is a bad idea and has bad outcomes with big flocks starting to decoy.  Stay in the blind while the hunt is on.  

Junior bringing in a duck and swimming through the decoys.

Just as before, as the sun started to sneak up on the horizon,  the action slowed.  In addition, the ducks became more wary and would approach the lake much higher than before.  Still we were able to get some of the flocks to decoy into shooting range and were able to finish out the morning.  

The interesting thing was the pelicans.  Everyone thought they would pack their bags and head south in the beautiful clear skies, but no, they stayed around periodically getting up to fly around and then settle back onto the lake.  During all the shooting, they never left the lake.  

I took a lot of pictures of the Pelicans as they got up and flew around over the pits, then settled down onto the lake.  They are really fun to watch as they glide through the air.  What is really interesting, they group together very tightly when on the lake. 

This was a great morning, and I left by noon.  The only way it will get better is for the big Mallards to head south out of Canada.

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Good hunting good fishing, and good luck.  Hank
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The Great Nebraska Duck Explosion

October 5th was opening day for ducks along the Missouri River north of Tekamah, Nebraska.  This was an opener like no other that I have ever heard about.

If you went to the opener in the duck club in which I'm a member, you planned on leaving around 8:30 to 9:30 AM. The hunting was generally over by then.  You meet at the Big Chicken for breakfast early in the morning and visit with other club members you have hunted with over the years.  Then out to the blind(s) in the dark filling at least one with hunters and maybe two.  You can hunt comfortably with 8 people in each blind.  The club has three all in a row buried in the Missouri River black dirt.  A word about that dirt later.

Blue Winged Teal

I never took many shells because it was over quickly, and as previously stated, I left anywhere from 8:30 AM to 9:30 AM.  All that was along the river bottoms were local birds that had nested in the spring,  stayed into the fall.  They learn early.  Once they have had their bottoms burned, they may fly over the pits, but so high that I am sure air traffic control must be reporting slow moving high altitude traffic.   That is the way is had been in the past, but not this year.

Gadwall

When the hunters walked to the blinds, the lake was packed with ducks and geese.  This was a good sign.  They got up and swirled around, and then would set back down.  As people climbed down into the pits, the birds all got up and left, but not for long.

Green Wing Teal

Flocks of teal, gadwall, wigeon, and pintails kept circling the lake landing and taking  off.  The quacking of the large group of ducks was outstanding, so there was absolutely no reason to use a duck call.  As shooting time approached, the decision was made for everyone to stand up in the pit and lay their "shootin irons" outside the blind with the barrel pointed away.  Teal are fast movers and with the northerly wind, it was not possible to get a good clean shot.  As they circled into the wind to land near the decoys, their speed was greatly reduced.  Then they were harvested.

Wigeon

When the time came, the ducks fell and were promptly retrieved by two fine labrador dogs.  Junior and Jackson had their work cut out for them.  Massive flocks of teal would fly past the blinds almost at eye level.  As they circled back into the wind to land, they were considerably slower and the shot was called.  At that time it was just before sunrise.

Northern Pintail

This constant decoying of ducks into the lake went on for almost ninety minutes until the sun started to show on the horizon.  Before noon, limits were reached by the sixteen hunters.  They picked up their harvest for the day and headed home.  No one had ever had an opening day like this and what is more interesting, there was no shooting from the other blinds in the area.  The other thought was that there was so much shooting at our blinds that no one could hear anything anywhere else.  These were all birds that had migrated into the area.  The local birds would have caught on very quickly and would not have hung around.

For me, it was a sad day.  Lying at home in bed with a fever, cold and sore throat caused me to miss one of the most exciting days our club has ever had.  With all the ducks and wetlands in our area, there will be some great shooting and great dining to follow.

 
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Good hunting, good fishing, and good luck.  Hank

 

The Eyes Have It

It took me 50 years to figure out one thing I consistently did wrong.  Do not fish after a low pressure has passed.  Wait a couple of days.  You should want the winds to calm down somewhat and switch from the east to the south to southwest.  The old rule “Wind from the east fishing is least, wind from the west, fishing is best.”  Another item I used to never pay any attention to was the moon.  When there is a new moon, fishing is best.  I have no idea who told me this, but periodically it seems to work.  This was the case on the weekend.

Pam caught this nice walleye earlier this year.

I have never had great success fishing Lake Manawa south of Council Bluffs.  When I was a boy growing up it was the place to go, but the lake silted in making it very shallow in spots.  Talking with the DNR at the winter shows, they always told me there is great walleye fishing in that lake.  Since I live close, driving over for a couple of hours was handy whenever I had some spare time.  Early morning or late evening I would sometimes pick up some crappies for sure, maybe a bass, a wiper, and usually a drum.   The decision was made.  I am really going to get serious and go hammer that lake in the fall till I catch a nice limit of “eyes”, and I am going to do it in the morning.  Tall order.

Berkley Flicker Shad Crankbaits

The Flicker Shad is the lure I have caught the majority of the walleye this year.  Click on the link for more information as to color and size.  I fished with the Blue Tiger.

The weather could not have been more perfect.  Southerly flow with light to moderate southwest winds was forecast.  There would be just enough breeze to put a good ripple or light wave on the lake.  Really windy days are tough on boat control even if the wind is in the right place.  A full moon was present.  The bait shop said crawlers was the choice.  I am really going to do this right.  The plan was to be on the lake by 3:30 AM, and this is a tall order.

Bass Pro Shops Gold Series Folding Landing Net with Telescoping Handle

After watching the video of Putin catching the big pike, I went and bought one of these nets.  I think it works better than the round one.

Next morning at 2:30 I was up, got the coffee going, grabbed a roll, hooked up the boat, and headed to the lake.  What a beautiful morning.  It was crisp, but not cold.  A light breeze out of the west, and a beautiful full moon glistened across the lake.  It can’t get any better that this.   I am on the lake by 3:30.

I started pulling spinners S turning into the shore then out to about 2 to5 feet of water.  I had some soft hits but nothing showed any appetite.  So I had no idea what it was that took a lick.

Bass Pro Shops XPS Walleye Angler Spinner Blades - Deep Cup Colorado 

This is the spinner blade used mainly all season. 

 I was working the southeast bank and decided after 30 minutes to move.  Next I worked the south bank west of the boat ramp.  Again, I stayed with the spinner, like the one pictured above with a crawler, and S turned in and out working 2 to 5 feet.  There is a deep hole that goes down to 8 to 9 feet northwest of the beach, and I worked it also.  I picked up several crappie, but they were small and so lived another day.    

Bass Pro Shops Stainless Steel Hook Remover

I keep one in the boat at all times.  When you get a hook buried, you can always twist it out.

After 45 minutes, I moved to the west bank.  This area has rip rap, and some points sticking out into the lake.  There is some weed and sunken timber close to the bank, and I got hung up a couple of times.  I adjusted my distance from the bank to stay as close to the bank without getting snagged.   I had a couple of hits, but nothing really strong like a hungry feeding walleye.   This bank stretches north and south about a ¾ mile.  I switched to a red and white spinner and put on a crawler.  I also sprayed the bait with fish attractant.  Nothing happened.

Mister Twister Electric Fisherman Fillet Knife

Any big fish I catch gets the electric treatment to turn them into fillets.  I prefer having a cord instead of the cordless just because of failed or run down batteries that do not re-charge.

I decided to change and use a flicker shad and fish like I was in South Dakota. That did it. I picked up two walleyes, one right after the other off one of the points.  The fish were not big, but about 10 inches, and  walleyes that size were thrown back.  Thirty minutes later, I picked up another and then  a couple of really small fish.  I kept working south along the bank, but moved out to a little deeper water.  As it began to get light the action close to shore stopped and I focused more out from the bank.  By day light, the action stopped.  I was done for the day.  Time 6:45 and it was time for breakfast.  The whole point of this exercise was to see if there were any “eyes” in the lake. Not a bad experiment.

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Good hunting, good fishing, and good luck.  Hank

 
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