Threes company
5 AM hit and my alarm sent me rushing through the house getting coffee and loading the truck. I left on time and even my stop at the gas station seemed to go quickly and smoothly.
I made it to my parking spot got out with my headlamp on, slipped into my waders, and grabbed my gun and kayak which was already full of decoys. I made my way across the road and down the little path going as quick as I could knowing if I stopped I would quickly lose motivation to drag it anymore.
I made it to the water and slowly paddled to my spot knowing I had plenty of time yet. I pulled up onto the bank found the spot, and began digging my decoys out of the back.
I set the wood duck decoys right on the bank edge about 10 yards above where I was planning on sitting. The handful of mallard decoys I had were placed right in front of me and yet again close to the bank with a wind quartering away from it.
I had a good feeling about the setup and with half an hour to fine-tune my hide I was feeling extremely confident I would be in for a decent morning.
As light began to break there were no whistling wings of ducks.
It wasn't until about 20 minutes after shooting light that I caught a glimpse of a flock of wood ducks in a dip in the tree line. I grabbed my call and gave them a few squeaks it was still dark enough that I wasn’t able to see them below the tree line and yet soon the white bellies emerged about 30 yards away as they landed and swam to the bank.
I was debating making my way towards them and jump-shooting them but I figured I would give them a few minutes so I gave a couple more squeaks on my wood duck call and 2 of the bunch quickly emerged from the corner of the weeds. They swam down and when they got about 15 yards I stood up and as they flushed my bead swung across the drake and toppled him, and my second and third shots seemed like they should have hit the hen and yet she made it out unfazed.
I gathered my drake and tucked back in, intently watching for the next bird.
It wasn’t until a while later that a silhouette of a mallard appeared extremely far away. With nothing better to do I called as hard as I could at it and instantly his wings stopped beating and he spun with cupped wings. He was just too far below me when he made his first swing and wouldn’t center up on the decoys.
With him responding that way I sat grasping my call knowing the next bird I saw if I called right away would be centered up better and more than likely come in.
About 5 minutes later another bird appeared right about the same location and with the loudest hail call I could muster his wings locked and as he came down his wing tips were just about touching while his orange feet dangled. As his wings began backpedaling trying to slow himself down I sat up, placed my bead on him, and sent him the last couple of feet down to the water. I picked him up and was once again waiting.
I had a couple more birds work but it ended with them passing by as I still was trying to get into the groove of duck season again.
A bird came flying out of the trees behind me and as it made it to the opposite tree line I realized it wasn’t one of the blue jays that had been trading back and forth all day but rather a wood duck. I grabbed my call and he turned, coasting down to where the ones had landed closer to first light.
He went out of sight and I had just assumed he landed until he came flying back down. I called at him again and he turned straight for me. He came over the top of me at about 15 yards and as I swung on him, I lost him behind the barrel, and as he reappeared a shot sent him cartwheeling down to the muddy bank.
With three drakes in my kayak and a much-needed trip to Menards in order, my morning of duck hunting had to come to an end as I packed up and ventured home.
