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My friend that introduced me into waterfowling knew I was an avid hunter, but he never realized he was starting something that just doesn't seem to go away. For me, I hope it never does. The birds would come and we would stand up and shoot together. There were bluebird days it seemed all we did was talk and look, but it became a passion for me. He would stand up and say, "We now salute those who are about to die." Never really figured that one out til I watched the movie Gladiator many years later. Rest in peace, my good friend.

We always went back and forth with this and that, but one thing it was hard to learn was when he would stop me from shooting little ducks. I knew we could shoot six, but he wanted to wait for what he called the nine o'clock mallard flight. It was tough changing in mid motion from the excitement of those great little ducks I have learned to love so much. I learned to shoot what I could on those bluebird days with no wind, even if he was grumbling. Duck weather would have me stop with a few teal in hand and wait with him. The teal seemed to stop early, so it wasn't too bad most of the time. We slowly started putting big ducks on the wall. I was happy. I finally understood.

There were also mornings we would sit til the twelve o'clock curfew with two to four teal each and wonder if we were crazy. Long wait. No ducks. Maybe I prayed for big ducks a few times. Probably did. He was always happy for me to watch the decoys while he would go on these little walks to check some of the other potholes. That worked well a few times I can remember. I was eating a sandwich when he disappeared for almost an hour when a lone black duck flew past me. He asked why I didn't shoot fifteen minutes later.

He never liked the little ducks like I did, but he still enjoyed the whole show. We placed a small tree on his grave last Christmas with curley mallard tail feathers here and there the wife hot-glued. It was still there in early January when we returned for it. It will go back this year again.

I could talk ducks all night, but was wondering how many of you guys wait on the big ducks, shoot the little ducks, or just enjoy it out there and take what God sends your way. As preparations are being made for this season, I jumped two lone big ducks the other afternoon. Made me think of my old partner. I hope God sends big ducks my way this season enough to keep up with all my memories. How about a nice brace of big ducks for my old friend? Good luck this season. Pray for some cold weather, too.

In East Tn we shoot whatever comes in and damn lucky too do that lol. Mainly hunt fields in Arkansas and you can be selective out there if you want. Which my crew never is, we shoot till we're limited out then let them use the field till the next day. If we don't limit were in till dark lol. We have passed and just watched shovelers a few times. I like them just not much eating. Like you said it's just great too be out doing it

Coot83 wrote:Same here in west tn..we shoot what works. I mainly hunt public birds..sometimes we don't fire a shot..and some days we hang green on the strap.

Non-discerning public land hunter myself, we don't pass on much. Only time I've really made an effort to pass was with the occasional flight of scaup plopping in the decoys when we've already got a decent few birds on the strap and plenty more still flying. Other than that, we put 'em down!

The only time we pass on them is when a group is working and one or two land in the decoys. If they try to get up before the group finishes all bets are off.

All depended on where we hunted, and what we had scouted in the area, but mostly waited on big ducks. Times have changed, less ducks and more hunters.......it's the old "resource ain't getting any bigger, but the user group has exploded". Gone are the days of waiting on Mallards and passing on other ducks, unless we have found them in an out of the way spot. Nowadays, hunting public land locally, you'd best take what shots you get when the getting is good.

If birds decoy I don't care what they are. I'm happy with a limit of teal or gadwall or whatever. Go home empty handed quite a bit so I learned to take what I was given.

It is real easy for me. I have never shot a 6 duck limit. I am not passing on any legal duck, except for an occasional pass on hen mallards. Last year I didn't even shoot 6 ducks Season duck total this season is 0, but optimism is high for a stellar year.

SpinnerMan wrote:It is real easy for me. I have never shot a 6 duck limit. I am not passing on any legal duck, except for an occasional pass on hen mallards. Last year I didn't even shoot 6 ducks Season duck total this season is 0, but optimism is high for a stellar year.

I'm glad you're still around. Makes me feel like I'm not the only season average dropper. Lol

The Duck Hammer wrote:

SpinnerMan wrote:It is real easy for me. I have never shot a 6 duck limit. I am not passing on any legal duck, except for an occasional pass on hen mallards. Last year I didn't even shoot 6 ducks Season duck total this season is 0, but optimism is high for a stellar year.

I'm glad you're still around. Makes me feel like I'm not the only season average dropper. Lol

It's been a tough few years for the ducks. In 2011 I got 30 ducks and averaged around a dozen per year prior to that where I hunt. Since then I have got 15 total.

Part of the decline is that I archery hunt a lot more, but part of the reason I archery hunt more is that there have been so few ducks.

I have a sea duck trip coming up and I've got some fields to hunt ducks and geese after we freeze out. That's the reason for my optimism. If not for that, I'd be worried about having another terrible year.

At least I've been doing pretty good for geese.

If my guys want to wait for big ducks tomorrow, they might oughta be prepared to watch their guide shoot six teal. Not keen on the notion of an opening day scratch, and from what I've been seeing, teal could be the whole show, 'cept maybe a mottled or woodie that didn't get the Mudhole memo during teal season.

If I were only there, that would be 12 teal on the strap with yours, Rick. Not needing but one more or maybe two mounters, they will have to come before I limit out. No more waiting for that lone duck unless I have nothing better to do. That doesn't seem to happen much any more, so let the feathers fly. I'm thankful for a friend and myself to be able to get limits on teal. Used to go home with just two wood ducks when first hunting.....if lucky enough. I think the days of big duck straps are over unless you are in the right place at the right time with the right weather and the right partner.

I will pass on birds I prefer not to eat, but have been known to come home with one drake hooded merganser....and glad to have gotten him just to feel like I was duck hunting. Duck numbers don't seem to keep up with hunters and habitat loss.

Was waiting to be picked up after an island quota hunt one time many, many years ago. There were four of us waiting together, having hunted in two separate spots. My first time hunting there, I was anxious and trigger happy. I was the only one of the four that had six. That was when I learned I couldn't go out and hunt that evening. Thankfully, my partner took one of my ducks for me to count as his. We were hunting together, so I didn't see any harm in that.

He told me "no little ducks!" as we went looking for our pothole. Following the compass, we found the pothole I had seen on a map that was not listed as a blind. We jumped a group of about fifty teal and two black ducks, but they went right back in another hole I knew nothing about. We set my partner up and I went to the other pothole. We could have left in one pass each, but I had to sit and watch teal all afternoon back and forth. The big ducks? They came back, but on the other end of the pothole and left unmolested.

I have to agree to take what shots you can get nowadays.