SpinnerMan 2020-2021 Logs

[SpinnerMan]

Date:January 16

Hunters: Myself, Chris, and John and his dog

Time: Morning

Location: Migrators Pit 8

Weather Conditions: Snowing and ~30F 10 mph WNW going to overcast and upper 30's and no wind.

Waterfowl Activity: Quite a lot of mallards and slow but steady geese

Birds By Species: 1 Canada

If ducks were still in we'd have had a very good day.

Saw enough Canadas to keep it interesting but most are stale birds. Few showed any interest. We had two give us a flyby straight over the pit, probably not even 20 yards up absolutely hauling ass. We were able to snap off a couple quick shots as they buzzed over and folded one.

Unfortunately by the end of the morning we had lost most of the snow. Hopefully, we pick up some more snow tonight.

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[Rick]

Back in the saddle.

[SpinnerMan]

Back in the saddle.

For the rest of the season.

Unfortunately the weather forecast doesn't look like things are going to improve. This weekend might be the last best hope.

[SpinnerMan]

Date:January 18

Hunters: Myself

Time: Morning

Location: Migrators Pit 3

Weather Conditions: Partly cloudy and mid 20's with light W wind to flurries and about 10 mph W.

Waterfowl Activity: A fair number heard but only 2 seen

Birds By Species: DNS

I forgot my phone and had to turn around which put me at the clubhouse 10 minutes after the draw. Didn't really think that would matter on a Monday when hunting is slow. My first 4 choices were taken. While we have 15 pits, for a variety of reasons it really only left me two which both had concerns.

Pit 3 is one of the best pits normally, but the farmer really plowed it up, but I'm thinking we have some snow.

Pit 18 is our furthest pit. You don't see many birds, but you have a good chance at the ones you see. High probability of seeing nothing.

Honestly, I don't think it mattered but I went with 3 and regretted it before I even turned into the field. There was clearly not enough snow to hide what was underneath.

By the time the geese were starting to get up, there was light flurries. Enough to reduce visibility to about 3/4 of a mile or so.

I heard quite a lot of geese, but all just seeming a little too far west to be visible and only one single had any interest in what I had to say.

I had one single come to my call from a long ways to the west to just give me a high look before moving on.

The field looked like crap. Actually, if you looked at the field to the east, it looked pretty well snow covered. However, if you looked to the west it looked like a plowed dirt field. We got just enough of a snow with a west wind to cover the west side of the dirt clumps, but not the east side

I think once he got east of me. Things just didn't look right.

The other came a long ways straight at me from the northeast and never veered from course passing about 100 yards west. Even though it was flying low and slow just kept on going without skipping a wing beat.

I'm thinking an inch of snow and I get one or both of them.

Didn't see a single duck either.

Very disappointing morning. Going to get very cold tonight without much wind, so let's hope that freezes enough open water to move some birds south.

[SpinnerMan]

Date: January 26

Hunters: Myself and Jose

Time: All day

Location: Migrators Pit 11

Weather Conditions: Cloudy with some flurries to some snow squalls about an inch of snow on the ground

Waterfowl Activity: Moderate duck activity and slow but regular goose activity ending in chaos

Birds By Species: 6 Canadas

We were supposed to have got 4-8 inches of snow last night but only got about 2" where I lived which wasn't near enough to push the geese south. Only about an inch around the cooling lake but with the cloudy and flurries to squalls seemed to unstale the birds that were there. Early on we saw few geese but they gave us a look which was promising but just couldn't get anything to finish. Got to watch the duck flights mostly high but chattering a lot.

About 2, we decided to make a big shift in the spread. We opened it way up. A flock that looked interested busted us in the process.

About 2:30 or so we got a pretty good squall. Shortly there after we had about 10 geese looking like they were finally going to do it for us. When they were at about 60-70 yards or so, out of nowhere about 100 ducks or more just start buzzing the blind about 30 yards up. We had a wall of ducks between us and the geese. They kept zipping back and forth between us and the geese. Ducks just going every which way. The geese are just hanging there, not coming through the wall of ducks. I actually thought about pulling out my phone to try and get some video of this craziness. This was really freaking cool. I wasn't even really bummed that the ducks ran our geese off. The geese were in range at their closest but there was no way we could shoot through the ducks before they bugged out.

One of the craziest things I've seen waterfowl hunting.

Shortly thereafter we had 6 geese do it perfectly. I dropped 3 of them at about 25 yards. Jose dropped one with the first shot. His second shot didn't go bang. This threw him off. His third shot the bird didn't go down. He kept an eye on them. About 350 yards, the one drops dead. This completely confused the lone goose. So he turned around and came right back to us. 6 for 6 the hard way.

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[5 stand]

Awesome!

[Duck Engr]

What a day! Awesome!

[Rick]

Churchill was right about perseverance. ('Least that time.) Duck show must have been something.

[Deltaman]

What a way to end the day, and help close the season on a high note!!!!!!!
Great report and Pics Spinner, and glad the birds gave y'all a show

[SpinnerMan]

That is one of those moments I'll be talking about for the rest of my life.

[SpinnerMan]

Date: January 28

Hunters: Myself

Time: Morning

Location: Migrators Pit 22

Weather Conditions: Sunny, cold (7F at sunrise), moderate NW wind, and less than an inch of old snow.

Waterfowl Activity: Very little geese left the lake and didn't see a duck

Birds By Species: 2 Canadas

Sunny is the worst conditions for late season goose. When it's cold, they just sit on the lake and get a tan or something.

First time hunting one of our pits in the new premium location we picked up last year, but couldn't get the pits in until this year because it wouldn't stop raining last fall.

While I probably saw less than 100 geese including a wad of probably 50, if today's activity is any indication of the attractiveness of this field, we are freaking golden.

I wasn't going to go over there, but one guy I trust suggested I should. I was picked last this morning. The reason I didn't want to go is because the farmer deep plowed the field. It looks like hell and there is not even close to enough snow to hide that it's plowed dirt. It's just giant ruts except for the tire tracks directly to the pit which is tramped down and the snow mostly melted around what looks just like a place someone would kill you from if you are a goose. But he said they had seen a lot of birds there yesterday. So I wisely heeded his advice.

First flock of around 10 came out low and made a beeline right at me. But did what I feared. Once it got close, it just skirted me clearly not liking what it was seeing and then went on its way.

A little while later a second flock of about the same size did the exact same thing. It came right too me, then just skirted around looking things over, clearly not liking what it was looking at, and then off it went.

Both were too far, although I'm sure not too far for some. I had some marginal second guessing but they were a little out of range. I think without the big ruts and without the area around the pit that looks like hell, and they suck right in that extra 20 yards at least.

I saw a few high birds heading out including the wad of about 50.

Then I had a pair make a beeline right for me. Same thing. Once they got close, they just got real hesitant. Again, just a little further than I care to whack at 'em.

But unlike the others, they made another swing around. Again, still looking like they wanted in but clearly uncomfortable with what they were looking at. Unfortunately for them and fortunately for me, they closed the gap just enough on the second swing around. No way, I'm waiting for a third. I was pleased with myself that I dropped them both. These were not the gimme shots like the other day.

A little after that I saw one single Ross that passed over about 100 yards up. A very rare sight for us.

I had one more flock of about 7 or 8 make a beeline right for me. Came a long ways but once they got close, you could just see the attitude change and off they went.

A large fraction of the geese I saw just headed straight for this field. My fears of the conditions were justified. We square that away in the future, and this field looks like it could be amazing.

I think I only heard one other shot in the whole area. Sunny days. Very few geese leave the lake. Sunny again tomorrow, but Saturday looks like it should be better conditions.

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That fog you see is the cooling lake that is only 0.7 miles away.

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But there are some people not real happy with us picking up this field. One of those buildings are the clubhouse for a large daily pay goose hunting operation in the area. It's only 250 yards from the pit I was hunting. They hunt the adjacent field on the north half of ours. On the south half of our field. Our field is a mile north to south. There is one of Dave's favorite flooded corn operations. There's a ton of money just to our west and we set up shop right between them and the lake

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[Rick]

Being huge fan of rough plowed ground and even huger hater of blinds dumbasses have made look like blinds, I'm inclined to think the later your issue.

[SpinnerMan]

Being huge fan of rough plowed ground and even huger hater of blinds dumbasses have made look like blinds, I'm inclined to think the later your issue.

I've never seen Canadas in deep plowed fields. Granted we don't often see deep plowed fields and the rare occasion we do, when hunting we usually have enough snow that you could have a parking lot under there, the geese wouldn't know.

But when they are plowed like that, it's hard to make the pit look like the rest of the field when it's not snow covered. The farmer obviously plowed around the pit for starters. And just driving out to the pit at the beginning of the season to put in the decoys, heaters, covers, etc. would create an obvious road in the soft dirt. Add some more traffic and a little use and no snow to hide things. I can definitely buy that it's the blind standing out more than the deep plowed field.

[Rick]

Rough plowed ground has both some of last year's seed and new winter greens for the birds. May have to work up what's around the blind to match the field and then dress some of the field to match what's covering the pit hole.

Rub in your situation is rotating blind use with folks too lazy or dumb to manage tracks in and out to pit and while setting spreads, picking up hulls and such.

[SpinnerMan]

We have zero new growth up here. It's just dirt and with a million acres of unplowed ground around with waste grain laying on top, it's not the best place to feed.

But I can believe if we could blend the blind better, it would help a lot.

[Rick]

Since those flights were zeroed on your decoys until blind conditions pushed them off, it would appear they didn't share your disdain for plowed ground.

[SpinnerMan]

Date: January 29

Hunters: Myself

Time: Morning

Location: Migrators Pit 20

Weather Conditions: Cloudy to sunny, cold, moderate SE wind, and less than an inch of old snow.

Waterfowl Activity: Most geese I have seen in a long time, zero ducks

Birds By Species: DNS

Huge numbers of geese going out in all directions I could see. Nearly all high to stratospheric and mostly in large to huge flocks. Nothing showed any interest. It was quite the show.

Interesting sunrise as well.

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[SpinnerMan]

Date: January 30

Hunters: Myself, Jose, and Jason

Time: Morning

Location: Migrators Pit 11

Weather Conditions: Cloudy around freezing, strong SE wind, and about 2/3 snow cover.

Waterfowl Activity: Slow goose flight and handful of ducks

Birds By Species: DNS

We had a few show some interest but we had birds on the ground about a half mile behind us and just couldn't compete.

We are going to get the snow tonight that I wish we would have gotten two weeks ago. Probably good hunting tomorrow, but I'm burned out and not up for driving through crappy roads and snow to find out.

The decoys have migrated to storage.