SpinnerMan 2023-2024 Season Summary

[SpinnerMan]

My season was very much average. After last year's terrible season and the preceding year's well below average season, average felt pretty good.

Early goose started off pretty well. There were birds around which is never a certainty in early goose and I got a few including a locally banded goose. Had fun fishing after setting decoys and before the sun comes up. Caught one of my top 5, maybe top 3 biggest largemouth.

Regular duck season I went out a few times but saw birds most every time out. Got a couple ducks and geese.

Still can't get a duck for my wife, but she had fun going along with me on a few hunts.

Our annual hunting trip was to the Chesapeake Bay. Hunting was OK. Bird watching was great. Overall a fun trip to a new area where we saw a lot of variety and numbers of birds. Added two new species to my list with my first ruddy duck and first surf scoter. Always a big plus for me.

Late season goose had been a bust the last couple years, but had a few good days of hunting including one great day with a lot of action and geese that made us work for them which made it all the more satisfying to get a 4-man limit.

Species - My harvest / Total group harvest including my harvest
Canada Geese - 12/27 (1 local band for me)
Coot - 1 / 1

Black Scoter 0 / 3
Bufflehead 1/3
Bluebills 1 / 1
Mallards 2 / 2
Old Squaw 1 / 9
Ruddy Ducks 1 / 2
Surf Scoter 1 / 2

Total Ducks - 7/22

Total Waterfowl - 20/50

For me those totals are about average with less days hunting. A 1.25 birds per day is quite a bit better than average.

Deer hunting was again my primary focus for the season. I didn't get out as many days as I would have liked as life interfered a little, but still got out about 17 times over the season. I saw deer almost every time I was out which made for a nice season, especially after last years deer drought. I got a fat button buck in archery season in quite the memorable fashion. Still continued my buck fever problem or whatever causes my perpetual problems in bagging antlered deer when I missed (still haven't taken the gun to the range yet) an easy shot at a large body decent rack buck with my shotgun.

It was really good to have a decent season after thing went so poorly last year.