SpinnerMan 2025-2026 Log

[SpinnerMan]

Date: October 18 (Opening Day)

Hunters: Myself and Jesse

Time: Morning

Location: B&G Blind 3

Weather Conditions: Lightning on the horizon and radar showing we are going to get shellacked at shooting time. 65 humid, little wind, and heavy overcast at sunrise to partly later.

We hustled to get the decoys out and seek shelter in the blind. But the nastiness on the radar either evaporated or went around us. Nothing but a few drops of rain.

Waterfowl Activity: Lots of wood ducks while it was still dark. Slowed a lot once it brightened.

Very hard to pick out of the dark background. Quite a bit of snap shooting. Not a lot a lot of hitting. If we had just a touch more light, we would have done better. That's my excuse anyways. We each got a woodie.

Curses: It was nice to have things go my way for a change. The rain skipped us and we had a beautiful morning.

Birds By Species: 2 wood ducks

Photo Ops:
Jesse heading out to hunt his woodie that fell in the brush with a rainbow in the background.

[Rick]

Not sure why your woodie hunt resonated with me so, but I swear I could smell the small waters I once hunted them on.

[SpinnerMan]

I should have added a note that I missed having a dog. We passed on some geese that would have fallen into an area I did not want to go to try and recover them.

Also we had a woodie zoom in on us low and was probably 15 yards max when Jesse pulled up quickly and missed. It popped up over the brush for an easy shot and I called him off the shot. He asked me if it was something he should not be shooting at. I asked him if he wanted to go retrieve it from over there. He thanked me.

I passed on one other shot because of where it would fall if I hit it.

When I had the dog, I didn't have to worry about this. Although all the buckthorn and other nastiness, she would occasionally come back with a bloody nose from going into the jungle.

[Deltaman]

Glad the rain didn't materialize, and y'all ended up with a few birds for the pot!
Thanks for the report Ed!

[SpinnerMan]

Date: October 25

Hunters: Myself and Jesse

Time: Morning

Location: B&G Blind 15G

Weather Conditions: Cool, calm and cloudy

Waterfowl Activity: Very little, but enough to feel like we were hunting with a surprising lack of geese which was particularly problematic since we set up for geese.

Malfunctions: I took a single shot at some passing wood ducks. Couldn't get a shell into the magazine I go to cycle the shells. No shell in the chamber Shell cycles from the magazine. I reload. Go to unload to pack up. Shell sticks in the magazine again

Birds By Species:

[SpinnerMan]

Date: November 1

Hunters: Myself, Mike, and Steve

Time: Morning

Location: B&G Blind 8G

Weather Conditions: Cool, calm and sunny

Waterfowl Activity: I didn't actually see a duck. My blind partners saw about a half dozen. Low numbers of geese.

We didn't see a lot of geese. We had a couple that looked like they were responding to me but somebody shot. I think skybusting at those geese, but maybe something I didn't see. I had another one looking like it was going to come in perfect and then it just landed way short and kept calling. What I didn't see was that it was a pair and it's mate dropped dead and it landed with it. So we got one goose without firing a shot. I guess we didn't get skunked or did we. I'm confused.

Birds By Species: DNS, but still got 1 Canada Goose

[don novicki]

How you do dat ?

[SpinnerMan]

How you do dat ?

One of the nearby blinds shot at a pair of geese. The pair flow to within about 60 yards of our blind when one of them bled out and dropped dead.

I probably could have added a curses line. The three blinds closest to us all did a good bit of shooting. I know the blind behind us got 6 geese. I don't know what the other two blinds did. We were in the right area, but just not quite the right spot.

[SpinnerMan]

Date: November 8

Hunters: Myself and Matt

Time: Morning

Location: B&G Blind 8

Weather Conditions: Almost chilly, light north wind and cloudy

Waterfowl Activity: Saw some distant ducks not too much going on. Surprisingly low numbers of geese

Matt and I had a good time chit chatting with an occasional interruption to call at ducks or geese. Matt took a crack at some flybies after the blind to our north shot a suicide single making it likely to be the only chance on that small group.

Birds By Species: 0

[SpinnerMan]

Date: November 16

Hunters: Myself

Time: Morning

Location: B&G Blind 10

Weather Conditions: Chilly, moderate north wind and not a cloud in the sky

Waterfowl Activity: Saw about 10 ducks. Surprisingly low numbers of geese again

Really not much to say other than it was a beautiful morning to be outdoors.

Birds By Species: DNS

Lagniappe: A pair of absolutely gorgeous big mature bald eagles came over. They were soaring in circles around each other letting the north wind push them on their southward migration.

[SpinnerMan]

Date: December 6

Hunters: Myself, Jose, Chris, and Chris's buddy whose name I forgot

Time: All Day

Location: Migrators Pit 11

Weather Conditions: Around 30F, light west wind, overcast, about 6" of snow on the ground

Waterfowl Activity: A lot of big flocks of geese that had been in the area and knew where they were going. Save one flock of about 50 ducks and a couple others, the rest apparently decided to go a different direction

Hunted with a couple guys new to waterfowl hunting. Had they covered up I think we might have got a couple opportunities on geese. But overall quite disappointing.

Birds By Species: DNS

[SpinnerMan]

Date: January 4

Hunters: Myself and Matt

Time: Morning

Location: B&G Blind 22

Weather Conditions: Perfect for late goose. A little below freezing, light north wind, and overcast

Waterfowl Activity: What should have been more than enough geese, decent numbers with at least a few birds regularly all morning

We had a number of times where they responded to the call but just give us a look and move on. Other than actually shooting any birds, it was a good morning of goose hunting.

Curses: I forgot my gun, but it turned out to be a good thing. I set up and then headed back home to grab my gun. Ran into Matt while heading out. So I invited him to join me.

Birds By Species: DNS

[SpinnerMan]

Date: January 5

Hunters: Myself

Time: Morning

Location: B&G Blind 8G

Weather Conditions: Perfect for late goose. A little below freezing, light south wind, and overcast becoming sunny

Waterfowl Activity: Good numbers of geese from the time I got in the blind until it died at 10AM. Even heard a speck.

Birds By Species: TAS (Thought About Shooting)

Late season birds that are just tough. Had birds around nearly the whole time. I was a bit worried when it seemed like the entire roost headed out early in about a 10 minute period. Flocks of 20-50 all over the sky with a large fraction passing right overhead. Just couldn't peel any off.

Later I had one flock of about 10 low and heading straight to me. Just out of range they hooked around behind me. Still working but 1 wants in, 4-5 are right behind him, and 4-5 are "I don't know about this guys" and are hanging further back. The one anxious to come in came close enough I thought about shooting him, but I really thought I could get most if not all of them feet down. Once I realized they just didn't want to go over the decoys, I was going to shoot as soon as they came far enough around on my right to shoot. They turned back about 10 yards short and I could never get them back.

I haven't hunted late season geese at the club I hunt early goose and ducks until it freezes in years. I forgot how decoy shy they can be. I rarely move decoys. I made a big move putting the decoys far out so if they skirted the decoys like that group it would put them right over me instead of behind me. That's how I used to set up there for late season geese there. I am pretty sure if I would have set up like this at least 4 or 5 of them would have come right over top of me about 30 yards up. But that was the last group to show any interest.

50 and rain later this week, so that really screws hunting for next weekend.

[SpinnerMan]

Date: January 11

Hunters: Myself

Time: Morning

Location: B&G Blind 8G

Weather Conditions: Perfect for late goose. A little below freezing, moderate west wind, and overcast

Waterfowl Activity: Lots of geese heard in the distance but very few within eyesight. Heard what I am pretty sure was a flock of specks in the distance.

Birds By Species: DS (Did Shoot) Just not effectively.

Had a pair flyover while setting up in the dark.

Fairly early I had a single make a beeline for me. Passed right over top plenty low enough. Smacked him pretty good and he started coming down. My celebration quickly turned to "Oh shit" as he recovered but was now behind me. I tried to do a pirouette to finish him off, but whiffed on the second shot.

Not long after that I heard some geese behind me. Didn't realize how close they were. I am pretty sure they were heading my way but rook a 90 degree turn after I am pretty sure they busted me when I poked my head up to look behind me. They were only about 60-70 yards behind me.

That was pretty much it. Saw a few off in the distance. Heard a whole lot of shooting to the west.

[SpinnerMan]

Addendum: Guess I should have hunted in the park across the street from my house. There were another couple dozen on the lake, too.

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[Duck Engr]

Rubbing salt in the wound!

[SpinnerMan]

Date: January 27

Hunters: Myself, Ron, Dave

Time: Morning through early afternoon

Location: MU #4

Weather Conditions: Cold, sunny with a few clouds later, windy with relentless blowing snow

Waterfowl Activity: A small flurry of activity around noon after nothing all morning

Birds By Species: 1 Canada goose (not the one I missed)

Curses: A bit of miscommunication on a pair that we should have let get into spitting distance but someone got in a hurry, exacerbated by a frozen gun.

We had two that looked like they were going to come over and shake our hands, but as soon as the got in range I see the pit lid next to me sliding. I wasn't ready to go and got in a hurry. Missed my first shot and then pretty sure my gun was frozen from all the snow blowing in the pit and it didn't cycle for a second shot. And I had to leave early for a doctor's appointment.

We gad a few working birds and had a single do everything right but land while we were watching a flock to the west. Probably within 25 yards if not less but I didn't see him until it was too late for me to shoot without ringing ears and neither of them saw him in time. either.

Then I had to leave at 1PM knowing more geese were likely to be coming.

I got this text "You left too soon. Worked a bunch in and we dropped 5. Done. Later bud."

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[Deltaman]

Murphy's Law