Long Weekend Report

[Deltaman]

Took off last Friday and yesterday, in hopes of some duck hunting. Lot of hunting (and some fishing), but not a lot of killing.
We do not get a morning flight of birds around here anymore, save Woodrow in a creek, and fare better heading out after sunrise, and scouting for areas that are holding birds.
Friday - Launched around 7:30 a.m. Spent an hour scouting/glassing different areas, and found about 200 Gadwalls sitting in the 2nd corner of Chocolatta (a local bay). Somebody had used a weedeater with blade to cut down all of the blinds in the pocket,. but no matter, we had plenty of cane. Wind blowing 15 mph out of NW, and we got st up and waited......and waited........very slow! Very little movement, but we did have a lone Gadwall pitch and commit suicide.
Saturday - Took my fiancé's son and launched on the causeway around 7:00 a.m. Spent about 1 1/2 hrs scouting before making a decision to set up on the spot where we saw the only birds we found, several hundred Gadwalls. I had cut 5 bundles of cane for the opener that we had not used, and had stashed nearby, so we picked it up and blinded out near the edge of a bar. Agan, pitifully slow. Killed one Gadwall and one Ringer, then only birds to pitch to stool, and that was it!
Saturday - Changed gears, hooked up my Seapro and launched causeway, but this time fishing instead of hunting. Tried our "do nothing" drift in Tensaw River, which is a great way to catch trout in the winter, but despite the outgoing tide and North winds, the fish were not there. Ran South and hit several places around the mouth of Mobile River, using live shrimp for bait, and caught 4 decent Specks, several Grounders, and a few big Sheepshead. A lot less work than hunting, and a good break.
Monday - Cut cane and launched causeway around 7:30 a.m. and spent the first hour scouting. Found a few birds South of the causeway and set up on them. Again, another day of almost no duck movement, and our hope was the winds would pick up just before the ensuing storm hit from the SW. It picked up a little, but not enough to draw the birds off of the open water of the bay. Killed 2 Gadwalls, and that was it. The highlight of the morning was watching as a coot swam up to our blind, through the cane, and my buddy caught it with his hands............hilarious. Took a few quick pics and released the petrified bird.
Lot of hunting, very little killing. Our duck season has completely changed from the days of old, and unless we have enough weather to push the birds off the big bay, might as well fish! As I mentioned, there is no more daylight flight that we grew up with, and is very disheartening. A strong North wind does very little to move the birds here, but give me a 20+ mile an hour South wind, and it can be awesome.

[Rick]

What's a grounder?

[Deltaman]

Yes, a grounder is a ground mullet.

[Rick]

Thanks. Had to look them up.