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Despite several setbacks, finally got to hunt again in the new boat. Dustin took time during the week to repair the boat trailer from the wreck, made several upgrades, sanded the scratch on the boat, repainted, and added camo hydro-turf to the floor and top surfaces (love that shet).


Everything done on boat and trailer, and he even somewhat repaired the cracked motor cowl (ordered a replacement to the tune of $400+, and that is w/o graphics ), at least well enough for us to use, so Saturday morning, we hooked the motor up to be sure it would run, and after cranking, found gas pouring out, somewhere in the head..........crap, crap, crap! Tried to follow the gas line to find the leak, but could not determine the source Never the one to give up, Dustin called a mechanic friend, and headed back to Gulf Shores, in hopes of repairing......... today. The mechanic found the leak, and it turned out to be a plastic part that had been cracked from the impact of the recent wreck. After several phone calls, a spare was not to be had locally. I probably would've thrown my hat down after this, but he was determined to get it fixed, so he ran up to Harbor Freight, found a plastic welder, and damn if he didn't fix it! He called me at 2:00 p.m., to meet him at the launch for a late afternoon scout. Spent the next two hours riding and looking, and the very last place we checked, a small out of the way nook on the side of a bay, was holding a sizable wad of Gadwalls. Up early Sunday, making sure we had plenty of time to cut cover and set up, and made the 20 minute run to the spot. Daylight came and went, and we were beginning to think maybe the birds were there on a fluke, when they finally started to trickle in. Wasn't a barn burner, but we had steady action off and on until we were able to eek a 2 man limit of Gadwalls. Did not see any other specie of duck, heard precious little shooting in the surrounding area, and had to smile when thinking of the determination that boy had, that made it even possible. We were able to pick up decoys, pull up every trace of the blind, and slip out of there by 9:00 a.m. We eased off at a distance to eat a sandwich, and watched, as group after group of birds returned to the spot. Can't believe these birds have gone unnoticed to date, and am hoping we can whack'em one more time later this week. Took a pic of Dustin with our day's take.

hmmmmmmm. obviously clicked on thw wrong pic for my new boat...........here it is:

That would be a huge hunt here these days.

Very nice, and that boat looks awesome.

Rick, I read the reports on here after I posted mine, and was taken aback at the low bird tallies in your area. Do you think the birds just have not made it, or do you think they are doing the yo yo thing. Buddies South of Venice this past weekend, called me Friday night to say that the birds finally arrived, but i have yet to get their kill reports.
Pretty sure we were the only boat to have a decent hunt in our area yesterday, and the rest of the day spent scouting, did not reveal an appreciable amount of ducks any where else that we searched.

DComeaux wrote:Very nice, and that boat looks awesome.

Thanks Dave, and here are a few more pics of it:




Really liking the camo hydroturf, and the first time I have had it in a boat. We've still got to customize the tie downs, (those orange straps look terrible), camo the motor once we get the replacement cowl, and put my 4-blade ss prop back on it, and tht should complete it.

Deltaman wrote:Rick, I read the reports on here after I posted mine, and was taken aback at the low bird tallies in your area. Do you think the birds just have not made it, or do you think they are doing the yo yo thing.

Don't think the ducks have made it here in numbers yet, and believe most of what we've seen at times is hiding out in low pressure areas.

Good job guys. That's a mess of Gadwall.