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Travel Plans for the 2021-22 Hunting Season

PostPosted: Wed Mar 10, 2021 1:21 pm
by SpinnerMan
Doesn't have to be travel, but what are your big plans for next year?

My first big plan is an East Coast sea duck hunting trip. We were going to do this last season but with Covid, we decided to stay within a days driver for our annual diver/sea duck trip. Hopefully, we can make this happen this year. Last we talked about it we were leaning towards Maine. Long Island looked way too expensive. We'd pay more in hotels than we did for our entire trips in the past.

I used to take a spring snow goose trip. Got burned out on that a couple years ago. This year I'm spending that money on some fishing trips instead.

PXL_20210301_191641475.jpg


I've floated the idea of a DIY trip this year maybe to ND. I want to do two trips. We have everything we need but the dog. I really need to make friends with somebody that has a dog that hunts ducks and upland birds. None of my regular hunting buddies have a useful dog :(

If I am able to continue to work from home, I am going to try hunting some public land during the week. I was going to give it a try this year, but with all the bucks I was seeing on my camera and how few ducks were being taken. I was far happier sitting in a tree stand hoping for a buck than sitting in a blind hoping for a duck. As it turned out I got neither buck nor duck which did suck.

Re: Travel Plans for the 2021-22 Hunting Season

PostPosted: Wed Mar 10, 2021 1:45 pm
by Duck Engr
Spinnerman is poet and we didn’t know it.

Re: Travel Plans for the 2021-22 Hunting Season

PostPosted: Mon Oct 04, 2021 4:57 pm
by don novicki
Michigan: specifically Lake St Clair in Oct and then Nov to hunt Long Tails in Lake MIchigan.........the really big water. Cant wait for the cold and snow....... :thumbsup:

Re: Travel Plans for the 2021-22 Hunting Season

PostPosted: Mon Oct 04, 2021 5:12 pm
by Duck Engr
Sounds like a good time Don! Hope you’ll report back to us and share the experience.

Re: Travel Plans for the 2021-22 Hunting Season

PostPosted: Tue Oct 05, 2021 5:46 am
by SpinnerMan
Good luck. Whereabouts in lake Michigan? A few of us went up to Green Bay a couple years ago. Planning to go chase the long tails but the weather had other plans for us. We had a really good hunt for blue bills, golden eyes, and buffleheads.

We had planned on going to Maine this year. All booked up. So mid December we're heading to Texas for cranes.

Re: Travel Plans for the 2021-22 Hunting Season

PostPosted: Fri Oct 08, 2021 4:01 am
by don novicki
Probably out of Muskegon. My buddies has a 21' duck water boat with a 150 on it. The boat feels safe when you are out there, but like you said it's all dependent on wind direction up there. I'll report here after the trip.Texas sounds good for cranes,flying Rib eye.

Re: Travel Plans for the 2021-22 Hunting Season

PostPosted: Wed Nov 10, 2021 12:57 pm
by don novicki
Weather and birds not cooperating. Not sure the hunt is even going to get off the ground. Not many birds from what I have heard on LSC. The bad thing about Michigan is that you have to buy the whole schmear for a license and thats over 150.00. Wish they had a 3 day NR license but they dont. Probably not going this season.......

Re: Travel Plans for the 2021-22 Hunting Season

PostPosted: Thu Nov 11, 2021 9:06 am
by SpinnerMan
don novicki wrote: The bad thing about Michigan is that you have to buy the whole schmear for a license and thats over 150.00.

They actually changed that. Last year I believe.

https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-350-79119_79147_82102---,00.html
WATERFOWL
License - $12.00
HIP registration/Migratory Bird Hunter - free (required for those who hunt migratory birds, including ducks, geese, woodcock, snipe, rails, etc.)
Federal Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp (Duck Stamp) - $28.00 (required for waterfowl hunters ages 16 and older)
*A non-resident 7-day ($80) or a non-resident 3-day ($50) small game license allows the purchase of a waterfowl license without the purchase of a base license


I haven't duck hunted except for opening day this year and that was more just to get together with my buddy than any real expectation of shooting a duck.

SpinnerMan wrote:If I am able to continue to work from home, I am going to try hunting some public land during the week. I was going to give it a try this year, but with all the bucks I was seeing on my camera and how few ducks were being taken. I was far happier sitting in a tree stand hoping for a buck than sitting in a blind hoping for a duck.

That's what I have done again so far this year as well. Illinois allows you to take 2 buck. I got a small one for the freezer. I'm hoping to get another one as well and would take a doe, but if I shoot another buck other than the last day or two I have to hunt for the year it will be a nice one.

I had a young one, maybe 4 or 5 pointer if you are really generous on the definition of a point at 10 feet, not yards, from me last night. The wind was wrong for my stand. So I decided to take a chair and cut a spot back in this thick clump of brush with a shooting lane south and east. He had no clue I was there, so I must have set up pretty good. That is until he circled around the brush and got down wind of me while still about 20' away. You could see the "oh shit" look on his face as soon as he hit my scent plume and realized I was so close :lol: It was cool to have a little buck so close. If only it were one of the big ones that have been spotted in the area.

SpinnerMan wrote:My first big plan is an East Coast sea duck hunting trip.
We decided on Maine. All the guides we wanted were booked solid for this fall. So we are booked for next year. Instead we are heading to Lubbock, TX to hunt sandhill cranes this December. It's three days. I might try to push the guys to hunt geese on the third day. They get cacklers and a fair number of specks. I've never gotten either and really want to get a speck after watching so many during snow goose trips when there was nothing you could do but watch them.

Re: Travel Plans for the 2021-22 Hunting Season

PostPosted: Thu Nov 11, 2021 4:57 pm
by don novicki
Sounds great and Sandhill is mighty good eating................... :thumbsup: