Aunt Betty’s epic 2022 season thread (lol)

[Ricky Spanish]

Start with the intro.
Remember ....I'm a dick.
https://youtu.be/y2GwrR-4Q9E

[Ricky Spanish]

20220130_165902.jpg

[Ricky Spanish]

20220128_192440.jpg

[Ricky Spanish]

Damn. Pics too big.
Pintails, mallards, and gads...oh my.
12-man limit on pins

[Deltaman]

Glad you had a good trip to AR this year AB

[Duck Engr]

Definitely eating pretty good!

[Ricky Spanish]

Definitely eating pretty good!

I had elk tenderloin one night the deer the next so I bought crawdads.

[Ricky Spanish]

My phone camera has pics that are too good and too big to post here. Rats.

[Ricky Spanish]

Hey...one fits.

20220130_080825.jpg

He's sporting a quick release strap from uhhhh I'll have to look it has a little black ball. Sport dog i think.
Tug it and he's loose.
Helps keep him steady. Just a pup.

[Duck Engr]

Great idea! Never seen a gizmo like that before.

[Ricky Spanish]

Great idea! Never seen a gizmo like that before.

https://gundogoutdoors.com/collections/ ... ll%20Pages

[Ricky Spanish]

The rufuge reformatted making the site look pretty much like this one and its not phone friendly at all so you might see some new people wander over. They're not going to show up happy either.

[Ricky Spanish]

Here's a picture of what you get with the dog release thing.

Screenshot_20220215-044052_Chrome.jpg

I got a cheaper model with no collar or titanium stakes.

[Ricky Spanish]

My season was OK. Early on low water made it tough.
Millet in skinny water thinks he can just run over and catch a duck. I have to let him learn on his own that he can't.
I don't believe in harsh corrections.
He was steady until live ducks and skinny water got introduced. D'oh. He will learn.
Water came in good after a 6 inch rain and ended wading just like that over.
Late season was icy and hard work but we really hurt the ducks in the ice. I used unusual tactics successfully.
Shot a wood duck with a 410 ...bismuth shot.
Aw chit pic too big.
Rats

[Ricky Spanish]

I'm negotiating with my call maker friend.
He wants honey and asked what I want.
I think I'd like another of these. Hedge throwback.
He quit making calls commercially but for me
Maybe I can get him to turn one more. Strange saga but I feel like he needs a little push back to the lathe.

[Ricky Spanish]

Dang...today 43.
Tomorrow Thursday 54
Friday morning -3F
This winter has been up n down like that a lot.
Not normal at all.
Climate change weather roller coaster?

Guess so

[Ricky Spanish]

Today is February 15th.
Deadline to report your kills on window permits for where I hunt. It's impossible to report. Website sends back error when you try to report.
I bet they'll hear about this.

[Deltaman]

Millet gonna be as big as you if he keeps growing!!!! Glad he got some practical experience under his belt in AR this season, and got to hunt with other hunters in the game too.

[Ricky Spanish]

Millet gonna be as big as you if he keeps growing!!!! Glad he got some practical experience under his belt in AR this season, and got to hunt with other hunters in the game too.

He is very strong.
Chris Atkinson has a very healthy strong high powered dog a lot like Millet. I get help from Chris

[Ricky Spanish]

I think millet retrieved around 100 ducks this season.
Most in two days in icy deep water.
We hunted out of this pontoon boat blind.

20220127_062911.jpg

It had a porch with a little door for getting the duck.
Dog stayed out to be safe. Too many guns
Five burner ventless propane heat...oven with stove.
Honey buns.

I sort of lucked out and got where I was point man (runner) on a crew or two.
I'd get the middle stake hole and set there until the gang showed up later. It's fun. I'd camp in the #1 spot so I automatically got any hole I wanted.

20220124_165400.jpg

[Ricky Spanish]

Figured out cloud pics are downsized.
That's his first pintail.

20220126_072050.jpg

They say I hunt with more people than anyone online.
It may be true.
I'm not picky.

[Duck Engr]

Man what a barge!! Would love to see a pic of the outside.

[Ricky Spanish]

At 4:50 they shot a nice fat drake mallard.
https://youtu.be/Roj7akQHv1U

[Ricky Spanish]

Man what a barge!! Would love to see a pic of the outside.

Here's video.
https://youtu.be/2JAtP2U6qB4

They can't build them fast enough. There are more than one

[Duck Engr]

Wow what a rig!

[Ricky Spanish]

Wow what a rig!

I sure was lucky.
I met this pilot one day.
Funny but one conversation and we both remembered each other in the dark? Twonyears later.
Two jon boats pull in at 530 and said "HI Mike".
I was stunned...they know my boat and talked to other people to check me out.
It took years but they all know me.
The guy driving the pontoon is deaf and he's the cropduster pilot's brother.
Keep going and you get to be like family.
Truth

[Ricky Spanish]

Man...have to do crazy stuff to get pics to fit.
We had fun that day. Millet is a camera hound.

DSC_1175_1.JPG

DSC_1172_3.JPG

DSC_1169_1.JPG

The camp is literally inside wma boundaries so they allow it. Try it around the corner and it's not. Sherrif will run you off. I sort of lucked into setting up in the exact right spot to get away with it. There is another spot that's even better. Some Alabama guys figured out they can camp on federal ground very nearby. I totally missed it.

[Rick]

Here's video.
https://youtu.be/2JAtP2U6qB4

Might want to talk to Chris Atkinson about he came to have a three-legged dog.

[Ricky Spanish]

Those guys live about 10 minutes away. From where I camp.
It took me several visits to realize I was free to take a shower or pretty much anything. Pool party this summer!
I stayed in camp mostly to not wear out my welcome.
Freezer access...priceless.
Once I hit possession limit I mailed my ducks home if it fits it ships.
What a break.
More...the older one is a big time farmer. He gave me permission to have bees on his land all I want.
What a perk. Plus his yard was full of pecans. Has a dozen trees. I was super happy raking them up...lol

[SpinnerMan]

They say I hunt with more people than anyone online.
It may be true.
I'm not picky.

Yeah, you took me out