Date: 12/26 Tue
Time: morning
Location: Mudhole
Cloud Cover: off and on rain and drizzle
Wind Direction and Velocity: Strong easterly to moderate
Temperature: mid 40s
Moon phase: waxing 46%
Special Notes: Waterfowl Activity: few teal but good flight of HIGH big ducks
Waterfowl Responsiveness: Have been using the squacky DC most of this too calm season, but yesterday and today have been MVP days. Especially today when most birds had to be drawn from higher than yesterdays. Lots of "contest" hailing to impossibly high flights, which every now and then wouldn't just waver but touch their toes and drop.
Hunters: 2, Mark and JJ
Guns: We took their truck to the boathouse and found I'd left my 20 in my truck at the camp. Shot the spare 870 12 I keep in the blind and did OK with it. Mine's a beat to crap "truck gun," but it still fits just as it should.
Malfunctions: May have forgotten to pump a time or two and come up with an empty hull in the chamber, but not as bad as it might have been.
Dog(s): Marsh and I bumped handling heads a couple of times and could use some refresher but got the job done.
Special Equipment: Was too slow to kill the spinner on some power diving high birds that saw enough of what it is to keep right on going.
Curses: Other than Marsh's occasionally over-riding instruction, not a one.
Kudos: Great morning with great guys.
Birds By Species: 4 bw teal, 2 gw teal, 8 mallards, 3 mottleds and 1 pintail
Photo Ops: These guys are Basin hunters, and JJ's first pintail was a dandy:
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Plenty of orange:
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And a tailgate shot for brother Mike who was supposed to come too but wussed because of the rain forecast:
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