Post-Season 2018

Re: Post-Season 2018

Postby Rick » Wed Jun 13, 2018 3:19 pm

Darren wrote:2.) Trading Mojo's for new lucky ducks. So instead of two mojo teal and/or doves, will be going with a Lucky Duck full size mallard and a GW teal, both on same remote. Hoping full size bird helps with that long off flash many report as effective.

Thoughts on pole lengths? Prefer them as high as possible in effort to get as much visibility at distance as possible, or more realistically closer to water surface? Deeper ponds we hunted in marsh last year would need a LONG pole to account for the mud, the water and any real height above water.


If they can't see a spinner, they're not coming to it, so I want mine high enough to be seen over the marsh grass by distant low-flying teal. Meaning at least a bit higher than most of the surrounding vegetation:
003a.jpg


Also means using all of a 10' section of 1/2" metal conduit to get the elevation shown above and wind-withstanding purchase in my particular pond. (Have an 8' section I've been using with the teal spinner I add on the other end of the pond in the September season, but wouldn't trust it with a full-sized spinner's wind resistance.)

Removing those poles is a booger most easily expedited by bending them for leverage and turning while pulling to help break the bottom's suction. Which is fine with the semi-permanent one on the east end that only gets changed out when badly bent by the boat or some such. But I've drilled a hole in the September-only pole big enough to run a phillip's head screwdriver through for leverage to rotate and pull it out.

Guess I'll add that I coat the inside 1/2" of the earth end of the conduit with Marine Goop before flattening it to a spade-like end and also cover the top end with a spend 12ga hull when there's no spinner on it to keep water from getting inside and rusting the pole that much faster.

Haven't seen (or paid attention to) a Lucky Duck in years, but remember a square post that I'd think would fit inside a 3/4" metal conduit, if not outside a 1/2" one.
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Re: Post-Season 2018

Postby Ericdc » Wed Jun 13, 2018 4:28 pm

I would get them up 4-6’ off the water if you can in the marsh.

I definitely agree that the full size wings work better. I have 2 full size mojos on same remote.

I use them during regular season too on sunny days and good wind cloudy days when we have a good flight (new birds), but if it’s a day where we are just fighting local birds and not much wind I keep them in the blind.

My friends tried the flickers and threw them in the trash after a couple hunts. Maybe you can sell them and recoup a little?




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Re: Post-Season 2018

Postby SpinnerMan » Wed Jun 13, 2018 4:50 pm

I think in a field the flickers might help. The birds can see them sitting on the ground if you have a dark background and they are cheap to scatter around.

I'm actually thinking of creating my own from a couple old trolling motor I have. Put several on one shaft for hunting in the field. More seems like more when you are out in the field. Even for the baby mojos, they add up really fast. Set the battery next to the blind and put the mojos out among the decoys. Then you can just turn them on and off by unhooking the battery. May run a plug connection that you can keep in the blind, so you don't have to reach to turn them on and off. Then again, I have to find time to do it and I can't find time to do much of anything these days.
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Re: Post-Season 2018

Postby aunt betty » Wed Jun 13, 2018 4:54 pm

Am convinced that all I need is a cat and a few hundred gallons of diesel fuel to make any Illinois Canada goose hunt a success.
Something about fresh dirt and bulldozers attracts them.
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Re: Post-Season 2018

Postby SpinnerMan » Wed Jun 13, 2018 6:34 pm

aunt betty wrote:Am convinced that all I need is a cat and a few hundred gallons of diesel fuel to make any Illinois Canada goose hunt a success.
Something about fresh dirt and bulldozers attracts them.

I want more mallards when if they show before the end of the season.
As far as the Canadas, they do seem to be quick to the fresh cut fields.
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Re: Post-Season 2018

Postby aunt betty » Thu Jun 14, 2018 7:10 am

SpinnerMan wrote:
aunt betty wrote:Am convinced that all I need is a cat and a few hundred gallons of diesel fuel to make any Illinois Canada goose hunt a success.
Something about fresh dirt and bulldozers attracts them.

I want more mallards when if they show before the end of the season.
As far as the Canadas, they do seem to be quick to the fresh cut fields.


I'm talking about scraping the top foot off. When they closed Octave Chanute AFB I got to see just how good it works. The fed boys started digging and omg over 50,000 Canada geese magically appeared and they return annually. Chanute was the firefighter training facility for many years. Big ass fires every day. They contaminated the soil. It had to be taken away, burned some more?, then returned to the site, and buried real deep.
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Re: Post-Season 2018

Postby Darren » Thu Jun 14, 2018 7:36 am

The Lucky Ducks use a round T-post design at the connection with the bird, think it's something like 3/4" of a hole in the body of the bird, with the bungee cord affixing to the T aspect as shown below in the two I have. Got that flocked mallard so guaranteed to lock in those wary early season blue wings :lol:

Capture.JPG


GW teal.jpg


Since the standard poles are only 5 ft long or so, we've been putting them inside PVC poles so really can get all the length I could need and also helps keep the metal pole out of the brackish water. The (fatter) PVC poles also hold better in the soft marsh mud we have with no bottom to it. Have a welder buddy supposed to be making me some completely sealed, one-piece poles from aluminum so that will take care of the rust problems.

@Eric, yea may put the FAFs on FB or LetGo just to get rid of them. If any of yall want them let me know, have three
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Re: Post-Season 2018

Postby Ducaholic » Thu Jun 14, 2018 9:13 am

I use floating mojo's and never cared for putting them up high even when I used poles. I always thought they were meant to mimic ducks on the water stretching their wings and flapping to rid them of water. I don't hunt marsh or rice so what I do works for me.
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Re: Post-Season 2018

Postby Darren » Thu Jun 14, 2018 9:19 am

Ducaholic wrote:I use floating mojo's and never cared for putting them up high even when I used poles. I always thought they were meant to mimic ducks on the water stretching their wings and flapping to rid them of water. I don't hunt marsh or rice so what I do works for me.


Yea usually see them on floaters like you're talking about in the timber, or as a compliment to those on stakes in a field/marsh setting. You just can't see them from distance when they're below the marsh grass line; our grass is usually 4ft or so, sometimes more, above the water's surface.
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Re: Post-Season 2018

Postby aunt betty » Thu Jun 14, 2018 9:46 am

Try to avoid the duck on a stick look. I do big water and timber mostly.
If I thought it'd work I'd use a ten foot conduit and have but it was because the water was 9' deep.

My long black pole brings all the ladies to the yard...

(I wish)
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Re: Post-Season 2018

Postby Rick » Thu Jun 14, 2018 11:05 am

johnc wrote:Sure looks like there would be a big bass in there


It's an illusion: inches of water over feet of sludge - in a wet year:

018.jpg


The above shots were taken after the 2016 flood. But it's looking to be more like the 2010 and 2011 drought years coming up:

2011-2012hunting007-5a.jpg
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Re: Post-Season 2018

Postby Darren » Thu Jun 14, 2018 12:37 pm

Rick, your spinner with the visiting colorful decoys reminded me of another perk of our new public stompin grounds that are further out on coast......no woodies to worry about.

Have been seeing plenty of squealers and mottleds, however, but find those less likely to be misidentifed at LST darkness.

Of note, tomorrow is said to be the release of some new Avery/GHG dekes, not sure I'll sleep tonight with all the hype they've been mounting. :lol:
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Re: Post-Season 2018

Postby Rick » Thu Jun 14, 2018 1:36 pm

Darren wrote:Rick, your spinner with the visiting colorful decoys reminded me of another perk of our new public stompin grounds that are further out on coast......no woodies to worry about.


Can't say I've never called the shot on a September wood duck, but the statute of limitations has probably run out on it, and I see just having them around as a mighty sweet perk:
002_2a.jpg


Especially during the kind of September seasons we've had lately...
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Re: Post-Season 2018

Postby Darren » Thu Jun 14, 2018 1:41 pm

They've indeed made for some entertaining moments when the blue wings were absent. But looking across a crowded public marsh, I've seen far too many fall out the sky in Sept.
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Re: Post-Season 2018

Postby aunt betty » Thu Jun 14, 2018 1:49 pm

Had a very experienced guide call the shot on a pelican. It was "my bird on my end of the blind". I should have shot it but I didn't plan on eating one so...
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Re: Post-Season 2018

Postby Darren » Thu Jun 14, 2018 2:09 pm

Duck Engr wrote:
Darren wrote:
Of note, tomorrow is said to be the release of some new Avery/GHG dekes, not sure I'll sleep tonight with all the hype they've been mounting. :lol:


You aren’t kidding! They hype machine has been full throttle. I’ve jokingly told my buddies they must quack too.

Speaking of new decoys, anybody seen these? Made me drool at first glance then I saw the price tag.

https://www.duckcreekdecoys.com



On Instagram and FB, it's nuts. They better quack and whistle, flap wings, splash water, lay eggs, and on down the line. Said to be "game changing" haha
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Re: Post-Season 2018

Postby Rick » Thu Jun 14, 2018 2:19 pm

Maybe I've seen something else, but what I think are the new GHGs look a lot like Avian-Xs to me - to include being too dark to show at all well at distance.
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Re: Post-Season 2018

Postby Darren » Thu Jun 14, 2018 2:39 pm

Maybe you got a sneak peak, or maybe that was just last year's hype train which got run off the tracks by the 2018 edition.
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Re: Post-Season 2018

Postby Rick » Thu Jun 14, 2018 7:19 pm

This is what was on the 'fuge in May: and looks like what's on that thread's latest link to Rogers' e-mailing:
Image

Reckon birds will be landing to check out their pupils and neck feather ruffles.
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Re: Post-Season 2018

Postby Ericdc » Thu Jun 14, 2018 7:24 pm

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Re: Post-Season 2018

Postby aunt betty » Fri Jun 15, 2018 7:25 am

So how does one get set up with a truckload of two brands of decoys to test? It would be grand to run an experiment with GHG on one side and AvianX on the other and see which spread the ducks prefer. Only $400/day for the testing service. :clap:
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Re: Post-Season 2018

Postby Darren » Fri Jun 15, 2018 7:32 am

Rick wrote:This is what was on the 'fuge in May: and looks like what's on that thread's latest link to Rogers' e-mailing:
Image

Reckon birds will be landing to check out their pupils and neck feather ruffles.


Yea that's them, just think of all the mallards I could lock in from a SE La salt marsh with those bad boys. :lol: Not on the Refuge so hadn't seen them yet until the Rogers mailing. That texture does remind me of the Avian X line as you said.
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Re: Post-Season 2018

Postby Ericdc » Fri Jun 15, 2018 7:38 am

I’d love to have some, but they’ll have to go on clearance sale.


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Re: Post-Season 2018

Postby Ducaholic » Fri Jun 15, 2018 8:28 am

GHG will never get another penny from me. Avian X is a superior decoy and it looks like GHG has taken notice.
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Re: Post-Season 2018

Postby aunt betty » Fri Jun 15, 2018 8:44 am

My spread consists of a whole lot of "found" decoys.
I'm an old fart with poor eyesight but the decoy that fooled me twice into thinking it was a real duck was a Cabelas brand. Can usually tell a decoy from a duck but that Cabelas one fooled me good. I nearly shot it on two different days. It was floating around loose drifting. Finally I tried jumping it and the sucker just would not fly. So I drove over to kill it and it turned into a decoy on me. :mrgreen:
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Re: Post-Season 2018

Postby aunt betty » Fri Jun 15, 2018 9:30 am

The lion's share of my decoys are Flambeau water keels that I bought (or found).
It got to where I have a lot of them because people tend to abandon their spreads when their blind gets burned.
There were several HUNDRED blinds burned at big lake one year. Up until that time it was legal to leave decoys out. New rules caught people off guard and they abandoned them. I found a lot of decoys at this extremely well-hidden hole at Dave Donaldson WMA. I actually called that guy and told him to come and pick up his decoys at the DNR office in J-town. He declined. ;)

I used to walk-in hunt, no boat, and got lightweight stuff. I own some carrylites that I bought. They're light.

Trying to point out that there are two styles (or more) of them old flambeaus. I strongly prefer to taller ones made in the late-80's. The shorter old version just don't move in the wind like them newer style ones. I've pretty much retired the old style ones in favor of the newer version. They move and look real enough to have fooled plenty of park ducks.
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