Paging Ricky Spanish

[Ricky Spanish]

Last night a funny video popped up in my suggested list.
"Taking your wife hunting".
Hilarious.
It's like the guy took Kaitlin Jenner kind of funny.
She puts the doe urine on because he called it deer perfume.
Then she shoots the guy in a deer costume for not being with just one doe. Unfaithful Buck. Hit him right in the leg with an arrow. Screams his fool head off.

[Anotherone]

I found one so there has to be three more.
Fill keel with sand or lead and it'll be fine but I wanted light when I was a baby duck hunter walking in.
My current wood duck decoys are like tanks in comparison.

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Anotherone wants them. I'll keep looking.
Hey. He has a gf now..
Told yuh.

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That's it I give up.
Go buy gas to do a rare afternoon pretend duck hunt.
30 mph wind tomorrow. Fuck that I'll go today.

Loud looking woodies! They’ll spot them from the stratosphere (that’s where they fly at my hole). Migrate that pair down here and I’ll float em with the cool coots.

[Ricky Spanish]

For the heck of it I went and looked at a few farm ponds and borrow pits.
It's windy as heck and the birds are sheltering by the leeward banks. Spotted quite a few mallards. Hard to say if they're new birds or what.
Too windy to hunt. Too rainy and too not enough ducks
Maybe tomorrow.

[Ricky Spanish]

The flex-tape failed this time around fairly fast so I gave up on that and am back to shoe goo.
If you're as tight-assed as me you might use this info.
If not...laugh and point I don't care.

[Metalworx]

For the heck of it I went and looked at a few farm ponds and borrow pits.
It's windy as heck and the birds are sheltering by the leeward banks. Spotted quite a few mallards. Hard to say if they're new birds or what.
Too windy to hunt. Too rainy and too not enough ducks
Maybe tomorrow.

Maybe some day if I get to retire, I can pick and choose what days to go hunting. You can't get them while at home on the couch. If season was in here today for me, I guarantee I'd been out in the wind and early morning rain. To each his own I guess

[Ricky Spanish]

For the heck of it I went and looked at a few farm ponds and borrow pits.
It's windy as heck and the birds are sheltering by the leeward banks. Spotted quite a few mallards. Hard to say if they're new birds or what.
Too windy to hunt. Too rainy and too not enough ducks
Maybe tomorrow.

Maybe some day if I get to retire, I can pick and choose what days to go hunting. You can't get them while at home on the couch. If season was in here today for me, I guarantee I'd been out in the wind and early morning rain. To each his own I guess

Yeah you might or might not make it across the lake.
I've came close to losing it.
The waves get so big that on the way down a wave you cut into the next one. Scary shit.
Plus the ducks don't fly and shooting in 30+ mph winds ain't easy either.
I can go all next week when the ducks show up.
It's getting where all I need is the south wind to swing north or northwest.
Then I'll go but still. Once winds hit 25 or better fuck it I'm gone.

The lake I use is long, shallow, and designed to catch wind because it's a nuclear power plant cooling lake. It's oriented where it has miles where the waves build.
The waves get monster size where the motor drugs at the low spots in waves.
It's not your every day pond.
The ride to possum cove can be rough as hell.
It ain't worth dying for a duck unless your wife has you insured for millions.

[Ricky Spanish]

Cooksey told me to look for the shortest timber and hunt it.
I found it and he's right.
Two weeks later a common acquaintance appeared and ...got critical. He had ideas about kicking water type of hunting and insisted that WE were going to do that.
I tried explaining that up north there are taller trees but the water is ten feet deep with current flowing thru every hole. Drove me across Arkansas looking for that kicking water hunt.
Afterwards I called my pals.
"Can you walk into Rainey Brake today"?
Them: laughing...you put in black river and drive boat to there and forget walking..
The worst thing was how my buddy made me into the bad guy. Invited himself then hated me for letting him.
Still stings

[Ricky Spanish]

The flex-tape failed this time around fairly fast so I gave up on that and am back to shoe goo.
If you're as tight-assed as me you might use this info.
If not...laugh and point I don't care.

Ok...for clarity. You wear waders not decoys.
You put out decoys not waders.
Got a Lil mixed up in that video.

[Ricky Spanish]

Veterans Day if the forecast holds will be it.
Looks like a rain turning to snow event.
That cold front will push new ducks from up north to me.
They'll be dumb and respond to my sick calling for a handful of hunts then it's over.
Don't have unlimited resources so I'll just watch the forecast and rest up for when them dumb park duck mallards arrive.
Getting a lot of texts telling me next weekend is gonna be good. Duh.
On the 18th I'm going to Arkansas.
Then I'll see lots of ducks.
Here? Not so much.

A cold front that is associated with a low pressure system is magical everywhere I hunt north or south.

[Ricky Spanish]

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Facing south is not so good but the ducks been using the sunny sides of the place.
It hits here first.

[Rick]

Photo has a bit of Terry Redlin in it.

[Ricky Spanish]

They'll never know what hittem.

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had to turn one heater off.
So far no boats but me. Must REALLY SUCK BAD.

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[Rick]

They'll never know what hittem.

Hope so.

[Ricky Spanish]

Just tripled at 10-15 yards.
One bounced?
Sigh.
Maybe it'll turn up. It's a drake if I find it.
The hen was the closest duck.
Drake led the way in. I pounded that first drake then turned on the rest.
They were mighty close? Locked up and the lead drake was hovering I probably led him too much.

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[Anotherone]

HELL YEAH!!! Smoked duck tonight!

[Ricky Spanish]

Im.hidden so well that an egret is fishing just off the bow of my boat in the pintail decoys. Turning into a nice sunny day UNTIL I put on the sunglasses.

Two teal.just buzzed thru out of range down low.
Woa. Ain't wore my shades since last season.
They're brown.
If you wear prescription you can have the yellow or different tints. Guy said try the brown if you hunt.
It takes getting used to but I like it.
Cmon...two more greenheads.

[OGblackcloud]

[Ricky Spanish]

Do you keep a dog first aid kit?
I've got a real primitive setup with a few things.
Today I had to get out the triple antibiotic ointment because millet got his face scraped up.

Not sure how. He was pretty rowdy trying to chase deer in the dark. He tangled with a racoon too.
He's young n dumb and full uh....
Will learn to stay in the boat.

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Where we go is called the inner peninsula. It's loaded with white tail deer. Special access by drawing for archery only. There are lots of skinny deer. The only buck I've seen this year is a small 6 pointer.
There are big guys but I never see them..
Some nights I pull in and wake up the herd. They stand up, snort, and just look at you then walk off. All these eyes...spooky. oh ..the big big deer are very tough to get at because of where they hang out. Access is by boat only and it takes ppl a while to figure it out. Try walking in and farmers will mess up your day good.

I could have shot 3 does at the mascoutin dumpster.
They're everywhere in the campground.
It's closed as of today at 3pm until the 12th.. I'll have to use the marina and pay $5/day to park.
That sucks.
According to my duck spies up north the migration is fixing to fire up.
It'll be in the teens this weekend.
Brrr
Snow up north of me. Sweet I hope it's a blizzard

[Ricky Spanish]

The pattern:
The cooling Lake is easy to figure.
Early in September the ducks seem to prefer to stay out of the bathtub water and use the cool arms.
"C" shaped lake. All the hot water is in the middle here is a map.

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Typically the ducks move right at lst.. You get one chance and it's over. There are guys that will set out there all day long hoping.
Won't get lots of shooting opportunities until the height of migration. Sometimes , I mean every 30 years, weather forces the flocks to that bathtub water in late November or December.
Yesterday was just being lucky I guess combined with decades of watching where the birds rest.
I could do it again today but I think I'll let millet heal his scrapes up first.
Starting Friday it's on for reals.

[Ricky Spanish]

The bathtub water is here..
From the 48 bridge west to the DeWitt bridge is closed to everything.
That's "the refuge". Weak.
For guaranteed hunts just drive over the buoys..

[Ricky Spanish]

Oh boy.
Hehe...
I'm uploading video of the duck plucker I made.
It works!
In the process of cleaning the "drake mallard" it started looking like another idunno.
Once I get that sucker uploaded this can be the first "what sex chicken is this I shot" thread.
Tons of fun as usual. Wheee.

[Ricky Spanish]

It's not perfect but is very helpful.
Speeds it up getting a duck ready for the freezer or pot.
We pluck them.
Home made plucker by Betty. Pat pend.

The more I look at the video the more I lean towards "young dumb drake" it's chest is turning brown.

Which reminds me.
Brown chest white butt is a shooter but white chest brown butt is let that Hollywood go.

[Ricky Spanish]

Fuck. There ain't no water at the wma. Season starts in a week there. No water? Fuck it I'll stay up here and break ice as long as I can.
Damn.

[Ricky Spanish]

Last time I scouted I spotted about 12 mallards hiding by a certain log.
Light SE wind in the morning I think I'll try for them mallards. They seem to always be by that same log

[Ricky Spanish]

[Ricky Spanish]

Now that's what I'm after.

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Oops I forgot my phone at home.

Set up with lots of time to spare so I gathered driftwood and branches and brushed the boat kind of.

That's a nice fat park duck that's been eating well.
His gf survives.

There are almost no ducks I just keep setting up on where they want to go and getting lucky.
Years of observation. Ancient Chinese secret.
No damn ducks.
I didn't call or nothing they just flew in. A pair.
Pow.
Later a pair of drakes landed long. Millet was pounding his paws demanding I shoot so I did.
Hit one twice. Nicked it anyway. Feathers flew.
This weekend I'll probably get new ducks I hope.
Scatching out a mallard or two ain't easy at all here.
Lucky. Sometimes you get that.

Scouted after the hunt.
Tons of coots.
Too bad they can't vote republican..

[Ricky Spanish]

Now this I'm not so sure I like. Green coming out it's ass.

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[Anotherone]

Shoot dem coots before they crowd Louisiana. Millet wants some retrieves.

[Ricky Spanish]

Not often do you actually get verification.
Been saying "it's all an act" for years.

Zelenski won an Oscar for his acting. Ten minute standing ovation from the WEF.
OMG there's the verification.
Source Redacted.

[Rick]

Now this I'm not so sure I like. Green coming out it's ass.

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Used to see that a lot with "light" (lead poisoned) birds, but it's likely a symptom of other illnesses, as well.