Favorite moment?

[squeeb27]

I know this is may be a bit premature but what was your favorite moment this year. I will share mine. I bought a Chocolate Lab about 3 years ago having every intention on making him my duck dog. Shame on me never trained him and bought a canoe that I don't feel safe taking him in. My buddy convinced me just to take him and see how he does. It was a beautiful morning, pretty sunrise, warmish, and lots of birds around. A single wood duck came in and I dropped it right in the decoys. My buddy and I are used to leaving the first couple dead ones in the decoys until the early onslaught is over. My buddy looks down at my dog (Bear) and says fetch. I will be dam, that dog didn't go get the duck and bring it back like he had done it a 100 times before made me one proud papa, made 3 more retrieves that day. It is a day I will never forget, and now bear is a staple in our boat.

[fishuhalik]

That's a toughy. I had a heck of a season this year. It could be the day I had around 10,000 mallards try to land on my head while I sat motionless in the sparse cat tails, not firing a shot. Too much fun being in the eye of a mallard tornado! or my 1st solo NoDak hunt, where I dumped my limit of dumb greenheads and a redhead in 15 mins over 8 dekes in a pond small enough to skip a rock across. Or watching in awe as about 15,675,419 mallards & snows moved off a lake and dumped into a field while I watched from the pickup. Or maybe it was the flock of 10,000 or so snows that let me shoot at em 3x before finding another field.

I think the MN hunt with my dad takes the cake though. Northern MN rice pond. About 700 woodies flying over our heads in 20 mins, dumping 5 drakes and a hen, then followed the mallards to a tiny beaver pond just off the lake and finishing our limit with cupped greenheads at 20 yards.

Like I said, it was a season for me to remember!!!!

[carpshooterdeluxe]

best part of the season is just beginning. Less and less guys out scouting every night...more and more ducks, snows, and darks.

[K_Josh87]

Thus far... Opening day, trying snow shoes in the almost dried up slough to get out to waters edge... and it working... Was the only guy with deeks in waters edge...

[13Dream]

I'll follow the puppy lead.

NoDak opener and a double with blue wings. It wasn't the cost savings of two birds/one shell that had me excited...but my buddy saying "look at Ellie...," as my dumb self was looking at ducks overhead, almost missing out.

Took her until 3; but, she finally got her own "double." One swim, two birds...on the last retrieve of our trip fittingly.

We hit AR opener next weekend, hoping she decides to repeat the fun with birds abound.

[bmc]

10-29-12 in the Deer River area.

I got set up in the morning before shooting time and had a morning to remember. I got 2 4 curl greenhead mallards w/ 1 shot, then shot a bluebill drake and bluebill drake decoy w/ 1 shot, then I shot a pair of goldeneye hens w/ 1 shot, and finished my limit with a hen mallard.

6 ducks and 1 decoy in 4 shots!!!

Wish that was my normal shooting routine. LOL

Here's a pic of my 9 year old Lab Maggie w/ our birds.

Hoping to out do this performance on Monday or Tuesday, as the warm weather is keeping birds in the area!

Brian

[bemidjibasser]

That hen has a greenish bill... weird...

[Kettle]

I got to take a few buddies of mine out completely new to duck hunting, did some serious scouting a few days before. Slipped into a small slough scared up nearly 500 mallards and had em all come back in groups of 2-50 over the course of four hours and they decoyed just awesome!

Kettle

[cold one]

The best part for me is sitting in the duck boat with my boys. You get to spend time with them and talk about what they are up to. It's also a great feeling to see them calling & shooting ducks.