Could have been

[neilinov]

Well today started out like one of those days that everyone talks about. It was snowin and a blowing this morning. I decided to go sit in the marsh for the afternoon. I should have gone and sat on the couch! I get down to the beach where we launch the boat and it is iced in solid! I'm thinkin no problem the blind will have some open water.





Get out to the blind and sure enough there is some open water there. Great! this is gonna be epic. Lay out the spread and boogie the boat on around to the shanty. As I'm hiking back out to the blind I look at the gut and see the tide is cookin coming in and it is draggin a bunch of ice with it. I get back out to the blind and surprise surprise the ice has moved in and is wreaking havoc on the Dekes!








The ice kept coming up the gut grabbing the Dekes and pushing them right up against the marsh in front of the blind. The ones that were out a little further kept getting swept around the corner and into some seriously deep water. I go after acouple and I am in about chest deep water. My jacket pockets fill up with water and the shells that I had brought up are now full submerged. My hands are frozen, because I left my neoprene gloves in the truck. Well after an hour of fighting the ice I finally catch a break with the glacier flows! I reset the dekes in a weird spot, but at least they are out of the onslaught of ice. I sit there patiently and out of the corner of my eye I see em comming. A flock of 10 mallards cupped up and on aproach to the only opening in the glacier field. Everything is going along perfect. They are decending like they are being reeled in on a kite string. Dog is sitting there motionless just gazing in anticipation.



They are locked on........ just a few more seconds and they will be mine..... grab the extrema and click off the safety.......easy easy easy......Kablam blam blam baaalamm blam blam......WTF!!!! Just as they get in range the guys hunting the next island over let loose on a flock of Brant!! With a change in angle of their wings they are gone with the stiff NW breeze.... Bye Bye I gather my composure and get ready for the next batch. Sandy is lookin at me with a look like why the hell didn't you shoot them you dumb ass! I assure her that it won't happen again. Well an hour passes and then another and it is lifeless. The sky is greay and it is lightly drizzling ice balls mixed with snow. The barage of ice has somewhat abated and I am patiently waiting for the onslaght of green headed sorties.

Just when I am about to go stir crazy her he comes. A single making the rounds. This late in the season they are always weary. Making several passes, he is looking hard for a place to put down. I blow the call and he seems to like it because he makes a 180 and is heading upwind straight at the blind locked in like he is lazer guided. This one is toast! Perfect wind the bird is coming right at me and falling fast. Grab the extrema click off the safety and take him I scream mentally. Blam one crack and he is down. He had some momentum when he was comming in and ends up crash landing a bout a foot from the blind. Sand grabs him and brings him around and drops him under the back cover of the blind.

All right black duck limited out! What happens for the next hour will go down as the all time greatest test of will power in history. It is about an hour until sunset and the sky starts to fill with fluttering wings. It is a black horde! Black duck after black duck starts coming out of nowhere. They are coming in 2's 4's 10's and dozens. I have an open patch of water in front of me so they are zeroed in on my real estate. They are pitching left and right and I've got about 20 daffy's sitting there live decoying. The dog is looking at me like "HAVE YOU GONE MAD! Shoot them already!" Having hit my limit I am forced to sit there and watch as coultless more pinwheel in and fall right into place. Finally it's times up. I stand up and get out of the blind. I actually jump in the water before the birds jump. I think they were taunting me!

Final tally for the day 1 black duck, frostbite fingers, and a renewed appreciation for the patients of the dog!

[Dave Sikorski]

Pretty Work Neil.

I might have driven by you today. We were up on del bay, then came down 1 to 54.

Wanted to try a black duck somewhere, but didn't set up. Plenty of ice around, that's for sure.

Tell me more about those decoys.

-D

[neilinov]

Pretty Work Neil.

I might have driven by you today. We were up on del bay, then came down 1 to 54.

Wanted to try a black duck somewhere, but didn't set up. Plenty of ice around, that's for sure.

Tell me more about those decoys.

-D

Yeah you went right past me. My place is right behind old inlet bait and tackle. The little blue shanty out on the marsh is ours. Shoot man if I would've known you were around I would have invited you to come with me.

Those decoys are cork carved by Allen Eastman. They are 10 years old and look like the are brand new. They are the best decoys I have ever seen. I've seen em rolled out a couple of times! Uhhhhhhhh Dad the live bird is over there flyin away!

[BluePrints]

Nice job.

I was on the other side of the bay & a little north & had similar results. We had some other visitors though, if we could have just shot them instead of scaring them.

[HOLWACHAGOT]

That was a great read. Thanks for sharing. Those dekes are sick looking. Pretty dog too.
Holwachagot

[Dave Sikorski]

we'll catch up next time. I pulled into the coast guard station and watched the ducks in the inlet for a while.

There were a bunch of blacks and geese on the ice on the right as you drive into the marina.

Alan makes a great decoy for sure. I ran into him at a ramp this year and got to check out a few of his decoys.

-D

[#1Gaffman]

i feel your pain Neil... Dam black ducks, i was with Blue prints on the otherside...

[neilinov]

Nice job.

I was on the other side of the bay & a little north & had similar results. We had some other visitors though, if we could have just shot them instead of scaring them.

Were here to kill em not wound them! The black ones are thick as mud that's for shore!

Dave those geese have taken up residency there in the marina. They have been there for over a month now. Kind of a strange place for them to be if you ask me.

Just a few more days left. Don't know if I am happy or sad the way this season has gone!

[Dave Sikorski]

I'm ready for this one to end. To bad February and march SUCK.

I'll still chase enough RP geese in MD and snow chickens in DE to keep my trigger finger happy!

Get those geese out of the Marina. I wouldn't want one to nest on the "Foolish Pleasure" or shit on the teak

-D

[Anders]

great read, sounds like a normal duck hunt, problems and success