I always look forward to duck season. Nothing new purchased this year (so far). First time my dad won't be going with us due to an elk hunt. He got into duck hunting after I did. My brother and I will be on foot at FB for the 10th year. Hope the pelicans and ibis are low and slow. Haven't shot the 870 for 6 months.

 

I picked up a duck stamp yesterday. I got a couple of new tires for the trailer, and put a blind together for the boat. The wood legs will stick in the mud on an angle toward the boat. I don’t like permanent boat blinds and this works great.

 

No new decoys for me but I'm probably going to paint up some can decoys from some old mallard dekes I have. I did end up buying a browning cynergy wicked wing to play with this year. I still need to shoot it a bit more but I love how it swings.

 

Got the new 20 to take and "test" out for the grand daughter.

If I can afford it, I need to buy some more time. Hard to believe its that close.

 

I bought a couple swan floater dekes to use on the Swan hunt. I need to get busy and decide on an e-bike since I sold my boat earlier this summer.

 

I bought a 16' Havoc in February. The guy before me was a joker of the first order. Everything was repaired with duct tape, electrical tape, and wing nut connectors for marine wiring.

I spent the summer stripping all wiring, switches, and fuses (precious few of them) out of the boat, and starting over. Now I have lithium batteries, interior lights, roost lights, a front light box, and a working bilge. I have working switches, and more importantly, appropriate fuses. Then I reworked the trailer - wiring, lights, wheel bearings, etc. Also serviced the surface drive: fluids, filters, and plugs.

Lastly, I added a MinnKota to the front so that this can be my backup fishing boat. Or, if I decide to set up offshore for ducks, I can spot lock.

I am beyond ready for the big day.

 

I am JACKED for this year to get going. Been in full last minute prep mode dialing in some new gear and stuff. I finally finished up a rig of 18 pintails that I assembled and painted that had a previous life with Jerry H. Tried my hand at sewing up a 6 slot decoy bag for some mallard floaters I bought because I could only find 12 slot options. Working on a set of 24 canvasback decoys as well and a new idea/design I'm going to try out this year. And rigged up a dozen new goose floaters I bought on clearance back in March.

I also picked up a Class 1 e-bike this summer that I look forward to using for scouting and hunts this year. And finally a new tiny 10' jon boat and motor combo to put to use this year. I've been a good boy for 4-5 years and haven't bought much new gear, but then this year I went kind of crazy and went over the top. Haha.

I was lucky enough to start off my season already on some early season honkers with a fun and successful morning last week out of state. And now I'm really chomping at the bit to get after ducks. Don't get me wrong, I love shooting geese, but the older I get, the more excited I get to chase ducks over geese. Bring on the quackers!

 

I took the kayak out the other day, still works, clocked my speed at 3.4 mph using my drill motor. scouted some spots, low water is going to give me an advantage over boats this season. With most lake being low this year I think shore cover is going to be in short supply so I decided to brush in my layout blind really well. Waterfowl is my backup, upland is primary. I gotta keep this stuff at arms length and fight the desire to buy more waterfowl gear—holy smokes it is a gear heavy pursuit!

 

Airborne, just give in and buy it all!
I think you are right in some cases about having more advantage than boats this season. I believe it is going to be another tough season to consistently shoot limits, just like last year. I will probably be spending more time in my layout blind this year too.

 

Airborne, just give in and buy it all!
I think you are right in some cases about having more advantage than boats this season. I believe it is going to be another tough season to consistently shoot limits, just like last year. I will probably be spending more time in my layout blind this year too.

Finding ‘boatable’ water with solitude this season is going to be a butt-kicker.
I have a buddy who wants to buy a boat/mud motor combo.
I told him to wait till after the season to buy and he will have dozens to choose from.

 

I’m not sure “solitude” is possible in this state anywhere a mud boat can go. They are everywhere and ever present! Dime a dozen now .

 

I can't remember what "solitude" is lol. Every subdivision has several duck boats in it.

I'll go out snooping around early season. But I won't probably hunt until it cools off. The flys & skeeters drive me crazy anymore.

I'm surprised that several duck club membership have been for sale this year. The tariffs must have effected their prices also. That would of been an excellent investment 10 - 20 years ago.

 

I can't remember what "solitude" is lol. Every subdivision has several duck boats in it.

I'll go out snooping around early season. But I won't probably hunt until it cools off. The flys & skeeters drive me crazy anymore.

I'm surprised that several duck club membership have been for sale this year. The tariffs must have effected their prices also. That would of been an excellent investment 10 - 20 years ago.

A few of the older members are cashing out.
The shares get purchased pretty quickly.

 

I talked with several private club members the past couple of years at Farmington Bay. (You know how you just get bull$hitting around the launch area) Anyway, they were hunting outside of their clubs because it was so slow. I think they were disappointed to find out it was no different on public areas. 15 years ago I would have been thrilled to belong to a club. That desire is long gone. Without water (GSL) we are all in the same dry docked boat!

My waterfowling expectations and goals are much different than they used to be.
I am ready to shoot 3 drake pintails a day though!

 

If you change your mind and decide to pursue membership in a club, my two cents would be to make sure it is a club you can enjoy using all year long.