Eight trips out and 1 duck in Utah.
Close to 100 snows in Canada on a 6-day hunt.
Texas was a tough hunt this year with a total bag of around 50 geese for 9 shooters over 3 days.
Arkansas was total bust; 2 ducks, 1 snow goose over 3 days.

I can't imagine that next year isn't going to be better.

 

Worst. year. ever.

 

The worst year in a long time for me. 8 geese in Utah on the opener. Have shot 9 so far this year in Nebraska. For reference, last year was 38. Prior year 160 and prior was 130 I think.

 

I didn't keep track of the ducks but we didn't hunt much in December due to some surgeries. Definitely don't feel like we got the birds we usually do but still had some fun hunts. 2 unfortunate Canada's gave me the pass and I was able to connect which is a good year for me.

 

I ended my season in mid December when I went in for a total knee replacement.
Five or six Honkers and maybe 30-35 ducks.
Every single day was a treat being in the marsh and I miss it dearly.
Bonus: One of the Geese wore a band.

 

It was one of the best seasons I've had in years!

0 trips out.
0 ducks, geese shot.
0 wet feet, freezing hands.

The only time I purchase a "duck stamp" anymore, is if I draw a swan tag and want to scare a duck while out.

Now 30 years ago..... I'd have been out every weekend, and 4 days a week after work.

 

I've had an ok season. Killed quite a few birds. Did kill a scaup that was banded before it closed for them and filled my swan tag. Gonna head out tomorrow bright and early to try to beat the crowds. Should end the season well if the birds will cooperate. Definitely noticed a lack of birds this season compared to last few seasons.

 

I've had an ok season. Killed quite a few birds. Did kill a scaup that was banded before it closed for them and filled my swan tag. Gonna head out tomorrow bright and early to try to beat the crowds. Should end the season well if the birds will cooperate. Definitely noticed a lack of birds this season compared to last few seasons.
View attachment 163331

My very first banded duck, way way way back in my airboat days, was a Scaup I killed in Farmington Bay.
Banded in Louisiana which I thought was crazy weird.
Congrats!, and where was yours banded?

 

Terrible year. Worst one I’ve ever had by far. We’ve shot maybe 100 ducks, 2 swans and 10 geese. Glad it’s over cuz I’m tired of scouting every week and finding nothing

 

Wasn't as motivated to get out this year. Baby, work, and lack of storms kept me occupied around the house. The time I did spend in the marsh was calming as always tho with plenty to watch.
18 ducks - one banded GWT
1 coot

 

Love seeing pictures! Thanks for commiserating gents, except you double & triple digit dudes lol. Ya’ll should invite me though! I’ll come blind folded so I can’t come back.
Anywho, still waffling on going out in the morning for one last chase.

I did get something cool though this season, I neglected to mention. I got to take my old man out with me once! That was special. He is a busy city boy lawyer with country roots, but he knocked one green wing down and I couldn’t have been more happy. The picture of us is framed on my desk now.

 

We are so lucky to have the opportunity to hunt and enjoy so much public land! We all like to complain now and then but remember how fortunate we are. To have this resource (the GSL) at our back door. And to have this backdrop.

My last trip out I couldn't hit my butt with a stick. On recommendation I bought a case of shells for a very fare price. After several misses I cut a shell open. I see EMI is still the largest buyer of flax seed. Just kidding Rob .

All in all it was a good season.

 

We are so lucky to have the opportunity to hunt and enjoy so much public land! We all like to complain now and then but remember how fortunate we are. To have this resource (the GSL) at our back door. And to have this backdrop.
View attachment 163339

My last trip out I couldn't hit my butt with a stick. On recommendation I bought a case of shells for a very fare price. After several misses I cut a shell open. I see EMI is still the largest buyer of flax seed. Just kidding Rob . View attachment 163340
All in all it was a good season.

I can’t say I’m a fan of those shells either. I did notice that once I switched to IC choke they started working for me. I even crushed a gadwall at 50 yards.

 

It was a weird season from start to finish. I was shooting a pintail every trip out until mid December, then it just stopped.

I shot more Divers this season than I normally do. I shot very few mallards, gadwalls and wigeons. The weather sucked from start to finish. There were a few days where there were thousands of ducks and many days where there wasn’t $hit. Mediocre season to say the least.

I got the pup out on every trip this year, whether I boated or walked. I’m going to walk more next season, as those were some of my best days. I did find open water yesterday and shot a couple from the boat.

 

I got the pup out on every trip this year, whether I boated or walked. I’m going to walk more next season, as those were some of my best days. I did find open water yesterday and shot a couple from the boat.

Good looking dog. You did well with that one!

 

Well, I had a pretty darned good season. I shot 3 canvasbacks and all the rest were pintails and GWT. By choice, I passed on a bunch of OTPs &Ts. I killed more pintails than ever before, but not that many teal.

My biggest disappointment was the lack of ice. Low GSL, less lake effect snow. Less snow, less inversion. Less inversion, less ice. Bummer.

But the main thing is I got out a lot. and hunted lots of different habitat. Jerry is absolutely right, the waterfowling opportunities we enjoy must be the greatest in the nation. The GSL ecosystem is a jewel.

 

Great photos everyone. I hunted quite a bit on the Provo river delta, canoe trips in and out. Took four total ducks on the delta. I had a goal this year to get a pintail with my 28ga and it took some leg work, amd driving to the GSL but it was well worth it. Had my single best waterfowl outing ever tonight. I was finally on the X. I’m 39 years old and have never taken an all Drake limit or a band, and tonight it just worked out. The wind helped. My dog retrieved all seven birds and this beautiful pintail Drake had a band. It was 2.5mile walk round trip. I was completely exhausted, but it was well worth it.

 

I understand that duck spots are sacred, but I do appreciate guys like JerryH, Fowlmouth and Paddler, who have given me some pointers and inspiration on how to find birds.

 

I have hunted ducks with and without a retriever. I like both for different reasons, but when a dog does their part, it makes for a neat experience. This is my dog’s third season and although we didn’t take a lot of birds, she retrieved every bird that I shot and is learning to be a great hunter. Here’s a couple pics from today.

 

Yours, Fowlmouths, and mine all look like from the same litter.

 

Well ended the season off strong. My 14 yr old son and I went out and killed both our limits. 11 teal and 3 shovelers.

 

Fantastic! Looks freezing cold....

 

We ended up with 5 ducks and one goose. Certainly not the hottest hunt we've had in more ways than one but it was darn good to get out.

 

Great photos guys! There are some really good hunters on this forum. I always see great pics and feel inspired to do better next year. I spent the day washing off decoys, and getting gear and stuff put away in my shop. It was a cold one! Crossing my fingers for a goose on the wasatch zone before it closes.

 

I am very happy with how the season went for me. Had some incredible hunts and got into birds very consistently. Once late November rolled around, I switched to targeting pintails and really trying to be consistently successful, rather than sort of lucking into them. Ended up taking several really nice drakes. Feel like I worked really hard, tried new things, and enjoyed more success than I deserve.

I am a late onset waterfowl hunter, getting into it in 2020. Like @JerryH said, we live in an incredible place for waterfowl. Amazing access, incredible diversity, and a lot of ducks.

Finished things up today with my heaviest pintail of the season.

 

I was quite surprised how many were out on the lake today. That north wind was brutish.

 

Also, not going to miss driving that access road at Farmington Bay. It was starting to rattle my fillings loose.

 

I have found that the faster you drive that road, the more it smooths out. Your tires just kind of skim over the washboard. Like 35-40MPH.

 

I ended the year with 89 birds in 16 outings. Green wings followed by spoons made up a majority of my birds. I found it more difficult than usual to target big ducks consistently. Didn’t shoot a mallard or pintail all season. Weather didn’t help at all with all the high pressure that was ever present.

I’ve decided to find a few more areas to hunt next year. My go to in the past has been Farmington, but that place has become a shiz show with the sheer number of hunters buzzing around. Worse is all the birders and non-hunting public out there. It’s gotten really bad since COVID. People are just climbing over each other out there these days, and this year finally pushed me over the edge.

We went out on Friday and unexpectedly shot limits of birds after 3.5 hours of absolutely nothing in the decoys. Decided that I didn’t want to fight the crowds on the last day, so went with a friend and shot Huns instead.

 

Tons of people out on Friday. This was my take after being relegated to a pothole the size of a car. Good thing the snipe were flying to make it interesting.

I opted to do something else for the closer instead of fight the crowds for the couple of slivers of open water on Saturday. It was subzero windchill. My 13 year old made an excellent neck shot at 50 yards. The tenderloins were amazing last night.

Just a warning that things can go south in a hurry in these cold temps. My 16 year old did not dress warm enough and passed out a couple times from hypothermia. When his eyes were in the back of his head and he had irregular breathing following by violent shakes, it was pretty scary especially when the call to 911 didn't go through. We had a pretty good hike to get back to the truck. We ended up covered him up in our coats with legs elevated and gave him a priesthood blessing. After about 10 minutes of rest, we were able to help him get him back to the truck and warm him up. Be careful, especially when you have hard headed, know it all teenagers with you that are too tough to tell you just how cold they really are.

 

that's a great shot

That's scary. But a great shot. Did you have issues getting the elk out? No further issues?

 

The upside

Your in first place for bloodiest pic of 2025!