Al Hansen
Well-known member
It is hard to believe that the last time I hunted during the early teal season was 2017. When 2018 rolled around it was drier than a popcorn phart and the same thing with 2019. The Rio Grande was running nicely but no water where the teal like to be.
How else would any hunt be made more perfect than to begin it with "whistling wings". That is almost sacred. I had Chip by my side in the blind and we spent at least 20 minutes listening to birds coming and going.
At the opener I had a pair of bluewings come in and I took one of them. That basically was the way my entire hunt went but with only one exception. At around 15 minutes into the season all of a sudden a huge flock came in. For this small pond when you see at least 50 birds coming at you it does get your attention---at least mine. This flock was made up of mostly mallards/Mexican ducks, some widgeons and 6 teal. Those I did find but quickly concluded that there was no way I was going to chance taking one of them without the strong possibility of scratching down a big duck. That made my choice easy. I put down my gun and we just watched them. They made three passes then came in on final, landing just 20 feet from my spread.
Oh, my spread consisted of a Flasher and 4 teal decoys. I like this Flasher that is on a timer. It has passed the test so far for the years that I have used it. All you have to do is get a motion wing going and sit back and watch wildlife. They will tell you quicker than most of us want to know. Hawks, ravens, light geese, Canadas, and mostly Sandhill cranes will fly directly over this decoy and none of the birds mentioned will flare.
I could sure tell that this flock had been here before. About 3 minutes went by when I noticed them spooking a little. I quickly found out why. Chip was now on the other side of the blind about 10' closer to the birds than I was. Every hunting season he opens with some escapade of his unique personality I guess. He just had to get all of that pent up energy out of his system and off he went hell bent for an election. I called to him as he made a wide circle, then he got back into the blind with me, turned an looked in my direction like he was now ready to hunt. I still love him.
Our morning hunt had concluded when four bluewings came in and I dropped one. I ended the day taking 3 juvenile bluewings and a like number of greenwings. It was a fantastic hunt. I am very thankful.
My big spread. You will notice that none of the decoys is far from shore. If my retriever stick can't get them then they stay there. As for the flasher it works will on the edge of water because it looks so natural to have a duck get up, flap its wings and then stop. My hunt was also helped because I made a major change. I bought a pair of Itasca hip boots from Scheels. I found a store in Colorado with a pair of size 14s. They came 2 days before our season opened which was about perfect timing. What a difference it has made for me now that I am inching my way towards 80.
View attachment _MG_0556.JPG
I noticed Chip surveying his environment. All of my blinds are crude but they seem to do the job.
View attachment _MG_0563.JPG
Here are a couple of shots of Chip retrieving.
View attachment _MG_0593.JPG
View attachment _MG_0601.JPG
I just looked at the time and noticed it is 5:12AM. Heck, I should be out at the pond working on my blind. However when I got up at 2:45AM like an eager beaver, I walked into the office to get dressed and quickly looked at Jalapeno. She began building a nest. I then took out the dogs out so that they could go potty. I noticed that both Belize and Sunny checked out the area where Jalapeno peed. Times are changing. So, it is more important that I be with her than being gone on a teal hunt. As I have been told lots---one day at a time!
Al
How else would any hunt be made more perfect than to begin it with "whistling wings". That is almost sacred. I had Chip by my side in the blind and we spent at least 20 minutes listening to birds coming and going.
At the opener I had a pair of bluewings come in and I took one of them. That basically was the way my entire hunt went but with only one exception. At around 15 minutes into the season all of a sudden a huge flock came in. For this small pond when you see at least 50 birds coming at you it does get your attention---at least mine. This flock was made up of mostly mallards/Mexican ducks, some widgeons and 6 teal. Those I did find but quickly concluded that there was no way I was going to chance taking one of them without the strong possibility of scratching down a big duck. That made my choice easy. I put down my gun and we just watched them. They made three passes then came in on final, landing just 20 feet from my spread.
Oh, my spread consisted of a Flasher and 4 teal decoys. I like this Flasher that is on a timer. It has passed the test so far for the years that I have used it. All you have to do is get a motion wing going and sit back and watch wildlife. They will tell you quicker than most of us want to know. Hawks, ravens, light geese, Canadas, and mostly Sandhill cranes will fly directly over this decoy and none of the birds mentioned will flare.
I could sure tell that this flock had been here before. About 3 minutes went by when I noticed them spooking a little. I quickly found out why. Chip was now on the other side of the blind about 10' closer to the birds than I was. Every hunting season he opens with some escapade of his unique personality I guess. He just had to get all of that pent up energy out of his system and off he went hell bent for an election. I called to him as he made a wide circle, then he got back into the blind with me, turned an looked in my direction like he was now ready to hunt. I still love him.
Our morning hunt had concluded when four bluewings came in and I dropped one. I ended the day taking 3 juvenile bluewings and a like number of greenwings. It was a fantastic hunt. I am very thankful.
My big spread. You will notice that none of the decoys is far from shore. If my retriever stick can't get them then they stay there. As for the flasher it works will on the edge of water because it looks so natural to have a duck get up, flap its wings and then stop. My hunt was also helped because I made a major change. I bought a pair of Itasca hip boots from Scheels. I found a store in Colorado with a pair of size 14s. They came 2 days before our season opened which was about perfect timing. What a difference it has made for me now that I am inching my way towards 80.
View attachment _MG_0556.JPG
I noticed Chip surveying his environment. All of my blinds are crude but they seem to do the job.
View attachment _MG_0563.JPG
Here are a couple of shots of Chip retrieving.
View attachment _MG_0593.JPG
View attachment _MG_0601.JPG
I just looked at the time and noticed it is 5:12AM. Heck, I should be out at the pond working on my blind. However when I got up at 2:45AM like an eager beaver, I walked into the office to get dressed and quickly looked at Jalapeno. She began building a nest. I then took out the dogs out so that they could go potty. I noticed that both Belize and Sunny checked out the area where Jalapeno peed. Times are changing. So, it is more important that I be with her than being gone on a teal hunt. As I have been told lots---one day at a time!
Al
