Bama Opener

Eric Patterson

Moderator
Staff member
Was the slowest I can remember but was completely trouble free. No complaints here. Felt great to hear decoys splash in the dark.

Joey Wolk and I met at 1:30 in the Publix parking lot and made the 40 minute drive to the launch. It was overflow when we got there just after 2:00. Fortunately his blind was unoccupied so we got it. With warm temps, no clouds, and even less wind we figured it was going to be a slow one. Shooting time was a few minutes before 6:00. No lie we heard shots 30 minutes before that.

At first light we had ducks swimming in the decoys but by legal time they were gone. It was not a hunt that will make the top 10 list but it did have it's highlights. The first being a crippled ringneck the Cassie brought back. That ringer dove repeatedly and everytime Cassie would start spinning like a top until she saw the duck surface and then the chase was on again. With every dive the duck got slower and Cassie got closer. Then the duck made one more dive and didn't surface. Cassie did the spin thing and when she didn't see the duck she went to the last dive spot and dove herself. About 10 seconds later she surface with the expired ringneck in her mouth. Can dogs smell underwater? We cheered.

Later in the morning a nice pair of Cans blazed over the top of the blind. Joey grabbed his Citori and in one fluid swing mounted his gun and pulled the trigger. The can hit hard, quivered his feet and then went limp. Textbook shot.

Hope you other Bama hunters had a good hunt. Good thing the season is closed next week becasue I'd hate to waste a week of season on sunney 70 degree skies.

The marathon has begun!




CassieOpener.jpg



Opener.jpg



CassieOpener2.jpg

 
Well Done !

But what did that fine Swamp Collie do to deserve the straight jacket? It makes it kinda hard to dive after them ducks pops! I might be showing my ignorance but I didn't think it got real cold down south.

I figured out how to find open water at -30 F. Take a lab out for a quick grouse hunt.. Never saw a black dog turn WHITE so fast, at that kind of temp we headed for the truck right away and he hit the floor board infront of the heater. During the season we do Ice up before the birds are gone but the old boy busts ice going in and coming out with the birds.

image.jpg
 
Eric,

Glad to hear you had a successful opener, even if not in the top 10.

I did not time it, but we hunted within a couple mile of one of the local wildlife management areas, and the blasting started at least 20 minutes before leagal shooting hours. It was a clear morning, so I guess folks thought it was ok to shoot by starlight. Can only imagine the crowd- it sounded like a war zone over there. Makes me glad to have a duckboat.

Alex and I did ok, taking 4 mallards, a gaddy, and 2 woodies. Alex should have had a nice gaddy that was floating over the dekes (I was STANDING on the bow, no gun, having just reanchored the boat- seems stuff like that is the best technique to draw birds). He did not shoot because he did not know what it was, and ranks this hunt high as he met his goal for the year- his first greenheaded park duck.

[inline image0010.jpg ]

Take care!

-Bill

image0010.jpg
image0010.jpg
 
Nice Pics Eric. What's the deal with 2AM ramp times? It's that competitive down there? We got to the ramp at 4 and we thought we were pretty slick.

Dogs are great.

A.
 
Can dogs hold their breaths? They say no, they don't have breath control but I have had 2 that dove for ducks, and one of them once went down after his steel dog bowl that went overboard off the back of the camp and fetched it off the bottom of the canal. They're not coughing up water after.

Ed.
 
Eric,
Glad to here you got out for the opener. We fared about the same with no wind and few birds. Maybe Brian will post up some pics afterwhile. 1 drake wood duck, 1 drake mallard, 1 black. Going to try the river in the morning but not for to long as I am out of sunscreen.
 
Nice! Even I would get up at 1am if there was a hint of Can's to be shot....my all time favorite duck!

Let the Madness start!

Dave
 
I'm up at Mom's & missed the opener. But my partern & his dad went down in Mobile and were done by 7:00, gaddies, spoonies and teal. However, he said most guys weren't doing as much shooting as them and the game warden said theirs was the only limit he checked. Most of the other hunters only had one or two birds.
I havent seen the number for the MObile flight but indications are that we don't have many birds down yet.
I'll be out next weekend, hope there are a few more birds down.
 
Mobile is not quite that bad, but things can get pretty crazy on the opener in some places. We get to the ramp around 3:00 to get a parking spot cause every swinging johnson with 12 decoys is going to hunt opening day. After the opening craze calms down & the opening day dimwits go to deer hunting, it calms down.
 
Nice pics Eric,

Your dog looks very proud. Shah has dove and disappeared from sight under water too. It's fun to watch them work for the crips, and a big thrill when they come up with them. I don't know about you but one nice Can like that would make my day. Again, nice photos.

Hitch
 
Back
Top