Final Day of the First Season

Yesterday was the last day of our first season. We had hunted the past three days with some success, 2 of us killing 2 on sunday, 2 of us killing 6 on monday, and 4 of us killing 13 on tuesday. I hunted out of my layout boat yesterday after watching large numbers of Buffleheads, Goldeneye, and Canvasbacks using the river, while the other 3 guys went back in the back to some backwater. I dropped three Buffleheads, but the Cans just weren't being very cooperative. Everytime i got up to move my boat around or pee or something, thats when they would fly in.

We are supposed to have another small cold snap over our break, so once the season comes in again on the 26th i'll probably be laying out again trying to kill the divers again, unless I can find some Canadas somewhere.

Just a couple divers....

We had been observing some divers on a local lake - in very huntable numbers. As it got closer to our last segment opener, we decided to hunt two parties - with hopes of catching the birds trading from seperate resting areas we had found. As luck would have it, the birds moved out before the opener. We only saw 4 birds, and killed 3 of them. I took a Bufflehead drake and hen with one shot, while my buddy "pillowcased" a mergie with a spectacular shot. It was a fun day in the blind, but slow over all. We also seen a drake Scaup, but his mind was on other things besides decoys.

Weather fronts/patterns looks to be shaping up nicely, so hopefully some birds will come in. Most reports across the State have been sub-par, with a few exceptions. Looking forward to a busy month and 1/2, til the season closes.

Happy hunting,
Troy Smart
AC Caldwell County DU

Finally Some Ducks!!!!!!!!!!!!

Things are starting to look up in SE PA! Myself, brother in law Tim, and good friend Rich went to are favorite spot hoping that a cold front that was coming would bring us a good day. We got what we hoped for. Cold weather, perfect wind, and hundreds of ducks mostly mallards were in the air from daybreak to shortly after lunch. The ducks didn't decoy well. I only brought 6 mallards, 6 blackducks, 6 ringnecks, and a pair of buffleheads. I went light because of what I saw the days before while scouting. I tried to match what I was seeing.....small groups! I was not expecting flights of ducks with nearly 30 birds each. We made the best of it slowly picking off pairs and single as the passed by. My decoy spread should have been 4 times larger, but who would have known that so many ducks would have showed up over a days time.

The GHG dekes did their job, and brought in 11 mallards & 1 pintail. It should have been more, but you know how it is................

I got to take a nice young drake pintail! This duck is a rare visitor hear this time of year. We always seem to see them in the spring on their way home. Not during hunting season. That duck was worth the day to me.



We also saw....Blackducks, GW Teal, Wigeon, Ringnecks, Buffleheads, and Common Mergansers.
Just a pefect day!

Tom