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Most Memorable Moment Waterfowling.

834 views 7 replies 8 participants last post by  butrunt 
#1 ·
Looking back into the last 19 years of hunting waterfowl I had to ask myself what was the most memorable moment waterfowling. I guess the funiest moment was about 8 years ago when there was water in saginaw bay, enough so you could not wade easily. My oldest brother was hunting with me, and then I owned a 1436 sylvan wich was real tippy. Well my brother is one to shoot real fast and not take his time, I watched him go right out of the boat on the third shot right backwards on his head in the marsh. Then got up and started yelling at me saying it was my fault. Luckily he was not hurt except his pride. We still crack up about that every year. The most memorable moment was taking my son out on his first mallard hunt at age 5. Watching him get the Dekes out and tossing them into the lake, watching him grab the first mallard and saying Dad that's a greenhead. I knew he was done. He is now 9 and just a few years away from being able to hunt. Can't wait.

Hope to hear a few of your story's

Grizzly.
 
#3 ·
Some memorable moments for me...

my first duck hunt - s. end lake leelenau. blue bills and mallards out of the "hodek" blind. hooked ever since (even so far as to get a BS in Waterfowl Mngmnt from MSU)

My first face plant into Saginaw bay in the wee hours of the morning - stayed out there still but stank like sheee and nearly froze to death.

a teal flurry with my buddy that lasted all of ten minutes and shooting two banded GWTs in the process.

My first neck collar

Taking a kid out for his first hunt and he was so excited when they were working the rig, his leg tapping was shaking the whole blind. Great stuff! shot his first goose and he good hardly speak coherently he was so excited! raced the dog out of the blind to get it!

having Seals in your decoys

and my buddies back 40 in Oregon where I couldn't hear him asking me, "should take them?" there were so many geese over head. You just had to sit there and marvel at the spectacle - you couldn't shoot. Heard that in my head all weekend.
 
#4 ·
I have many but here is one I really like. I was with my dad. You know the sound of a flock of bluebills going over the blind on there first pass from high altitude, it sounds like a jet. They are really close. You never shoot at that shot. My dad did and he connected with his full choke. All I saw was a red spray. When I went out to pick it up I held up the bird and said "You want it Dad?" There was skin head and feet. Not a story for vegetarians:D
 
#5 ·
The must memorable moment waterfowling for me was the time I talked my dad into coming back out hunting with me after a long spell of not hunting. It was one of those day in early Nov. I had been hunting this swamp for the last 2 year and had some good days out there so I knew we would get some shots off. My dad started the morning out complaining about being out 2 hour before shooting time.(It takes a while to set 10 doz dekes.) We got everything set up and talk for a spell. When to sun started to come up I noticed the fog was so thick you were lucky to see 25-30yrds. You could here the wistling of the early risers as they took to the ski.

Soon just before shooting time we had a few pairs lit in the deke. My dad started to get pumped and could not wait to touch off his gun after 5 years. By the time shooting time rolled around we had 2 flocks of Bluebills (about 2 Doz in each flock), 30-40 mallards and some gadwals sitting in the dekes. and had about another 100 or so assorted ducks falling out of the fog. Needless to say we ended up with our limit but not to early we were able to pick and chose which ducks to take. My dad and I have been hunting to gether ever since, that was 7 years ago and I have love every minute that I get to spend with me dad.
 
#6 ·
A few of my favorites were layout shooting in the Straits of Mackinaw with an old friend of mine, a farm hunt in a sewage pond up in the U.P. stacking up fat mallards. But the best was three years ago layout shooting out in front of the New Baltimore police department in the bay there. I was in the boat and saw a black cloud rise up from Fair Haven when about 20,000 divers picked up and they were heading my way. You should of heard my buddies on the radio. I had groups of 30 and 40 bombing the rig. Running into each other trying to land. I sat up, picked one out and pulled the trigger. CLICK. Damn Remington shells. There were so many birds that I actually had time to clear the bunk shell and shoot twice, reload and shoot three more times. It was totally crazy. I think my heart was about to fly right out of my chest.
 
#7 ·
Okay I have a classic story, and if you're reading this "Buckskin", sorry, but I couldn't help but tell it.

My best buddy "Buckskin" and I were hunting in a two man layout boat on Saginaw Bay about three years ago. Now you have to understand that Buckskin has a job that keeps him tied to the cell phone and pager damn near 24/7. He's constantly getting paged, and it drives us nuts when we're hunting. The water was only about 3 feet deep where we were, and when nature called, he got out of the boat to "relieve himself". He dropped his waders, did his business, hopped back in the layout with me, and we went back to talking about better days. About 5 minutes later he realizes that his phone/pager has not gone off in all that time, which is extremely unusual, so he starts feeling around for his phone/pager. You guessed it, it fell off while he was out doing his thing. It drove him so crazy, he had to get back out of the boat and fish around for the damn thing, which he never did find. Probably would've been ruined already anyway. For the next couple of weeks, all of us that know him were calling his office and leaving him voicemail messages like "this is charlie tuna calling chicken of the sea....we found your cell phone!" He still hasn't heard the end of that. Sorry buddy, but I couldn't resist!
 
#8 ·
Mine was when I went out on a solo hunt with my 3 year old lab. Up to this time I had to keep my dog on a leash because she would break on the shot. We had been hunting a little will when I shot at a teal and missed. The dog jumped out of the boat and would not get back in. Needless to say we had a little talk. Later I downed a mallard and she retrieved it but would not get back in the boat. We had another talk.
Awhile later I got my first triple and she retrieved every bird and jumped in the boat on her own.
Ever since that day she doesn't break on the shot and will sit until she is told to fetch it up. I have had her sitting on a stand with geese swimming 5 yds away and she didn't break. Ever since that day she has been an awsome dog to hunt with.
 
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