Rather be lucky...
Woke up this morning with a ton of work to get done before duck season rolls in down at the farm. Had an 8am meeting with a county inspector for a perk test on a lot I am selling, that she turned down last week, because she wasn't close to the right spot. After I got up and moving, Vikki told me that she had seen a bunch of ducks on the lake while I was in the shower. I looked out and could see a hen wigeon cruising out in the middle, but I didn't have time to even look for the others.
So, I got all my paperwork done, went and met the inspector, got my perk test approval, and came back to the house about noon. I made a few phone calls, checked SCDUCKS and looked out the window and saw a duck crusing along the dam. I grabbed my field glasses out of the truck and spotted a pair of wigeon headed for the lee cove trying to get out of this howling wind up here on the mountain. I quickly checked the NCDNR website and sure enough, it is duck season!
I made my plan of attack and decided with this wind, I should easily be able to take my regular turkey hunting route and it should put me right on top of them. Jump shooting isn't usually my thing but I have enough Boykin in me to know how it is done. Once I had made my way around the lake, I had one hill to climb that should give me cover until I would be within 30 yards max or if they had gone on, I could regroup and flank them down the shore. I made Snoop sit at the bottom of the hill and I climbed over and eased on down to the lakes edge. The ducks were sitting in a treetop at about 15 yards. Except the pair of baldpates had become 3 ducks now.
They flushed and I cut down on the drake, he fell, the hen, she fell, and the then the other. It was while I was shooting the last duck that I noticed the drake recovering. Son of a. Down the lake he flew but at an altitude that told me he was going down. About this time Snoop joined the fray and brought back the other duck first. A hen mallard. Oops. Then he fetched the hen wigeon. Now I have just started the season with a pair of hens after missing the Canada trip.
Snoop and I walked the quarter mile back to the truck and I rode to the end of the lake, ready for action on that crippled drake. Nothing. The wind has the lake whitecapping and if that duck was dead, it had to be there. I started glassing and sure enough there was that beautiful green stripe of baldpate head sticking up out of another brushpile. I sent Snoop and got ready for the flush, however, he was graveyard dead floating headup. Ahh sweet vindication. Duck picking time and guess what's for supper?
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Originally Posted by Dook
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