The highlight of the first day was a trip to Bass Pro- Dad was like a kid in a candy store.
He had me take him out of the tackle section so he would quit picking up new lures.
It was great to see him so excited.
Friday AM we headed out to Gillett, AK and the Buckshot Duck Lodge.
As we crossed the Mississippi river the fog got thick and we went from hill country to delta flat land.
I felt ducky, low and marshy.
A few hours later we ran into our first flock of geese- there were thousands in a field just off the road.
Here is a photo I took through the binoculars.
It is an awesome sight to see a mass of snow and blue geese swarming- the sound of their honks and calls was a constant backdrop all weekend.
We arrived at the Buckshot Duck Lodge late in the morning. I really can't say enough about this place.
The main hall has Pool table, Poker table, table top shuffle board, a full open bar,
dining space for +25, a lot of comfortable seating, mud room with gun rack, wader and boot dryer and a fantastic staff.
It has been host to numerous professional athletes, the Mossy Oak crew, the Duck Commander and several Nascar drivers.
http://www.buckshotducklodge.com/
Dad and I spent the afternoon at Mack's Prairie Wings.
It was the finest waterfowl supply store I have ever been in- you could fit Kevin's in one corner!
We picked up some new gear and shells.
Now on to the Ducks-
The first morning we shot a “mini pit" blind- sitting at ground level on a levee.
Feet down in a small square pit- just deep enough to lower your profile below the top of the blind.
We were hunting flooded rice fields- shallow water and lots of food. Puddle duck heaven.
The pit held six hunters and two guides. That made it fun – there was lots of joking and talking.
But that also made it hard to hunt and be still. The ducks flew but stayed just outside of the decoys.
For some reason the birds did not really work the decoys well.
I think the number of hunters and the extra movement kept them skittish.
Still had a great morning!
Had a young blak lab working with us- he was an excellent retriever.
The down side to the day was the number of hunters- with everyone shooting it was hard to tell who hit what.
It was fun...
But, I talked to the owner of the lodge and arrange for just my dad and me to hunt together the next two days.
Back at the lodge the food was never ending.
Coffee and danish at 4:30 AM, Big breakfast at 11AM,
Gumbo at 3pm every day, and then great Dinners- Steak, Shrimp, Catfish, Ribs and Pulled Pork.
I don't need to eat for the next month.
Day two dad and I went with Randy- Experienced calm and competent he was a great hunting companion.
We shot a deep pit blind on a fully submerged rice field.
Randy let us do the shooting, called the birds with skill and made this the best day.
We got to really hunt this day. We put out about 75 mallard decoys on either side of the levee.
Sloshing about in the thick delta mud in the predawn light was exhilarating.
We could hear geese and mallards in the dark calling around us.
Dawn brought the first green head of the day into the decoys.
One shot and he folded.
Then about thirty minuets later Randy spotted a lone speckle belly flying low.
He clucked on his call and few times and the big bird began circling closer and closer to the pit.
He made one close swing and dad said take him.
One shot and he folded!
A little later dad got one too
The highlight was a long shot on a pintail. He was hit but didn't come down.
We watched him sail over 200 yards out into a dry bean field and fall hard.
I hiked down the levee and out into the field.
Found the bird stone dead.
We came out with 11 ducks and two geese- A Great Morning!
Monday we went back to the rice fields and a similar blind to the first day.
We hunted with Jay, another guide from the lodge and an excellent Yellow Lab.
He was an older dog but you could tell he wanted to be out there.
He jumped into the cold water like a puppy.
The geese were so big he would trip on their wings during the retrieve.
Like Randy, Jay held back and let dad and I do the shooting.
The ducks worked the decoys well and we came out with 9 ducks and 4 geese-
The bag included Mallards, Gadwall, an odd bluebill, Pintail, speckle belly geese and...
One beautiful drake Wigeon
One big Eagle Head Blue
The Hunting was great, the lodge fantastic and the scenery beautiful.
But none of that compared to the fun of a trip with dad.
He was my first hunting partner and will always be my favorite.
