Fish Catching Travel
Duck Hunting 1/17/2012
Riding home from Bass Pro in Katy Tuesday, my wife and I saw tons of geese in the rice fields near Wharton. It made me want to shoot one. As my wife and I chatted about my one big duck hunting trip, the phone rang. On the other end was Chris, asking if I wanted to go again tomorrow, and of course the answer was an immediate yes.
We launched his Gheenoe in Sea Drift and headed to the Mission Lake area. I was impressed with the speed of that little boat, it hauled butt. He picked a nice quiet pocket with the wind in our face, and we set out a small spread of decoys along with the mandatory Blue Heron decoy.
The ducks started flying right at shooting time. Now it was not hot and heavy, but the ones that did come to the spread, came in like an airliner on approach, straight in, exactly where we were decoying them to land. They came in consistently enough to lead to some good shooting.
9 ducks headed for the oven!
I did manage to shoot twice without a shell in the chamber. I must have forgot to cycle the pump after I killed one. I guess I am still surprised when I actually hit one. Having been over 10 years since I hunted, it is great when one actually falls from the sky like he is supposed to.
So here it goes, I have always treated duck hunting like turkey hunting, knowing if I started, it might become a hobby, something that could potentially cut into the fishing time. And duck hunting is getting that look about it. You can still put everything I know about it in a thimble. I do believe I will have to buy a few decoys, do the reading and research, and prepare to kill a few ducks next winter. And the great thing is, they hang around the gulf, so cast and blasts are in my future.
And with the endless miles of coastline in Texas, it is not like trying to find a place to hunt, which has not happened for me yet as far as a place to deer and hog hunt. It is as simple as having a boat and the desire to get up at 3 in the morning. Nothing like a reason to go earlier and stay longer.
So thanks Chris, it was a great day.
Good Luck and Tight Lines!