So, another nice strap of gadwall and 1 wigeon that did it right at 15 yards.

Sure, same old story about north Texas duck hunting in the 2019-20 season - warm and no wind.

Most shot were pass shooting wary birds that were more than just a little reluctant to check out or spread.

As a result, there was that one shot at around 50 yards that connected but the resilient duck did not give up the ghost until 110 yards on the top/back side of a steep briar infested embankment.

Luci is my black lab and she was locked in on it the entire time so I released her on the retrieve.  Half way through her swim she started to veer a bit to the left so I sent her side-kick Blaze for support.

Once they arrived on the opposite bank they had to fight through flooded overhanging branches that were defending the hill and then the ensuing briar infested underbrush.  Luci found a solid egress point and dove headlong into the briars.  She let out a small yelp but soldiered on up the hill.

While Blaze was still fighting to find a good access point Luci had gone over the hill and returned with the gadwall.

I was super proud of her marking ability and determination through adverse conditions.  It wasn't until she returned and we headed to the truck that I noticed blood on my yellow dog Blaze.  Quickly searched her for wounds but found that is was actually Luci that had split her ear a good  2" .  Quick visit to my vet Jason, 3 staples and some glue and she was almost good as new.  Too bad it knocked her out for the last day of the season tomorrow.  Her and Blaze had tag teamed on every trip this year.

Wonderful day, clients and dogs!

Till next year Luci.

Had some decoying birds early at 10 yards left to right. Took us a it but finally started splashing them.  LOL.

Pond doubled in size from the recent rain and of course, little to no wind made it tougher as the sun came up.

​All and all good people, good fun and an enjoyable morning before an afternoon of playoff football.

This crew came all the way down to Texas from negative 12 degrees Wisconsin in search of a trophy gadwall or wigeon.

In the weeks leading up to this hunt I was extremely confident as all that we have been shooting were gadwall and wigeon with a few teal thrown in.

I previously scouted "before the storm came in" and was excited as I saw 75-100 ducks piling in a new spot I had yet to hunt.

I informed my hunters the night before and gave them several options; we could play it safe for a few birds or roll the dice on adventure sports parade in search of making memories.  They chose the later.

I wondered what the 2" of rain in 3 hrs would do and it sure didn't take long to find out as we turned in off the pavement.

Our drive in was a 1/2 mile mudding, drive by the seat of my pants six flag ride that wasn't for the faint of heart.  When I finally safely put it in park I have to admit - my pulse was up a bit.  OK, a lot a bit.

Anticipating the need for my 2-man boat to portage gear and hunters across now deeper channels we unloaded everything at the waters edge and began our  escapade to the new "honey hole."

Along the way I

• Broke the sheer pin in the trolling motor.   Got my morning warrior workout in paddling.
• Scratched my left eyeball on a limb.  Vision still bad as I type.  But not as bad as yesterday so I'm hopeful.
• Rammed my shin against an underwater log and face-planted completely under water.  That was sure invigorating! 

I was still my usual optimistic enthusiastic self until 10 minutes after legal and still no birds.  What the wide world of sports!

Luckily we soon had 3 gadwall come in on a string to our left and Wyatt shot a double right out the gate.  I'm thinking, oh yea baby, we got some shooters!

Cept, we didn't have many more ducks...

Tough sledding the rest of the morning.   High flyers that "might" give us a look a 100 yards away.  A few flocks of wary wigeon whistling away at us but never coming in close enough.  There was new water literally everywhere and once they landed behind the trees it seemed all the birds from that point on would give us half a look then dive into the live spread out of range.  Ugh...

Least Wyatt got his stud gadwall for the wall.   The water behind him - 3 days ago was a mud flat that we could easily walk across.

​Dang sure came a long way and put up with some crazy/memorable conditions.  LOL.  Making memories right?

Oh, and that ride out?  Just as scary in the light as it was in the dark.  

*They brought me some goose summer sausage and Wisconsin cheese.  Can't wait to break it out for the playoff games tomorrow paired with a nice cold beverage.   I gotta root for the Packers now right?

New friends from North Dakota came down from -12 degree weather to hunt TX ducks with me.

Let's just say it was an interesting morning...

Ducks showed up on time but oddly flew right to left into the wind but jumped our spread OR landed with the wind and downwind of the spread.  Yep, I quickly turned into "that" guide.  Constantly trying to adjust the spread.  It was a bit frustrating for sure.  Oh, on top of the 70 degree weather and mosquito's biting made for a peculiar January duck hunt.

*Note to self  -  Academy closeouts 2.75" #6's on sale do not make a good late season duck load even at only $5.00/box. 

The dogs were pretty sore at our pore shooting efforts this morning but we finished strong with a nice mixed bag of Gadwall & Wigeon along with a lone Greenhead that was the only duck of the day that seemed to decoy correctly.

The good thing is we were able to beat the storms that were rolling in.

Great morning for sure!

Oh, and did I mention it was cold as well?  

These two always seem to book me when its the coldest.  LOL

But with results like this, they didn't seem to mind the temps too much.

Zero wind, again.  But, we made it work, again.

And...

Got our warrior workouts in for the month.

Had to take some extraordinary measures to get to our spot today.  Loaded up in my boat and made two trips to the drop-off spot of gear, dogs and people (Note to self, I need a bigger boat.)

Then a pretty decent hike with the last 75 yards or so requiring us to sludge through ankle/calf high gumbo mud.  Finally we get set up and then the guide (me) makes a great revelatory statement: Huy guys, sorry but we need to pick up and move another 40 yards to the right.  Luckily we still had 30 minutes before legal.

If you have been duck hunting long you undoubtedly have encountered this scenario: Clear Skies, half moon & zero wind.

What do you think happens? (You can only choose 1 of the answers below.)

A)  The ducks drop into the decoys before legal.
B)  The ducks drop into the decoys before legal.
C)  The ducks drop into the decoys before legal.
D) All of the above.

Yep, 100+ birds dropped in 15 minutes before legal shooting.  Wigeon, Teal, Gadwall and Mallards oh my.

It was beautiful though as we could clearly see the many silhouette's  dropping in by the dozens and all being very vocal having a good ol' time.

Those 15 minutes lasted at least 20-30 minutes.  Uncanny how time will crawl when you and your dogs are watching all the activity directly in front of you.  Was spectacular though.  Especially after the first shots finally rang out.  What a site!

This young lady was on her first duck hunt.  Think I spoiled her.  

We had skim ice out to 10-15' or so.  You can tell it was cold with the steam coming off wet dogs and out of breath guides.

Had a great group of guys this morning. 

Made a mistake today that, if you have hunted with me in the past, I would have had some fun with you on - I forgot to put my shotgun in my truck this morning. LOL

Thanks goodness for a landowner that checks his text messages at 6am.  He let me borrow his for the morning.

Anyway, back to the story at hand...

Fog and little wind made it tough.

First couple groups slid in on us in a hurry and well, let's just say it was just their day to keep flying to parts unknown. 

My shooters had never hunted out of layout blinds before so I felt bad putting them at a slight disadvantage. 

Thankfully it wasn't long until they made the adjustments and birds started falling for my anxious to work retrievers.

Luci & Blaze got covered in the clay/mud/mess.  LOL

Fed, bathed (so the wife wouldn't kill me) and resting up for the next adventure.