No luck, but...

Soilman

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
…beautiful mornings. My cousin and I usually apply and get a game land duck hunt on Thanksgiving day, but due to several reasons, we didn't get drawn this year. No problem. We'll just fall back on plan B and hunt the creek on family land...But...Problem: Zero ducks flew over us, and only a few geese on Thursday, and only 2 ducks before LST on Friday and zero geese. Yet, it sounded like a war in several directions in the distance. No way folks were shooting THAT much BOTH days without the magical yellow kernels. Disappointed for my Boykin, Jesse. Still proud of him. He did very well in the boat.
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Clark

Ten Pointer
You did not miss much. I had a permit for a Piedmont duck hunt and did not see a single duck. Please is never great and we don't often kill birds, but at least we usually see a few...
 

Hunting Nut

Old Mossy Horns
That is a good looking spot.
I can imagine it covered with Widgeon, Mallards, and Black ducks, after the Woodies fly early.
 

Downeast

Twelve Pointer
I've always thought that the "woodie crowd" that you hear first thing burning through a case of shells were using the little yellow decoys but I've come to realize that they just can't shoot. Some of the gameland hunts are like that. At LST it's a war out there. Ten minutes later it's all quiet for the rest of the morning. And what's hilarious is when they do a bag check and asked how many shots were fired some parties have stated 4 to 5 boxes with three birds in the bag...for the whole party! :ROFLMAO:

I learned something new on Thanksgiving Day when I hunted my local gameland permit hunt. My alarm didn't go off (I figure some power failure hiccup during the night) and I didn't make it out there until LST. With the roar of gunfire I felt a little bit under-gunned with a simple 12 gauge. It was the "woodie crowd". And sure enough, by the time I got my stool out and boat blind set up it was all quiet. By 10 o'clock I had the place mostly to myself and if you are going to kill anything besides a woodie or two it is usually an hour or two after LST. And the few birds I shot (none were woodies) where all after 0900. So, on my next permit hunt instead of getting up at dark thirty and screwing around in the dark (don't you just hate those idiots out there with their million power q-beams scaring hell out of the birds!) I'm going to stop by the local diner, have a good breakfast, and then go hunt. If I'm lucky I'll be watching some of the early risers leaving when I show up. :D

And yes, that does look like a great spot Soilman!
 

Buxndiverdux

Old Mossy Horns
I've always thought that the "woodie crowd" that you hear first thing burning through a case of shells were using the little yellow decoys but I've come to realize that they just can't shoot. Some of the gameland hunts are like that. At LST it's a war out there. Ten minutes later it's all quiet for the rest of the morning. And what's hilarious is when they do a bag check and asked how many shots were fired some parties have stated 4 to 5 boxes with three birds in the bag...for the whole party! :ROFLMAO:

I learned something new on Thanksgiving Day when I hunted my local gameland permit hunt. My alarm didn't go off (I figure some power failure hiccup during the night) and I didn't make it out there until LST. With the roar of gunfire I felt a little bit under-gunned with a simple 12 gauge. It was the "woodie crowd". And sure enough, by the time I got my stool out and boat blind set up it was all quiet. By 10 o'clock I had the place mostly to myself and if you are going to kill anything besides a woodie or two it is usually an hour or two after LST. And the few birds I shot (none were woodies) where all after 0900. So, on my next permit hunt instead of getting up at dark thirty and screwing around in the dark (don't you just hate those idiots out there with their million power q-beams scaring hell out of the birds!) I'm going to stop by the local diner, have a good breakfast, and then go hunt. If I'm lucky I'll be watching some of the early risers leaving when I show up. :D

And yes, that does look like a great spot Soilman!

Back in the 60's, my Dad and his buddies rarely put the boat in before noon to hunt ducks. They never had a problem getting the exact spot they wanted, and they did shoot some birds when they were around. Back then, they could hunt 30 min after sunset, so that helped a little. Mid morning and afternoon hunting can be effective in the right location and conditions.
 

shurshot

Ten Pointer
Years ago, my hunting partner and I religiously got to some of the impoundments after 8 to pattern the birds instead of fighting for a 4 am spot that may or may not have been exactly where the birds were wanting to go that morning. Waited til the crowds thought it was over and packed up, we’d then move in and set up. Birds always started showing back at 10ish and we often limited before the 1 pm stop time.

Ahh, the good ole days ....
 

Hydemarsh

Six Pointer
Years ago when I shared a swamp with members of a deer club my partner and I would let them shoot at woodies and then they would leave for breakfast by 7:30. We called the time Mallard 30 because starting at about 8:30 we would have the swamp to ourselves and start killing mallards. Great days.
 

Dingbatter

Four Pointer
I have gotten to the point with diver and sea ducks that I don't hit the water until daybreak. You can ride along and see where the birds are to find a spot to set up. Running in the dark like the Bymeta boat race is dumb and just not safe.
 
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