Fresh to the game again

[Wareagle1011]

Hello. Im new here. Obviously. Been hunting my whole life. Deer, turkey, pheasant, rabbits etc etc. im in my Late 20s now. Many memories. Duck hunted with my dad when i was little. He was a duck hunter back then. Shot some geese. Some teal. Wasnt ever many ducks from what I recall. Back in his hay day there were. after shooting hours id see alot but during hrs no. Lots of woodies around my part. Ton of geese. I live up on erie. Lots of divers. With it, lots of pressure. The earliest memory i have of being outdoors was actually a duck hunt with my dad. I remember i had a toy gun with me. I remember it being pitch black and him setting up decoys. One day while out in the boat I told him duck hunting was stupid. Cause we didnt ever kill any ducks hardly anyway. I dont think he ever duck hunted again past that day. I have a kid of my own now. Little thing still yet. Recent happening actually. I decided this past goose season, i was gonna throw my waders on, grab some steel and jump in the water. Idk why. I just did. I put down my bow and grabbed my shotgun. Next thing you know im sitting over 15 or so goose shells of different varieties in the frigid cold on top of a frozen pond. During the last half of this season i killed like 3 or 4 geese. Now, ive bought another gun. 3 1/2” in that fancy prairie true timber. Throw some some brand new duck decoys on that. Oh hey a look green wing teal decoys gotta have those too. How about a haydel dr 85 and a haydels wooduck call? How about another pair of waders thats thinner that way im not burning up in the heat this teal season? Im about to paint my boat to break up the outline. Maybe throw some carpeting down. Why im even doing this even though i know for a fact my area gets hammered season after season? Goose hunting is great but man duck hunting inland has always been a great challenge here. Atleast during my life time. I bought some more cattail gear today. Which seemed hard as hell to find. All i see is sika and that true timber camo which i dont really like but its all there seemingly is now. I just wanna break my outline up better with the cats. Whatever. Theres alot of waterfowl here. I live here. I see it daily. But hunting them is a different story. Atleast during the legal season ha. Im probably not gonna kill a damn thing but yet i wanna be there for some reason. Its like a damn disease. Literally. To know your probably not gonna kill anything but still wanna be out there. Lots of rambling thats been going through my head during these last few months. I remember watching the duckmen vhs tapes with my dad when i was little. Were those guys as hyped up back then as they are today? I feel like everywhere i look thats whos pictures i see. I dont watch much youtube hunting but whenever i look up something duck related thats all i damn see.

 

[API]

Welcome aboard! There are tons of opinions on what equipment is best, but I gotta say that caller-wise it's hard to beat a DR-85, so IMO you made a good choice there. I started fishing with my son when he was 5 and hunting when he was 12. All these years later we still hunt and fish together. Every time is a new day. Ya never know what's gonna happen until ya do it. For sure you're on the right track.

 

[Wareagle1011]

Welcome aboard! There are tons of opinions on what equipment is best, but I gotta say that caller-wise it's hard to beat a DR-85, so IMO you made a good choice there. I started fishing with my son when he was 5 and hunting when he was 12. All these years later we still hunt and fish together. Every time is a new day. Ya never know what's gonna happen until ya do it. For sure you're on the right track.

You know since you mention it as time progressed my dad dropped 85 percent of his deer hunting. This man was probably one of the most hardcore deer hunters in the area back in the day. I cant get him to go hardly at all. He almost went this year i had everything laid out for him. But then i went in there and shot a deer before he could go. I hardly fish with him anymore because hes on a completely different spectrum then me as far as what we like to fish for. But, it seemed kind of like I lit a fire under his a** when i picked up the steel shot. I think i may be able to get him aboard. As the short season I had progressed I started to remember every lesson he taught me about patterning the birds in my area. It just started coming back to me out of nowhere. I spend most of my time in the woods alone. And since i grew up on a public game reserve and still live here i find myself quite secretive. Being in a boat is one thing. But you start wading some of these marshes around here by yourself gets pretty damn sketchy at times. Im talking our marshes will eat you alive. Like quicksand. Thats actually a concern of mine.

 

[API]

You're on a great site here for learning. Lot's of knowledge (and opinions too). Ya may even connect with some unexpected locals.

 

[Wareagle1011]

You're on a great site here for learning. Lot's of knowledge (and opinions too). Ya may even connect with some unexpected locals.

I believe it. You live in california? Am i reading that correctly?

 

[API]

Yup, I'm about half way between San Diego and Los Angeles and roughly 20 miles inland.

 

[Wareagle1011]

Yup, I'm about half way between San Diego and Los Angeles and roughly 20 miles inland.

You californians got some huge bass down there. Jealous as ever.

 

[API]

The big ones are all Florida strains. My son has an 11.0 on the wall. My personal best is a 9.2 that I released. Ya never know what’s next.

 

[Wareagle1011]

The big ones are all Florida strains. My son has an 11.0 on the wall. My personal best is a 9.2 that I released. Ya never know what’s next.

Wow. Thats huge. 5 lbs is a trophy where i live. Ive caught a 7 before.

 

[API]

For the northern strains, a 7 is a trophy.