reeltime

not sure yet, everyone wants to party 2nite and I am not going out alone

negative

i went and checked before I went to bed at midnight and nobody was at the ramp yet so came home and slept for 2 hours then back to the ramp to launch. wind really started picking up and you would think after almost 40 years at this game I would learn to listen to my gut. on the way out i told Chris this winds going to go south east I can feel the boat shifting....nope sw/ to south he says as hes looking it up on his phone. took some time getting set up and twice more while were setting up as we are letting out the long lines I said its going south east, nope its straight south now. finished setting up, got the boat just off the ice line and anchored,,,,started spitting snow and blowing out of the south east. knew it was a bust but didn't wanna give up the first light flocks. we had birds buzzing the decoys and even had some whistlers pile into the decoys but once the shooting started everything went down hill. not many birds flying and those that were had o2 masks on, didn't stop the sky busting tho. i saw an ice pack moving towards us and we scrambled to get decoys pulled before getting wiped out. just got the last string in and the ice was less than 10 feet from us. we did manage to scratch out 1 drake whistler before the ice forced a move. we moved about a mile and rerigged with just a long line of 24 whistlers into a 5 of diamonds, before we were finished we had birds trying to get into the line, did some damage there till the winds really picked up. gathered up decoys and made a slow wet 2 mile run back to the launch. one of the toughest first days for us. just got back to the house and wet gear hung up and decoys heat blasted so i am ready to go next trip. Ole Ziva dog is snoring away on the floor, when I got up this morning and walked out to the living room she was asleep on my gun case, she knows I would not be able to sneak out without her that way.

Yup some lawn darts. Actually alot of the big commons this year too. Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

Already?? Many years we were launched by 11 pm. When you spend hrs. And $$$ scouting you want to capitalize on it. Dealing with ice and a wind shift now. Not moving 200 decoys now as we should be ok. Good luck , shoot straight and be safe. Bring on the divers!!! Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

In the spot good luck Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

In the spot good luck Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

as law said nice to see ya back. isn't waterfowling addictive? while yes you have some hurdles its not impossible. unfortunately you are not in a waterfowl flight area where you have tons of birds to deal with, also as you have found getting access is tough and seems to be getting tougher since the whole duck dynasty fad hit the scene. late season this year we are dealing with most small bodies of water being froze out unless its fairly fast moving water or having us rig the big waters. a few tips; you do not need to spend a fortune on decoys for what you are trying to do as most spots are going to have relatively small groups of birds. scout, scout and scout some more, note where and when you are seeing birds and the species. it does not matter how many decoys you have out or how well you are calling if the birds do not want to be there they will rarely commit. if you are looking at water hunts you need to be very careful, wading in rivers and large streams can be very dangerous with underwater tripping hazards, sharp drop offs etc. remember its not July. I would strongly suggest a life jacket and a second person to go along. Things happen fast. I would also suggest a good fishing pole with 10 lb. test line and a large surface plug with big treble hooks so you can cast over the bird reel in snag it and then just crank it in. If your wading and walking in to the spot a complete change of clothes and shoes sealed up in a garbage bag stashed in a back pack can literally be a life saver if you take a swim. take only high percentage shots to minimize chances of cripples, if shooting over decoys best to wait till they have their paddles down just before landing. I would suggest #2 or #3 steel shot. if you were closer you could jump in on a hunt and see what big water waterfowling is all about. good luck, be safe and shoot straight.

i was trying to get the reply in quick so if you had not purchased yet.. along the same safety lines, I take their collar off while we are hunting also for the same reason.

depending on the structure of the area you hunt, I would strongly suggest a vest with a velcro closure. you will NEVER see me with a zipper vest on my working water dog! I hunt everything from lake ontario to 5 acre swamp to streams, there are stumps, trees, and a host of other objects that can get caught up on a vest, the LAST thing you want is a vest thats zipped closed, with the velcro vest they can tear out of it if it gets snagged on something.

funny that this is being discussed about shots at night, just about an hour ago the sheriffs were dispatched to shots heard.

a poacher is going to poach no matter what and likely will use the most effective quietest weapon they can use to do so. a .22 LR has probably been used more poaching at night than just about all of the other calibers combined. btw who said the crossbow is an evil weapon?

simple, they shoot the deer it runs out of the field or back into the woods, then they drive away and come back later drop off a person to track and retrieve under cover of darkness and either take the deer then or come back the next day to retrieve their "prize". Bows are used as well, I never once said a particular weapon choice person, I said the crossbow is fast becoming the poachers weapon of choice, whether they are gun hunters, crossbow hunters, or bow hunters makes no difference as they are all classified the same POACHERS when wild game is killed outside the lines of the law. gunshots at night attract a lot of attention, sure poachers still use guns, much greater chance of getting caught using a loud gun and then having to jump out grab an ungutted deer and get it to and into the vehicle before someone shows up.

but this is fun. and its 4 months till spring turkey season.

YOU by your own admission "used" to bowhunt but now make a list of excuses as to why you can not find time to practice so you want your own personal participation trophy the all mighty deer slaying crossbow. you know the quiet weapon so the deer don't go nocturnal. You already can use your super weapon for arguably the best 2 weeks of the current season you only want all of it for YOUR own selfish reasons. If you honestly think having full inclusion is going to generate added big game license sales you truly are living in a fantasy world. will it add to and it better be mandatory bowhunting licenses ? YES it will because just as in EVERY single state that implemented crossbows gun hunters will buy the stamp and go deer hunting. muzzle loader doe and would not surprise me if also SR. license holder doe season in or around the current youth hunt weekend will likely be added within the next 5 years. remember its YOU that wants an easier way to kill deer, so when you fail at that the state will take it upon themselves to add the tools to kill deer. so if the deer herd is so out of control in your neighborhood and you try to come across as in fear for your life driving down the road and you hunt for your food supply then why are you killing all the buck fawns? why would you be targeting fawns at all? why would you use a tag on a deer that yields at best 30 lbs. of meat? you should be targeting the adult baby factories so as to kill 2 birds with 1 stone, 3 less deer next year and upwards of 60 lbs of meat...... its evident in your own writings, you simply want to kill deer and use any excuse to justify why you did it or want to do it.... you know sending them to deer heaven as YOU call it.

thanks TF, yeah she has been missing the remote start i had installed on the last vehicle. yeah its the big mixer, and no not cheap at all but much better quality and she likes to cook so this tool will help cut down on prep time. she got a bunch of the attachments for it also shes out making homemade cinnamon buns now while I am working on blueprints, maybe those and the prime rib will be done when I get back from putting all the perlins on a pole barn I am setting trusses on tomorrow for a customer. never a dull moment around this house.

most of the gift things go to the kids and grand kids. Judy and I generally do little gifts as we want something through the year we just go get it. although she did get me a dog boarding ladder for the duck boat and a snowmobile cover. she got one of the big kitchen aid mixers and an appointment for a remote starter for her car. she didn't know about the starter but had to take her for the mixer so I bought the right one, man it takes up half the counter.

to get away from the day to day stress. to pit my skills against the best eyes, ears and noses walking the planet. watching my dog do her work retrieving ducks and geese. seeing the excitement in the grandkids eyes when they have a successful hunt.

so a poll posted on this site showed that a majority of bowhunters prefer full inclusion? I would hope you are smart enough to understand that the number of bowhunters on this site is a fraction of a percent of the actual number of bowhunters licensed in ny state. and how many added their desire to have full inclusion that do NOT currently bow hunt ny state, to think that any poll on this site or basically ANY website and say its what so and so group wants is ludicrous. "selfish elitism" is the reason you claim bow hunters do not want them included, seems that this term is only being used by the group pushing for full inclusion. the same group that uses - ease of use, need for less practice to be effective, able to be fired from a rest, no drawing motion to alert the deer as reasons for inclusion all with currently NO additional requirement for bowhunter safety certification..... so who are the ones being selfish? i could give 2 craps if they do full inclusion, those that are good bow hunters will still be good bow hunters, those that are lazy and sloppy in their set up and season preparations will likely be evident in their success or lack there of. unfortunately as with day to day society we have become a generation of people that want everything for nothing or little to no work to get it, basically everyone wants a participation trophy.

Just heard 5 quick shots. Someone's hunting with a pistol. Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk