I'm Back Baby...

[DukMan]

So I took a little hiatus and got shiat done... I have two new pups Mason (Chocolate) and Rusty (Fox Red) both labs bred to hunt... Mason will hit the marsh this year and Rusty will be ready in 2017!

Besides getting two new pups 3 months apart... I just purchased a piece of duck heaven only 30 mins from the house. Its 33.4 acres and about 29 of it is a seasonally flooded cattail marsh. This spring there was about 200-300 teal, mallards, and shovelers stopping in on their way up north. I've got a line out to the US Fish and Wildlife Service about possibly getting some help putting in some water control structures and getting rid of the cattails and canary reed grass for something more enticing line smart weed and millet. We'll see how that goes. I will be posting a lot of updates on here including how the land is turning out and the progress the dogs are making. So stay tuned and if anyone has any suggestions or advice I'm all ears...

[DComeaux]

That sounds sweet! ...... Be sure to post pictures of the stages of work.

[DukMan]

Here's a satellite of the land pre-work....

[DukMan]

The future duck wranglers...

[Rick]

I'm a lot more envious of the marsh than two pups at the same time. You're a braver man than I.

[DComeaux]

Looks good... What state?

[Deltaman]

Congrats DM!!!!!

[DukMan]

I'm located in SE Wisconsin... and you can't see in the picture online but the canal boarders the property to the North and West and a small stream runs diagonally across. It's located 1/2 mile from the Fox River and 5 miles from Richard Bong Recreational Area...

[DukMan]

So after a long battle trying to get in contact with the right people, through the DNR and the USFWS, regarding some wetland mitigation ideas. I was able to talk to a biologist that surveyed my property and said there is little in the form of restoration that could be done on a large scale since it is an "existing" wetland and not a drained/tiled one. He did say there may be monies out there for helping me to cull the canary reed grass and/or the cattails in an attempt to provide more open water... I will need to delve into this further.

On another note I was able to meet with some neighbors that have lived in the area for many years and they told me I have the best duck property in the area. The farmer I currently have leasing told me there was 1000's of ducks buried in a beaver pond on the back of the property and historically the property is holding ducks all the way through the season. He also informed me he has a little chunk of property down the road that has been flooded out by beavers and it was holding tons of ducks last year and I'm more than welcome to hunt it!

It's shaping up to be a great year in Wisconsin

[Rick]

Reads like good news to me. Roundup Custom will do the deed on those cattails.

[DukMan]

So it's official as of the 8th we signed the papers on the property! I took a pair of waders and set out to explore the whole thing and quickly realized it was going to be much harder now that the canary reed grass is 7' tall but I did manage to get out to the middle of the marsh and jumped a few mallards and bunch of woodies in the process.

I contacted the DNR here in WI and I'm able to cut cattails without a permit but I cannot spray them without one. That said the marsh opened up in the middle where there's a little beaver dam and I feel like I can hand cut a big enough area to make it more appealing for our web footed friends. I think a weed razor express will do the trick and if I get them below the water line I just might retard them for a bit.

Otherwise I'll need a canoe to reach the whole property and find out it's true potential but I'm really happy with what I've seen so far. I'll keep you all updated and share the pics of my honey hole endeavor.

[DukMan]

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[DukMan]

I'm sure it's pretty poor footage from my iPhone but here's a group of woodies I jumped during my exploration.


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[Rick]

Little slice of heaven. I'll be interested in hearing how the Weed Razoring goes.

[DukMan]

So... I've been out to the land almost twice a week and operation "scout the bitch" has come to an end... After trudging through 8' tall canary reed grass and cattails I've at least walked the perimeter and down the channel running through the middle of the property... heaven help me if I decide to explore any of the interior... which would mainly be for trapping rats.

What I accomplished:

1: Identified where I'll be holding water
2: Picked out duck blind spots and positions
3: Picked out a few deer stand sites
4: I believe the beavers are gone... possibly trapped out?... the dams seem to be in disrepair
5: Realized cutting the canary reed grass and cattails is futile...much larger area to be removed than anticipated
6: Put a hole in my new waders I bought last year and broke the tool I attempted to cut cattails with

Needless to say I'm right about where I'd like to be and will start building blind and stands in the coming weeks. I put a little chart together to sort of show where I'm thinking of placing the blinds and stands.

[DComeaux]

Really nice looking stuff! I'd love to have something like that to play with. Looking forward to seeing hows things turnout during the season for ya...fruits of your labor, so to speak....... You should start get a log on here this year.

[Rick]

...and broke the tool I attempted to cut cattails with

That being a Weed Razor?

[DukMan]

...and broke the tool I attempted to cut cattails with

That being a Weed Razor?

Nope I wasn't going to dish out over a hundred bucks for that... plus probably wouldn't work in my situation since I don't have enough water to cover stems in some areas.... I hand pulled a huge swatch where I wanted a better view

[DComeaux]

You need one of these...

[Rick]

Dave, I'm beginning to suspect you're trying to get back in the marsh so you'll have an excuse to play with a marsh buggy.

Roundup Custom does the do on cattails.

[DComeaux]

Dave, I'm beginning to suspect you're trying to get back in the marsh so you'll have an excuse to play with a marsh buggy.

Roundup Custom does the do on cattails.

I'd love it!

[Darren]

Lookin good, can't wait to see how it turns out in the fall.

[Goldfish]

Looks nice. Like a good amount of work, but still nice

[DukMan]

Started the floor frame for my first blind on the property... Its going to be a duck mansion buried in the cattails... Its 10x10 ... It'll sit on 6 4x4s pounded in the mud, it'll have a 8' peak slanted to the back down to 6'6"... I'm pre building in sections to make erection easier... Will keep the pictures coming as I get thing done


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[Weston81]

Something kind of like this?

[DukMan]

Something kind of like this?

Exactly!


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