Date: 1/14 Sun
Time: morning
Location: Mudhole
Cloud Cover: clear
Wind Direction and Velocity: NE moderate to fairly strong
Temperature: upper 20s
Moon phase: waning 5%
Special Notes:Waterfowl Activity: Only had one bunch of teal come by - and land. But mallards and pintails flew all morning, mostly high for a good while - then lower after we'd filled with both and were hoping for something else that never showed. So we left early and a couple birds short to let them have our part of the marsh without educating any more.
Waterfowl Responsiveness: Birds were super responsive from all altitudes and great fun to work.
Hunters: 2, Paul who'd hunted extensively and Tim not so much: "too excited to be shooting at ducks" to pick out green heads once that became an issue
Guns:Malfunctions:Dog(s): Really tickled with Marsh's work on the long chipped ones: marks, blinds and "go to works" (our "hunt-'em-ups"). But whoever removed his dew claws took too much and left scars that are getting cut by the ice in the flotant.
Special Equipment: SOS
Curses: Not a one, other than those dew claw removal scars.
Kudos: Nice folks had a big time. Paul rattled off a list of big name camps, then told me this was his best hunt ever. Something I frequently hear from less well traveled guests but less often from those who really know what what they've seen.
Birds By Species: 1 gw teal, 12 mallards and 3 pintails
Photo Ops: Frustrates me when all I can get to commemorate really sweet dog work is poor shots that don't begin to tell the story:
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Though this one at least hints at the toughness of a bird shot near the juncture of spine and skull that still flew far enough to call for the boat to get within a couple hundred yards of, it takes the bug's proud pop to add that when I cut him loose he didn't need handled and had it marked better than I:
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Whole lot easier to get pretty pics of easy retrieves:
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Paul and Tim with all but the mounting birds portion of our haul:
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Lagniappe:
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