Session #8 The season is coming upon us fast

Session #8

The Season is coming upon us fast

Well it has been almost a year since my season.  I figured it was time for another.    Everything is ready except for the party guests to arrive.

My knee is healing up very well and I am ready to finally get in the marsh.  I push my knee and leg as much as I can to build the muscle that was lost in a month of not using the leg.  It is amazing how much muscle is lost in atrophy.  I had to learn how to engage the muscles so I could walk again with both legs.  It is more of a challenge than most can imagine.  It is truly a humbling experience to be in especially when one thinks about all of the military men and women who have lost more than just a torn ligament.  Not sure how many that will read this are veterans but thank you for all that you have done and given.

On a side note I have spoken with some great guys from Mississippi.  They created two amazing camo patterns, one of flooded timber and the other is flooded corn.  They started a company called Muddy Waters and here is their website.  This year I will be trying some of their products in the field and marsh.  They have just recently changed the way they operate their business and will have more items coming out soon.  I am not a guy that will blow smoke up your skirt or try to push a product.  I just want everyone to know good products and spend their money wisely.  I know all about a tight budget and spending wisely, my significant other cracks the whip when I spend to much on waterfowl products.

So with that little refresher on where I am be ready for the duck season and stories to come.  I missed last year hunting but this year I will not miss.  I have much to learn and teach if I can get my thoughts to words.  Stay tuned and share hunting. 

Session #6 Great Project But Huge Let Down

Well I have been thinking about how I could camouflage my layout boat better.  Last year it got s paint job and this year I wanted some way to  try and make it like a layout blind without having to buy one of the boat covers with the stubble straps.  My first idea was to make a grid out of paracoard over the top of the boat,  it failed.  But out of the failure arose a better idea then a correction to get the final product.

Final Product

So I started with the grid idea and it failed so my next thought was what about those cargo nets that stretch.  Well I hit up my nearest Harbor Freight store, discount hardware tools, found two medium sized nets for the front and back portion of my boat then two motorcycle sized nets for each side.  The nets came with hooks that I used to fix the nets to the boat.

nets only

So after a week of having the nets attached to the boat, looking at it, and contemplation I decided the nets needed changed just a bit.  It was not exactly what I wanted and I had some coverage areas that were minimal.  So my thought to fix the nets had me remove all the hooks and started from scratch on placement.  I went to the nearest hardware store and bought some fine metal wire.  I finally got back to the boat and started by tying the two side nets end to end.  I centered them up on the sides and then worked my way to the front by tying the nets together with the small wire.  I finished the nets all of the way around the boat and it covered everything I needed.  I placed my layout blind in the cockpit of the boat, last year it worked out amazing for me to have the top coverage and the built in backrest and pouches.  I had some grass left from Roger's Sporting Goods from last season I began zip tying the grass to the cargo nets.  With time it began to look amazing.

beginning to grass

So I grassed my boat and left it for a week and occasionally looked at it during that time. Last year I learned my lesson when I painted my boat.  It is hard to know when to stop painting or camouflaging something.  Last year I paint just a little extra that was to much but luckily I realized it and stopped.  So that is why this year I would do some work and take a break and think everything over.  It is easy to add more but hard to take something back once it is done.  So while looking at the boat I realized that it did have some bald spots and that I hunt in smart weed in the the places I hunt.  So I ordered some smart weed from Cabela's.  I began filling in the bald spots with some extra grass. 

little more grass

So with more grass on the way from Cabela's I left the boat a little bare in spots but covered most of them. I tied some of the grass from the boat to the flaps of the blind.  This did wonders in breaking up the line between the cockpit and the layout blind. Finally the smart weed grass came in.  I added it sparingly to the boat since I do not hunt in just smart weed but there is some in the corn and spots I hunt.

smart weed grass added

opening in cockpit

So I let the boat sit for a week and looked it over again, catching a pattern yet?  I noticed that I had a very noticeable square behind my layout blind and the cockpit.  I am thinking that the boat is almost done.  So now that I had a problem I had to figure out how to correct it.  The tricky part is I need access to that spot to steer the boat in the marsh and it is storage for supplies or a dog if I can borrow some one's.  So that adds a new level of difficulty to the design of correction.  Well  the square was 30 inches by 30 inches so I thought why not go with what I know already works, cargo nets.  I returned to Harbor Freight and bought two motorcycle nets.  I tied them together and placed them in the cockpit.  Dang it they did not fit enough.  The nets measured 15 inches by 12 inches.  So I thought to myself why did they not fit.  Duh, come one Mike two would only cover half of the opening.  Well to fix that issue I had extra net tucked around the backside of the opening from the large net on the back.  I pulled the extra net up and tied my half net to it.  I attached the net with the hooks given with the nets.  I had ran out of grass but I pulled the net back to see how well it worked.  The net worked great but the hooks got tangled up in the other portion of the nets.  So after a few minutes of thinking and looking at my duck gear I use carabiners for all kinds of things during hunting.  They work amazing to attach things.  I figured I would substitute the carabiners for the hooks.  It worked perfect.  I went and bought some extra grass and finished off the boat with grass.  The whole package looks amazing and is more than half the price of the slips sold by the major layout boat manufactures.

Back net closed

Back net open

See through mesh on layout blind

So now that I am feeling amazing about duck season and can not wait to put the boat in the marsh and watch it disappear.  I had hurt my knee while at work at the beginning of this product.  So after going through workman's compensation claims and seeing numerous doctors the diagnosis was discovered.  I partially tore my ACL in my knee.  The breath was taken out of my sails with knowing how much time is needed to rehabilitate from the injury and surgery and how close duck season was.  Crunching the numbers that the doctor said was needed for crutches and rehab  things were not looking good.

The big question is will I make in to the marsh this season for duck season.  I have learned so much in the past years and want to keep learning but it is not looking good for this duck hunter.  So stay safe and HEALTHY from now to the end of duck season fellow hunters.

Session #3: THE INNER ITCH HAS BEGUN

Well my fellow duck hunters, who all has that inner itch tickling them.  No, I am not talking about those crabs from that dirty girl you knew for a night.  I am talking about that waterfowl itch.  Come on, get your head out of the gutters and back in the marsh.

Well waterfowl shows are starting back up on television.  Waterfowl conventions are popping up.  This past weekend I went to Roger's Sporting Goods in Liberty, Missouri.  It was such a pleasant reprieve to walk around hearing the calling competition taking place looking at Momarsh and Four River's layout boats.  It was so tempting to pick up a few calls from the vendors and try them but I choose not to for fear of wastefully spending money before the season even starts.

So with the season coming what do all of you hunters do to prepare.  I pull my calls out of the mothballs and start practicing.  I get my how to call dvds out and start watching them along with my hunting videos.  I listen to the videos and try to mimic what I hear.  I read last year that a guy Amoralled his decoys at the beginning of the season.  I figured I would give it a try this year since my decoys had been outside for two years in the decoy bags.  I am sure they need some moisture to liven them up.

I am planning on scouting out the lands to see what the conservation lands are like and the lay of that land.  I am actually planning on hitting up Cabela's in KS to see Chad Belding from Banded and the Fowl Life products on August 10.  Then just waiting for dove season to start to get the practice for the real prize, ducks and geese.

Hope everyone gets started on their preseason prep because the season is here very soon.  Don't worry I am sure I will end up in the water again this year and I will be writing more posts on my crazy hunting adventures.  So stay tuned in and don't forget to comment.  I enjoy hearing feedback on the blog and any tips people can provide.

Session #1 "Let the help begin"

Well I just saw that I never published my preliminary evaluation sessions notes.  Well they are out there now so now I guess it is time for me to start my next session.  It is snow conservation order currently in the state of Missouri and all I have been seeing is guys just slaughtering those loud mouthed dirty talking birds.

Yes this is from Facebook.  I have to give Momarsh and Habitat Flats respect because they have made amazing products and now a great hunting place that I will not be able to afford.  Habitat Flats had slain the crap out of waterfowl this season and are still killing those snows in great numbers.  

Seeing this has brought back those memories of the past season and how I learned from the past hard season.  So where to begin this session.  Well when I first started hunting my friend and I hunted out of two prototypes for Momarsh boats.  They were great and I knew I wanted to buy one sometime for my addiction.  My grandmother died in the early months of 2012.  Well she left a nice inheritance for me.  I bought a new shotgun that I had wanted since it was created and I bought a Four Rivers refuge runner layout boat.  I did this all without my parents blessing.  I am a grown man or at least I pretend to be.  This will come back very soon.

So the first hunt of the season was in late October or early November. The weather was still warm but not steaming hot.  I like hunting in the early weeks of the season especially on public conservation ground.  A lot of hunters are still out chasing deer either with a bow or with a rifle once that season starts and it keeps the numbers in the poor line low.  Guess I need to explain the poor line for those that are not in Missouri.  Well Missouri has a a quick draw process for a few places, where you put in twice a week online and they will draw a bunch of spots for specific days that you selected.  The remaining spots are then used for the poor line, which is when everyone that did not get a quick draw they can drive to the headquarters and then pick a pill and the spots are given out based on the lowest numbers of the pills.  The quick draw can be very nice if you get picked but I only got picked once in the season after trying for every day I could hunt. 

Now that is out of the way lets get back to my sessions notes.  I was able to convince my dad to drive and meet me at Grand Pass from St. Louis, a three hour drive.  I took my new to me layout boat with me to hunt knowing my dad would be pissed that I spent money on it that I should have saved.  Oh well I wanted it and it will be used.  I finally got to Grand Pass and met my dad.  He saw the boat and I could tell he was not happy because he knew where the money came from.  We stood in the poor line and I drew a great pill. It was the third lowest pill I could draw in the poor line.  It had been a while for both of us in the poor line and we thought that we were not hunting that day.  Then like someone flipped the light switch on I realized that it was a low number.  I shouted to dad we are hunting and he had a confused look but then he realized that I was right.  I get so many of my quirks from my dad, like father like son, I guess.

So I pick my usual pool  in Grand Pass and off we go.  I know the one section and it has treated me well.  It is nice to pick early because you can get setup and not worry about missing an opportunity of killing ducks because you are still setting up.  So we unloaded my truck boat and all.  Loaded everything up in my boat and sled and we walked out to where I wanted to set up.  We got setup in rows of standing corn.  My dad used his marsh seat and I used my boat.  The water levels were not very high due to the early season and low water for pumping off of the Missouri river.

the view from our hideout for the day

The day was great killed a decent amount of ducks but what was best was the time spent with my dad doing something we both enjoy together.  My first duck of the season was a young green head mallard.  This was so shocking because the number of mallards never came down solid until after the season closed.  I used my two Mojo ducks and a Wonderduck.  It seemed that the ducks were not wanting to finish.  They would come in for a look and fly away.  So after trial and error we discovered that the ducks did not like the motion of both the Mojo and Wonderduck.  We tried having one or the other and they both made the ducks not finish.  I know the ducks love the Mojo because I had one mallard come in locked in from more than three hundred yards out.  It just seemed that the ducks knew what the mojo meant once they got close.  I know most of you hunters out there are thinking well your calling stinks or you were not concealed well enough.  I know my calling is not the greatest but it is not crap and our concealment was good.

Can you find dad?

There he is!

Our spot was great to hunt out of.  A nice hole at the end of a slough that went straight to the refuge.  The birds were coming straight from the refuge and following the slough which lead those fowl mouthed birds straight to us. 

View down the slough.

Dad looking for his call to try out.  This will be funny.

So we finished the day with a decent limit but not a max due to the birds not finishing.  So the day was over and we loaded up the sled and boat.  We walked the boat to the deeper water in the pool.  Feeling daring I had dad sit on the front of the boat while I stood in the back and used the trolling motor.  Once we got back to the truck I knew dad was happy about the boat and not mad anymore.  He realized how useful the boat is for getting around in the marsh.  He always did teach me to work smart not hard.

Dad and I after the hunt.

I had just bought a new waterproof/shockproof/freeze proof camera to take pictures of my hunts and I captured this great picture which turned out to be a Christmas present for dad.  It is always great when I can get dad to put his game face on with paint but it was not done today.

So to close the first session of my addiction treatment;  smack those fowl mouthed ducks in the face, if it does not work change it and just enjoy life with the things you enjoy and with the people you love.

Fowl Mouthed Therapy: "Preliminary Session Notes"

Hello there and well my name is Mike.  I live in central to west central Missouri and I love the waterfowl season.  I am sure you are asking yourself what the heck is this guy rambling about with "Fowl Mouthed Therapy."  Well I am addicted to waterfowl hunting hence the need for therapy and those dirty birds just talk dirty to me with their fowl mouths. I am writing this entry as the season has just finished and the hunts are still so vivid in my memories.  My memories and seeing the birds still flying are teasing me.  It makes me sick and yearn for the day to pull the trigger on those buggers.

As I reminisce on the past season of 2012-2013 I realize that it was a very tough season due to the drought and that I learned many lessons.  I have looked for waterfowl hunting books at every books store I go to but I never find anything other than "How to identifying Waterfowl" books.  These are so important but I want a book on tips and ideas on how to kill more birds.  What good is identifying a bird if I can't even get them to get close enough to shoot.

Smacked in the Fowl Mouth

So I thought to myself it is time to start something and the easiest place to start is a blog.  I will never expect to be a published author or even famous for my writing   I just want to share my addiction for waterfowl hunting and any lessons I learn the hard way.  How boring you say, well to lighten the mood, the blog will be filled with the antics of my buddies and myself.  We tend to have some interesting hunts. Some how I always end up in the water at least once in the season.  I am not even joking about ending up in the water.  Usually I just end up with half my body getting wet but this season was the worst for me.  I fell out of my boat backwards completely in the water, but that is for a later bone chilling blog.

First of 2012-2013 season

Well guess I can give some background about me.  I am in my late 20's and I have been duck hunting for roughly 10 years.  I prefer duck hunting but have started to enjoy goose hunting but have so much to learn on that aspect.  I hope everyone enjoys the blog and gets some kind of tip, idea or even a chuckle out of my poor luck.