The All Day Hunt That Wasn't (12/18/10 Duck Hunt)

I overslept this morning.  Hard to believe, I know.  I woke to a text from Eric asking if I was awake.  After sending a response, I double checked my alarm.  Stupid iPhone alarm.  I had set it for 4:30 pm, not 4:30 am.  I hurried to get dressed so I could  meet Eric at the prearranged spot in Burbank.  I finally got there by 6:00.  He had already made it and set his decoys out.  I set mine out and our all day hunt was started.

We sat for a little over an hour before we had our first set come into the decoys.  I didn't notice them until Eric pointed them out.  Eric urged me to take the first shot of the day.  I touched off a shot and missed them both.  I fired again.  Still nothing.  I think Eric fired once or twice, but I can't say for sure.  They both flew off.  No dead ducks in that round. 

We sat for another 1/2 hour or so before the snow and ice wrecked our decoys spread.  We decided to pick up and move before the weather made it impossible for ducks to land where we wanted.  We walked for about 1 1/2 - 2 hours before settling on a spot.  Burbank was a popular area today.  By the time we arrive on the island (normally inaccessible due to deep water) at the confluence of the Columbia and Snake Rivers, we were both very sweaty.  Neoprene waders don't breathe...at all.

Not long after we sat down, a bird zipped in from the right, circled around in front of our decoys and ended up dropping in from our left.  I fired a shot and the bluebill hen went down.  A few minutes later, Eric shot a wigeon hen as it passed overhead.  As time went by, the raft of wigeons to our left grew.  It became massive while, at the same time, it moved slowly towards us.  When the raft made it to our island, it had to do one of two things; either pass behind us (on the other side of the island) or in front of us.  I prayed for the latter because it would have put several hundred ducks right in front of us, on the water.  Right on cue, they went behind us.  For the next hour or so, we watched flock after flock avoid our decoys and  land in the raft of real birds.  I don't care how good your decoys look, they can never compete with the real thing.

We finally looked at each other, teeth chattering, and agreed to call it a day even though we had intended to hunt all day.  By 11:00, mother nature had kicked our asses.  We were sweaty, cold and tired of watching birds go somewhere else.  We packed up and headed out.