2023-2024 Waterfowl Season

[remrug]

It depends what the are eating. We just let the kids shoot them mainly. My son marinates them and makes jerky.

Gotcha
These were from a creek in Kent Co. I have no idea what their diet was. The bluebills were not real bad, but not real good either.

 

[metalman3006]

Last couple of weeks only went out once and all I got was a goose and a buffel head Been too busy and the divers weren't down yet.

 

[metalman3006]

Got out yesterday in the storm and the divers have finally arrived

 

[metalman3006]

10 red heads, a canvas back, buffle head, and blue bill

 

[gtodave]

Nice. I haven't been out. Between the cold and the flooding, conditions haven't been optimal.

 

[platoonDaddy]

Anyone use “stuffers” ?

 

[gtodave]

Skunked again today. That's five trips in a row. Only got 4 ducks this year so far, and no geese.

 

[metalman3006]

Didn't go today but the guys limited out on red heads and got a few bluebills today

 

[Boondock Saint]

First and only time in a blind this season will be this Saturday. At least I can hunt in a t-shirt while not seeing anything all damn day.

 

[gtodave]

First and only time in a blind this season will be this Saturday. At least I can hunt in a t-shirt while not seeing anything all damn day.

Nah...you'll probably need a rain coat too
Good luck

 

[Yingpin]

I somehow missed this thread. I have taken the boys out on a few occasions and have had limited luck this year. Not a lot of birds around. It is not easy with some of the public land fields we call in for to reserve and we often hunt days cove but it gets hit pretty hard. The boys love it but I do wish they would have more good days than bad! The kids were spoiled, as was I, when we had our lease. I am really impressed with how my oldest gets on these ducks with his O/U 20ga!

 

[gtodave]

I somehow missed this thread. I have taken the boys out on a few occasions and have had limited luck this year. Not a lot of birds around. It is not easy with some of the public land fields we call in for to reserve and we often hunt days cove but it gets hit pretty hard. The boys love it but I do wish they would have more good days than bad! The kids were spoiled, as was I, when we had our lease. I am really impressed with how my oldest gets on these ducks with his O/U 20ga!

Second and 3rd pic look like site #9

 

[firemn260]

Ive had a really good year on a farm pond.
I’ve been absolutely crushing geese with my vintage iron.

 

[Boondock Saint]

Nah...you'll probably need a rain coat too
Good luck

At this point, it's looking like I'll be able to avoid the rain coat, but it's gonna get packed anyway.

(out of context thread, here I come...)

 

[Yingpin]

Second and 3rd pic look like site

Damn, that is pretty good! Got skunked today on a different site this morning. The fog was so thick that you could not see more than a few feet out on the boat ride out. Saw some ducks but they would drop out of the fog and be gone before you realized it. Nothing working the decoys. Heard some shooting today though.

 

[metalman3006]

Bluebills it was to nice, water was like glass. Did get into some bluebills

 

[metalman3006]

Wendsday is the last day, Saturday for juniors and vets

 

[Boondock Saint]

We saw at least 3,000 geese. Not a damned one of them got anywhere near us, however. We opened up on a couple of ducks that buzzed us, but the crafty bastards were basically out of range before we could get on them. At least the weather was fantastic. A long sleeve t-shirt and a hoodie was sufficient for the day. I have surely had worse days in the blind.

 

[Derwood]

This was second worst season for me since I started in 2012. 2020-21 was the absolute worst. In six trips to my spot on the Potomac in St. Mary's, I only managed four buffleheads. Bigger divers like bluebills and canvasbacks and a few mallards started showing up in low numbers the past two weeks, but none were interested in decoying.

I noticed more "blind boats" out on the rivers than ever this year. I think some of them are baiting the river bottom based on how birds seem to be consistently flying right past my spreads "on a mission" to get to specific spots in the middle of the river, even after the boats have moved on. The past two weeks, seagulls grouped up in that same area in unusually high numbers. I noticed a DNR boat out checking one of those blind boats on Saturday. A few years ago, a DNR officer came to my blind to ask if I'd seen unusual activity (i.e. dumping grain over the side of the boat) on the river. So my radar is always up now. I really hope that's not why the ducks are ignoring my set ups. Shame on anyone who baits birds.

I can handle a tough season with few birds -- that's part of hunting. Despite the poor success, it was still a great time! I just love being out there with my dog and friends even when we don't shoot much. Nothing beats witnessing beautiful winter sunrises and sunsets. We'll spend the off season working on our blinds and trying to plant underwater vegetation and oysters to try to make the habitat more attractive next year.

 

[Doco Overboard]

This was second worst season for me since I started in 2012. 2020-21 was the absolute worst. In six trips to my spot on the Potomac in St. Mary's, I only managed four buffleheads. Bigger divers like bluebills and canvasbacks and a few mallards started showing up in low numbers the past two weeks, but none were interested in decoying.

I noticed more "blind boats" out on the rivers than ever this year. I think some of them are baiting the river bottom based on how birds seem to be consistently flying right past my spreads "on a mission" to get to specific spots in the middle of the river, even after the boats have moved on. The past two weeks, seagulls grouped up in that same area in unusually high numbers. I noticed a DNR boat out checking one of those blind boats on Saturday. A few years ago, a DNR officer came to my blind to ask if I'd seen unusual activity (i.e. dumping grain over the side of the boat) on the river. So my radar is always up now. I really hope that's not why the ducks are ignoring my set ups. Shame on anyone who baits birds.

I can handle a tough season with few birds -- that's part of hunting. Despite the poor success, it was still a great time! I just love being out there with my dog and friends even when we don't shoot much. Nothing beats witnessing beautiful winter sunrises and sunsets. We'll spend the off season working on our blinds and trying to plant underwater vegetation and oysters to try to make the habitat more attractive next year.

Sounds like you pretty much have it figured out.
They're on a mission.