Early morning 12/31/2023

[Joe T]

Up early to get out and set up on fire island and be ready for legal shooting time 1/2 hour before sunrise!

[blackbeltbill]

Go Get Them!!!

[Joe T]

It was a fun morning- we were set up 45 min before sunrise and 15 min before legal shooting time.  We had parked on ocean side of beach and lugged our stuff over to bay.  The cove was full of ducks.  Just as legal shooting time came, a guy entered the cove in a kayak and all the birds flew off!  We signaled to him and he relocated but the damage was done.  About an hour later ducks started returning.  I got some shots off at a passing bufflehead and missed.  Then I shot at a black duck.  I hit him as I saw feathers fly,  but not enough to down him and he flew off.

[virgil]

We’re going out of Captree tomorrow morning. 

[Joe T]

@virgil do you launch a boat or walk the marsh?

[virgil]

7 hours ago, Joe T said:

@virgil do you launch a boat or walk the marsh?

Boat. Then, about a 20 minute boat ride.  Then we ditch the boat and sit in the marsh. 

Edited January 1 by virgil

[Joe T]

Good luck @virgil- this is my first season so I don’t have much to compare with, but I understand this has been a bad year for ducks- we only had two shooting opportunities yesterday- I hope you fare better

[ATbuckhunter]

2 hours ago, Joe T said:

Good luck @virgil- this is my first season so I don’t have much to compare with, but I understand this has been a bad year for ducks- we only had two shooting opportunities yesterday- I hope you fare better

Its been a warm year this year. The colder the weather, the better the hunting usually. For ducks, you want it to be pretty cold up north to push them down here. Been a few years since its been cold enough to have a pretty good season

[virgil]

7 hours ago, Joe T said:

Good luck @virgil- this is my first season so I don’t have much to compare with, but I understand this has been a bad year for ducks- we only had two shooting opportunities yesterday- I hope you fare better

Definitely a slower season for sure this year. We had a few black ducks come in, but no good shot opportunities. 
I live on the north shore and have hunted locally a lot in past years. I’ve seen almost no ducks around here this year.   For whatever reason, I’m seeing more mergansers and divers than usual. 

Edited January 1 by virgil

[Joe T]

With all the divers I am witnessing and hearing about a lot of ducks who get shot and before they can be recovered they dive never to be recovered!  
I live on the Northshore also in Northport.  It’s too bad Huntington doesn’t allow hunting.  When my dog and I hike in Crab Meadow we see tons of Mallards and Geese!

[virgil]

15 hours ago, Joe T said:

With all the divers I am witnessing and hearing about a lot of ducks who get shot and before they can be recovered they dive never to be recovered!  
I live on the Northshore also in Northport.  It’s too bad Huntington doesn’t allow hunting.  When my dog and I hike in Crab Meadow we see tons of Mallards and Geese!

Personally, i have no interest in shooting divers.  If you can't eat them, i have a hard time justifying killing them.  I had about 30 mergansers in my decoys sunday on the north shore.  Wasn't tempted at all.  I see loads of guys going out into the Sound or the ocean after sea ducks.  Not my thing.

Edited January 2 by virgil

[ATbuckhunter]

30 minutes ago, virgil said:

Personally, i have no interest in shooting divers.  If you can't eat them, i have a hard time justifying killing them.  I had about 30 mergansers in my decoys sunday on the north shore.  Wasn't tempted at all.  I see loads of guys going out into the Sound or the ocean after sea ducks.  Not my thing.

Same here! No point wasting a shell on something I'm not going to eat. Only reason id ever do it is to get a retrieve for the dog if that's something I was working on.