[quote="bluwtr"]Opening day--no water in WMA area I was going to try. Boot sucking mud bog. Ducks 1-Me 0
Today--morning--marsh hunt--boat motor craps out just past launch. Ducks 2-Me 0
Today--evening--marsh hunt--make it to area, setting up; two fly by, gun in case; ready to hunt-rain, hot and 100,000,000 trillion gnats. Ha! I have Cutter! Yahoos close by call like mad at anything in the air including gnats and mosquitos, moon, sun, clouds etc. Shoot at all thing above ground level. Finish day alive, beatiful sunset, no birds, Yahoos still calling/ shooting but only 900,000! I got my limit on them!
Final total: Ducks 3, me 0, but I've got a freezer full of gnats!!!!!!!!!!
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Opening day --- same marsh as you --- someone in hole at 4 AM. Turned to leave respectfully and the old $#@% chased us down to tell us "we better not set up right on top of him". Get to the next hole (one bayou away) and start dropping dekes. There is a blind in the hole, no one in it. We decide we'll hunt the hole but won't hunt in someone else's blind. 5 mins later, they whip into the blind and tell us they're hunting here. We just left because we didn't feel like getting shot at...the fella came whipping in at full speed in 6-8" of water. Wasn't a small boat w/ a mud motor either....he didn't like the fact that someone was in "his" hole. Didn't kill our limit of gnats thanks to the Thermacell.
Friday AM --- marsh --- in a little bayou between a couple of squawling/grunting callers in adjacent holes. 1 Teal, 1 Mottled, 1 BB. Couldn't find one other bird. Actually had a speck circle a few times. Should've busted him because technically he was in range, but we wanted a closer shot. We passed and he left.
Friday PM --- marsh --- rain, rain, rain. Looked up to see 2 mottled ducks circling...never saw them come in...but they saw me move. Heard a ton of shooting S of the bridge. Nothing to shoot at where we were.
Going tomorrow...hopefully things will be a little better. I don't think I've ever seen so many hunters in the marsh before. Saw what I would call a whole lot of birds on opening day, but the holes holding them are covered up EARLY. Not to mention the fact that you'd better be ready to fight if someone has a blind built in the same hole.
Good luck this season.
Actually, it's no biggy. I was just glad to get to go and be outdoors. Season is still very young! I'm going to lie to myself and say I was giving other folks a chance! 