Cataldo Slough Part IV- The Recrushening

Temps are dropping, and snow is starting to accumulate around town.  It's too wet to ride bikes, and there's just barely enough snow to take a few runs.  But a storm is brewing, and soon skiing will be at the top of the priority list, so time to slay while the slaying is good.

Otis scouted on Friday and decided that the way far back part of the slough was the place to be.  We headed out with some extra time to make the extended paddle.  I was armed with my new kayak paddle, a throw away from a friend.  We shot through the pipe again, it's a blast and I'd recommend it to anyone.  Once out on the South side we transitioned from water to a half inch of slushy on top of the water, soon there was no open water in sight and I started to wonder if this was going to work.  It was cold and snowing lightly, the thought of breaking ice all the way back was weighing heavily on my mind as we finally popped out into some open water.

We had our small spread of 6 ducks and 8 geese planted quickly.  It was time to cut some grass and pull our camo nets over ourselves and the boats.  We were laying back in our boats, nestled up into the flooded grass, it was five minutes to shooting time.  The mallards started to circle and drop in, dozens of them, and close.

It was at this time that someone decided to drive their mud buddy equipped boat into our spread and blind us with a light bar.  They wanted to know who we were, how we got there and if they could hunt with us.  It was now legal shooting time and the birds were desperately trying to get in, birds were everywhere dozens within fifty feet of us.  I reluctantly told them our names after some silence, and Otis said they could hunt with us if they ditched the boat.  They had a pretty crappy attitude for people that were royally screwing up our day.  After a snarky comment or two they took off and headed to the other side of the slough, where they didn't take a shot for the rest of the day.  We would have been fine with them hunting with us, but grilling while we're sitting there blinded by their lights, and scaring everything off was a bit much.

A few minutes after our kickass locals took off, a flock of six or seven mallards came in from directly behind me, they were only about four feet above my head and scared the crap out of me.  Otis was about fifty feet away and not scared.  He dropped a hen and a drake stone cold dead about twenty feet in front of him.  After another set of birds coming in and two missed shots, I decided to move near Otis and turn the boat around.  Laying in your boat allows you a very small viewing area, so lots of times the birds are only 20 feet away before you know they're there.  I've had a little practice shooting from my layout blind, but I've got a lot of work to do on the act of sitting up and shouldering.  Otis had another opportunity and dropped his second henny of the day, again landing just a few feet away.

The rest of the day consisted of half hour to forty five minute

breaks where nothing is flying, and then ten to fifteen minutes of action.  A single drake came in from the right, Otis shot and knocked a couple feathers off but he was picking up speed and altitude.  Otis couldn't swing any further from his position, so I took a shot and dropped him. Otis had another set come in and dropped his second greenie just outside the spread. A few more sets came and went, getting within shooting range but not committing.  I shot and  missed on a pretty solid  opportunity on a crossing pair.  About an hour later another pair cam in straight at me, fully committed, I waited until they were about eight feet off the water and solidly hit the drake. My follow up shots knocked a few feathers off the henny with effect.

Another hour went by with a mix of geese and ducks coming by, a few checked us out but many passed high overhead.  Otis had a set nearly land on him and managed to take another greenie, I didn't see them until Otis shot, at that point it was too late for me to do anything but watch.  A half hour later another set scared Otis as they came in from behind him, I saw them right before they were about to land and managed to get my third and final greenie of the day.  We moved ourselves and our spread quite a bit throughout the day, and we never had an opportunity to shoot at the same time besides that single greenie.  It was a lot of fun besides the whole awkward stand off thing in the morning, but even that wasn't too bad in the end.  I don't know if days like this are going to become the norm, but I'm sure enjoying and appreciating them now.  Otis shot five mallards, and he didn't lose a single one, things are looking up.