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Thread: Opening day

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Aug 2004
    Location
    Agassiz
    Posts
    467

    Opening day

    With opening day only a couple days away, we were scouting and planning with great optimism. We had a slough with hundreds of ducks and there were piles of geese in the neighborhood.
    Thursday morning saw one target field plastered with at least a thousand lesser Canadas, a few snows and a bunch of ducks. The second target field (preferred because we had the only access) held a couple hundred big canadas, a couple of snows and some lessers. It was looking good.
    The Farmer chased the big canadas in his field and while some left to a nearby field we were also permissioned on, some just moved to the back of the field. I spoke with him and told him that we would deal with them on Saturday, and got a thumbs up.
    But he also told me that they were going to disc and seed down the field with all the lessers in it on Friday because the weather window allowed it.
    Ok, that will just move them to the second field or somewhere else, and we were still good.
    Friday morning, the tractor heads off about sunrise. One to two thousand lessers have to find a new feeding location, so they join the big canadas at the other field. Twenty acres of 3 inch high cover crop is black with geese but the season doesn't open til the next day.
    The farmer chases them out and being mostly lessers, they bugger off, and except for about 20 in the afternoon, nothing comes back.
    So with no patterned geese, we fall back to a slough duck hunt for opening day. There have been ducks piling into the slough all week.
    Still looking good.
    Saturday morning, we get in before daylight, two dozen floaters and 2 mojos set up. We are good to go.
    Unfortunately the ducks didn't show and the few that came over, were not really interested.
    We managed two drakes that came in as singles.
    There were lesser canadas flying by the whole time we were there. In all directions. They were still looking for a new feeding spot.
    We did get one big canada when ten or a dozen came over the slough lower than they should have. My son and I both let fly at the lead goose and down he came.
    After being really optimistic earlier in the week, with all the birds around, the day was disappointing, but that is hunting.
    We will find the geese again, and there are still a couple of unharvested corn fields and fields with patches that were left, that will provide opportunities for good hunting, especially when more ducks arrive.

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  3. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2011
    Location
    langley
    Posts
    997

    Re: Opening day

    Good luck next time out.

  4. #3
    Join Date
    Dec 2014
    Posts
    1,122

    Re: Opening day

    Love hearing these stories

    I tried Boundary Bay for the first time in duck opener. It was not as crowded as Canada resident opener but at least had some action as the snowies were in. But like snowies they did not like to come down so most resorted to skybusting. In between the snowie invasions there were assorted ducks randomly zooming in. I got three including a surf scoter after I edged up to meet the tide as it came in. An amazing looking bird. A flight of Canadas came in low a couple times and were potted by the lucky ones. Some fellas with mojos were getting some early season luck also it seemed like.

    Today I went back to the same area and set up right on the beach intending to use the tide again. This time I brought mojos and my friend brought his brand new decoys. In early light we had a duck come in but a bit too far but my friend was overjoyed to learn decoying can work. Unlike Saturday, though, it was a blue bird day so pretty much duck action was pretty light. I should have thought of that when I came with mostly duck ammo as there was nothing much to do but try long shots at the snowies who drove the foreshore back and forth.

    We were sited next to an amazing long shotter who seemed to be able to pick out a snowie each time they came down too low. I helped him retrieve one and got his tips on how much to lead. Sadly I couldn't convert that into results. My only win today was again a low flying Canada. I had already exhausted my BB so was surprised that I was able to bring it down with #4. He was feisty so had to dispatch him hand to hand. Blood got all over my suit, gun and bags. I'm on the way now to Thanksgiving to traumatize my brother's kids with tales of animal murder.

  5. #4
    Join Date
    Dec 2018
    Posts
    75

    Re: Opening day

    Great write ups both. I'm always a bit worried about opening day and how crowded it could be, but good to hear of some successes

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