After 2 weeks off deer hunting(Successfully!),it's back to our Honey Hole this morning!Had to break a little ice,(and it was SHARP),so my Lab stayed in the truck,and howled because he couldn't pick up our birds! i6 mallards for the 2 of us,14 drakes and 2 hens.(It was hard picking out the hens in the falling snow!)Another banded bird but no reward band this time.We'll hit this spot again tomorrow,after that we'll be frozen out so it's over to the river.I'll be on the Coast between Xmas and New Years,punt hunting off Westham Is. with my old Ladner buddies!A Happy,Healthy,and Ducky Holiday Season to all Waterfowlers!! Cheers,Gunner
congrats on a good day out. i wonder if your mallards taste different than our coastal mallards - probably would be my guess since yours aren't near any fish to tempt them
Hi Fuzzwilikens,the local birds are corn fed til' the fields freeze,then they start on rotten sockye!The Shuswap had a big run this year,several hundred thousand.Once that starts I switch to geese,cause they won't touch fish,if they can't get to the corn,they'll eat grass. Gunner
our mallards do the same. I ate one two weeks ago that must have had a mix of fish and its normal marsh grains so it was fishy in some parts and not in others. still good if you pinched your nose those
Hehe...yeah they get quite fishy at times. Just save em up and bring em in to the butcher to make salami outta. Great fer work lunches and fer some reason either they smoke it or they put a hell of alot of spices, the "gamey" or fishy taste is gone. I find i can tell as soon as i start breasting them out when they are starting to get that fishyness about em. Can smell it on em er somethin. You ever hunted back east......seems they are better tasting all around to me....wonder why that is? Should be fish around and the feilds definately freeze up.......dunno. Just know every time i go out there huntin with a buddy of mine in the georgian bay. The ducks taste fabulous.
Last edited by craigchaplin; 11-26-2006 at 09:29 AM.
Well we gave the old slough one more try,broke 1" ice to set up,and there was heavy snow falling.We still picked up 9 Mallard drakes,but most of the birds were following the river south,and I think they're headed for Okanagon Lake,and then across the Border.As long as the river doesn't freeze,we'll still get lots of birds,but I'll miss the slough,it's a classic spot!This season it produced 88 Mallard and 1 Gadwall drake for us!Cheers,Gunner
Craigchaplin, I've eaten Manitoba ducks that my in laws hunt and they were mighty tastey and didn't have a hint of anything that swims. thanks for your advice, I have the pile getting bigger in the freezer until I have enough to get Salami made. Do you have any places you like to get yours made?
I take mine to ennis meats.....only cause its close and i have been there many times, so i know they do a great job. But i'm sure most any butcher could make them, even thought of buying a grinder and doin them myself.
Gunner....sounds like a good day....still lotsa season left though, where you gonna go now? I passed it up yesterday.....could have been a good one but i was a little iffy about the trek across the fraser in the weather we had yesterday.....oh well lotsa season left as i said.
Just out of curiosity, what would be the minimum amount you would need to have sausage made? I can only have 16 ducks in my freezer at any given time, do they do that small of a batch or??????????
Curious,
GH
Shuswap Mallards
Reply With Quote
Re: Shuswap Mallards
