Back in the day, duck hunters didn’t carry blind bags into the field. I know my pop, now 75, and I didn’t. And the reason was simple: We didn’t need them because we didn’t carry much stuff.
Like anglers, duck hunters have their home waters they know well, but, just like fisherman, they dream of other places, destinations famous for the opportunities they offer. Sometimes those stories are just rumors, but in the case of these ten waterfowling destinations, the reality is often even better than their reputation.
10. Beaver Dam, Mississippi – Made popular in the early part of the last century by Nash Buckingham, this flooded oxbow still holds its own today as a great place to fill the bird strap with a mixed bag of mallards and gray ducks.
As waterfowl hunters, there are topics of maintenance we tend to on a regular basis. We clean our shotguns, post-hunt, with almost a religious fervor. Boats are washed, decoys are organized and stored, and blind bags emptied, checked, double-checked, and repacked. Retrievers, too, are fed, rubbed down, and, if they are anything like ours, set to sleep on a blanket in front of the wood-burner. After all, they have certainly earned the right, eh?
It’s an old joke, but it’s quite appropriate given the topic here. A young man, an up-and-coming professional violinist and new to the Big City, asks a seasoned musician the question: “How do you get to Carnegie Hall?” Without a moment’s hesitation, the artist replies matter-of-factly: “Practice, young man. Practice.”
I’ve owned a lot of decoy bags
It’s true. There are some incredible public-land waterfowling opportunities scattered across this great nation of ours. Take, for instance, the Columbia River. Or Kansas’ Cheyenne Bottoms. The Mississippi. California’s refuge system. The Chesapeake Bay. Some hunters spend their entire duck hunting careers on these open-to-anyone waters, and wouldn’t think of going anyplace else.
Even so, I’ve enjoyed many memorable waterfowl hunts on private lands from coast to coast.
Things happen, guns fail and the perfect hiding spot isn’t always readily available. These things surmise the life of duck hunters who spend their time outdoors in the most unforgiving conditions.
