Category: Massachusetts

Posted By:
Isaac514
Guest

western ma 10-30-2005 12:00
Mostly Cloudy, No Precipitation – 35-40 Degrees
We shot our limit of 4 geese, despite having a group of guys set up at sunrise about 150 yards away. Absolutely speechless with the degree of skybusting that we saw, easily 75+ yard shooting. We saw one bird that was hit sail into a neighborhood and 10 minutes later the family is in the side yard looking at the bird. No bands or collars, just cant understand the way some people have such disregard for others!

Posted By:
Isaac514
Guest

Franklin county 10-26-2005 11:29
Mostly Cloudy, No Precipitation – 35-40 Degrees
Hunted a flooded corn field with a friend and his dad. We shot 6 out of the first flock, could of used a fly swatter if we wanted to. Will take the easy ones when we get a chance. No bands or collars, please be carefull on the high water areas.

Posted By:
pworkman
Guest

boston harbor 10-25-2005 09:12
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Hunted Boston Harbor on last friday. The spot usually has sea ducks, especially eider by the hundreds. Saw one small flock in the distance. That was it. I’m hoping they are all still up north. My friend who rides the ferry to work has seen nothing eihter. Got my fingers crossed for Nov. Hopefully Hurricane season is over by then.

Posted By:
Dean Smith
Supporting Member

Conn River Valley 10-23-2005 20:09
Cloudy, Light Rain & Drizzle – 45-50 Degrees
What a tremendous difference from last year. Alot of birds around, spread out however because of all the rain and the resulting high water. Staying away from the large rivers and lakes, I am finding most of the birds useing flooded fields and swamps adjacent to the large rivers and lakes. Doing alot of wading in beaver ponds for woodies and teal and seeing good numbers. Have seen more birds already this year than whole first half season of last.

Posted By:
Isaac514
Guest

CT river valley 10-23-2005 10:24
Mostly Cloudy, No Precipitation – 35-40 Degrees
Hunted with a friend in cut corn shot our 4 canadas and a mallard by 7:30. One mature snow goose mixed in but didnt want to commit to the decoys, totally avoided the spread. Not alot of birds for this time of year but all decoyed close enough to look for collars and bands. Good luck and keep it safe.

Posted By:
Richard-Foxx
Guest

Bad News for the Atlantic Flyway 10-20-2005 09:10
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As most of you know, I was Sea Duck Hunting with a few members of this site the last 2 days.

As hunting goes, during lulls in the action conversation starts. We talked about a variety of topics one of which was the direction and the recommendations of the Atlantic Flyway Council.

Some of the recommendations that they wanted to implement this year was “Hunter’s Choice”. I can guarantee you that this will be a hot topic again next year.

Hunter’s Choice would be this. We will have a 4 bird limit. This could be all “4 limit birds” like Mallards.However, there would be no restrictions on hen Mallards so theoretically you could shoot 4 Hen Mallards. Teal, Gadwall’s, Wigeon and Shoveler’s would also fit into this category.

A bird with a 2 bird limit like Bluebills, Wood Ducks and Red Heads would effect you like this. You shoot 2 Bluebills. No more 2 bird limit specie’s. No Red Heads. No Wood Ducks. Now you can only shoot 2 Mallards, both of which could be Hens. You could also finish off this limit with the other 4 bird specie’s, Wigeon, Gadwall’s etc. Or, Merganser’s.

Your 1 bird limit specie’s, Canvasback’s, Black Duck’s and Pintails. Shoot a Can, no Pintail. Shoot a Pintail, no Can. Shoot a Black, no Pinatail or Can. You now have three birds left to fill you bag.

One of the disturbing things to happen this year is that Merganser’s now count against your daily bag limit.

The Flyway Council Rep from Ontario wants to increase and ease restrictions on Snow Geese as they are destroying their breeding habitat, farmers crops and marsh’s. For some reason, there is tremendous opposition to this from this Council. Why?

We have only a few strong voices for the hunters, one of whom is Paul Castelli the Head Biologist from New Jersey who is their Flyway Council Representative.

There are a few other hunters on the Flyway Council but none who speaks with the knowledge of the resource and conviction to work with hunters like Paul.

We need to fight this trend to restrict our hunting rights. If this is implemented next year it will decidely impact your hunt and make up of your bag.

This type of Daily Bag Limit will severly restrict yours and my hunting rights and opportunities.

Posted By:
pworkman
Guest

south shore 10-18-2005 12:27
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Out this am for sea ducks. Basically, I saw very little, which is a bit unusual. Got off about 5 shots at some half decoying eiders. That was it. I’m hoping the birds are just not here yet. I am a bit concerned about the large drop off in birds, especially eider, in my area over the last 10 -12 years.

Posted By:
James Brady
Guest

North Shore private access to inland river 10-17-2005 21:24
Mostly Cloudy, No Precipitation – 50-60 Degrees
Got out ontime openning day but could not find the blind in the dark due to the fact that the water level rose between Monday when we set our blind up and Thursday morning. Had to set up in a make shift spot but no matter the irds were flying really well. Mostly woodies with some mallards and a few GWT. Did really well. Three of us had our woodie limits in the first 20 minutes. The second day weather conditions were much the same but had another hunter up the river that was not there openning day. Therfore, we got about 1/3 of the opportunities we had for the openner. Two of us ended up with three birds. Hunted a fresh water lake in Maine on Saturday and shot a few mallards and a wood duck.

Posted By:
Baymen Moe
Web Member

south shore/central and coastal 10-15-2005 21:12
Cloudy, High Winds – 50-60 Degrees
Well action has picked up since Wednesday. In the blind at first light this morning. Lots of quick flights early on and steady action into the late morning. Our shooting performance could have been a lot better. All the birds today inland were woodies and boy did we miss. It was’nt until my buddies left that I settled down and took two woodies with one shot (my first) over the decoys.

Off to back river marsh in Duxbury for a 2 hour coastal hunt and it payed off. Low tide but enough water for my 3 bean cork decoys to ride the creek waters. As soon as I set up ducks were moving. A few teal and black ducks. At 5:45pm I called in a black duck and it decoyed perfectly ten yards behind my last block. Hunt over. I should’ve had a bag of six today but we all can’t always be on in our shooting right?

Bill

Posted By:
pworkman
Guest

south shore 10-12-2005 14:19
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hunted sea ducks last friday. 4 scoter. did not see a single eider which is very unusual. Hoping to get out if the weather ever clears.
checked out a close in central zone spot and did not kick up one duck.
Hopefully weather and duck numbers will improve

Posted By:
Baymen Moe
Web Member

south shore 10-12-2005 12:55
Cloudy, Light Rain & Drizzle – 50-60 Degrees
Openeing day tradition continued today with Capt David Bitters of Baymen Outfitters in my blind. It was great to be out again but I don’t have much to report. No shots fired today. There were a few birds around. Mallards, teal, woodies and geese but no opportunities for shooting. The usual early flurry of flights was not there this morning. I think once this weather pattern changes things will improve. Out again this weekend…stay tuned

Bill

Posted By:
CDUNCAN
Guest

10-12-2005 12:27
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is there anyone home……

Posted By:
Kirk-Gately
Field Editor

10-01-2005 16:54
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I’ll do my usual Christmas week report but that’s about it.

Posted By:
Mike F.
Guest

09-29-2005 16:57
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Just wondering, do we have a VFE for MASS this season? Where’d Tim run off to?

Mike

Posted By:
Mike F.
Guest

Northeastern part of the State 09-10-2005 14:04
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 60-65 Degrees
Hunted with my dad thismorningm we were rewarded with an impressive amount of birds in the air, enough of them found there way right smack into the decoys, pics to follow. Awsome way to start the season.

Mike

Posted By:
Mike F.
Guest

NE Corn 09-08-2005 14:38
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Not too many birds moving this afternoon, hopefully it will improve

Posted By:
XX Buckshot
Guest

Mass. Waterfowl Hearings 08-10-2005 05:52
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MASS WATERFOWL HEARINGS… The annual hearing to set dates for waterfowl hunting in Massachusetts will be held on August 25th at 7 PM at the U Mass Cranberry Experimental Station on Bog Rd just off Rt. 25(US 495) in E. Wareham, Ma. The framework is set by the Feds but we have input as to dates, etc with-in that framework so if you want a voice in your hunting season..BE THERE…..Dave Mac Eachern

Posted By:
bflather
Guest

Just waiting but it will be Ipswich 05-19-2005 11:45
Cloudy, Light Rain & Drizzle – 50-60 Degrees
Just thought I would pass along a fact that my friend Kenley reminded me about……
“Only about 4 months until early goose season boys….” Till then it’s striper time!!
Have a great summer!

Posted By:
Scott-Haight
Guest

MassWildlife News 02-20-2005 06:42
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ENTER THE JUNIOR DUCK STAMP CONTEST BEFORE MARCH 15:

“There’s still time to enter the Massachusetts Junior Duck Stamp contest,” advises MassWildlife Education Coordinator Pam Landry. “Any student, from kindergarden through grade 12, regardless of whether they attend public school, private school or are home-schooled, can submit original artwork for this fun and educational competition.”

The Junior Duck Stamp (JDS) Program was launched in 1991 by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to increase young people’s awareness of the importance of preserving wetland habitats and the delights of wildlife watching. Entries are reviewed in four categories representing grades K – 3, grades 4 – 6, grades 7 – 9 and grades 10 – 12. All entrants are recognized for their efforts with the top 25 receiving prizes in each age category. The overall state winner represents Massachusetts at the National Competition in Ocean City, Maryland.

“JDS is really a lesson in conservation through the arts, so everyone who participates is a winner,” continues Landry. “Not only is it fun to create a drawing or painting, it’s interesting to learn about the species being drawn so it can be depicted in a natural habitat. I’d love to hear from art teachers, science teachers, and parents who home-school to provide them with all the details. The packets contain materials to stimulate interest in wildlife and habitat protection and describe the incredibly successful story of federal Duck Stamps. Even if someone decides not to enter the art competition, the related information can be valuable in the classroom.”

The entry deadline is March 15, 2005. For more information contact Pam Landry, 508/792-7270 x110, pam.landry@state.ma.us or www.MassWildlife.org.
____________________________________________

CONSERVATION CAMP FOR TEENS:

Enroll a teen in the 2 week Massachusetts Junior Conservation Camp. Open to girls and boys from 13-17 years of age, the camp offers a host of outdoor skills sessions relating to fishing, hunting, camping and other recreation, field trips with biologists, a Hunter Safety and Boating Safety course, as well as special guest speakers on natural resources topics Camp will be held in Chesterfield from August 7-19. Deadline to save a slot is May 1. The Mass. Jr. Conservation Camp is a partnership between MassWildlife, Mass Dept. of Conservation and Recreation, the Mass. Environmental Police and the Gun Owner’s Action League. Many sportsmens clubs and conservation groups sponsor area teens. Applications are available at the Camp website at www.juniorconservationcamp.org or by calling MassWildlife at 508/792-7270 or the Gun Owner’s Action League 508/393-5333.

Posted By:
Tim-Dulkie
Guest

Mass,RI 02-19-2005 12:54
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Just want to take time and thanks those who hunted with me this past few season it’s been great includeing this year duck were spotty but the GEESE well we put the hurt on land and water , over all it was another great season

Thanks Tim

Posted By:
Mike F.
Guest

02-16-2005 16:14
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Gotta love it, day after the season closes everytime you look up you see geese, there all over the freshly melted field…

day late and a dollar short

Mike

Posted By:
Mike F.
Guest

Merrimac 02-12-2005 17:33
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 30-34 Degrees – Open Water
Hunted with my dad on the Merrimac today, dropped the boat into the water street ramp, lots of geese..sitting 10ft off the road!! Probably saw upards of 300 geese over the course of the afternoon, all kinds of ducks EVERYWHERE you looked. No shots fired..Oh well that was the last hurrah for the year. This year has been awsome, especially for puddle ducks. Only 7 monthes until the sept season..

Bring on the stripers

Mike

Posted By:
Scott-Haight
Guest

End Of Season 02-09-2005 13:10
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Well, the 2004/2005 Waterfowl season was a great one for Thunder and I. Unfortunately, with the late goose season almost over( 15th ), and a major Northeaster bearing down on us that is sure to close the ramps and water back up as it dumps over a foot of snow on us, I have decided to call it a year. Even walk in hunting will be very, very, difficult now with the return of winter( ie; no way to safely bring dog ).

The guns, clothes, dekes, etc… are cleaned and stowed and this morning the boat was put away in storage. The geese are safe from me for the last few days. They may have been anyway but it is now official.

Amid a lot of hollering from folks in other areas of the country that this was a horrbile year I personally didn’t see that. Oh sure there were some dead periods( see some of my earlier posts and I say as much )but overall this was a great duck & goose season.

I far and away shot the most ducks in a year I ever have. I also shot just a load of Mallards this year out along the coast of NH and MA where over my hunting lifetime they were a rarity. If you shot 3-5 in a year it was a lot yet I had many days this year with 2,3, or 4 Mallards taken. Shot almost as many Mallards as Blacks which was very surprising. I had more multiple bird days this year then ever.

I also can say I saw a lot of ducks as well on the tidal marshes and rivers of MA and the tidal bays and rivers of NH. I won’t say I saw the most I ever have but certainly this year was a top 5. Goose numbers were also high as well and I did my fair share of damage to their population. 🙂

Had some good hunts with friends and family as well as many enjoyable solo outings with just the dog. Hope you all had great years as well.

See you in October.

[Edited By Scott-Haight on 2005-02-09 13:19]

Posted By:
Mike F.
Guest

NE MA 02-06-2005 10:42
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 35-40 Degrees
Didn’t get out until 8am, spent an hour digging a patch to get my truck through, in the process a flock of 50+ and a small fock of 10-15 birds came over honking like someone just slapped there mother. Finally get my truck though, oil pan intact. Set up, had one line come by, but not a peep, they were heading for Joppa and thats that. 6 hours later:) A double makes the same run, completely ignoring the spread, snobby geese. Hunted until end of shooting time, get home around 545pm, have have a couple HUNDRED birds fly over the house as I was unpacking!!

Mike

Posted By:
Mike F.
Guest

Scouting 02-04-2005 15:42
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Scouted the past 2 days after school, some geese in the air but I haven’t been able to find any in the fields, but there certainly starting to look now.. I’ll be out in the am, going to give what Scott did a shot, set up in a field between the river and where I have been seeing geese in the air.

You can’t shoot a goose watching TV..

Mike

Posted By:
Scott-Haight
Guest

Late Season Goose Hunt 02-02-2005 04:52
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 30-34 Degrees – Open Water
Was back after the geese again yesterday( Tuesday Feb 1 ). Saw just a massive raft of them when I arrived. Spent most of the day in a trade zone hoping for a pass shot or two as I left the decoys home. Was too much of a bluebird day for a lot of trading but I did manage 1 goose and flubbed a chance at a pair right over my head and very low( they came right out of the sun and I didn’t know they were there until past me ).

There seems to be at least a couple fields in the area the birds are using as you can see them head in different directions and then go down. Heard shooting from each area as well so I know I am not alone out there.

Lots of geese around just hard getting to them still.

Posted By:
Scott-Haight
Guest

Late Season Goose Hunt 01-30-2005 06:30
Sunny & Clear, High Winds – 30-34 Degrees – Ice
Got out for the first hunt of the late goose. Jumped quite a few geese out of the area I hunted and had hopes for a good hunt. Unfortunately the geese all went a few hundreds yards away and set back in. They proceeded to suck every goose in the area in for the rest of the day. Never fired the gun at a bird or had one come close enough to shoot at despite seeing a lot of geese over the course of the day.

Posted By:
Scott-Haight
Guest

Merrimack River 01-28-2005 12:34
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Finally found the geese today( scouting )and of course they were all just loafing around in a spot not able to be hunted. Ice is obviously still all over and boating is impossible. Tides are getting higher and are finally starting to open up the edges to expose grass and such on the marsh. The geese should start coming in to feed in a bit. If they do I will try a pack in hunt. TONS of puddle ducks around.

Posted By:
Scott-Haight
Guest

Merrimack River 01-27-2005 14:54
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Dropped by the ramp today and found a bit more open water than the last time despite the cold temps. With strong winds and tides running higher than normal( high 9’ers to 10’ers )it is causing the ice to break up and blow away. Saw just hundreds and hundreds of Blacks and Mallards today and a HUGE raft of Eiders but no geese. I do think as long as we see a warm spell as we usually do that we will be able to use boats during the late goose

Posted By:
Scott-Haight
Guest

Merrimack River 01-25-2005 12:56
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Was very surpised when I dropped down to the boat ramp this morning to see things as good as they are. While things are locked up for sure it is no wheres near as bad as I had envisioned given all the cold we have had. The Merrimack itself was basically open with ice limited to the Plum Island/Newburyport & Salisbury shores. The Salisbury ramp was packed in BUT all the ice was loose and moving freely.

The long range forecast is for these cold temps to moderate come the first of February. Temps in the mid 40’s are coming along with boom tides( 11-12′ ) and some rain. It is highly possible that we could see things open up enough to allow some boat hunting before the late goose season ends. I am very optimistic now barring a change in the long range forecast.

There were hundreds of ducks today feeding along the edges where there was open water( figures – they were no where to be found the last 7-10 days ). Blacks, Mallards, and Gadwalls galore. Was great to see. There were also a lot of Goldeneyes buzzing around here and there. While sitting watching some movement caught my eye out on the river and with the binoc’s I saw a very good sized flock of Canadas head to the edge of the marsh where the snow and ice had been removed by the tide. A closer look through the glasses showed a HUGE raft of geese already there.

Sure got me fired up. Just hope things open back up to allow some hunting before things shut down. Right now walking out on to the marsh is a dangerous risk I am not prepared to take. Too much ice and snow covering the ditches and holes.

Hope some of you are able to get out. Just be careful and safe.

[Edited By Scott-Haight on 2005-01-25 12:59]

Posted By:
Mike F.
Guest

Sailsbury/Area C 01-24-2005 16:01
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Scouted Sailsbury around 10 thismorning, saw 100+ mainly blacks hunkered down across from the ramp, they no when there safe..
Went to area c and dragged the layouts & deeks a 1/2 mile to the hills, didn’t see a single goose in 3 hours.

Mike

Posted By:
glitterperegrine
Supporting Member

01-23-2005 00:10
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Help a little girl out everyone

Mackenzie Maier needs a postcard from you! Mac is a 4 year old with very serious cancer. Her goal is to collect a postcard from every state in the US. Please help her reach her goal by mailing her one today!

Her address is:

Mackenzie Maier
23037 Magnolia Glen Drive
Valencia, CA 91354

They have a website with a guestbook and pictures of her with Santa at:

www2.caringbridge.org/ca/mackenziemaier

Posted By:
Mike F.
Guest

Sailsbury 01-22-2005 17:47
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Went down with my dad around 8am to see what if anything was still unfrozen. Only open water was from the toothpick strait across to PI, good amount of divers and a few eider & old squaw hanging around in the open water, we were going to head back and grab a few fishing rods before we hunted, but decided to give em’ a break.. Did see a nice drake hoodie sitting about 5 feet off the toothpick. Checked out a few goose fields without a trace of activity, looks like this storm might put an end to the late season before it even starts..

Mike

Posted By:
Scott-Haight
Guest

*** NANTUCKET SPECIAL DEER SEASON PERMITS AVAILABLE *** 01-21-2005 05:49
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While obviously not waterfowl related I am sure many of you hunt deer as well( I do ). Thought this might interest some of you.

MassWildlife release 1/18/2005:

On December 20, 2004, in response to a request from the town of Nantucket, the Fisheries and Wildlife Board voted to allow a one week deer hunting season on Nantucket in February of 2005. This special hunt is part of a long-term management strategy to both reduce high deer density (40-60 deer/square mile) and reduce deer ticks, thereby reducing the incidence of tick-borne diseases. This special deer hunting season will open Monday, February 7 and continue through Saturday, February 12, 2005. Hunters must possess a valid 2005 hunting or sporting license and purchase a Nantucket Special Deer Season permit and tags in order to participate in the Nantucket deer season. The permits required for this hunt will available for purchase on Thursday, January 20, at selected MassWildlife offices and on Nantucket.

Nantucket Special Deer Season Permits may be purchased (cash or check only) at all MassWildlife District Offices (Pittsfield, Belchertown, W. Boylston, Acton, Bourne) as well as the MassWildlife Field Headquarters in Westborough. Nantucket will be selling permits beginning January 24, Monday – Friday from 8AM – 10AM at the Town Clerk’s Office. On the Sunday before the hunt as well as during the week of the season, permits will be available for sale at the deer check station located at the Nantucket Waste Water Treatment Facility on South Shore Road. Permits will not be available to purchase on line. A friend or relative may purchase the permits in the hunter’s place as long as they have that hunter’s 2005 hunting/sporting license and the permit fee. MassWildlife will not accept or process applications for the Nantucket Special Deer Season through the mail. Only one antlered deer tag will be issued to each hunter during the one week season.

The permit will include 5 antlerless deer tags and one antlered deer tag for $25. The permit and tags will be valid only for this February season. The taking of an antlered deer during this February season will not affect the 2005 fall bag limit of two antlered deer. Once a hunter has filled the 5 original antlerless deer tags, he or she may purchase additional tags from the MassWildlife staff at the Nantucket deer check station.

Hunters are reminded they are subject to all hunting laws found in the 2005 MassWildlife Fishing and Hunting Abstracts. Deer hunters may use shotguns, bow and arrows or muzzleloaders. Hunters must wear 500 square inches of hunter orange on chest, back and head. Rabbit hunting with dogs and rifles is prohibited during the one week deer season. Hunting has been and continues to be vital to this conservation and public health effort. Most islanders realize the need for reducing deer density through hunting and welcome responsible hunters. By participating safely, legally and ethically in this special winter season hunt, sportsmen and women will serve an important role in wildlife management on Nantucket.

Further details on the Nantucket Hunt are available at www.masswildlife.org or by calling the Field Headquarters at 508/792-7270.

Posted By:
Scott-Haight
Guest

*** ICE OUT *** 01-18-2005 13:47
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For the third time since the middle of December we have ice out conditions along the coast( Salisbury/Newburyport/Plum Island ). Even the Merrimack itself is about 1/2 iced over. We did really well this year making it to the last week of the season with mostly open water but it appears old man winter is not going to give us the last week+. There will be no sudden thaw with long range forecasts showing sub freezing weather for some 8-10 days in a row.

While it would be “possible” to launch a boat in Salisbury it is not advisable. The ramp itself is covered with pack ice and with so much in the river and marsh creeks who knows what you might find on your return trip to the ramp? If you somehow managed to launch over all the ramp ice I am not so sure you would be able to get back out later.

Bird numbers appear to be way down as well. Very few puddle ducks around. Still plenty of Eiders and Oldsquaw, and a lot of geese, but not many puddlers in the area. With temps in the single digits( well below zero with wind chill )I have no plans to venture forth and freeze for nothing.

Looks like I am done now until late goose. Hopefully we will get a thaw as we usually do before late goose ends so boats can be used again. If not it is all pack in hunting to the marsh and that is hard work.

Hope you all had as good a year as I did and everyone made it through safe and sound. Good luck during the late goose season. If I am able to get out for it I will post.

[Edited By Scott-Haight on 2005-01-18 13:49]

Posted By:
Mike F.
Guest

Mac 01-18-2005 10:16
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ICE EVERYWHERE

Posted By:
Mike F.
Guest

Merrimac 01-17-2005 17:55
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More ducks then Saturday, but they all moved for the most part at first light and within the last 30 minutes of shooting light. Shot one goose, and passed on lots of old squaw and mergies, I’m going to need another bottle of A-1…

Posted By:
Scott-Haight
Guest

Merrimack River 01-17-2005 17:29
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Hit the marsh today and was very surprised to see 95%+ open water. I really thought last nights cold would have begun the ice up process but I guess the high winds helped to keep things open. With temps falling to the single digits and wind chills well below zero due for a while it won’t last.

Not many birds seen. I found a few birds tucked up out of the wind at low tide and attempted a sneak. The marsh was all iced up however and it made walking difficult and slippery. Not to mention noisey. They jumped at maximum range and were soon gone with the wind.

That was it for the day.

Posted By:
Mike M.
Guest

Eastern MA National Wildlife Refuge System to open land to waterfowlers! 01-17-2005 14:22
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This is some of the best news to hit this area in a long, long, time for waterfowlers. I was informed today that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service has finalized its 15 year management plans. As part of the plan, waterfowl hunting has been adopted and will begin starting in October 2005. Certain areas will also be open to archery deer hunting.

Many of you may remember back in the summer of 2003 when this was proposed. Thank you to all who wrote letters. It made a difference!

Please refer to the state discussion forum for the official particulars regarding this matter.

Posted By:
krobison
Guest

Plum Island 12/15/05 01-17-2005 10:27
Cloudy, Winds Calm – 25-30 Degrees – Open Water
Hunted PI with Buck Flather on saturday, we headed out around noon for a quick hunt on the in coming tide. Saw plenty of blacks, goldeneyes, mergies and a few green heads. Plenty of geese around but not flying our way. We each took a nice black over the decoys. It sure is nice to have open water this late in the season. Hope everyone is still getting out after the birds and enjoying the weather. KRobison.

Posted By:
Scott-Haight
Guest

Merrimack River 01-17-2005 04:44
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Sorry this report is late but it is for Saturday 1/15.

Hit the marsh for what very well could be the last boat hunt of the season. Everytime you watch the weather forecast is calls for colder and colder temps this week. It won’t take much to freeze the marsh and river up with the cold that is coming. Hopefully it will open up again during the late goose season at some point as it usually does. It is not looking good though for the rest of the regular duck season.

I was really surprised Saturday to see so many folks out. I think it is fair to say it is the most I have seen during the entire second half in one day. At least a dozen boats were on the marsh. Actually made it hard to go where you needed to in the boat as people were setting up right in the travel channels. Being low tide it made it very difficult to get around.

Anyway, if this was the last day out boat hunting I managed to end it strong with a nice drake Black and a single goose I managed to call in and land on the flooded marsh next to my boat( well almost land – I shot as he stretched his feet out ). Called another flock of geese over but missed that opportunity.

Very few puddle ducks moved into the marsh. I saw approx 40 during the 5 hours I was there. Saw a couple flocks of geese moving as well. Was a very calm day( both wind and water )however and that certainly keeps bird movement down. I do not think however we have a lot of ducks in the area. I think all these storms have moved them out.

LOTS of Sea Ducks around if you can get your boat in and out. There is a large group of Eiders using the river daily and there are still some Oldsquaw around and that same small flock of WW Scoter.

Going to be very cold this week so who knows what it will bring? One thing we know is it will bring a lot of ice. Be careful if you head out and good luck.

Posted By:
Mike F.
Guest

Merrimac 01-15-2005 17:29
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 25-30 Degrees – Open Water
Hunted all day today, shot some Old Squaw with my dad, we could have banged out full limits but we were trying for all drakes, saw lots of eider & even a few scoter like Scott said, saw maybe 20 puddlers ALL DAY. Decent diver #’s kicking around, but they were always skirting the spread at 35-40 yards.. Pretty decent goose numbers as well, however I haven’t seen any using the fields in quite a few days now..

Mike

[Edited By Mike F. on 2005-01-15 17:30]

Posted By:
Scott-Haight
Guest

Merrimack River 01-15-2005 03:46
– – –
Hunted Thursday( 1/13 )during intense fog and saw very few ducks. Figured it was simply they flew out of site. LOTS of geese however could at least be heard flying into the marsh and I managed a lucky shot at a flock flying back into the fog and dropped a nice bird.

Hunted Friday ( 1 /14 )through the flood tide and saw maybe 20 ducks and one flock of geese. Was raining very hard though and in my experience that tends to ground waterfowl not move them like other forms of bad weather.

Going to try again today( Saturday 1/15 )and HOPE that there are still some ducks around. There were good numbers of them last Tuesday( 1/11 )before the storm on Wednesday( 1 /12 ). Just hoping it didn’t push all the ducks out as has happened twice already this season with December storms. AT least the geese are around in good numbers so that helps.

There are a couple hundred+ Eiders and a couple hundred+ Oldsquaws using the river daily. If anyone wants to get after some Sea Ducks now is the time. Even a few WW Scoter around still. A real cold snap is coming next week and I expect the marsh and ramp to ice up as a result. Not sure how much longer there will be boat access?

Remember to be safe out there and to wear your life jacket while running the boat. The water is COLD!

Posted By:
Scott-Haight
Guest

MassWildlife News 01-14-2005 04:20
– – –
HUNTER EDUCATION COURSES POSTED
Beginners and veteran hunters are reminded that it is never too early to sign up for a Basic Hunter Education course. Basic courses are now being offered in several locations around the state and more will be offered this spring. “Taking a course this winter or early spring will assure you of spring turkey hunting opportunities and a full fall season of hunting experience,” observes MassWildlife Hunter Education Program Coordinator Susan Langlois. “Too many young people and adults fail to consider their options early in the year. We urge them to plan ahead for taking this valuable and necessary instruction, and to look for a course in the spring. Unfortunately, many people wait until the fall when most courses have already begun or have ended.”

The Basic Hunter Education course is approximately 15 hours in length and is scheduled over 5-6 evenings or occasionally on weekends. Students must attend all class dates. Trained volunteer instructors provide information on the safe handling and storage of hunting arms and ammunition, hunting laws and ethics, wildlife identification, wildlife management, care and handling of game and basic survival skills. Upon successful completion of the course, students receive a Certificate of Completion which is acceptable for purchasing a Massachusetts hunting or sporting license and applying for a Firearms Identification Card issued by their local police departments.

Information on course locations and schedules is posted at www.mass.gov/masswildlife under “Education”. Course information may also be obtained by calling the Massachusetts Hunter Education Program at 508/792-7434 or 617/727-3623.

SPORTSMEN’S SHOWS SCHEDULED

Come in out of the cold and start planning your 2005 fishing and hunting experiences at sportsmen’s shows in February. The Eastern Fishing and Outdoor Exposition at the DCU Centre (formerly Centrum Centre) in Worcester will be held February 10-13. The Southeastern Massachusetts Sportsmen’s Show at the Standish Sportsmens Association on Burr Lane in East Bridgewater is scheduled for February 12 and 13. The Springfield Sportsmen’s Show at the Big E will run from February 24-27. MassWildlife will feature hunting and fishing opportunities, information on outdoor skills training sessions, and hunting and fishing license sales. Visit the MassWildlife booth to get answers to your fish and wildlife questions. For details about the Worcester show, visit www.sportshows.com or call 1/800-227-2067. For the Southeastern Sportsmen’s Show information, contact Hugh Hurley at hrhurley@comcast.net or call 508/588-9327. The Springfield Sportsmen’s Show at the Big E will run from February 24-27. For information on the Springfield show, visit www.osegsportsmens.com or call 413/467-2171.

Posted By:
Scott-Haight
Guest

Merrimack River 01-12-2005 04:21
– – –
The big flood tides and warm weather have done their jobs well. The marshes & boat launches are completly open and basically free of ice( a few iceberg like pieces floating around here and there but of no concern ). Today’s weather( Wednesday 1/12 )is calling for some snow and sleet but then a change to rain and a 40 degree high so it should not do any major damage. Thursday and Friday are due to hit the 50’s before a cold front moves in Saturday.

Unfortunately, the last week of the season will see steadily falling temps so it is possible that we will get iced out before it is over. Looks like the start of the late goose season may mean walk in hunts as well. Can’t complain however as we have had open water pretty late.

Lots of geese around, plenty of Sea Ducks, and looks like a new wave of puddlers and divers has hit. Birds are around for those who are still after them.

Posted By:
krobison
Guest

Plum Island 1/8/2005 01-09-2005 16:52
Cloudy, Accumulating Snow – 25-30 Degrees – Open Water
Hunted PI with Buck Flather and Joe Giere (Joe is a New Jersey WF.Com member) We were anticipating a great hunt with the snow forecast and we were not dissapointed. We all got our BLacks and we managed to drop 2 geese out of a flock of 10. Saw a bunch of Goldeneye and a few mallards, the BLacks were flying all morning. The highlight of the day was when we dropped our first ever banded bird, a nice BLack with a very worn band, I’ll post on the dicussion forum once we get the data back as to the age of the bird. Hope everyone is having a great season. Ken Robison

Posted By:
Mike F.
Guest

01-09-2005 10:57
– – –
Just posed some pics in bag limits & species shots

Posted By:
Tim-Dulkie
Guest

Mass 01-08-2005 16:19
– – –
Went out goose hunting got two limits of geese before 8am ,saw alot, landed a few for good measures and went home . Great central season , know it’s goose TIME!!!!!!!!!

Tim

Posted By:
Dean Smith
Supporting Member

Central Mass 01-08-2005 15:59
– – 25-30 Degrees – Open Water
Well it’s the end of another waterfowl season for this hunter. The ducks finally appeared in some numbers New Years Day. For Sat, Mon.,Tues. and Weds. (1/1-1/5) had more opportunities and bagged more ducks than rest of season. Six ducks all four days, the numbers the same, 4 drake mallards, one black, one merganer. This makes it easier to forget those days in November, sometimes day after day, without taking the safety off once. The storm Thursday, 1/06, drove the birds out just as quickly as they arrived. Just wait till next season.

Posted By:
Mike F.
Guest

Merrimac 01-08-2005 15:34
Arctic Blast – 25-30 Degrees – Open Water
Didn’t shoot at a bird until 11am, after hunting from shooting time. Never shot so many Old Squaw, oh excuse me long tailed ducks in my life. Dad and I shot limits of old Squaw and a pair of blacks. Few mallards seen but high, the ducks were in large flocks set on Joppa. The snow made for an awsome hunt.

Mike

Posted By:
Mike F.
Guest

mac 01-06-2005 14:24
Cloudy, Accumulating Snow – 25-30 Degrees – Open Water
Hunted this am at Sailsbury, from shooting time until 8-9, shot my black and passed on a few hen golden eyes. If I had a dog instead of my trusting fishing rod to retreive birds, I could have shot a couple mallards as well, but i kept my range pretty limmited. Went scouting, no to many geese in the fields, surprise, went back to sailsbury in the afternoon, Scott I saw you as I was leaving. not to many birds flying, but it was snowing pretty well.

Mike

Posted By:
Scott-Haight
Guest

Merrimack River 01-06-2005 14:20
Cloudy, Accumulating Snow – 30-34 Degrees – Open Water
Well, I braved the elements to drive down to the marsh for a look and possible jump shoot. Got rearended on the way for my trouble 🙁 No damage to my truck at least( that I know of – having checked in the AM ).

Saw a couple birds where I could sneak on them but they swam off before I could get there. No shots taken. The good news is, however, the storm does not seem to be causing ice problems. Usually you get some serious “snow ice/slush” from these things but it wasn’t the case at least as of 1PM. Lots of open water.

The long range forecast shows a steady warming trend all the way to a high of 56 next week and 2 days of rain. Night time low’s were also showing well above freezing too. Looks like we might just be able to use boats to end the duck season and start the late goose! Yee-ha!

Posted By:
CDUNCAN
Guest

central mass 01-06-2005 06:49
Cloudy, Accumulating Snow – 35-40 Degrees
WOW!!! was the best day i have ever had in my 15 years of duck hunting. flocks of mallards about 10 to a flock buzzing by all morning. the geese were a bit slow only saw about 30 all morning. ha ha the only problem i had was picking out the drakes through the fog and snow. after my first mallard hen i was very selective on taking shots must have passed on 6 flocks due to not being able to pick out the drakes and the mallards flying in a tight pattern. total for the day 2 geese 4 mallards 1 hen was a great day watching ducks work toward the decoys and my calling getting much better. just a quick note central duck season closes saturday…. cd

[Edited By CDUNCAN on 2005-01-06 06:51]

Posted By:
Scott-Haight
Guest

*** REMINDER *** 01-05-2005 04:59
– – –
Just a reminder to folks that the Field Report pages are ONLY for Field Reports and relevant hunting information. Questions and general conversation should be handled on the state discussion forum( accessable via the link on the Field Reports page ), on the general message forum pages, or via Private Messaging.

Again, the Field Report pages are to be reserved strictly for Field Reports and/or posts that have information relevant to everyone such as some of the posts I make sharing info from MassWildlife. Please( and thank you ).

I hope you all understand I am not trying to be a jerk or upset anyone but this is one of my responsibilities as a Mass VFE( ie; keep the Field Reports pages on track ). Thank you for your cooperation.

Posted By:
Scott-Haight
Guest

Merrimack River 01-05-2005 04:53
Cloudy, Light Rain & Drizzle – 35-40 Degrees
Had a decent hunt today. Not a lot of birds moved but the ones that did were much more willing to come to the decoys and calls. Have a snow storm due Thursday that could ice us back up but the long range weather forecast is for 40 degree temps mostly and a few days of rain. Hopefully it will keep the marsh and boat launch open for the rest of the season( ie; regular waterfowl and late goose ).

Posted By:
bflather
Guest

Ipswich 01-04-2005 14:31
– – –
Walter-
We do ours the same way that we do our duck. We marinate them over night in what ever is in the fridge. Usually soy sauce based. Then we cook’em right on the grill. RARE! For duck breast no more then 3-5 min a side. You can also wrap them in
Bacon to be sure they don’t dry out too
much. And it take some of the “gammy”
taste out, because everything’s better
when wrapped in bacon! Good luck!! and Nice job on the honkers…

Posted By:
Walter
Guest

Plum Island Area 01-04-2005 13:35
– – –
I have a question. I shot 3 geese in the past 2 weeks. I ate one half a breast that was tough but tasted ok. Last nite I ate another half a breast that tasted kind of bad and was still tough.
Does anyone know how to prepare a piece of goose breast? I dont shoot a lot of geese, I’m better at preparing ducks. Thanks a lot. – Walter

Posted By:
Scott-Haight
Guest

Merrimack River 01-04-2005 02:09
– – –
Water has really opened back up although another cold snap certainly will freeze it back over with little difficulty. Plenty of birds around but they are really wary.

Posted By:
CDUNCAN
Guest

corn field at the flats on friday 01-03-2005 09:50
Cloudy, Winds Calm – 35-40 Degrees
went out goose hunting and was starting to pick up around 9:30 with not a bird being seen, when out of the corner of my eye i see about 200 honkers coming my way about a half mile out. jump into the corn stalks call like a crazy man. coming in nice to my decoys now 20 yards away and boy are they loud. wait till 10 feet out pick out my two geese take the two shots. that was it, my two goose limit in about two minutes of shooting and 2 hours of wating. had to pick up with more and more geese flying by.. wished it was late season could have easly taken five.. looking forward to the late season goose hunt… cd

[Edited By CDUNCAN on 2005-01-03 09:51]

Posted By:
Mike F.
Guest

Sailsbury 01-02-2005 15:32
– – –
Shot sailsbury on saturday, morning was tough, nothing went our way. Afternoon was a little better, besides having a GIMME shot at a decoying black 15 yards away, my layout top got stuck lol, and then my gun got caught on my jacket, needless to say that duck survived to fly another day. Later we decoyed a double, a hen and black, dad took them both with one shot. We also had a hunter cut his engine and load his gun after he saw our Bigfeet along the bank, he was a tad startled when we sat up.

Posted By:
Mike M.
Guest

Quick reminder 01-02-2005 10:58
– – –
Dont forget to get your 2005 HIP number. I almost forgot yesterday morning and was frantically dialing the hip phone number while driving to the marsh on the highway yesterday morning at oh dark thirty.

[Edited By Mike M. on 2005-01-02 10:58]

Posted By:
Kirk-Gately
Field Editor

Salt Pond Bay Tues, Wed, Thurs 01-02-2005 07:54
Sunny & Clear, High Winds – 35-40 Degrees
Managed to get out on the afternoon hunts three days in a row. Put out about a dozen mallard dekes along with some blacks and just for kicks put out a long gang string of small bluebills. I had drake mallards pitch right in every day into the dekes a couple of times while I was putting them out. For some reason the buffles and the mergansers were attracted to the bluebill dekes. Usually they would land outside of the dekes and then swim around with them for a while. A couple of times the buffles would sneak in and when I saw them and moved around they would take off. Pretty cool. Overall I had some good shooting. On Tuesday and Thursday they were a bunch of dudes hunting the west side near the ocean. It looked to me like they were being guided. I later learned from a guy in the Hole in One that they probably were and they were pounding the Eiders. He said that they were pounding, pounding, pounding the eiders up in Wellfleet. He was from western Mass and said he comes over every year. He also said he had never seen so many duck hunters as he had this year. I would concur having heard shooting everytime I was outside. I also had some Eiders fly over me a couple of times on Thursday when the wind was howling.

I also went over to First Encounter Beach to see if I could bust some ducks over there. There were groups of geese, blacks and some eiders flying. There was also ice out as far as I could see. I put on my waders anyway and tried a sneak. As soon as I got into the inlet the tide started in and was sucking huge chunks of snow and ice in. All the birds also took off of course. I did meet a guy there who said he used to hunt up near “Pea” town before the queeahhhhhs took it ovahhhh and put in restrictions on hunting. After I rode up to Provincetown on Friday I figured he meant Provincetown and the buggers who were everywhere walking little dogs. I found it rather unsavory and left right away.

Anyway, I saw thousands of Blacks in Town Cove and just about everywhere I went. Also could see large clouds of ducks flying up and down the coast every day I was out. From the shooting I heard a fine time was had by all.

See you next year.

[Edited By Kirk-Gately on 2005-01-02 08:33]

Posted By:
Baymen Moe
Web Member

Plymouth area, 12/31/04 and 1/1/05 01-01-2005 15:36
Sunny & Clear, High Winds – 45-50 Degrees
Friday because of the low tide in the morning we decided to walk some creeks in the marshes. I happen to enjoy jump shooting and sneaking as much as other methods, none the less at the very end of our walk we put up a trio of black ducks. We both connected, end of hunt. Not much moving otherwise.

Off for a sea duck hunt this morning with my friend Capt Dave Bitters and other friend.
To say this hunt was one of the best would be an understatement. Not a whole lot of birds moving but the eiders decoyed pretty well today. Once again mature eider drakes only today and the three of us put twelve in the boat. No lost birds today as well.

Have a great 2005
Bill

Posted By:
Scott-Haight
Guest

IT\’S BAAACK! 12-29-2004 06:10
– – –
Unfortunately, Monday night’s extreme drop in temperature has once again locked things up in ice. This time it is going to take some serious warm weather and such to open things back up. The Merrimack River itself froze over solid and that takes some serious cold to do. Very possible that it has effectively wiped out the remainder of the season. At least for boat hunters.

There are ever changing pockets of water that offer periods of huntability but the ice flows constantly change them and make it very dangerous for dogs to work in. I hunted completely open water yesterday afternoon with Mike M that closed off solid within minutes after the tide had changed and the big ice flows began to move down river. One minute we were looking at dekes in open water( with some ice out in the main current flow )and the next all the ice swirled right in and began to drag the dekes. BAM! Just like that.

What really is a shame in all this is the big push of birds appears to have finally arrived as well. Oh well such is life. Temps are predicted to be warm now for quite a few days, and even some rain showers, so maybe? The water is so cold now that it takes very little to freeze back solid even when it opens back up as it had done briefly over the weekend.

If you head out be careful. Especially with your dogs.

[Edited By Scott-Haight on 2004-12-29 06:13]

[Edited By Scott-Haight on 2004-12-30 06:18]

Posted By:
krobison
Guest

Westport 12/23 12-27-2004 07:58
– – 50-60 Degrees
Hunted the warm spell last Thurs with a buddy. The wind was howling and the temp was the warmest I’ve ever seen in late December. We did manage a few mallards and a Black over the decoys. Many geese around but no good opportunities for that roast christmas goose. Everyone be safe out there as we approach January. Ken Robison

Posted By:
Tim-Dulkie
Guest

12-26-2004 17:27
– – –
I posted couple of pics of some recent hunts Anvilman and myself ducks are in good numbers but you have to find them i see this year , ever year is different and this a good one ,i hope you like !!

Tim

Posted By:
Mike F.
Guest

Jump Shooting 12-25-2004 14:25
– – –
Dad and I got out at 10am for a little over an hour, and we took a pair of nice Christmas Day black ducks.

Merry Christmas,

Mike

Posted By:
Mike F.
Guest

Sailsbury 12-24-2004 14:08
– – –
Hunted Sailsbuyr in the am and got my black, jumped mallards but couldnt shoot due to the fact that I wouldn’t be able to cross the creeks to retreive them, later hit my *secret* spot and took a mallard and 2 buffies, I could’ve shot another pair of buffies but I figured I’d let them fly since its Christmas..

Merry Christmas

Mike

Posted By:
Scott-Haight
Guest

UNBELIEVABLE?? 12-24-2004 02:06
– – –
In all my years I have hunted I have NEVER seen so much ice dissapear so fast! While I was pretty sure the marsh and such would be huntable again before the end of the season, and said as much in my ICE OUT post, I was stunned to arrive at the marsh yesterday afternoon and find it about 85%+ ice free. Only the upper most reaches of the marsh were still holding ice while the rest was totally open. God bless 50 degree temps and a 25MPH wind! 🙂

I was not exaggerating in the least when I made the ICE OUT post and frankly just can’t get over how the ice went away so fast. Again, I have never seen so much ice go away so fast. Might just have saved our season as long as we do not get another prolonged cold snap. Saturday and Sunday are due to be cold and then all next week they are predicting 40-50 degree temps. Yeha!

The down side is there does not seem to be a lot of birds( ie; puddlers )around. The tide was low and heading lower during my afternoon hunt so that isn’t the best time to see them anyway. Going to try and launch the boat in the AM and hunt the coming tide to see what happens?

We did see a few birds and even had a couple chances at Blacks and Mallards however. Not a lot of birds seen though. Hopefully we will get another push of them before it all ends.

[Edited By Scott-Haight on 2004-12-24 02:08]

Posted By:
Scott-Haight
Guest

*** ICE OUT *** 12-22-2004 18:17
– – –
Hit the marshes along the Merrimack this AM and found almost total ice out. At least 95% of the water was locked up. Boat launches were totally locked up 1st thing but did open up once the tide turned and started to head out. Not a good sign with a month to go in the season however.

*** NOTE – It should be noted here that on an incoming tide the boat launches are not going to be accessable. Do not get caught thinking they will be open on your return if you launch on a falling tide. As the tide comes back it carries all the pack ice in and locks the ramps up. I know I never would have been able to break through to the ramp this AM. Be careful if you find an open launch that you will be able to pull out when you come back! ***

This breif warm spell and forecast rain is going to be a god send if it can do some serious damage to all the pack ice in the river and marsh. If it doesn’t then we are done for a while. There are no big boom tides( 11 foot + )due for a couple weeks to help clear the marshes and ramps so unless we get, and keep, some warm weather it doesn’t look good.

Even the Merrimack itself is just full of pack ice. Not panicking yet as I have seen this many times before( ie; an early ice up that eventually clears out before season ends )but I am concerned as the tide height is not favorable. We need a prolonged warm front AND some serious 25MPH+ winds to clear the ice out seeing as we do not have any boom tides to float it all onto the marsh to get stuck there. Until we get one or the other hunting is going to be almost impossible.

River this AM was loaded with Eiders and Goldeneyes but no way to get at them but for beach walk in hunts.

Posted By:
Mike F.
Guest

Area C 12-21-2004 16:03
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 30-34 Degrees – Ice
Man, only the Parker and the mouthes of a few estuaries remain free of ice, only saw a handful of ducks, where did they all go? There were lots of divers around Sat, only saw 3 buffies this pm..

Lucky for us some warm weather is comming and hopefully will thaw us out a little bit, another week of this cold and I think our season would be over..

Mike

Posted By:
J.M
WFC Sponsor

merrimack river 12-19-2004 09:06
Cloudy, High Winds – 35-40 Degrees
Hey scott,
thanks for confusing those geese on fri. I called them back towards us with no decoys either, unfortunately I missed three shots but sean managed to pull one down.Add that too three blacks a nice drake mallard that the third guy managed to pull down walking to his boat to leave early. And a goose that like you was a riot to watch montana try and drag around. BE SAFE jon

Posted By:
Scott-Haight
Guest

Merrimack River 12-19-2004 03:27
– – –
Friday 12/17 – Hunted the marsh in the heavy winds. Weather guy said NW @ 19 and it was more like W @ 35!!!!! Had a heck of a time even getting the boat launched as I did not come with hip boots due to the weather that was forecast. Thanks to John and Sean for the assistance or I wouldn’t have been able to go.

Took a long time to find a sheltered spot even with the tide way down. Every area I went to was all choppy and white caps even in the lee? Finally went deep into the marsh into some smaller creeks and found a good spot.

Only put out 9 decoys as I had some friends coming from PA due during the day and I knew picking up dekes in the small creek with strong winds was going to be a pain( it sure was! ). Anyway the birds really came in.

!st bird of the day was a really nice drake Black that decoyed in beautifully. I dropped it on the far bank however( thanks wind )so I had to up anchor and run the dog over as the tide was so low there was no way up either bank. I was really surprised, and very happy, when Thunder pops back over the top of the marsh and looks down at me with the bird. Yup, a BAND! Guess it was my reward for not shooting the banded bird the day before after I already had my Black.

The Blacks and Mallards( TONS! )began to work in then and in short order I had 2 nice drake Mallards in the boat and unfortunately two cripples( second bird of the flocks I shot at both times )that sailed way out into the marsh on the wind. One of them was still well enough that when Thunder got to it the fool thing actually got up and flew off. Never could find that bird but I did get the other one eventually.

Friends from PA arrived around 2PM so we hunted until shooting time and had a blast. They each took their Black plus a Mallard and then somehow, with no goose dekes out and just the few duck dekes, I called a flock of 25 geese right in only head high. We each took a single. Then I was able to call the confused birds back over us and we knocked down a couple more. These were MONSTER birds as well! The biggest weighed out at 17lbs 8oz, there was a 16lbs 9 oz, and then the other birds ranged from 12lbs -15lbs. Thunder couldn’t even get his mouth on the biggest goose and had a heck of a time getting it to me. He had to drag it over the marsh constantly having to try again and gain to hold on. It was a riot to watch.

The Mallards continued to come until we left but as it got late in the day it became very difficult to pick them out and be sure enough it wasn’t a Black until it was too late to shoot again. Ended the day with 3 Blacks and 5 Mallard drakes plus 5 geese. Very rare to shoot so many birds on the salt marsh.

*** Note – usually I try not to make such a lengthy personal journal type entry of a hunt but this one was so special I figured it was okay ***

Saturday 12/18 – Hunted Sea Ducks with my PA friends today. Ended the day with a 3 man limit of Eiders and a beautiful, but tiny, Surf Scoter. I muffed my long awaited chance at a prime drake Oldsquaw for the wall when a gorgeous lone drake came right in over the dekes. No idea what happened unless it was the pressure getting to me? 🙂 Was 4 for 4( ie; 4 shells 4 birds )on decoying Eiders but the ‘Squaw elluded me yet again. A lot of Eiders around, still some Scoters, and quite a few Oldsquaw.

Just a note to reinforce what Mike M reported. We found a lot of ice on the river and in the marsh today. Had to break ice at the ramp to get out and it was all over the big river. Water temp was just 39 degrees so it isn’t going to take much to lock the ramps up if we get a prolonged cold snap.

[Edited By Scott-Haight on 2004-12-20 02:11]

Posted By:
Tim-Dulkie
Guest

12-18-2004 21:59
– – –
Myself and anvilman hunted a new honey hole , scouting we saw couple hundred mallards , today we hunted it we’ll lets say it was awesome had to brake ice in the field but those mallard came right it 15yd shot pillow cased everybird we shot 7 drake mallards and one hen because i pulled up on a drake and dumped the pair , great day , i will post a pic later in the weak!!

Tim

Posted By:
Baymen Moe
Web Member

Duxbury 12-18-2004 17:55
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 25-30 Degrees – Open Water
Well, all started fine. I set up a goose spread in a spot where geese have been roosting out on the beach. At first light I took my black duck. Shortly after I missed a gimme on a flock of eiders. A few flocks of geese started moving and all looked good. As I settled in for some goose action, two guys that were after shellfish began took walk in my direction. I made my presence known by standing tall in the marsh. Did they stop? No. These two dumb arses had hundreds of acres to dig clams but continued toward my spread. I packed up in frustration and gave a polite good morning to said dumb arses but cursed them all the way home. It’s a free country but these guys had no respect for the fellow sportsman.

Bill

Posted By:
Mike M.
Guest

Merrimack River 12-18-2004 17:18
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 30-34 Degrees – Open Water
Hunted the afternoon incoming tide today. Not a that many birds moving, but it was a blue bird day so that is to be expected. I did see more mallards than black ducks today which is unusual. Also saw a few buffleheads and one goldeneye. I ended the day with one mallard and missed a few others.

There was some floating ice in the river today as a result of the cold nights we have had lately.

Until next time,

Have fun and be safe.

Posted By:
Mike F.
Guest

Costal Corn 12-18-2004 13:16
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 30-34 Degrees – Ice
Nothing the first hour of shooting light, but soon after we had a small flock sneak in while my dad was “relieving himself” I just took one bird as the day was young. Later we had a single circle followed by a flock of 5… single made several passes at 10 yards but I was working on the group, you guessed it, they all left. About 9am we had a nice flock of 25-30 IN our FACE!! Dad doubled up and I dropped my second goose at 10 paces. Later hit area C, passed up a few buffie shots I wasn’t sure i could retreive and that was it. Lots of geese moving in the am but the marsh was silent.

Mike

Mike

Posted By:
CDUNCAN
Guest

central mass. 12-18-2004 10:56
Mostly Cloudy, No Precipitation – 10-20 Degrees – Ice
sorry to bum eveyone out,, but here it goes

wayland pond my honey hole: frozen solid

delaney: frozen solid

bolton flats: frozen solid

hit all three this morning,, very dissapointed to say the least. i did see a couple of goose hunters at bolton but with the clear day and no water or food near by there wasn’t a goose in sight. looks as thought i will be strictly hunting the salt marshes from now on unless we get a major heat wave.. good hunting all chris

Posted By:
Scott-Haight
Guest

Merrimack River 12-17-2004 03:37
– – –
Hunted Wednesday and Thursday on the marsh. Man has it been COLD! The ice has started to build on the saltwater. We are due for another warm spell here so that will delay any freeze up. Good thing really as it really started to ice up those 2 days with temps in the low teens.

Wednesday as the tide neared full the birds really started to come in. Mallards and Blacks mixed. I had a HUGE flock of Mallards( for this area = 30 birds +/- )cupped and dropping in over the dekes but when I stood to shoot – CLUNK! My new semi-auto broke down. Had a part of the action actually snap. Needless to say I was out of action for the day. Had birds literally landing as I was pulling dekes in.

Came back Thursday with my back up gun and again as the tide got up the birds came pretty good. Not hoardes of them but certainly enough for some excitment. Took a Black and yet again 2 Mallards( seems to be my MA daily bag this year = a Black and 2 Mallards ). Later had 2 Mallards sneak through the spread while I was day dreaming I guess? Managed to call them back over me but when I stood to shoot they flared right into the sun and I couldn’t see them. Quite a few Blacks worked the marsh through out the day.

It was bad on Wednesday when my gun broke down but it was REALLY bad Thursday. The last bird of the day that decoyed in before I left was a Black duck. One of those high up birds that decides from way up there that your spread is the place to be. I am sure you all know what I mean. They cup up so hard their wing tips almost touch their feet and they drop like a rock to your dekes. I watched this bird come in and then stretch it’s feet out to land and there it was – A BAND!!!!!!! Already had my Black so all I could do was watch. Very insulting though for this bird to tease me with such an easy shot and then to flaunt that band like that 🙂

A few Eiders are starting to use the river now. Few Goldeneyes around now as well. Lots of geese. Seems to be more puddlers around the last few days but with inland freezing up solid I am not so sure it is new birds. Think it is birds that have been here just moving to the open water. Shouldn’t be long now though as cold weather seems to be here for good.

[Edited By Scott-Haight on 2004-12-17 03:43]

[Edited By Scott-Haight on 2004-12-17 03:44]

Posted By:
anvilman
Guest

south shore 12-16-2004 19:16
– – 10-20 Degrees – Open Water
i took a couple of older guys out on wed and just managed to get a couple of blacks, only saw two big groupes of them and about 10 buffies. no green heads !!!!!!!!!!