Posted By:
Al-Faber
Field Editor
Central Scouting 10-05-2011 07:14
Mostly Sunny, No Precipitation – 60-65 Degrees
Ducks in pretty good numbers. Teal made it here in Central Ohio just after the early season but have stayed in the area and will hopefully remain here until the 15th.
Geese in great numbers also, but still not making it out to fields and staying on grassy areas.
Set-up and ready for the 15th. Everything looks to be shaping up for a great first split!
Be safe, teach a youngster to hunt & respect the great outdoors…and pass on the hens…!
Posted By:
Anthony-Santoli
Field Editor
09-20-2011 08:25
– – –
Finished off the early season with a pretty good head start. I truly believe that this is “the year of the duck” actually of all waterfowl and migratory birds for that matter. We dove hunted last weekend and I can honestly say that there were more doves on my property than I have ever seen in Ohio,,,in fact it was the best shoot I have had since I used to head to Ole Mexico. There were honestly hundreds of Doves and the flight would last for 2 hours. Ducks are plentiful and Geese are at the top of the charts as well this year. Snows had another banner hatch and the flights are expected to be exquisite this season.
Good luck to everyone and be safe out there… don’t get overexcited and do anything stupid/unsafe. I’ll keep everyone posted weekly from here on out.
Posted By:
Anthony-Santoli
Field Editor
09-06-2011 08:47
– – Over 70 Degrees
very good opening weekend overall.
12 Ganders (1 band)
Some teal
some doves.
Teal are and have been moving thru for 2 weeks now. We got into 3 packs as well as pods of 20. Scouting is essential, but more than that is being there. Teal are there 1 day and gone or replaced by new ones the next. You never know where they are going to come from and which direction. They just appear and dissappear. Good luck
AS
The best part were the 3 total jackhole azz idiots that were way down from me calling in and shooting at Woodducks…. I saw 1 wounded woodie floating around the lower bay as for the rest,,,, these guys couldn’t hit the broadside of a barn. BTW thanks for educating my Woodducks azzholes !!! If I see you out there again, I guarantee my buddy the game warden will be next to me just waiting on ya.
[Edited By Anthony-Santoli on 2011-09-06 08:48]
Posted By:
Al-Faber
Field Editor
Central Ohio Marshes 09-03-2011 17:47
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – Over 70 Degrees
What a disappointing opener! Hot and humid weather has not pushed any Teal our way. Throughout Central Ohio Teal are scarce and hunting was poor today. Spoke with several groups of hunters in different areas around the Central part of the state and several Wildlife Officers, all reporting little to no activity. Some had even resorted to shooting rails. Next week’s cold front may produce some activity, but for now I think I will target some local Geese!
Be safe, teach a youngster to hunt & respect the great outdoors…and pass on the hens…!
Posted By:
Al-Faber
Field Editor
Central Ohio 09-02-2011 10:09
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – Over 70 Degrees
One day of waiting remains….
Teal are in the area but in much smaller numbers than predicted. Marshes are at an average level with water, but far more mosquitoes than waterfowl.
Lots of local geese from a very successful breeding season, but we will need to get them off the golf courses and out of their apartment complexes to begin playing…
Should be an interesting weekend opener with the hot weather!
Doves opened-up yesterday, some areas (like mine) were terribly slow. Others in the central Ohio area reported pretty good numbers. State Parks were slow; much of the good shooting was on private land.
It did appear that ODNR may have cut sunflowers a little too early on state lands and the birds had already moved on. We’ll see over the weekend in the afternoons.
Saturday, Sunday, Monday, it’s all about ducks…. finally!
Be safe, teach a youngster to hunt & respect the great outdoors…and pass on the hens…!
Posted By:
Anthony-Santoli
Field Editor
08-26-2011 08:55
– – –
Good Morning All:
Cleveland Plain Dealer this AM, article by Dufus Egan:
# zones this year,,,, Lake Erie Marsh, North and South.
Your thoughts??? Love em or Hate em ?
AS
Posted By:
Anthony-Santoli
Field Editor
nowhere…..yet !!! 08-25-2011 09:19
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Workin around the property the other day:
A whole lot of woodies,,, the young of the year are startin to fly around with mom and dad in their little groups.
Some geese flyin around, probably heading to cut hay/grass fields.
A nice pod of Mallards; looked like 2 sets of parents with 8 young ones flyin around.
3 Blue Wingers in the shallow marsh bay at the back of my property.
Bunch of Doves flyin to and fro.
Posted By:
Al-Faber
Field Editor
Central Ohio 07-29-2011 14:08
– – Over 70 Degrees
Scouting
When you are hunting ducks and geese you should scout to determine which areas the birds like to rest in, and which areas have the proper food sources in them before the season begins, especially if you are leasing land. If you are hunting on water check to see which of the nearby wet areas have water in them, and which wet areas the birds are using as resting areas. If you are hunting on land check nearby fields to determine what crops are growing in them. Farmers often rotate their crops; what may have been corn one year may be beans, wheat, rice, barley or alfalfa the next year. It pays to know well in advance which fields have the right crops in them.
One of the best duck hunting techniques my Dad taught me was to scout several areas before I hunted. He used to take me out the week before the opener to watch the big slough I mentioned at the beginning of this article. We would sit on a hill about a quarter mile from the slough, where we could watch the entire two miles of cattails with a pair of 7×35 binoculars. In the evening we could see the ducks moving from the lake to the small opening where we used the canoe, or to the larger opening where we sat on the ‘rat hives. We’d sit there until dark, watching the ducks as they landed in small groups until there were several dozen ducks on the water. It usually got me so pumped up I couldn’t wait until the opener.
Dad would also take the family on “Sunday Drives” after church on Sunday mornings. The drives were supposedly for quality family time, and we always had fun driving around the country, following any dirt road that we came across. But, I realize now that a lot of that driving was so that Dad could check out every pot hole, pond, slough and lake in the county. He wanted to know which areas had produced ducks that year, and which areas still had water in them, so he knew where to hunt when the duck season opened up.
We had done it so many times when I was young, and as I got older, that I didn’t need to think about where I should hunt, I knew where the ducks were. That’s how I choose the small hole in the cattail slough on opening morning. And that’s how I knew what the ducks would do now, because I had seen them do it several times before the season opened.
Flight Patterns
Ducks often have preferred corridors they like to fly in as they move back and forth to feeding and resting areas. When you are scouting ducks you should try to locate these corridors, so you can set up in or near them during the hunting season.
Geese often fly out into the wind and keep going until they find a field to eat in. Local geese establish patterns and often fly out the same way each day and feed in the field until the food is gone. Then they find the nearest available field and feed in it. This pattern continues until the food sources are exhausted or until a major wind shift causes the birds to fly out in a different direction. Migrating geese that are new to the area often follow local flocks to feeding fields, but they may go off on their own. The best way to determine where ducks and geese are feeding is by scouting the night before you plan to hunt. Follow a flock as they leave the roost and note the field where they land. If they are not hunted that night, and if the food is not gone and there is no major weather change, the birds often return to the same field or near it the following day.
Hunting Sites
When you are hunting ducks you often want to hunt on water that the ducks use for resting/feeding areas. When you are hunting geese you often want to hunt in agricultural areas the geese are using as feeding areas. Once you locate the resting or feeding areas you need to ask permission to hunt from the landowner. If the feeding area is leased, someone else got there first, or the owner doesn’t allow hunting try to get the nearest available field. When I hunt ducks and geese on land I try to get a field that is closer to the resting area, and shortstop the geese before they get to the area I can’t hunt.
When you are choosing a feeding area take into account what I call the “angle of dispersal.” Even though the ducks and geese all come from the same resting area they tend to fan out as they leave, spreading them selves out. The farther you get from the resting area or refuge, the greater the angle of dispersal, the fewer birds you see and the fewer birds you have a chance to decoy. Try to stay close to the resting area/refuge if the birds are willing to come in. In areas with a shooting line around a refuge the birds often fly high to avoid the hunters. In this case they may not want to come down until they are well away from the roost or refuge line. It may be better to get farther away, in an area where the birds are willing to come down.
Hunting Rights
With duck and goose hunting becoming more popular, it’s getting harder to find places to hunt, especially for geese. If you know of a traditional goose feeding area, or a duck resting area, try to secure hunting rights to it well in advance of the season. By offering to help the farmer with his work he may give you exclusive rights or at least permission to hunt with him. Dropping off a few geese every time you leave is a nice gesture. Sometimes the only way to get access is to lease the land. If the price is high you may want to get a group of friends and secure a lease with an option for the following year. With more hunters every year a long-term lease may be the best option. If you don’t secure hunting rights well in advance, someone may outbid you and you may lose the property. I’ve found that a combination of a written lease, the present of a few birds, or a gift certificate for dinner for the landowner and his wife, and the offer to help with the farm work goes a long way.
Be sure to find out if you can post “No Hunting” signs, dig pits if you agree to fill them in; which fields to stay out of; if you can drive on the fields; and where the buildings and livestock are. Be considerate. Driving on wet or muddy fields and crops can ruin them, and relations with the landowner. Be sure to close all gates, pick up all trash and shotgun shells, and don’t leave decoys or blinds in the field where they may get wrecked by farm equipment, or wreck farm equipment, after the season.
Be safe, teach a youngster to hunt & respect the great outdoors…and pass on the hens…!
Posted By:
Al-Faber
Field Editor
Ohio River & Tributaries 01-17-2011 11:29
Mostly Cloudy, No Precipitation – 25-30 Degrees – Open Water
Hunted the river this past weekend with friends. Lots of birds (both ducks and geese). But weather did not cooperate and they remained very high.
As usual, birds are very weary of boats, blinds, and decoys this time of year and now is no exception!
It’s all in the details.
Watch birds when calling, aggressive calling is not working right now. Get their attention and respond when they call-out. Once they circle and see your spread, quiet down. If they want to come in, they will. If not, they wont.
No amount of calling (good or bad) will make a difference.
Everyone has an opinion on this, but that was our experience this past weekend. Shot 2 Geese, 5 Ducks (Goose was banded).
Good luck, be safe, the river and smaller connecting streams are VERY LOW, LOTS of rocks and tree stumps close to the surface right now.
Met Matt Clark, the Scioto County Wildlife Officer while on the river. Very nice, respectfull gentleman, enjoyed meeting him.
Good hunting, only a few days left….
Al
Be safe, teach a youngster to hunt & respect the great outdoors…and pass on the hens…!
Posted By:
Al-Faber
Field Editor
Central 12-22-2010 08:29
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Holiday Treat- Here is a great way to introduce friends and guests to wild game with a tasty hors d’oeuvres recipe for the holidays…. Good hunting! Al
Duck Camp Hors d’Oeuvres
You can make it with duck, but it’s also excellent with pheasant, ruffed grouse, venison, mourning doves.
Start by mixing up some seasoned flour. In a Ziploc bag, combine 1 cup of flour along with half a teaspoon each of salt, pepper, garlic powder, cayenne, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, cumin and whatever else you want to toss in to spice it up.
Next, in a cast-iron skillet brown:
• 3 slices of bacon, diced
When the bacon is starting to soften and give off some fat, add:
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon of brown sugar
Allow the onions to brown, then remove the onion and bacon to a plate. Dust the bite-sized chunks of the meat you’re using in the seasoned flour. The breast meat from one pheasant, two mallard-sized ducks or about a pound of venison will work. You could even mix and match.
Add to the skillet a tablespoon each of:
• Olive oil
• Margarine
Increase the heat and add the meat to the skillet. When the meat is thoroughly browned on all sides, remove it to a plate and deglaze the skillet by pouring a quarter of a cup of bourbon into skillet and scraping up the browned bits in the bottom with a spatula or wooden spoon.
When the bourbon has nearly evaporated, add two cups of stock, preferably a stock made from the meat you’re using. If you don’t have a homemade stock, use a cup each of canned chicken broth and low-sodium beef broth.
Bring the stock to a boil, then stir in refrigerated roux until thick. Roux is made by melting butter over a very low heat and stirring in an equal amount of flour until thoroughly mixed and starting to give off a nutty aroma. Place in a Ziploc container in the refrigerator until needed.
Once the sauce has thickened, reduce heat and return the meat, onions and bacon to the pan to reheat.
Spoon onto a platter and serve with crackers and cheese or garlic toast.
Enjoy, Happy Holidays!!!!
