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]
