Posted By:
Al-Faber
Field Editor
Central Ohio 12-12-2008 06:41
Cloudy, Snow & Rain Mix – 30-34 Degrees – Open Water
Off and on warm and cold weather have made for great conditions around central Ohio. Birds are moving in and out with weather patterns and many are staying on the big water which is still open.
Rain and snow mix this week and next week should provide a few days of great shooting. Local farms and fields have to be scouted hard.
Look for flocks in the early morning moving off ponds, lakes and streams and follow them to their favorite field, chances are they will be there the next day as well.
For those who spend 2-3 days scouting for every day shooting the season should prove to be productive.
Be safe, teach a youngster to hunt & respect the great outdoors…and pass on the hens…!
Posted By:
nelli2008
Web Member
central ohio 12-10-2008 12:47
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Mostly frozen in central ohio.
Has anyone been hunting Delaware State Park blinds?
I have a chance to hunt Mosquito Lake in the state blinds this weekend. Thoughts, I have never been there? Worth the 3 hr drive? Geese only?
Posted By:
Slough Ape
Web Member
Sw Ohio 12-09-2008 14:27
Cloudy, Snow Flurries – 10-20 Degrees – Open Water
Sat opened was great, I had located a huge amount of ducks and geese 3 days before. They did not disappoint. More geese keep comming in but Sunday morning all we had was a small group of mallards try to land 5 min before legal shooting time. They never came back. No ducks Sunday we packed up early when the clouds left.
Relocated a lot of ducks and Canadas nearby as I scouted today in the rain. Looks to be a good few days ahead.
Good luck, be safe.
Posted By:
Shawn-Philbrick
Field Editor
North of Ohio 12-09-2008 08:32
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Up til last week, I ave spent the last six weekends of duck hunting on Mitchell’s bay.
There are a ton of birds still north of Ohio
if we can get open water by the second split, or some flooded fields, there will be mallard and black limits for everyone.
as for big water birds…
we piled up the bills, and shot a fair share of cans and redheads… never saw so many bills in my life….why is the limit one?
a good freeze on st. clair could make Erie a serious diver hotspot for the last 9 days…if the ramps are open
Posted By:
Darron Baker
Field Editor
S. Ohio 12-06-2008 20:45
Cloudy, Accumulating Snow – 10-20 Degrees – Open Water
Buddy and I found some opener water on a property we can hunt so we decided to set up there this morning. The ducks did not let us down. We shot our 3 man limit of mallards in only 20 min. I bet we seen 200+ ducks this morning work our little hole over.
Since we got done so early we decided to hit my goose field. Geese started flying about 1pm. Ended up with 3. Should have had a limit of geese as well, but the guys with me had enough hunting for the day so we packed it in. The small workable flocks started coming out after the dekes were picked up. Oh well, saves more for another day. Suppose to be cold and bluebird sun tomorrow so I am going to rest up for another work week and hit them again hard next Saturday and Sunday. Hopefully we get some more nasty weather.
Posted By:
Anthony-Santoli
Field Editor
11-28-2008 08:25
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Okay everyone, sorry for not posting up a lot this year. I have been extremely busy with travelling and family blah blah blah. So here is my scoop. It has been one of the best years for my group since opening weekend. In October, local birds were the norm. Plenty of geese,mallards,woodies and some teal. The colder weather came quickly this year in November and with that,brought down what seems to be a nonstop supply of flight birds from the North. First it was mostly mallards and some ruddy’s. As of late, large pods of Mallards,Gadwalls and Black Ducks have been steadily making up our game bags for over 2 weeks now. Knowing how,what and when to call,the proper decoy setup and as always playing the wind to our advantage on certain days has paid of major dividends on a regular basis. Most of the marshes and ponds have froze, therefore if you play the wind and create the proper gunning hole… the birds readily respond and come right in to the dekes. I took a jeweled hen Mallard the other day which was only 3 months old (very large duck as well) and was banded 800 miles due North in Ontario. The birds have been and are here, so do your homework instead of simply going out and tossing a few dekes in the water..it will pay off.
[Edited By Anthony-Santoli on 2008-11-28 08:26]
[Edited By Anthony-Santoli on 2008-12-02 17:25]
Posted By:
Darron Baker
Field Editor
11-26-2008 19:36
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What happened to all the North Zone field reports? Guys hammering them and just keeping quiet?
I am patiently waiting for Dec 6, South zone opener.
Posted By:
Al-Faber
Field Editor
Central Ohio 10-29-2008 18:46
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Has been slow in Central Ohio. Ponds and big water areas are low and few birds.
Many local geese in the area, cut corn fields starting to appear so field hunting should pick up.
We need water and a cold snap to push birds down to us.
Be safe, teach a youngster to hunt & respect the great outdoors…and pass on the hens…!
Posted By:
Shawn-Philbrick
Field Editor
Northern Ohio 10-23-10-29 10-29-2008 10:58
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end of last week was a bit slow
but picked up and I added some woodies and mallards in the rain as the weekend approached on a private river spot in
saturday and sunday at Killbuck, birds were not very plentiful but got the first diver of the year as the ringnecks showed up sunday. I also added to my mallard collection for the year.
Saw blacks, teal, mallards, wigeon, ringers and pintails zone next to me got wigeon, pintail, ringers and mallards
Monday, I hunted in the sleet in medina…got 4 mallards, a black and a bwt for the first full bag of the year, shooting was fast and furious
Tuesday, changed up a little, hit stark county, private pond, and we killed a three man limit of geese
taking wednesday off, as I will be out the next 4-5 days….gotta get my gear in order but talked to a guy who took a two man limit on west branch..including ringers and buffies…..birds are moving
Posted By:
Anthony-Santoli
Field Editor
Northwest to Southeast 10-28-2008 11:59
Cloudy, Snow & Rain Mix – 30-34 Degrees – Open Water
Opening weekend was an absolute ball. We started at our marsh and hunted our way to our place in Southeast Ohio. More geese than we have seen in years and a lot of ducks to boot.Bags were made up of Shovelers,a few Greenwings, a Bluewing,Woodies,several Ruddies and some ole’ Mallards. One of the best opening weeks me and my 2 buddies have had a in a couple of years. Birds worked great. Since the opener, new birds have been trickling in little by little and we’ve even gotten into some fat,nicely plumed bright red-legged Greenheads from the North. Pintails and Wigeon have been steadily pushing South since October 17th. Canadian geese have been on a constant push out of Canada as we have gotten into fresh flight birds fairly steady since the opener. It is reported that some flocks of Bluebills have arrived in the Maumee Bay area, noting that our migration into Ohio is kicking into gear as I type this. This ealr blast of Cold,snow,wind and sleet has definetly had an effect on the birds up North as they are filtering into the Ohio region. Also noted have been a few days of nice Northeastern winds which are not the norm for us here in Ohio. Ringnecks are making their way into the areas as well,tend to gather in nice pods and will decoy very readily with the right call. This coming weekend could prove to be as another “opener” for those that go out as fresh birds should surely make their way to our decoy spreads. Goood luck to all, it has been a very good season thus far.
