Category: Florida

Posted By:
Straygator
Guest

Heads Up out There 11-23-2003 21:20
– – –
Not a report – a heads up…
Got this this morning, Vermont first then who is next???

Folks,
Big news of the bad kind. THe state is doing a crackdown on persons who cannot own firearms under federal law, but can under state law. Feds gave $115 million in grants to prosecute people who are felons or have a restraining order on them. Supposedly it is to prevent violence and grants were given to two organizations I have never heard of before – Vermont Center for Justice Research and Vermont Network Against Domestic Violence. WCAX had a state cop on showing a variety of firearms on a table and telling us how they are going to get illegal gun owners out of business. Note felons include people who bounced a $20 check in 1965, people who had a warrant on them for failing to pay a fine and people who had a restraining order put on them by a vengeful spouse in a divorce proceeding. The latter case is the so called Lautenberg Amendment, which is of dubious constitutional authority. Many people have felony records and do not even know it. Many others have had restraining orders that may not have ever been recinded. This could take many sportsfolk out of shooting sports and hunting, leaving many homes, particularly rural ones, unprotected.

Gun Owners of Vermont is setting up a meeting with the governor to deal with this issue. We need sportsfolk to join in because many people will be swept up in this raid on gun ownership. Ilse Peppin Vergi is the Gun Owners lobby person and we really would like to have HAT’s Steve McLeod coordinate with her for possible legislative action.

This is a critical issue and should not be taken lightly. Gun Owners of Vermont has a huge list of people who could be victimized by this ganster style federal action. Our state should not be complicit and our governor made committments to protect gun owners from this kind of frivilous attack when he was running for office. Eddie, founder of Gun OWners of Vermont will be very much involved and I will be coordinating with him. If you have questions, please feel free to coordinate with me.

Karen Kerin, Treasurer, Gun Owners of Vermont

Posted By:
Straygator
Guest

Orlando and Lakeland 11-22-2003 18:10
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – Over 70 Degrees
Nov 22. Was over at Gaylord Palms and the retention pond on the north side of the convention center had about 200 ringnecks.
On the drive over no sightings on the ponds on the Polk Parkway.
Woodies showed up Friday on Lake Bentley and the mallard numbers doubled. Still not seeing the divers.
Season started this morning, Good luck

Posted By:
KO
WFC Sponsor

PUZZLE SOUTH 11-21-2003 19:59
– – Over 70 Degrees
SEVERAL LARGE GROUPS TEAL ALSO FIVE GEESE RUNNING WITH HALF A DOZEN BLACKS JUST SOUTH 46, PUZZLE LAKE. AM, NEW SEASON FINALLY HERE.

Posted By:
upduck
Guest

Kissimee 11-19-2003 08:47
Cloudy, High Winds – Over 70 Degrees
Lot’s of ringnecks showing up on the big lake. Saw a few mallards and widgeon mixed in. Excited about going on opening day. Saw a great deal of the ducks south of sturm island. Anybody else check out Kissimee this week?

Posted By:
Rawhide
Guest

11-10-2003 12:14
– – –
VFE’s- Not a single report from you guys in nearly 4 months?

Posted By:
Straygator
Guest

Lakeland 10-29-2003 22:33
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – Over 70 Degrees
Central Florida from Lakeland, Mulberry and out to Polk City…..

Lake Maddy off I4…. Florida Mallards and woodies hanging in the open holes small groups of BW teal less than 10 per group

The Pits south of Mulberry…. seeing lots of small groups of BW teal… lots of water available but still head to the hydrilla infested ponds in the day

Around the ponds on the Polk Parkway no significant sightings or numbers off the pasture ponds near the dump. The pond on the east end of the parkway is my indicator of the migration, it holds the ducks all winter

Lake Bently, Morton and Wood Lake.. the usual mallards and some blue bills, woodies have all left. With all the cold up north, should start to see numbers in the next couple of weeks

Posted By:
KO
WFC Sponsor

10-26-2003 15:39
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – Over 70 Degrees
ran puzzle lake this weekend. saw 4 groups
blue wing,8 to 10 each. several blacks down around hatbill park. nothing else aroound to salt lake.

Posted By:
lrush
Guest

Tampa Bay 10-17-2003 09:10
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – Over 70 Degrees
Was out Redfishing and saw several large rafts of Bluebills and teal in northern TB. Many blacks and mottled ducks in the ruskin area as well. Heading out to explore the Manatee river, does anyone hunt that river? Just curious if there is enough remote areas to shoot.

Posted By:
wcg6667
Guest

manatee 10-01-2003 14:11
– – –
Went hog hunting sunday night and while sitting in the stand i saw 6 groups of teal with about 10-15 in each group. Looks like its gunna be a desent year.

Posted By:
Rhsduckhunta
Guest

09-26-2003 20:49
Mostly Cloudy, No Precipitation – Over 70 Degrees
Well, it seems like everyone had a decent early season.Mine wasnt the greatest but it was still fun over all. Hunted TM goodwin tuesday morning. More teal and woodies than I expected down there. we only shot one BW teal. we werent where the ducks wanted to be so that was a problem. All of our shots were out of range. over all everyone that was hunting that day did pretty good. A few guys limited out but mostly just 2 to 4 ducks in the bag per group.

GB&drake….I just moved from oklahoma just over a year ago. Hunting those flyways out there are Alot different I think. The temperature is so much more colder out there. So alot more warmer clothes are my suggestion. Also something to break ice if your hunting on water later in the year if its really cold. also u gotta be where the ducks want to be.

Posted By:
gb&drake
Guest

Tallahassee 09-26-2003 11:23
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – Over 70 Degrees
Had a pretty good early season in north FL taking some good woodies and a few teal. I am planning my first trip to Arkansas this fall, does anybody know of any special items that would not have been thought of by a first timer. Any help would be greatly appreciated, come on cold fronts and the rest of the birds.

[Edited By gb&drake on 2003-09-26 11:25]

Posted By:
wcg6667
Guest

East Manatee 09-22-2003 20:06
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – Over 70 Degrees
Hunted sunday morning and did better than expected. Limited out on teal and a couple woodies between three of us.From the looks of it now we may have a pretty good season.

Posted By:
Rhsduckhunta
Guest

09-22-2003 15:15
Sunny & Clear, High Winds – Over 70 Degrees
Went up to my grandmas house up in cresent city area this weekend and drove out on the lake george management area. Found a pond thats had woodies on it before and decided to jump it. Nothin was on it though. I didnt see any ducks at all this weekend…not on the lake or any ponds…every other report ive read tho people were doing great. IM hunting TM goodwin tommrow morning and will let yall know how we do. Good luck…

Posted By:
naustin
Guest

09-19-2003 08:17
– – –
I am interested in hunting Sarasota Bay. Can any one E-mail me with tips on were to go.

Posted By:
wcg6667
Guest

09-17-2003 20:10
– – –
went fishing today in sarasots bay and saw a small group of about 20 teal so hopefully some more birds are commin. Also starting to see a few teal on some ponds ive been scouting, doesn’t look bad so far.

Is anyone seeing any birds in okeechobee?

Posted By:
Rawhide
Guest

SW Lake Okeechobee 09-17-2003 08:45
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The vegetation bloomed! All the places I hunted last year are grown over and there’s hardly any open water. The Godevil wouldn’t go through most of it, it’s so thick. Total count: 2 coots.

Posted By:
Rhsduckhunta
Guest

09-12-2003 14:27
– – –
Hey everyone…havent been on here in a long time..just wanted to know if anyones seein any teal around?..ive heard some reports of teal comin down within the past couple of weeks..i plan to hunt the early season so ill be lookin and will post when i see em.

Posted By:
Rawhide
Guest

Kissimmee River Public use area 09-09-2003 06:10
– – –
Forget it! There’s so much water they have closed the ramps. You can’t even get out there to look! A friend of mine went out there gator hunting and said the water is up in the trees, weirs are gone, signs are under water, and the water is moving at 60. Might be awhile before it’s huntable out there. Lake O is so full of water that if you do find ducks, shoot once, and they’re gone. Too many places for them to go.

Posted By:
iluvlabs
Guest

09-08-2003 12:36
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Hello everyone. I am in the Navy and I am stationed in Jacksonville. I am originally from Oklahoma, so I have no clue as to where to hunt. I see that there are a few reports from the Tallahassee area. I will be on a 3 month underway starting this week, and I wont be back until Dec., any info that I could use for when I get back would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks to all,
V/R Brandon Deaver
SHOOT EM’ IN THE LIPS!!!!!!!

Posted By:
gb&drake
Guest

Tallahassee 09-07-2003 21:11
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – Over 70 Degrees
Does any one have any info on the position of the cattle gap at lake Jackson. I walked down the trail the other day and it was posted and blocked off. Are they not allowing anybody to get back there this year or what? Anybody with some info let me know, no teal yet. Still to hot.

Posted By:
wcg6667
Guest

09-07-2003 20:57
– – –
Has anyone been seeing any teal around? I’ve heard their showin up in lousiana and alabama but haven’t seen around here.

[Edited By z984608 on 2003-09-14 19:38]

Posted By:
Reggie-Roddenberry
WFC Sponsor

Leon County – Tallahassee, Fl. 07-21-2003 16:24
Cloudy, Light Rain & Drizzle – Over 70 Degrees
Hello Everybody – I’m back!

I feel the need to apologize for my absense last season. I undertook a non-gunning sabbatical on waterfowl without permission from the boss (sorry Chrystel). I promised myself (to include Chrystel and you readers) that I would not do this again without prior notification!

I’ve been guilty of this action before – back in the early 1980’s, when the waterfowl populations were depressed. That is, I refused to hunt any of my beloved quackers and honkers. And, that is what I contracted with myself to do last season.

So, I took my German Short-haired pointer, Rebel, and went after upland game (doves & quail) exclusively, leaving the waterfowl alone the entire season. I even watched as my son banged away at some Wood Ducks one day – but, I did not fire a shot!

With the increases in waterfowl populations being forcasted for this season, I gave myself permission to hunt ducks again. This means I can report on Florida and Georgia field trips again.

As I become more active within the waterfowl community this season, I shall pass along every scrap of information I gather for you.

Waterfowler.com readers, this looks to be a boniful year to hunt waterfowl again. With the increases in rain across the country, combined with enhanced migration patterns, and some cold weather later in the year, we can all have fun chasing our ducks and geese around the pond!

And, since I quit smoking this year, I can afford more shotshells to blaze away at all those migrating waterfowl!

I’ll be in touch again soon!

Posted By:
Aaron-Pritchard
WFC Sponsor

Delta Waterfowl Event a huge success!!!!!!!! 06-24-2003 12:45
– – –
Delta Waterfowl Foundation

Everglades Chapter

1st Annual Summer Barbecue A Huge Success

Wow!! That is the first word that comes to mind when I look back at Saturday’s event. We had over 130 people show up including about 35 kids! The award for the longest drive to get to the event goes out to Dave Brewer and Sharon who drove all the way from Orlando. A good day was had by all with lots of talk about last year’s season and this years-upcoming one. All of the kids had a wonderful time. They enjoyed hours in the jump house and I think we have some future duck calling champions on our hands. Lots of people walked away with some great hunting items and some beautiful artwork.

I want to first thank Ryan Tanner. Without all of his hard work and hours upon hours of staying on top of things, this event would not have been possible. He did an overwhelming job in coordinating our chapter’s first ever event. I also want to thank everybody else that helped out with the event. I am going to refrain from naming people, because I know I will forget somebody. There were so many that helped in many ways. I tell you what; the Broward and Dade County guys really stepped up! A big thank you also goes out to Mother Nature. We did not have a single drop of rain on us the whole entire time. For those of you that did not come because of the weather, SORRY!! Thank you to both Steve Waters and Willy Howard for putting the information about the event in their newspapers. It really made a difference in getting people out.

A week or two ago, Ryan and myself mentioned to each other the possibility of canceling the event due to lack of interest. We were both a nervous wreck and scared to death we were going to take a huge loss on the event. After meeting with our Treasurer, Dennis White and his wife Jennifer, last night, I can happily report that we made money for the kids and the ducks. I know that with a lot of other organizations you always wonder how much money was made and more importantly, where the money was put to use. I want to make a promise to all of you right now. Our books will always be open for you to know how much was made and where the money went. With Delta Waterfowl, the local Chapters get to use 25% of net proceeds for local projects of their choosing as long as they fit under their guidelines. In other words we can not take the money and go make our own little private hunting preserve. The other 75% goes to Delta Waterfowl to use on their national projects. To learn more about these great projects go to http://www.deltawaterfowl.org. Now for the great news!! We netted over $3,500 for the kids and the ducks. I could not believe it when we were going over the numbers. We are going to be able to have some great youth events and other projects because of this. There are still some debits and credits we have to wait and clear to get a final total, but I will inform you when it is complete.

A $3,500 total would not have been possible without our sponsors that donated both cash and merchandise to the event. I am going to try and list them all and I apologize if I leave somebody off the list.

Newbridge Securities-donated all of the beer you were drinking (877)447-9625

German of Mudbuddy for getting us a great deal on the 25hp Mudbuddy (305)525-3982

Law office of Raul E. Garcia, Jr. P.A. sponsored the youth shotgun (305)670-5158

Amazon Investment Group for sponsoring the Loon Lake Decoy “Preening Black Duck” 1(800)940-4626

Beavertail for donating the Pods

BlackWater Decoy Company for donating decoys and the duck calls for the kids.

Tanner Aviation for donating the lunch and spa package (954)605-9774

Lori Minteer, DVM for sponsoring the “Basic Instinct” print (561)745-1626

Cedar Hill Retrievers for donating that beautiful black Lab puppy (229)377-5757

Jose Hernandez of Animal Gallery for donating the taxidermy of one duck(305)220-0117

Joe Lamb of Fine Line Welding for donating all of the duck boat work. (863)983-4515

Networked Connection, Inc. for putting together our programs (305)363-8549.

Please support our sponsors since they were gracious enough to support us. The success of the BBQ would not have been possible with out them.

Believe it or not Ryan Tanner was the winner of the Berretta 391 Raffle. He felt so guilty about winning it(ha,ha), he donated it back to the chapter and we live auctioned it on the spot. Because of his belief in our cause, that netted $650 to our bottom line. So thank you Ryan once again.

Unfortunately we do not have much time to rest. Our Banquet is just around the corner! I will let everybody enjoy this great success for a few days before we get back to work. Hopefully the Palm Beach County guys will step up big for the banquet like the south county guys did for the BBQ.

Thanks again!!

Jeff Allen, Chairman

Everglades Chapter-Delta Waterfowl

Delta Waterfowl-Florida Chapter Co-Chairman

Posted By:
Drake Slayer
Web Member

06-04-2003 11:27
– – –
Looking to buy an airboat, have my boat up for sale on the Illinois page. Wanting something in the 16’x8′ range. Everytime I look for an airboat online, they are located in Florida. So, I figured I head straight for the root by finding someone down there who hunts ducks and knows what I’m looking for.
Anyone who can help, send me a P.M.

Regards,
Steve from IL

Posted By:
Aaron-Pritchard
WFC Sponsor

2nd Annual Delta Waterfowl – Florida Chapter Sporting Clays Shoot… 04-21-2003 12:35
– – –

2nd Annual Delta Waterfowl – Florida Chapter Sporting Clays Shoot

Saturday May 3rd
Platt Station Sporting Clays Range
Fellesmere, Fla
www.plattstation.com

Registration: 8:30 a.m to 11:00 a.m
Scorecards in by 1:00 p.m

NSCA Sanctioned and Fun shoot
100 round, 12 station, european rotation

Jim White trophies will be presented
www.jimwhitecollection.com

Many Different Raffle & Silent Auction items will
be avaliable. Including a engraved Lanber O/U shotgun.

Cost per shooter: $75 NSCA, $70 Hunters Class, $35 Junior & Sub Junior NSCA, $30 Junior & Sub Junior Hunters Class

$5 Discount for Pre-registering

5 Stand & Warm Up will be avaliable
($7 for 5 Stand & $5 for Warm Up)

Lunch will be prepared by Bonnie Platt

To Pre-register Contact: Buddy or Bonnie Platt
Phone: (321)-727-3644
Fax: (321)-722-2790
Email: Plattstation@aol.com

For more information contact your shoot Chairman at:

Sean Tacie
(772)-225-5441
tac11@bellsouth.net

Aaron Pritchard
(321)-508-4579
apritchard@cfl.rr.com

Entrance Fee includes: 100 clays, 1 year Delta Waterfowl
membership, Fees, Trophies, Lunch & Drinks

Course Rules: (1) NSCA rules apply (2)Eye & Protection required
(3) No shotguns larger than 12 gauge (4) Maximum Load allowed
3″ dram, 1 1/8 oz. of 7 1/2 shot.

===================================

Guys please come out and support our chapter. Last year was a great time and a huge success. I hope to see ya’ll out there again.

For those of you who are not planning on shooting please still come out for the Lunch and to meet other Delta members. After the shoot we will be having a short meeting to discuss the start of the Space Coast Chapter of Delta Waterfowl.

__________________

Delta Waterfowl-Florida Chapter Co-Chairman

Posted By:
Forum Moderator
root

02-24-2003 15:46
– – –
Dear Waterfowler.com Members,

Waterfowler.com is currently looking for more Volunteer Field Editors to participate in Waterfowler.com’s Volunteer State Field Editor Program in your state for the 2003/04 season.

Each Waterfowler.com State Field Editor will have his or her photograph and biography posted on their respective state page. Based on your level of participation we will renew your membership to Waterfowler.com website and Waterfowler.com Journal for free.

If you have time to volunteer by posting daily or weekly reports and are interested in participating in our program, please email me a short paragraph/biography which includes the number of years you have been hunting, the reasons why you have enjoyed this sport over the years, if you are involved in any organizations related to hunting and the reasons why you wish to participate in our program.

Please send your email to: vfe@waterfowler.com

Chrystel Eisenlohr
Director, Waterfowler.com VFE Program
vfe@waterfowler.com

Posted By:
Rawhide
Guest

02-20-2003 07:28
– – –
Is it duck season yet? Seems like I see ducks everywhere now!

Posted By:
Aaron-Pritchard
WFC Sponsor

02-08-2003 13:23
– – –
Bet he wished he hadn’t done that!!!! 😀

A hunt next season sounds good.

Delta Waterfowl-Florida Chapter
Co-Chairman

Posted By:
Rawhide
Guest

02-04-2003 05:49
– – –
Aaron, the sad part is he LET me talk him out of it! He’s a biologist about 30minutes from there and he KNEW it was hot and still let me suggest another place. Ah, next year. Let’s get together for a hunt there.

Posted By:
Aaron-Pritchard
WFC Sponsor

01-31-2003 08:09
– – –
Your crazy Richard………Sta5 has been the hottest area in the state all season. Go to the Fla website for Waterfowl and see the averages. Good luck explaining that to your buddy. 😀

Delta Waterfowl-Florida Chapter
Co-Chairman

Posted By:
Rawhide
Guest

01-30-2003 06:17
– – –
Man, I hope my hunting buddy doesn’t read your report,Shadow. I talked him out of going to STA5 at the last minute to try a spot on the Kiss River. We killed 1 duck. Hindsight is 20/20!! Congrats!

Posted By:
shadow25
Guest

STA 5, Hendry County 01-29-2003 19:56
Mostly Sunny, No Precipitation – 45-50 Degrees
Closed the season in the best place in South Florida. STA 5
We got our limit before sunrise. You name it, and it was there. Blue wings, Green wings,Mottled, Shovelers,Foulvous,Ring necks, Scaups,Rudies,Pintails, Mergansers,Wegeons.
We need to lobby the game commission to open more areas like this.

Posted By:
pintlhntr
Guest

01-27-2003 11:24
– – –
We’ll the seasons over. I guess it’s time to start planning for next year.I’m intrested in coming down and shooting a motteled duck or two. Does any one know a good guide to go with?
Thanks Jason

Posted By:
Aaron-Pritchard
WFC Sponsor

Delta Waterfowl Florida-Chapter Youth Hunt at TM Goodwin 01-26-2003 08:14
– – –
Made Florida Today’s Outdoor’s section. Check it out!!!!!!!

http://www.floridatoday.com/!NEWSROOM/columnstoryA41744A.htm

Also……….if you would like to volunteer your time to a kid and their guardian plase conatct me!!!!!!!!!!! I’m already getting calls!!!!!!!

(321) 724-4590
(321) 508-4579
apritchard@cfl.rr.com

Delta Waterfowl-Florida Chapter
Co-Chairman

Posted By:
wcg6667
Guest

LAKE OKEECHOBEE 01-24-2003 15:01
– – –
heard from some friends down at the lake. they said more birds have started to show up around the hay feilds and the pastuers.This year has been much better than the last couple for us when u can find the birds. leavin to go down tonight and hunt the weekend hopefully it will be worth the trip. well everyone give’em hell for the last couple days.

p.s aaron and richard i had 3 other guys with me so we were perfectly legal

Posted By:
Aaron-Pritchard
WFC Sponsor

01-23-2003 18:13
– – –
True Richard………..Hope that wasn’t 4 Mottles. We just don’t see Mallards here unless they were park ducks.

Delta Waterfowl-Florida Chapter
Co-Chairman

Posted By:
Rawhide
Guest

01-22-2003 10:17
– – –
Just got back from Texas. Saw thousands of pintail, bufflehead, widgeon, and redheads. Got one pintail. The birds all sit on open water and you can’t get near them. Oh well. I hear there are still some teal on Lake O, I’ll try to find em this weekend.

PS to wcg6667…Do you know the limit on Mallards or mottled in Fl?

Posted By:
wcg6667
Guest

sarasota bay 01-13-2003 18:19
Sunny & Clear, Morning Fog – 50-60 Degrees
hunted friday night, saw couple hundred pintails,teal,widgeon,and mottled. shot 5 teal a widgeon and 4 mallards.

Posted By:
Rawhide
Guest

Lake Okee, Kissimmee River 01-13-2003 07:19
Sunny & Clear, High Winds – 35-40 Degrees
Lots of teal around the monkey box area, but didn’t see any other species except coot. A little shooting going on, mostly airboat hunters. The wind may have been the big factor, ducks just weren’t moving unless a fisherman got them up.

Posted By:
tkissam
Guest

St. John\’s River 01-09-2003 20:53
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 30-34 Degrees – Open Water
Aaron –

I can relate…seems this year’s hunting has been more a Scouting Trip than actual hunting. The hope is the next 3 weeks we won’t get any and let the wetlands fry out a tad. Made it last Sunday to a part of The St. John’s that hasn’t been too affected by the torrential rain we’ve received the last 3-4 weeks or so…Saw several hundred Ring-necks, but only bagged one. Cold and sunny. Want cold and dreary !

Anyone been to Lake Toho this year ? I plan to Saturday.

T. Kissam

Posted By:
shadow grass hunter
Guest

01-07-2003 21:20
– – –
DUCK YOU, thanks for the information, if you ever get to west ky let me know, maybe we could go on a hunt. e-mail wstermon@wk.net

Posted By:

01-07-2003 06:28
– – –
Ron’s number is 863-946-1742

Posted By:

01-07-2003 06:26
– – –
shadow grass hunter
Try Ron’s guide service about two hours from orlando $75.00 for a half day mostly b/w teal,ring-necks and mottled ducks

Posted By:
shadow grass hunter
Guest

obion creek bottoms 01-06-2003 22:47
Mostly Sunny, No Precipitation – 25-30 Degrees – Ice
I live in west KY, and we hunt a flooded corn field,but have’nt had much luck. There are very few ducks in the area. I will be traveling to the Orlando,and Cocoa Beach area on Jan 9 and was looking for a place to hunt, either public or a reasonable guided hunt,if anyone has any info. please post. All information is greatly apppreciated.

Posted By:
Aaron-Pritchard
WFC Sponsor

Central Fla 01-02-2003 04:57
– – –
Hello Everyone……….the El’ Nino winter has really got us scrambling. With all the rain birds are very scattered. Recent reports are showing very low hunter success. TM Goodwin still is only bring in around a bird per hunter and most other management areas are the same or lower. The St. John’s is extrememly high and there are very few birds using it. Most of the birds are on flooded pastures or closed areas now that they have wised up a little. Hopefully some dry weather will stick around for a few weeks so we can dry out. Also I have seen some impressive rafts of Scaup numbering over 15,000 birds but, they are sticking in the middle of the lagoon. It is tough to convince them to check out your spread even with a few hundred blocks out. Hunting is tough and scouting is the key once again. It seems like I’ve done more scouting than hunting this season due to all the changes. Good Luck to all…………..

Delta Waterfowl-Florida Chapter
Co-Chairman

Posted By:
Rawhide
Guest

Lake Okee, Kissimmee River 12-30-2002 10:42
– – –
Saw 2 ducks on the river! There’s so much water that I could go wherever I wanted with the Go-devil. Explored for hours and found lots of ideal looking habitat but no ducks. Should be good shooting if the levels drop. Went to Lake O yesterday out of Joes in Moore Haven. Saw several flocks of teal and ringers but I think the key is to get there early and beat the airboaters and guides.

Posted By:
Dixie Beans
Web Member

Merritt Island 12-27-2002 07:06
– – –
Where are all the wigeon? Have not seen any. Lots of teal, mottled and bluebills.

Posted By:
Aaron-Pritchard
WFC Sponsor

Central Florida 12-24-2002 10:47
Mostly Cloudy, No Precipitation – 60-65 Degrees
Well……….it’s no secret that the birds have scattered. Recent rains have filled pastures and the surrounding flood plains. That means the Puddle Ducks are extrememly scattered on private ranches. A talk with MINWR biologist revealed the lowest count of ducks using the refuge in 10 years. There is ample food but again………plenty of water and food everywhere else. . The divers seem to be the most of everyone’s bag limits. Ringers are plentiful if you can find hydrilla or another food source. Mostly layout shooting to bring them off the bigger water though. Teal, Wigeon and Pintail have seem to disappear from local WMA’s. TM Goodwin which was hot early has fallen to less than 1 duck per hunter on an outing. Again…….to much water is the culprit and it doesn’t look good as more rain is to be expected with this EL’ Nino year. Good Luck to all and have a safe and happy holiday.

Aaron Pritchard

Delta Waterfowl-Florida Chapter
Co-Chairman

Posted By:
lrush
Guest

TB 12-17-2002 14:20
Cloudy, High Winds – 40-45 Degrees
The Blue Bills are in south Florida. We hunted the bay all wekend and shot a few ringnecks & blue bills. We saw intotal about 2K divers. Most of them are flying high into the “safe zone” though. plenty of ducks to shoot at. We have a few Blacks and some pintails but mostly Blue Bills.

Posted By:
H2OK9
Guest

Tallahassee 12-16-2002 17:03
Cloudy, High Winds – 45-50 Degrees
We are still seeing lots of ducks in the air but very few on the lakes. They have to be feeding someware.We shot Car Lake Saturday morning and had two small groups start to decoy and then flair off at the last second.Cattle Gap on lake Jackson made a little noise but not enough to justify the long walk in.We did tear up the snipe and dove at a undiscloseable location. The boys had a blast shooting in a 20 to 30 knot wind at birds that sure know how to fly. We will continue to let the snipe hunting tide us over until we find ducks to shoot at.Not much meat but the dog is in heaven. I am hearing talk of large flocks of Bluebills south of town and will br scouting them tomorrow.Will let you know what I see.

Posted By:
Rawhide
Guest

Lake Okeechobee, SW 12-16-2002 06:00
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Hunted Lake O Sat. morning. Only 2 flocks of teal and maybe 5 mottled, didn’t fire a SHOT! Some airboaters seemed to get a few shots in but from what we saw it was skybusting. The warden at the ramp suggested an area north of Joes Fish Camp, said there are lots of birds there, mostly ringers.

Posted By:
NICK ULM
Guest

s.w.okee 12-14-2002 14:08
Mostly Sunny, No Precipitation – Over 70 Degrees
thomas-allen, just to let ya know i had scouted and been out on okee since opening day.ducks we’re bleak at best. my last hunt,about a week ago i hunted sunrise to sunset, (later realizing why i don’t do that anymore) and was not worth my efforts. i moved to three different spots throughout the day, saw maybe 30 teal and fifty or so ringbills. if you go or anyone else reading let me know. i’m curious. leaving this week to go north, they won’t come here i’ll meet them halfway. happy holidays and shoot em up!

Posted By:
Benjamin-Dupree
Guest

Hunting Dabblers 12-12-2002 19:27
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A while back, Wade Bourne, a DU writer asked me to take a look at his new book Hunting Dabblers. Well, I’m a slow reader, and this book isn’t so new anymore, but let me tell you this book has it all. Bourne not only employs his years of experience but he also draws tips off other duck-hunting veterans from around the country. This book covers everything from proven calling techniques to what to look for in a shotgun. In just over 200 pages Bourne has captured every conceivable facet of waterfowling. The book is educational, entertaining, and full of very useful pointers. While I was reading this, there were several times I would think, “I never thought of that.” Even if this book had not been the authority of duck hunting, Bourne gained my respect with the closing paragraph in his acknowledgements section where he stated “And ultimately, I acknowledge God as my creator and Christ as my savior. Someday I plan on seeing all my old buddies on that Great Marsh where the drought never comes and the ducks always fly.” For an autographed copy of Bourne’s book, send a check for $30.45 to Wade Bourne, 450 Old Trenton Road, Clarksville, TN 37040 or you can obtain a copy of this book and support this fine webpage by purchasing one from the Proshop here at waterfowler.com. Dabblers would make an excellent stocking stuffer. Good Luck, Good reading, and God Bless.
Ben Dupree

Posted By:
Rawhide
Guest

Kissimmee River 12-12-2002 11:21
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Well gang, we spent the morning on the river looking for da’ ducks. The water is so high that the birds seem to have moved on somewheres else. Saw a total of 6 teal and 9 mottled in several hours and miles of go-devil travel. Maybe on Lake Okee????

Posted By:
Aaron-Pritchard
WFC Sponsor

12-11-2002 10:30
– – –
Just e-mail me………

apritchard@cfl.rr.com

Delta Waterfowl-Florida Chapter
Co-Chairman

Posted By:
duxsrus
Guest

12-10-2002 16:32
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*** AARON PRICHARD ***

Send me a private massage, I tried sending you one and it says your user name is invalid.

Posted By:
gb&drake
Guest

florida panhandle 12-02-2002 20:31
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 35-40 Degrees
Well the resident wood ducks are still around with a few teal mixed in. On the Tallahassee side we killed many ringnecks, saw a lot more. The cattlegap is a hot spot with a bunch of people but you better pack your walking shoes. As always their are some skybusters doing their best to mess things up but the hunting was good anyway. Toward Panama City their are a bunch of woodies. Counted nearly four hundred on a private spot in the sand hills. Well look forward to the reopen, take the drakes.

Posted By:
H2OK9
Guest

CAR LAKE TALLAHASEE 12-01-2002 12:30
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 35-40 Degrees
We finaly saw large (20+) flights of birds moving between the lakes. A few even came down on Car Lake and gave us a high power fly by. The Ring Necks have arived. A deer hunter was set up on the point by the cove so Cam and I went to the South side of the lake and threw out all the decoys. Coots and all. Harper (the lab)was primed and ready to go. The only thing wrong besides a blue bird day was a bunch of weary ducks.We just picked the wrong corner. The day was sumed up like this. One shot, no ducks, cold day. We will let you know how Wed. goes.

H2OK9

Posted By:
Wader22
Guest

Guana 11-30-2002 15:35
Cloudy, Winds Calm – 35-40 Degrees
Another slow day in Guana. The stats for last week don’t look good either (average of 1.5 birds/hunter). Saw a lot of teal and a few flocks of mottled, but nothing within range. A few more days like this and I’m going to train my lap pup to fetch decoys. Sharpshooter, I heard you had another stellar performance (the only shot you took was a teal swimming in the decoys. Maybe next week.

Posted By:
bullseye27
Guest

Guana 11-28-2002 19:03
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 35-40 Degrees
weather was great ducks just mainly flying 2 high! I did hear about a guy down south in Guana that had a high percentage shoting day though! (1 duck a box) some nice ringnecks everywhere! Good luck wader!