Posted By: Peter-Lester Field Editor Strafford County 11-29-2008 17:35 Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 25-30 Degrees – Ice The second half is underway. We had the coldest opener I can remember and we had to deal with skim ice in the brackish water right from the start. Early in the week Blacks seemed to outnumber Mallards by a wide margin however that seemed to change as the week went on. Hunting activity on the opener was moderate and after that sporadic. Friday was a great day weatherwise and we shot 6 ducks and 4 geese between us with many “lost” opportunities. The day after Thanksgiving and we never saw another boat all day. One method that is tried and true failed us yesterday and that was putting up 75 or so ducks throw a few decoys where they were sitting and wait for them to return. Three came back… Continue reading

Posted By: Peter-Lester Field Editor Little Bay 12-09-2007 14:53 Mostly Cloudy, No Precipitation – 25-30 Degrees – Open Water Snow on the ground, cold temps, ice and low tides first thing in the morning to contend with. Hunted Saturday and Sunday, saw more ducks Sunday, saw more hunters Saturday. Never saw a goose on either day which seemed strange, I know there are some around. Ducks consisted of mostly mallards and some blacks. Buffleheads were a constant and some Goldeneyes were whistling around too. Our shooting consisted of knocking down a few pass shoots and a few decoying birds, missing both kinds of shots at other times and of course the usual missed opportunities from looking in the wrong direction. Overall we did not see any large morning flight either day. Most boat ramps remain open in spite of snow and ice. Posted By: Peter-Lester Field Editor Strafford County 11-25-2007… Continue reading

Posted By: Msg&son Guest up north 10-14-2007 11:24 Cloudy, Winds Calm – 35-40 Degrees well hit the river this morning and saw 2 ducks thats it lots of geese flying north then coming back down ina hr or so that was it for today the are finihsing cutting corn in most places but still need some codl weather to bring new birds down lots of hunters about but no shots. as for sat went to a field and hunted and saw 9 woodies thats all got a few shots off nothing to show for them and no geese at all on sat , but lots of hunters again that day. did have snow on the mountains though sun morning. turkey season this week so hit the fields for somthing else this week till next weekand good luck all. Posted By: Peter-Lester Field Editor Strafford County 10-08-2007 10:57 Cloudy, Light Rain… Continue reading

Posted By: Msg&son Guest scouting 08-27-2007 13:14 – – – well went again this weekand around looking for ducks and geese and turkeys again. again seem lots of differant flocks of geese but all in differant parts of the same fields so are moving around alot one flock was a lot bigger than last weekand. saw lots of turkeys again they had lots of llittle ones this yr still lots of small poults. as for landowners one said no it is for employess only and the owner for his fields and one didint contact me back so i take that as a no also oh well it is there right. but on the bright side found a way into a little spot again that i hunted for yrs but the last 2 hadnt been able to get to so am excited about that. see ya all soon and take care.Mark… Continue reading

Posted By: Peter-Lester Field Editor Strafford County 12-18-2006 08:34 Mostly Sunny, No Precipitation – 45-50 Degrees Ducks remain spotty in my observation. I did get a report from a friend who said that a good number of mallards, 50-60, were within sight of a local boat ramp yesterday morning. He also walked the edge of a fresh water river yesterday afternoon and never put up a duck. Yesterday afternoon I motored 2 1/2 miles on one river before putting up a puddle duck. When I did it was a group of about 40 blacks. Not a one returned. I did see a harbor seal and small groups or buffleheads. Yesterday it just felt strange, Dec 17th and temps in the 50’s. Eel grass is still standing when normally it has been flattened by ice by now. When I got home I was washing the mud off my boots with the… Continue reading

Posted By: Peter-Lester Field Editor Strafford County 11-23-2006 16:17 Cloudy, Winds Calm – 35-40 Degrees Opening day brought a pleasant surprise, more ducks than I anticipated. However gunning has been spotty. A fair number of boats were out yesterday and today. On both days we observed hunters who either didn’t fire a shot or did not bag a bird. Like real estate, location has been everything and as always a little bit of luck thrown in goes a long way. For the two of us success came because we happened to be in the right spot and looking the right way at the right time. Missed opportunites came frequently too, and some were rookie mistakes. You would think after 30 plus years we would be beyond that, it happens to everyone. Low tide in the morning hampered the ability to get boats out and for some hunters just a few… Continue reading

Posted By: Jerry-Nicholson Web Member West Central NH/VT Border 10-08-2006 18:56 Sunny & Clear, Morning Fog – 50-60 Degrees It’s been an exhausting but totally satisfying week here on the NH/VT border. Opening day was productive as usual with near limit of wood ducks and mallards. It gets darned near mathematical when you start figuring out what type of duck you can shoot to round out your limit, especially when our birds are in eclipse phase or not far from it. As usual, the local birds started out stupid but became pretty intelligent within a couple of days. As Pete pointed out, Wood Ducks are plentiful all over. Pre-season scouting showed a very large population of local mallards, but after opening day they became scarce, just like they always do. Canada Geese are our salvation here in the “Far From Stuttgart-150 ducks is a bad year” regions. There are geese… Continue reading

Posted By: Peter-Lester Field Editor Waterfowl Season Hearing August 23, 2006 08-18-2006 08:58 – – – CONTACT: Edward Robinson: (603) 271-2461 Julie Robinson: (603) 868-1095 Jane Vachon: (603) 271-3211 August 1, 2006 Waterfowl Season Hearing Set for August 23 CONCORD, N.H. — The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department will hold a public hearing on proposed season dates and bag limits for the 2006 waterfowl hunting season on Wednesday, August 23, 2006, at 6:30 p.m., at Fish and Game headquarters on Hazen Drive in Concord. Comments at the meeting will be considered in finalizing New Hampshire’s 2006 waterfowl season dates. “Waterfowl populations in the Atlantic Flyway continue to do well. In the northeast overall, and in New Hampshire particularly, mallard, wood duck, and Canada goose populations remain at high levels. As a result, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has recommended liberal season frameworks for ducks,” said Edward Robinson, a… Continue reading