It’s work to hunt in these conditions

[Ridgeline300]

Have to deal with slick ramps, bust ice to get boat in water, bust your way out to open water then bust your way back into the ramp. I'm wore out and frozen, lol! Wind chill had to be well below zero this morning.

 

[younggun308]

Please tell me y'all smacked 'em today as a reward, lol.

 

[Boone25/06]

Yeah I hope you smacked them for all that work to pay off! Man just looking at that ramp makes me pucker thinking of trying not to slide a truck in with the boat!

 

[Biggun4214]

You do realize that if most duck hunters were checked out by a psychologist they would be committed and lead away in a straight jacket.

 

[tickweed]

Lol. Conditions are right in certain places. Busted so many trailer lites off in my time on the ice. Hardcore. Gotta be careful in deeper water. Only gonna get one chance with this weather.

 

[Ridgeline300]

Please tell me y'all smacked 'em today as a reward, lol.

I wish I could tell you that, middle tn and east suck even in this weather now. We thought sure they'd be a bunch to hunt this week with this weather but we only found them sitting one place and we got a limit that day but nothing since. No grass hardly anymore, heard they kill it out. I can't confirm that but definitely no grass much now and the lake used to be full and ducks everywhere. The ducks have shifted their flyway and avoid this area.

 

[Ridgeline300]

Yeah I hope you smacked them for all that work to pay off! Man just looking at that ramp makes me pucker thinking of trying not to slide a truck in with the boat!

Very nerve racking for sure, we carried flat shovels to use for scraping and a few five gallon buckets of really small gravel to put down under tires. Just gotta be good at backing slowly and straight to keep it in gravel.

 

[Ridgeline300]

You do realize that if most duck hunters were checked out by a psychologist they would be committed and lead away in a straight jacket.

Guaranteed lol

 

[Dodge Man]

I wish I could tell you that, middle tn and east suck even in this weather now. We thought sure they'd be a bunch to hunt this week with this weather but we only found them sitting one place and we got a limit that day but nothing since. No grass hardly anymore, heard they kill it out. I can't confirm that but definitely no grass much now and the lake used to be full and ducks everywhere. The ducks have shifted their flyway and avoid this area.

I would not be hunting in this weather unless I had a field with food, open water and a open boat trail.

 

[Iglow]

Boy, that's about 20 years in my rear view, but back in the day…

 

[Don'tDrinkTinks]

Yeah I'm not that mad at em'… bring on the thaw.

 

[Ridgeline300]

I would not be hunting in this weather unless I had a field with food, open water and an open boat trail.

Definitely the smart thing to do. I keep saying that exact thing but get talked into going.

 

[WilcoKen]

I wish I could tell you that, middle tn and east suck even in this weather now. We thought sure they'd be a bunch to hunt this week with this weather but we only found them sitting one place and we got a limit that day but nothing since. No grass hardly anymore, heard they kill it out. I can't confirm that but definitely no grass much now and the lake used to be full and ducks everywhere. The ducks have shifted their flyway and avoid this area.

Life as a mid-TN duck hunter. Like you, I worked my butt off this week in this mess.... I'm froze, wore out, mentally drained. For a grand total of 7 ducks. When you get an opportunity like the "Get Ready" thread described in the first post and then it's a big dud (here), it really sucks.

 

[Biggun4214]

We hunted the French Broad Thursday walked in about 1/2 mile breaking ice on a creek and dealing with icy mud and single digit temps. Saw two groups of common mergansers. Keep telling myself I'm too old for deal with this crap, but I still go.

 

[Bgoodman30]

Life as a mid-TN duck hunter. Like you, I worked my butt off this week in this mess.... I'm froze, wore out, mentally drained. For a grand total of 7 ducks. When you get an opportunity like the "Get Ready" thread described in the first post and then it's a big dud (here), it really sucks.

Nothing at old hickory still???

 

[Mud Creek]

Life as a mid-TN duck hunter. Like you, I worked my butt off this week in this mess.... I'm froze, wore out, mentally drained. For a grand total of 7 ducks. When you get an opportunity like the "Get Ready" thread described in the first post and then it's a big dud (here), it really sucks.

So thats where the 7 we were holding around here went

 

[WilcoKen]

Nothing at old hickory still???

Well it picked up some yesterday and today. A couple blinds did good but I wasn't in them. I didn't get to hunt today. Might go back Mon/Tues.

 

[Ridgeline300]

Well it picked up some yesterday and today. A couple blinds did good but I wasn't in them. I didn't get to hunt today. Might go back Mon/Tues.

I use to love OH, my group got lucky for several years in a row getting drawn in top 5. Seemed like 0 and 4 always went top 2 picks and we usually got drawn out 3rd - 5th. We liked 65 when they use have food in it. Then we started getting 69. Killed a ton of ducks out of those two blinds back in the day. Wish it was still as good and the draw was still the same as then, we learned a trick to getting drawn early.

 

[JCDEERMAN]

No thank you

 

[WilcoKen]

I use to love OH, my group got lucky for several years in a row getting drawn in top 5. Seemed like 0 and 4 always went top 2 picks and we usually got drawn out 3rd - 5th. We liked 65 when they use have food in it. Then we started getting 69. Killed a ton of ducks out of those two blinds back in the day. Wish it was still as good and the draw was still the same as then, we learned a trick to getting drawn early.

Yeah it's pretty awful now. Really becoming not worth the hassles. We had 69 in 19/20 then 71 in 20/21 along with blind 18. Over those 2 seasons we barely cracked 125 between all 3 blinds. Have not drawn the last 2 years. I want to hang up the waders permanently but I know I won't. I took a 15 year break from duck hunting in 2004 and I'm about to do it again. I have other hobbies that I can control the outcome better.