![]() ![]() Unfortunately the mental games started with me that happen to every hunter. From time to time, I stole a hidden glance from behind bushes to check the location of the feathered prey. I carefully selected which tree to move to next, as I worked my way closer to the ducks. One hour and 15 minutes later, I stood within 50 yards of the woodies. If you hurry, or if you make a mistake, you’ll blow the entire stalk.” I kept telling myself, “You have all day to get to the ducks. I also checked my watch to time my progress. As I crept through the water, I kept trees between me and my quarry. But I could pinpoint their exact locations. At that distance, I couldn’t tell how many held there. I first saw the ducks at about 150 yards through the flooded timber. “Those waves may spook the flock.” I slowed my pace and carefully kept the disturbance on the water to a minimum. “Uh-oh, a duck will be able to see that,” I told myself. ![]() After thinking about waterfowl for supper and having taken three more squirrels for a limit, I decided to try and stalk ducks.Īs I entered the water, I noticed the waves leaving my knees and forming ringlets out in front of me. Sure enough, I already had several wet retrieves. I had worn my lightweight waders that morning, knowing that when I shot a squirrel, it probably would land in the water. As I slipped down a logging road, stalking squirrels with my 12 gauge, I heard the whistling and splashing of wood ducks as they came in to the bottom to feed. The woods looked more like a creek than a hardwood bottom. For 3 days, the rains had soaked the land. At that time, I hunted a swamp full of water. I stumbled onto the productivity of stalking ducks quite by accident some years back. Many of the early outdoorsmen stalk-hunted ducks. The meat provided vittles, and you bagged them any way you could. In the days of the Pilgrims, an estimated 1/2-billion ducks inhabited America. John’s Note: Early Americans saw the sport of duck hunting quite differently from how we view it today. ![]()
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