The general 2016 duck season started the first Saturday in October, following the youth hunt the week before. I was with my wife and one of my three son-in-laws in our blinds on public land. We have used these blinds for opening day for over 35 years.
It was the beginning of a rewarding duck season that ended for me January 8, 2017. It was a season that saw me and my six-year-old lab Bart working together for ducks for some part of nearly twenty days. To me duck hunting includes a reliable retriever. It isn’t true duck hunting without a dog like Bart.
The weather started out relatively warm and dry. And duck numbers slowly increased in southwest Montana as the season progressed. On most of our outings Bart and I were able to scratch down at least a few ducks each time we went out. However we were skunked more than once.
All of my duck hunting is on public land. I watch with interest the national discussion about transferring federal land to the states. Unless Montana is willing to turn over all the federal land to our Fish, Wildlife and Parks Department, I’m skeptical. Those who want to transfer the land to states are very reluctant to discuss what they REALLY want to do with the land. I am certain however that they do not want the land to be used to increase wildlife populations and improve access for hunting and fishing as their primary goal.
My duck season was steady and solid until December when the temperatures in Montana dropped to below zero and stayed there for a while. For the first time in over three decades, all of my hunting spots froze up to the point where there were either no ducks or it was too dangerous for Bart to get out in the rivers to retrieve ducks.
I was forced to scout for new places to hunt and man was it cold. The golden eyes moved into the headwaters of the Missouri like I have never seen. But my usual hunting spots on public water had shelf ice so thick and wide that Bart could not get out if he ever got in. It would be the end of him. I couldn’t even let him get near the water.
So I started looking at google maps and my GPS loaded with onXHuntmaps (I was one of their first customers). I then would go out on ‘noiters (short for reconnoiter) to try to find new hunting locations. I put in a few miles hiking with one of my son-in-laws who was staying with my wife and me for Christmas. He, Bart and I walked along the rivers below the dams on the Missouri River to try to locate a place that would be safe for Bart. I wanted a spot that I could reach within a mile hike from my truck. I did not take my shotgun on these ‘noiters, but we finally found a place on the river that might work. There were a few golden eyes using the area. They had clearly been hunted and were very spooky and nervous.
My son-in-law, my daughter and their two kids (one a brand-new baby girl) had to get back to Denver after Christmas. So Bart and I went by ourselves at first light to our new-found public access duck hunting spot along the mighty Missouri.
Bart swam half way across that huge river with ice chunks drifting along beside him to fetch our first duck. My heart was racing with angst as I watched him grab the duck and head back to shore. He landed about a quarter mile downstream, but all went well and within minutes he was dropping ducks at my feet.
I must admit that I felt some sense of accomplishment in being able to locate new places to hunt using my onXHunt GPS, google maps, talking to land owners and being motivated to do ‘notiers. I’m always impressed by Randy Newberg on his show Fresh Tracks and his blog Hunt Talk when he seems to locate great public hunting spots from scratch. I’ve learned from him and those who share their stories on Hunt Talk. I thought that I didn’t really need to explore much more because I had duck hunting locations to cover a season. But this year the freezing rivers forced me to either quit hunting or go find new spots.
I only took a half dozen ducks from the edge of the Missouri during three hunts there. But I very much enjoyed my time in my new hunting spot. I want to share this story from my last evening on the river. I was tucked back into the bushes on the side of the river. It was bitter cold and a flock of about a hundred robins worked their way past me to pick food among the rocks right at the edge of the water. Most of the robins did not see me. I just stood still and watched as they flitted from rock to rock right in front of me.
Suddenly, just as fast as you are reading this, a beautiful blue peregrine (I think) falcon flew from my right and past in front of me and Bart by less than three feet. The falcon was at full speed only a foot over the rocks. He blasted into that flock of robins so fast they didn’t have a chance to fly out of his path. He grabbed one in his talons as it sprang from its perch on a rock. The robin didn’t make it six inches up and the falcon never missed a wing beat. He travelled on upstream with that robin held firmly in his talons and went off to eat it. All the robins disappeared into the bush and it got deathly silent.
What a show! Fun end to the 2016-17 duck season. Bart and me hunting ducks and peregrine falcons hunting robins.
It was the beginning of a rewarding duck season that ended for me January 8, 2017. It was a season that saw me and my six-year-old lab Bart working together for ducks for some part of nearly twenty days. To me duck hunting includes a reliable retriever. It isn’t true duck hunting without a dog like Bart.
The weather started out relatively warm and dry. And duck numbers slowly increased in southwest Montana as the season progressed. On most of our outings Bart and I were able to scratch down at least a few ducks each time we went out. However we were skunked more than once.
All of my duck hunting is on public land. I watch with interest the national discussion about transferring federal land to the states. Unless Montana is willing to turn over all the federal land to our Fish, Wildlife and Parks Department, I’m skeptical. Those who want to transfer the land to states are very reluctant to discuss what they REALLY want to do with the land. I am certain however that they do not want the land to be used to increase wildlife populations and improve access for hunting and fishing as their primary goal.
My duck season was steady and solid until December when the temperatures in Montana dropped to below zero and stayed there for a while. For the first time in over three decades, all of my hunting spots froze up to the point where there were either no ducks or it was too dangerous for Bart to get out in the rivers to retrieve ducks.
I was forced to scout for new places to hunt and man was it cold. The golden eyes moved into the headwaters of the Missouri like I have never seen. But my usual hunting spots on public water had shelf ice so thick and wide that Bart could not get out if he ever got in. It would be the end of him. I couldn’t even let him get near the water.
So I started looking at google maps and my GPS loaded with onXHuntmaps (I was one of their first customers). I then would go out on ‘noiters (short for reconnoiter) to try to find new hunting locations. I put in a few miles hiking with one of my son-in-laws who was staying with my wife and me for Christmas. He, Bart and I walked along the rivers below the dams on the Missouri River to try to locate a place that would be safe for Bart. I wanted a spot that I could reach within a mile hike from my truck. I did not take my shotgun on these ‘noiters, but we finally found a place on the river that might work. There were a few golden eyes using the area. They had clearly been hunted and were very spooky and nervous.
My son-in-law, my daughter and their two kids (one a brand-new baby girl) had to get back to Denver after Christmas. So Bart and I went by ourselves at first light to our new-found public access duck hunting spot along the mighty Missouri.
Bart swam half way across that huge river with ice chunks drifting along beside him to fetch our first duck. My heart was racing with angst as I watched him grab the duck and head back to shore. He landed about a quarter mile downstream, but all went well and within minutes he was dropping ducks at my feet.
I must admit that I felt some sense of accomplishment in being able to locate new places to hunt using my onXHunt GPS, google maps, talking to land owners and being motivated to do ‘notiers. I’m always impressed by Randy Newberg on his show Fresh Tracks and his blog Hunt Talk when he seems to locate great public hunting spots from scratch. I’ve learned from him and those who share their stories on Hunt Talk. I thought that I didn’t really need to explore much more because I had duck hunting locations to cover a season. But this year the freezing rivers forced me to either quit hunting or go find new spots.
I only took a half dozen ducks from the edge of the Missouri during three hunts there. But I very much enjoyed my time in my new hunting spot. I want to share this story from my last evening on the river. I was tucked back into the bushes on the side of the river. It was bitter cold and a flock of about a hundred robins worked their way past me to pick food among the rocks right at the edge of the water. Most of the robins did not see me. I just stood still and watched as they flitted from rock to rock right in front of me.
Suddenly, just as fast as you are reading this, a beautiful blue peregrine (I think) falcon flew from my right and past in front of me and Bart by less than three feet. The falcon was at full speed only a foot over the rocks. He blasted into that flock of robins so fast they didn’t have a chance to fly out of his path. He grabbed one in his talons as it sprang from its perch on a rock. The robin didn’t make it six inches up and the falcon never missed a wing beat. He travelled on upstream with that robin held firmly in his talons and went off to eat it. All the robins disappeared into the bush and it got deathly silent.
What a show! Fun end to the 2016-17 duck season. Bart and me hunting ducks and peregrine falcons hunting robins.
