Nevada Waterfowl 2020 - 2021

[NVDesertHunter]

you'd have a lot more meat in the freezer if you shot coots....

 

[SO7mm]

Great story. Thanks for sharing. That last picture is awesome. I've hunted ducks here in CA my whole life and I've always wanted to hunt them somewhere with that kind of scenery. Nice to know some of the swans we see end up your way and on a strap. It would be nice if they let us shoot a swan a year or something but it will never happen. .

 

[hogcarpy]

Great first season. Thanks for sharing the memories. Makes me want to finally pull plans together to hit up a few new states close to me!

 

[David Gough]

you'd have a lot more meat in the freezer if you shot coots....

You know I'm not in a meat crisis

 

[David Gough]

Great story. Thanks for sharing. That last picture is awesome. I've hunted ducks here in CA my whole life and I've always wanted to hunt them somewhere with that kind of scenery. Nice to know some of the swans we see end up your way and on a strap. It would be nice if they let us shoot a swan a year or something but it will never happen. .

Yes, the scenery in the desert is hard to beat. If the weather is right ill always try to hold onto one of the two swan tags and wait until they come back from California. Those rusty birds are beautiful in the hand.

 

[AlaskaHunter]

Great story...thanks for sharing!
I used to hunt the Great Salt Lake in Utah and my first 2 banded ducks where from Nevada.
Shot a redhead banded at Ruby Lake NWR in Nevada.
A week later shot a banded canvasback, also from Ruby Lake, NV.

 

[David Gough]

Great story...thanks for sharing!
I used to hunt the Great Salt Lake in Utah and my first 2 banded ducks where from Nevada.
Shot a redhead banded at Ruby Lake NWR in Nevada.
A week later shot a banded canvasback, also from Ruby Lake, NV.

I'd like to hunt the Ruby Lake NWR more with all of the canvasbacks that use the area. Did you use a boat to navigate?

 

[AlaskaHunter]

I'd like to hunt the Ruby Lake NWR more with all of the canvasbacks that use the area. Did you use a boat to navigate?

I was canoe-hunting the Bear River NWR on the Great Salt Lake back then....the redhead and can flew across the border.

 

[David Gough]

I was canoe-hunting the Bear River NWR on the Great Salt Lake back then....the redhead and can flew across the border.

Where I usually hunt doesn't require a vessel to get to a lot of area, but I know Ruby NWR is deep in a lot of areas. Will need to research that further.

 

[wtrfwlhunter]

Just had to go and shoot a ringer didn’t ya Dave!

 

[David Gough]

Just had to go and shoot a ringer didn’t ya Dave!

SOMEONE thought it was a cinnamon!

 

[FeartheTurtle]

I was mostly big game with a few upland birds thrown in until about fifteen years ago when one of my buddies made the mistake of taking me for ducks & geese. He'd been to a couple of good public spots and knew a few ranchers who let us jump shoot their irrigation ditches & ponds. I've upgraded my shotgun twice and two of my sons have received their own guns for Christmas. Definitely got that expen$ive mud in the blood disease and hope no one finds a cure any time soon. We start in as soon as the big game hunts end, have had some amazing times and met some of the best people ever. Eastern Utah ranchers are top of the heap as far as I'm concerned.

 

[OntarioHunter]

Good thing you culled that freak chicken footed honker. Definitely a defective genetic trait. Or maybe not considering how that species has adapted to feeding more on agricultural land than water. Interesting. Maybe we are looking at evolution in progress? You should contact federal fish and wildlife about that. They would be interested I'm sure.

 

[OntarioHunter]

Sooner rather than later. Going to buy a house in the next couple of years. This upcoming season I won't wait until we are a month in to get started.

You might want to wait a year. Pup prices have gone through the roof during the pandemic. Many kennels cut back thinking people would be short of money. Turns out they were 180 degrees wrong. People had more time with nothing to do and nowhere to go and spend money so they bought dogs for company and something to do. Demand went up while supplies dwindled. $$$$ Been a boon year for the shelter mutt business too which was about the only good news in this screwed up situation.

 

[glass eye]

Looks like someone is addicted to quack.

 

[RobertD]

Those last two pintails... woo buddy. Great birds.

 

[MtnHuntin]

I had one hell of a time learning to hunt waterfowl solo during the 2019 & 2020 season. With some off season research and talking to people who know what they were doing I was able to connect a few of the dots. I dove in head first after my big game hunts were over and started hunting waterfowl mid November (after most of my big game tags were done).

Received an invite from Scott Jones (sorry buddy, I don't know your username on here) to do a little goose hunting in a field he has permission on and a pit blind in. The geese came around a couple of times, but the highlight was the smoked goose leg biscuits and gravy. As @Big Fin said, sixth dimension of food.

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Anyone ever see a honker without webbed feet?

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The day after Thanksgiving I went with my friend Mark to do some swan and duck hunting. I missed the swan, but shot a limit of birds. Bubs, Mark's dog, retrieved my first greenhead. This is the day I learned that ice hunts are criminal in all the best ways.

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I hunted with Marks and Bubs, who turned one in December, a handful of times throughout the season. The learning curve was steep, but Mark is a master at fooling birds and I owe a debt of gratitude further than I can repay. Some of the hunting was on public, some on an amazing duck club.

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Almost fell out of the layout boat shooting this greenhead at the buzzer.
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We had success on public land too. You can buy two swan tags over the counter in Nevada, but there's a limited quota. I snagged mine on the first day and I'm sure glad I did. Ice hunt in late December:

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This swan decoyed at ten yards. That'll test your ability to keep it together.

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Was fortunate enough to spend some time in a California blind with my girlfriend and her brother. His dog, Tuff, was less than amused that we didn't shoot the ducks coming right over us a few seconds later.

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Came back to Nevada the next day and I picked up this greenhead. What a surprise my first band was after a slow morning of hunting.

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Headed back to California the next weekend and hunted a great refuge with a couple of buddies and Mina, a pudelpointer. She retrieved all but two of the birds pictured and then ate her weight in food for dinner. We sat back and watched the show the majority of the day. An experience I'll never forget.
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Came back to the public land hunting in Nevada, and so did the swans. Many were rusted up from the California rice fields and were carrying a thick layer of white fat. This one did it just right for us.

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We finished our season, but one of the highlights just happened on February 13th, 2021. A one day youth hunt. Mallards everywhere, they were in FULL plumage, he killed his first sprig, and kept it together while honkers were feet down and 10-15 yards away. Couldn't have asked for a better ending.
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Hopefully a few enjoyed this and can relate to starting a similar journey. Thank you to everyone who took me under their wing. You've changed my life and my bank account.

I do have one question for the veteran waterfowlers who also hunt big game frequently. How the HELL do you make time for it all? I start hunting in August and would like more time in the marsh without giving up time in the mountains. I'm open to suggestions.

Awesome stories and pictures. Getting me all riled up for the fall!

 

[David Gough]

Awesome stories and pictures. Getting me all riled up for the fall!

Looking through the post has me all riled up as well. Come on October 16th!