Wood duck - finally!

[fishing4sanity]

I've always wanted a wood duck and it just never happened, until today. Went out with my brother in the fog, if you could see the ducks they were already in range. We ended up with 4 ringed-necks, 9 green heads and 1 wood duck! The fog lifted just minutes before we finished and the wood duck went straight from the river to the taxidermist. It was a good day.

 

[Big Slick]

That is a great thing to mark off the to do list. It seems like the more you think about getting one the harder it is to find one, I am still waiting for a full bloom drake wigeon. I just can't seem to find one. Congratulations on a Great Wall hanger.

 

[genesis273]

Those are some beautiful ducks. Nothing like checking one off the list! Congratulations!

They're pretty common in NC, but when my daughter shot her first duck, which was a gorgeous drake wood duck, off to the taxi he went. They're beautiful mounts too!

BTW, nice mess of green heads too!

 

[skimerhorn]

Congratulations! That one has eluded me as well, hard to believe I got a drake canvasback before a wooduck.

 

[tarheel]

Nice day out. I'll trade you ten woodies for ten mallards. Maybe this cold will push some mallards down from the Chesapeake region.

 

[L. I. Yankee]

It's my favorite duck.....Congrats ....

 

[Festus]

Beautiful birds that make even more beautiful mounts!
Congrats!

 

[ERSS]

Looks like a great day, congrats on the Woody

 

[JEL]

Awesome. On my wish list as well.

 

[Nemont]

Congrats

 

[MT_elk]

Nice! They are beautiful ducks.

 

[fishing4sanity]

Wood ducks aren't especially rare around this general area, but in the particular areas we hunt, we just haven't got any until this year. This year my brother got three, one of my sons got one and now I have one as well, it was the first wood ducks for each of us. Everyone is happy - including the local taxidermist, who had been harassing me about my brother and son getting wood ducks the day before I shot mine. There are still a few ducks on the bucket list, but the woodie had been at the top of the list for a long long time.

 

[Dpatt403]

Awesome congrats!

 

[Big Sky]

Those wood ducks go make a beautiful mount. I have one mounted in my living room and it's one of my favorite mounts for sure. Just curious fishing4sanity, what other ducks are at the top of your bucket list?

 

[MNElkNut]

I shoot more woodies than anything else around here. Mallards of course and teal. But the best eating and my overall favorite are wood ducks. I have 3 pairs nesting within 60 yards of my house. I have a really nice one mounted and my dad has one for the ages mounted....it is unbelievable! Shot on our land too, which is always nice. All hail the wood duck!

 

[NoWiser]

The most beautiful and tastiest of the ducks! They easily make up 90% of my bag here in MN. I've shot so many that I have never gotten one mounted. On the other hand, if I shot a nice wigeon or pintail I'd be headed straight to the taxidermist's place.

 

[Spike43]

Sweet!

 

[Muzzprong]

My friends and I had always wanted one here in Idaho but never even seen one. Then one day we were hunting in a area on a small river that we had hunted our whole duck hunting careers and there were around 150 sitting in the river. Between three we each got our drake and a couple hens. Same deal they all went to the taxidermist.

 

[glass eye]

Congrats !

I grew up in NorCal shooting wood ducks ( 1st duck was a woody ) but since I've moved to the desert southwest they are very rare here.
One year I had a customer tell me that when his new puppy makes his first retrieve he was going to bring it to me to mount, regardless of what species or sex it was.
Opening day he brings me the pup's first.....a Woody Drake !.....it was also the hunter's first.