"So It Really is the Luck of the Draw - part 2 - by Rick Daughtry, photos by Jason Con"

The day started off early with text messages from my hunting party telling me they were going to have to cancel. That was at 0247, so the day wasn’t starting off much better than yesterday’s hunt ended. While having 2 less hunting meant we’d have to hide fewer hunters, it also meant we didn’t have a dog. I left mine at home with a limp. As we approached the main office, I saw exactly what I expected to see – half the crowd standing in line as yesterday. We got inside, signed in (3rd on list the list again), and we talked and joked about yesterdays circus. We only hope for a good draw this day, and you can bet that I was not gona be the one to pull the peg from the box . I told Jason it was his turn, and he just laughed saying, "ha ,gona put the pressure on me!". As luck would have it, he pulled a “5” and we managed to get my favorite hole on the entire place. It was a cold and still morning as we got our stuff together and loaded the sled . Once done, we stood there a minute or two and listened – not the first sound of ducks overhead. Hopefully they were not gone, or they would at least filter back in as the morning wore on. We put the sled in the water and set out. As we made the short walk, we jumped several groups of birds, which gave promise of a nice hunt. Shortly thereafter, we got set up, placing decoys on both sides of the willows, and settled in the trees with the sun to our backs. We had it all covered, great decoys with Magellan looking his best, live coots swimin round the dekes, white herons all round the outside of the trees - confidence at its best. The woodies bombed us early, killing one, and unfortunately, loosing one – wish we would have had a dog. A bit slower start than expected, but we had birds work us off and on throughout the morning. One of the coolest things to this morning was having two bald eagles fly right through our hole over Magellan. No photos as it happened too quick. Truth be known, we would have finished much earlier than we did, but the group one unit over lined their levee with hunters. Consequently shooting at everything in sight. Not to mention the guy riding around on his 4-wheeler on the unit levee shootin coots. He did get a ticket for the riding on the levee, thank goodness for cell service. We worked some great groups of mallards and greys, some finishing, some not. Jason and I finished the morning about 9 a.m. with 8 mallards, 2 grey ducks, 1 teal, and 1 wood duck. I told ya Magellan that i would make it up to ya. I was honored to have you in our spread, and hopefully you will be again someday.

Rick, Magellan and a limit of ducks

Jason, Magellan and a limit of ducks

Thanks to Rick and Jason for taking us on a successful hunt over Magellan.  Be sure to check back later today, as Jason's turkey recipe will be uploaded to the site!