It’s my favorite time of the year – time to go duck hunting.
I took my buddy Brannon, my son Fischer and my nephew Hunter to North Dakota. We hooked up my Xpress 20DDP and Yamaha 115SHO duck boat and headed to hunt ducks and geese on Devil’s Lake. We wanted to try out what many people say is one of the best bird-hunting areas in the country.
I love to do these kinds of “DIY” hunts. I really enjoy getting to the grounds and scouting the lake as a pre-hunt, kind of like pre-practicing for one of our Bassmaster Elite Series events. I get there and drive around the lake in my Xpress looking at my Humminbird Lakemaster Chip to navigate the waterway and see where the birds might congregate to set up in the prime hunting grounds.
Scouting for hunting birds is a lot like practicing for a bass tournament. I look for nearby agricultural fields that will draw birds, or where there may be an abundance of aquatic vegetation that will draw them in too. I ask myself what types of areas seem to have the most habitat, bays, outside flats or even backwater sloughs – all of those things play into “patterning” waterfowl.
As far as the types of birds to hunt, there are so many different species of waterfowl at Devil’s Lake that it becomes a pick-your-poison type of deal. We shot mallards, pintail, widgeons, gadwalls, green wing teal, red heads, canvas back, bluebills and buffleheads. And I experienced my son and nephew enjoy hunting in a whole new way.
We saw one of the coolest things I’ve seen while hunting in a long time. I was sitting on the rise overlooking the water and saw the single largest raft of mallard ducks on the water that I’ve ever seen. I watched them sit there for a few minutes and then called the boys and my friend over. We sat there watching those birds frolic and feed for such a long time. To see the amazement and wonder on their faces as they watched that group of birds was an almost spiritual experience as I saw those boys find so much joy in that experience as I always have.
I love hunting birds, but I find so much happiness in watching others succeed that it seems I only take shots after everyone else gets theirs. To see my children, my family and my friends experience what my dad taught me is something that I will forever be grateful for.
I will also be forever grateful for all of the companies I’ve worked with over the years — and to those partners who have stood by me for so long, thank you. To those companies who are the crossover brands that help me share the love of hunting to go along with my fishing, thank you. To Xpress Boats, Yamaha Outboards, Mossy Oak, Drake Waterfowl and BOSS Shotshells, you help me directly share my love of the Outdoors completely, and I thank you.
