Sea Duck 2013 Round II

The second sea duck venture of this season proved far more lucrative as both the scoters and eiders were moving early.

Although the coots were still flying in small numbers, the eiders arrived in larger flocks with some groups numbering in the high 40's and 50's.  It became a bit difficult to monitor a surgical limit with the potential of secondary and tertiary incidentals. 

A total of 14 ducks were taken with a full limit of eiders, five scoters, and the first merganser of the season that apparently seemed lost.  On any account, another great day with my father was found and I now bear down on a visit to Central Maine for some puddle ducking action with my great pal Steve the Maine Outdoorsman.

Until then, have a great day.

The Downeast Duck Hunter

Sea Duck Opener 2013

4 eiders, 3 shots



5 shots, 4 drake eiders

 

 
With the new job, it's nice to be able to self prescribe some trigger therapy and let the steel fly. 

The 2013 duck season opened several days ago, but my opener had to wait.  As the boat received fast minimal preparation in a haste driven effort for overall readiness, I figured things were as well as they were going to get.  Time is at a premium and I let the dice roll in hopes that my half assed dedication would at least suffice for a quality sea duck venture.

After a few minor snags and a little extra transport time, my father and I were able to get the decoys into the Atlantic and start gunning for our annual sea duck opener.  This weekend proved quite successful and although we saw very few scoters, the eiders proved somewhat more satisfactory. 

I limited out on four eiders as a pair were dropped from two separate smaller groups whilst my father managed to outdo my great efforts with four eiders out of one group.  8 shots total with 4 taken on cripples equals twelve total shots and the limit was satisfied in less than an hour.

We opted to stick around and enjoy the scenery, sun, and a few more eiders buzzing our spread.  But the patch heads and butterbills simply weren't there, go figure.  But it was a great day nonetheless!


Have a great day,

The Downeast Duck Hunter