2010 Year Ender...

Good morning for a hunt

My father and me

The Brother-In-Law

The 2010 duck season ended on a high note as my father, brother-in-law, and yours truly hit our limit and a bonus old squaw.  I messed up the HD upload so I wouldn't maximize the screen, on any account here's the video... On another note, my buddy Rabid scored a bobcat and called me during the hunt.  Here's the link to his page.  Click Here.

I'll drop the write-in later, have a great day...
The Downeast Duck Hunter

Game time!!!

Click here for the entire painting done in 2009, another one is in the works...

After a pleasant nor' easter,  persistent winds from the north over 20 knots, and chilling temperatures, it looks like game time begins Friday morning.  The trailer has been thoroughly inspected and will need repair this spring, but it will suffice for the short jaunts back and forth to the town landing.  As of right now, the boat is fueled, loaded, and ready for some action.

I hope to get some serious video footage and then get back into compiling another video.  We'll see how things roll.

The forecast for the next few days are as follows:

THIS AFTERNOON
W WINDS 10 TO 15 KT WITH GUSTS UP TO 20 KT.
SEAS 2 TO 3 FT.

TONIGHT
NW WINDS 10 TO 15 KT. SEAS AROUND 2 FT.

FRI
W WINDS 5 TO 10 KT. SEAS 1 TO 2 FT.

FRI NIGHT
W WINDS 10 TO 15 KT WITH GUSTS UP TO 20 KT. SEAS
2 TO 3 FT.

SAT
NW WINDS 10 TO 15 KT. SEAS 1 TO 2 FT.

With only one month left for this season, my days are numbered...

Until next time,
DEDH

ATV Plastic Restoration- a popular entry from the old site...

There are a couple of posts from my old site that continue to bring in visitors and I figured I'd merge them over time into the new blog.  This one dealt with giving my 2003 Yamaha Big Bear new life just by using a heat gun and buffing compound to return the color to the fenders.  Several months later and with proper storage, the finish remains the same.  Here's the entry...

ATV Plastic Restoration Project- Spring 2010

Before

After

Before

After

This has been a long time coming and I should have never let my ATV go like this, but time got past me as I got married, had a couple of kids, and gathered a few more jobs in my busy world. Some things like my 2003 Yamaha Big Bear 400 4X4 found minimal usage (500 miles in six years) and I never replaced the cover once it went bad. Nevertheless, I decided this winter that I would either repair the damage done by the sun and weather or buy a new fender kit for my quad...

After an abundance of research and no luck, I decided that maybe a heat gun could potentially restore the plastic to a more original form. I chose to hit up youtube.com to see if anyone had done this and found several videos of people using heat guns to bring out the finish on plastic ground effects. There was one that seemed plausible. Click here to see the video.

So I've started the process and see some success, but I want to mention that this will not be perfect but rather an improvement. Also, once the heat gun has been used for several minutes I've applied a buffing agent used for fiberglass boats. It has evened out the spots where the heat gun overlaps, but the compound beforehand did not yield better results...

I look forward to the complete restoration of this proven quad with only 700 miles. I've documented my progress below...

Take care

The Downeast Duck Hunter

Day Two Fail...

Looks like I got a lump of coal for my Christmas Eve hunt as I returned to the same locale.  Things were similar as I caught the early ebb tide in the afternoon, however the black ducks played a different game today.  I happened to notice them feeding towards the open water below the blind as I quietly tossed the decoys and found concealment.  With persistent calling and a continued effort to find food, the ducks meandered my way up the tidal estuary.

One duck in particular was paddling in full haste as the others held back.  Once it caught sight of the decoys, there was no hesitation where this duck was heading.  I did get surprised by one duck waddling on the grass from the far shore and another which decided to drop in.  Things were going exactly as they should.

I put the bead on the first duck which still was the best shot at that moment.  It was just outside the left decoy and the far bank provided a most excellent backdrop.  The shot was taken, feathers.  A second shot, feathers, and my last shot, nothing.  The ducks took to the air with the other ten or so down below.

My chance had gone as no more ducks would return before legal shooting ended.  With Christmas Day being the last day of puddle ducks, I fear it may be my last unless I can pull out some Christmas miracle.

The hunt was enjoyable in solace, time for reflection and consideration while in the field puts me usually in a better place.

On a side note, I discovered today that my axle for my EZ Loader trailer has a considerable fracture between the U-bolts.  I've got to figure out fast how to make things right for my sea duck hunting future hinges on this predicament.

Merry Christmas,
DEDH

Day One of Vacation Score!!!

With time running out on the puddle duck season of 2010, I chose to strike a salt marsh with an ebb tide in hopes of taking a black and a bonus mallard or two.

A solo hunt photo with my take...

In just about one hours time, I convinced one duck to swim around the bend with a barrage of responsive quacks.  As I put the call down and lined up the shot, the duck took a sudden turn.  I took the shot and then witnessed the rise of at least twenty more black ducks.  The impressive showcase went without fire as the black duck limit was met with the single bird.

To my surprise, the duck did not cooperate and it took several more shots to dispatch the tough animal.  Finally, I went into the woods and around the marsh to where the hen black duck chose to relent.

A beautiful hen black duck with my Xtrema2...

In a perfect world, the duck would have drifted along with the ebb tide and northern wind directly to my blind.  However, I am more than pleased to begin my vacation with one of the more difficult ducks to take. With hours not days left in the puddle duck second split, I hope the weather holds well and allows for some serious sea duck action.  I haven't nearly been out as much as I would like.  Stay tuned...

Take care and Merry Christmas,


                                                                                                    DEDH