Duck Hunting Forum banner

been a depressing year for me

2K views 7 replies 7 participants last post by  HaydenHunter 
#1 ·
Had a Baby just recently so I've been home helping out. I've been working too damn much this year. I've shot 6 ducks so far this year and no geese. Worst year ever for me. Got a Nice drainage ditch but the other day I found someone else is hunting it too and someone has the bright idea that driving the bank is a good idea. Went out there the other day and jumped not a single Bird. First time this year I didn't jump any. Lake Lowell sucked in early season, My private Pond was overgrown in weeds which was killer early season last year, still kicked off my spot in Emmett, My go too Buddy never invited me this year or was too drunk to ever go, not going to fight the idiots to crowd the Boise and not shoot a single bird, I don't have a boat.

Anyone wanna take a fellow duck hunter out? I hit a bump in the road and found out why a lot of guys fall away from the sport. Its killing me. :no:
 
#3 ·
haha I didn't mean to sound like a downer. I do a lot of scouting actually, I did have some luck this year and all the birds I've got this year were new spots. Your all right though. I guess what I'm most bummed about is I don't have a buddy who is as passionate about waterfowl as me. The reason I say its killing me is because I get jacked up only to find myself solo coming across the same old crap a waterfowle has to deal with.

'
 
#4 ·
Drakz...I hear you and can well understand what you are feeling. Since getting back into duck hunting last season for the first time in a number of years I had the pleasure of taking my wife until it got too cold (for her anyway) but since I did not have a ton of cash I bought a used 10' Mirrorcraft and 5HP outboard ($500) which pretty much limits me to only me in the boat (my wife weighs barely 105 lbs) and it's cruise speed with my lard-butt is slower than a jet boat's idle speed but it gets me there. I have camo painted it and I think it looks good and the biggest advantage is that now I can hunt pretty much anywhere. Now that the blinds in my stretch of the Snake have been well shot up (one blind has had over 70 shells shot out of it with only a handful of ducks taken in 3 recent Saturday hunts) I can stop anywhere on the bank and blend into the side. I limited this way yesterday (though it did take 3 hours to do it) it's only a matter of one or two ducks at a time and patience (which I have a lot of). Understand about your boat situation but as the others have said it may be a matter of finding the right spot and circumstance.

On the other issues, believe me when I say some of us also have our problems and I even though I'm 60 years old I would gladly trade a new baby and 6 ducks for the tax problems I'm working with right now. Also, enjoy that baby! My 4 children all grew up much too fast. Just to add a little perspective and objectivity and support for you.
 
#5 ·
Nice Thread..all of you guys..If you want to see depressed come to the Great Butte sink..Cali hunting is the worst this year too..dont know what the deal is, tired of paying good money for a rice blind and getting a sun tan.
Maybe we should get free "anti depressants" with purchase of a waterfowl stamp??

They are right, spend every minute you can with your babies..it matters now and later..
 
#6 ·
Drakz I have found over the years that there are only a handful of guys that are as passionate about waterfowl hunting as I am. That and it's hard to find a hunting buddy that has the same outlook or philosophy. Thats why I have mostly hunted alone until I had kids. I started taking my daughter and son out at least for scouting and watching as young as 3 1/2 years. Now they are 21 and 15 and I hunt with my son almost every time I go! He has grown up right, and at least as addicted as I am. So you really have your best days to look forward to. That being said, in the meantime I think there are some guys on here in Idaho that seem pretty cool you might be able to hunt with. Another thing I've noticed is guys with jetboats seem to have plenty of friends or guys that want to be their friends. Get a boat when you can swing it! Enjoy your family and the rest of the season!
 
#7 ·
Having a child is going to be a bit restrictive on your hunting for a very short period of time. That time you spend with your wife and child at this point in time is far more valuable than a few duck hunts ever thought of being. Being hard core in my book is being committed to your family to the point that when the children are old enough to tag along that they still want to spend time with you.

I had my oldest son on the trapline with me at 2 years old on our farm in Illinois.


He's 30 now and is still right by my side on every hunt.


I work with my youngest son in our family business and see him on a daily basis and I don't take that luxury for granted.



I've spent their lifetime building a relationship with them rather than focusing on just hunting and fishing. Instead I used hunting and fishing to build that relationship.

It's rare that I duck hunt more than one spot anymore, we don't have a boat and very little time during duck season to scout. I don't duck hunt much at all until after Christmas each season because we just don't have the time. I can't sit on the river bank for the first two months of season without hearing that nagging voice in my head, "when are my decoys going to be done", only to come home to multiple e-mails saying the same thing, so I just don't go until after Christmas. Making a living working with duck decoys does have it's drawbacks, but I wouldn't have it any other way, I love what I do. On rare occasions we don't have a good hunt, but usually that is due to having our honey hole shot out like it was this week. I wasn't terribly surprised, we shot a four man limit last week with another group of guys about a half mile down river that didn't shoot much at all. It's kind of hard to hide the spot when that happens. We hunt the same spot 90% of the time and shoot a 5 bird average per day per hunter, it's all about knowing how to decoy.

One thing I have learned over the years is hunting buddies will come and go, but family is the only thing you can count on, at least if you've raised your kids right and make sure your wife knows that she is more important than anything else in your world.

We don't have any down time in the decoy business as the orders from New Zealand are beginning to pour in already. I will make the time to bear hunt once I get all of my design work done for Tanglefree. I spend far more time bear hunting than duck hunting since we don't have so many time binds on orders in the spring. It's just something else I can do and spend time with my wife and son's and now their wives.

The point I'm trying to make is in the scheme of things, missing a few duck hunts for a year or two or not having the time to go is pretty short term for most. There is nothing, NOTHING more important than being there for your kids and wife right now and from now on. I've seen a lot of divorced duck hunters who have their kids a couple of days here and there, now that would be depressing.
 
#8 ·
Very good post, Don. I share the same sentiment. Parents have one chance to treat their children as if their kids are the most important thing in their lives...more important than hunting, golfing, bowling leagues, hanging out with buddies, etc.

My dad was a road warrior for work, gone Monday-Friday many weeks. But when the weekend came he spent time with my mother, brother and I instead of going off to do his own thing. I have repeated this with my kids. I turned out OK, as did my brother, as have my kids.

I used to get really mad in when, in the 80's, the concept of "quality time" was born. The idea behind quality time is not necessarily spending much time with one's kids, but that you could spend time doing something "really special" that would somehow make up for a lack of overall time spent. Pure BS. There is no "quality time"...there's just time. The more of it you devote to your kids the more you will stack the deck that they will grow up to be well-adjusted and self-confident.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top