Is it slow out there or do I Svck?

[Keep Trying]

Jeeze Louise - Here I'm having an easy day so I thought I'd drop by to see if anyone is around, and {insert cricket noises}

Seriously, am I reading the dates wrong or have the postings stopped for a year? Ugh.

Well I got a new boat! Yeah baby - custom type, cross between my old tub and something a bit more modern with a whole 15 horses on the back. I'm rippin' I up out there. It's awesome, but it must be the ugliest thing on the water because I'm barely seeing any ducks!

I'm hunting the south shore marshes of long island and even the Brandt are behaving differently. First of all, there's less of them, and their patterns have totally changed from the last 5 years.

There were a few black duck around in the beginning of the season, but I guess they've all been shot?

Everyone shoots them poor Buffs...leave them little things alone.

If anyone is getting this transmission.....

Best wishes to All

KT

[Slack Tide]

What's up man.Good to hear that you are getting out and about. It's def been slow, usually people blame the weather but I'm not sure. Been seeing plenty of black duck, brant showed up but not in the massive numbers as usual. Not as many buffs but I've seen Old Squaw and Scoter in the bay that I've reeeeealllllly rarely seen before. What area are you hunting?

[ATbuckhunter]

I went out on the 26th and got there late so there were 2 ducks there already when I got there. I only loaded one shell before I got to the spot, so I only had one shot, but I was able to shoot a nice hybrid black duck that went to the taxi. After that I went to scout some new spots and found maybe 15 black ducks in the one spot so I backed out and went back on the 1st. I was all set up by 6:10 I believe and I was surrounded by black ducks. I saw easily 30 in the 1.5 hours I was there. I was limited out on black ducks by 6:50. The bulk came about 6 or 7 min before shooting time so I had to pass on all of them, but I still had plenty of action. This was my first time actually decoying ducks, so I was pretty excited to say the least.

[Keep Trying]

Slack, AT! good to see you guys..

Usual haunts, Slack, you recall where I roam. But the area is widening east and west thanks to my new boat and 15 horses.

Yesterday was better in the wind and dropping tide. I managed to limit out on Black and Brandt in the PM. Unfortunately, one of the blacks had rice breast. The dog is happy with the Brandt, so we both had some good grilling to do.

Buffs numbers are down as far as I can tell, no scaup in the area yet (that I've seen), limited flights of mallards outside the canals, Mergs aren't decoying, Brandt are getting more picky.... I'm thinking it's the food supply. I look at the bottom a lot and I just don't see the crustaceans or mollusks that I remember. Even the lettuce and weed beds are decreasing. It's a crying shame.

One thing I have seen a lot more of this year are baitfish. There are a TON of herring and other small baitfish in the GSB by me, and just yesterday I saw a falcon pick one out of the whitecapped waves! I could not believe my eyes. The water is so murky and churned up I can't see a quarter in my hand, but a hunter-killer like that can spot a fish. Amazing.

Weather could have something to do with it? How's the Ice up north? I spent a week in the Adirondacks with the family around Christmas and the ponds and lakes were only [I]starting[I] to freeze. Maybe we'll have a good January.

AT - Sounds like you found the honey hole! love having stuffed birds around the house. It helps get me psyched up for the season and they're just nice to look at for sure. Why the one shell? You challenging yourself or you just had no time?

I'm hoping for a pintail this year or one year soon to stuff. I got the decoys, I just need to find the birds!

Glad you guys responded, I was getting worried the community had vanished entirely.

I wish I could take the whole duck season off work. I don't need to kill ducks every day, but every day I'm on the water buzzing around and observing nature is an awesome day.

[Keep Trying]

AT - forgot to mention on the decoying. Totally different game than pass shooting, right? Did it take you a while to hold off the trigger until they come in for a landing? I lost so many birds by trying to shoot early. and when they turn around, I really svck. I can't kill a flying away bird if my life depended on it. Maybe I need to get to the trap box over the off season... but Keep Trying!!

[Slack Tide]

So what kind of boat?

[Keep Trying]

Oh boy...it’s an all fiberglass custom job I found a guy near us who was willing to take my design and make the mold. It’s sort of a cross between a South Bay and my old one but bigger, stronger and faster. 13’ wide body, high gunnels, plenty of volume and hides (I think) well. I’ll post some pics this weekend if I can remember how to do that.

[Slack Tide]

Oh boy...it’s an all fiberglass custom job I found a guy near us who was willing to take my design and make the mold. It’s sort of a cross between a South Bay and my old one but bigger, stronger and faster. 13’ wide body, high gunnels, plenty of volume and hides (I think) well. I’ll post some pics this weekend if I can remember how to do that.

Wow, really? Need to see that...

[Keep Trying]

Test....Let's see if I can make this work

[Keep Trying]

ok cool. let's do some more

Paint job and starting to grass

Ready to go

[Keep Trying]

I was this afternoon and I swear they new I was coming.

Friday afternoon I see where all the brandt are flying so that's where I go Saturday afternoon...
Saturday afternoon I show up, and they're flying on the North side! DOH!!!
One black duck graced me with a fly-over right out of the sun, just over my right shoulder. I just laughed.

I'm tired. Taking down Christmas and my daughter ice skating tomorrow instead..

[Slack Tide]

That's really cool. What did you model the deck off of? Is the bottom a standard South Bay bottom?
I'm intrigued.

[Keep Trying]

Thank you

The bottom is very close to a standard SB. The bow narrows and angles up bit earlier. Also the pontoons are a few inches longer and overall its wider astern. The top wasn't modeled off anything more than desire. I wanted to be dry and safe, so high gunnals (over my knee) and I don't know if you can see it but the cockpit is surrounded by a ring that keeps all water rolling over the top OUT of the boat. It takes following seas like a dream, I kneel down when into the chop and the splash goes right over my head, I can plow though the rough stuff and keep the bow up at half throttle without sinking the motor cowling.

The one thing I need to modify is the steerage. It's soooo hard to turn on plane. It's like a dog running on ice...everything is pointing into the turn, but the boat is going straight. It's got such a shallow draw that it slides all over the place. I want to add runners along the pontoons, maybe 1.5" ice rails from the rear end of the pontoons to midship. I figure it would be worth losing 1.5" in draw for the ability to avoid a pole marker, marsh head or another boat

Any other ideas or modifications are welcomed. I have a little budget left

[Slack Tide]

Is that a 9.9 you have on there? I'd def start by adding a 15hp for sure, maybe a little more balls might haul it around. Also, what about some tabs on the interior of the pontoon well to act as a skeg you could even glue them on with some 500 as an experiment.

[Keep Trying]

The motor is actually a 15HP Tohatsu EFI. I had to go down 2 prop sizes from stock 8 pitch to an 11.5 Mercury prop just to stop redlining. a little slow to get on plane with 2 people and wet grass, but without grass or gear I squeezed 25kts top end (with a light tail-wind)

Great idea on the mods, thanks very much.

[Slack Tide]

How about this?

[Keep Trying]

You're an artist!

Yeah, looks like that's simple enough and would work, Thanks!!

[Keep Trying]

FINALLY had a good day out there. I started in open water with a bit of whitecaps today with some scaup decoys and pulled in three Mergs and two Brandt on the flood tide, then moved south to calmer seas and had a nice meaty black duck come right into the rig. Ended a bit before sunset which was good or I might still be out there waiting for the tide. Man, that bay EMPTIED out today fast.

IT would be nice to have a few more days like that before it closes.