The general opener is Saturday!

How many of you planning on being in the woods? Are you going to be on the East or Westside?

We are harvesting cranberries, but plan on doing some duck hunting first thing in the AM.

I'll be on the West side obviously watching the sky over the bay. Widgeon, teal and geese will be my quarry, pintails will get mixed in too. It is hard to tell the drakes this time of year. Hopefully we get a few fowls before we have to fire up the pickers.

Here is some pictures from prior opening days.

Out hunting deer with the boys. I'll be the guide.

Eastside. Ducks and upland.

RR- let me know if you are up for some hunting this fall. i think i'll be on the westside more this year if you'd like to get out for some waterfowl.

South Dakota opener this weekend, Pomeroy and Walla Walla for WA Eastside opener next weekend, reports sound good from both places

Yah, for sure. Let me know about a week in advance and I can usually make any day work.

Cool pics NOFISH, good luck on your openers.

LIttle Naches for deer this weekend and next. Likely just me and my 9 year old son. Going up the Wednesday after for 12 days of elk season.

Deer hunting those red dot logging roads on my mountain bike.

Way East for the kids Deer. The Daughter really wants a Buck this year so we will go the next 2 weekends if needed. Just hope it isnt the last year for her. She is starting to change into a wo wom hell I cant even type it.....
Getting old sucks but watching your hardcore little fishing and hunting buddy
hit that time in her life that she gives a crap about what boys think about her really really sucks and I know I wont be able to keep up with the boy after the next year or two. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

I'm heading East tomorrow for some quail hunting and then duck / geese this weekend.

Good Luck and stay safe everyone!

Cheers!
SD

Scouted our duck hole from 2 weeks ago, and they were plugged in there. Huge flights of birds in the area at high tide.

Yesterday, they were gone.

The ducks we hunt on the opener are widgeon, teal and pintails that come to our area to feed on a certain type of grass. I don't know if they ate it all, or migrated out. It could be that there wasn't much of it because of the crappy summer.

Oh well. I guess I will lower my expectations to a couple of local mallards and maybe a goose for this year.

Well it wasn't as bad as it could have been. The early morning birds were what I thought they would be (pintails, teal and geese). We started picking cranberries before the widgeon flights started. No worries for me because I don't like the way widgeon taste, so I don't shoot them anyways.

Right after the starting bell, I called 4 lesser canadas right into the blocks, only 3 left. That was a great start, I have them in the fridge for tomorrow's bbq! We got pintalis and teal too.

Went to Johns River, hoping for some ducks. For the third year in a row, the quackers didn't show. But, there were geese. Got a double on the first flight over; one with each barrel. Later on picked up a third. They were Cacklers. A flock or two of white-fronts traded around some. Didn't see any big Canadas. Perhaps i should spend some time learning to call geese and pick up a few dekes.

After my 6 year lab (Sauk) had ACL surgrey in July I was not sure that she would be able to hunt all let alone the opener (she needed 3 months of recovery and rehab - basically on a leash or in the crate for the full three months). She got of the leash just 6 days before the opener. The vet said she should be able to return to full activity and after a couple short hunts mid-week at a local release site decided to take her along Saturday.

My son and I have hunter the duck opener nearly every year since the early 1980s and always have a good hunts and once in awhile actually kill a bird or two. As with the last few years hit the bay in our little boats for a morning hunt on the incoming tide. Great morning with a some birds flying in the sun (love all the colors of decoying birds in bright sun). Sauk did great retrieving two limits of birds and seemed to disappointed that the "game" had to end. Can't tell you how good it was to she her returning after a good retrieve with her tagging wagging and that smile on her face. She was tired and a sore last night (out of shape?) but seemed her normal self this AM.

The 2010 season is off with a bang and it looks like my 4 legged partner if good to go though needs work in building up her overall condition. Suspect it will be a couple more weeks until she is ready for hunts of more than a couple hours. We'll be working on her stamina the next couple weeks chasing upland birds and hope to have back to full hunting shape by November.

Tight lines
Curt

Sounds like you had a great time Smalma. We probably could have gotten near-limits if we stayed for the widgeon. I do that if we have new hunters along, and don't have to pick cranberries.

Here is my middle daughter hold the three little geese.