A SuperFox Gets the Game!

[Sporrns]

Thought I would share some pics from the past week's duck hunting on Chesapeake Bay's Eastern Shore just south of Rock Hall, MD. Monday was calm but overcast and not too much moved; Tuesday was balmy with highs in the 50s but late Tuesday night the wind hauled northwest and the temperature dropped below freezing. When we got up Wednesday morning at 5AM the wind was at 18-25 knots and the wind chill was down around 20 degrees!

We rigged a water blind on our farm at Church Creek that had the wind about perfect; blowing from behind us over our left shoulder. We put out 3 longline rigs of Canvasbacks and a dozen Mallard and Bluebill decoys each. Luckily we didn't have any issues with ice until Saturday. The first pic shows one of our beautiful sunrises looking due east. The second pic shows part of our bag with me shooting the 32" HE 3" mag (the rest of the young tyros shoot gas guns!).

The third pic shows our decoy rig with rime ice starting to form. Fourth shot shows us picking up Canvasback longline rigs and "sprinkler" decoys (individually rigged decoys with their own anchors) placed to 'round out" the rig.

The last shot I included to give a whole new meaning to the term, "Bull Can" - look at the size of this drake laid alongside my old Browning A-5!!
Happy New Year!!! Kevin

[DarylC]

Wow Kevin, that really is a bull can! Nice going and nice pics. We hunted off the Corsica 2 days and only could entice geese within range. Ducks just are not cooperating.

[Jeff S]

Clearly you guys are serious duck hunters, and those are beautiful pictures. Thanks for sharing them. Jeff

[Stan Hillis]

Supergreat photos, Kevin. What a bull can!

SRH

[Jim Cloninger]

Kevin, Your decoy spread looks great. How many decoys on each long-line? I really envy you being able to shoot Cans. We do not have many Cans where I hunt in the Sacramento valley. About 5 years ago, I would have had a very good shot at a Bull Can, but my partner yelled out "Canvasback", so I thought the season was closed on Cans and did not shoot. Turns out, the season was open with a limit of one. What's the limit on Cans in the Chesapeak Bay area?
Jim

[Researcher]

Great report Kevin. Glad you got into the ducks. I never shot any ducks but Mallards and Teal on our lease at Bucktown, MD. My best opportunities on Canvasbacks were in the early 1970s on the marsh at Oceanside, CA, but they were always closed. From my morning news here it sounds like you will be using the snow blower today.

[Sporrns]

Thanks Guys! It was indeed a bountiful week after a relatively slow and unexciting start to the second half in early December. The combination of plummeting temps, wind, and lots of ducks being forced out of the northeast did the trick. Have not seen Cans in those numbers and days flying since our epic shoot at the old Club Winodee on Skipton Creek near Wye Island in the early 1980s.

Cans had been closed for several years prior to that, but the MD DNR decided to hold a one-week only experimental season to gather data on Can recruitment and harvest. You needed to apply and get a permit for the week's shoot, but it was free and the DNR asked that all hunters report exact numbers killed to the extent possible. The limit on Cans for this experimental season was 5 per person per day, only one of which could be a hen. I hammered on the guys in the club to get the free permits and try not to shoot hens if at all possible. Once again, wind, ice and bitter cold made for a challenging week, what with having to rig, move decoys and fend off big sheets of thick ice moving with the tides off the Bay all week. All our efforts were well worth it - when I sent a summary into Larry Hindman, the MD DNR Waterfowl Program Manager the following week, we recorded 79 Cans total with only 5 hens killed!

Jim, I rig an even dozen decoys per longline, then use singles with their own weights as "sprinklers" to border the outer lines and help thicken up the head of the rig, to which most divers prefer to toll into when landing. The current limit on Cans in MD is 2 per person per day, surprisingly enough either drake or hen, included in the 6-duck aggregate total bag.

Stan & Daryl, that drake Can is a real bruiser! You'll see him again when the taxidermy man gets done with him! And yes Jeff - we are hardcore gunners - I remarked to one of our young tyros in the blind Saturday morning that 2019 marks my 40th year as dedicated waterfowl hunter. I hunted them a few times before that, but 1979 marked the year I got my first black Lab, 'Spoony', a good boat and motor, and began to freelance. Many wonderful memories since then!

Dave, how many times did I tell guys, "Meet at the Bucktown Store at 4:30 AM and we'll launch at Bestpitch by 5" - Fishing Bay days!! And BTW - you're right - I had my combat model snow blower, "Mothra", fired up at O8:00 this morning. Luckily I got the long pipestem drive and our house driveway done just before she blew an auger drive belt! Ordered that and a new ground drive belt right afterwards - seems we have another storm coming this weekend!! Kevin

[Stan Hillis]

That's a long barreled pumpgun in that great pic, Kevin. Is it an 870 with a 32" barrel?

SRH

[Sporrns]

No Stan, its a 30" 870 3" Mag.

[Stan Hillis]

Mercy, it looks longer than that in the pic. Maybe it's distorted.

Thanks Kevin, SRH

[Sporrns]

Mercy, it looks longer than that in the pic. Maybe it's distorted.

Thanks Kevin, SRH

Stan I think when I resized the picture to post I chose the wrong horizontal to vertical pixel ratio. It does look a little weird even for a long-barreled pumpgun.

[Fin2Feather]

Stan I think when I resized the picture to post I chose the wrong horizontal to vertical pixel ratio. It does look a little weird even for a long-barreled pumpgun.

I think that's right judging from those long skinny ducks, but it's a great idea for making the hunter look like he's shed a few pounds ! Great pics...