New England Sea Duck Hunting. We contacted the Captain in July, checked our calendars and made the necessary travel arrangements, never dreaming it'd be an unseasonably warm 80 degrees in Mississippi while we were hunting near Cape Cod for eiders. The rain and unseasonable warm Massachusetts weather wasn't ideal for eiders, but all things considered it was probably better than blustery single-digit temps, gale force nor-easterly winds and ice-encased everything more common to the area in mid-January. At least for a couple duck hunters from the Deep South.
We quickly located Woods Restaurant, just up the road from Plymouth Rock, a quiet family restaurant where the locals go to eat seafood in a tourist town. My kind of restaurant, too. Lobsters, $11. Decided I'm not a real big fan of steamed clams (and didn't even try the "scrod", though later learned it was just fish).
Winds were about 15-20 mph out of the SSW when we left the dock the next morning. Salt water spray and a good chop on the water, but all was fine. It was when I lost sight of the lights on shore while the boat was on the bottom side of a 5 ft swell that I was reminded - fully - that we were hunting big water. Really big! Captain Perez knew his way across the dark water, and before too long we were in a relatively quiet protected area, clipping decoys on long lines that had first been anchored with heavy window weights. By shooting time we were situated off the the side of the spread, having clipped the boat's bow to the upwind decoy line; rocking along in the waves and watching trading sea ducks immediately. First thing you realize about eiders is this: you're looking for them right above the water, not up in the sky. All but a few of the thousands of birds we saw the entire weekend were just 5 or fewer feet above the water. The second thing you realize is that they're easy enough to hit but, built like tanks, difficult to kill. Keep shooting until they're dead. Determined to shoot only quality birds, we took turns on bright, white adult drakes and pairs of ducks, passing entirely on the decoying flocks comprised primarily of young birds. The first morning we each selected a nice, brick-red hen eider, maybe one of the most beautiful of hen ducks, from a pair. The second morning we stuck with drakes only.
I've always said I'd rather be lucky than good. After it became my turn to shoot, the first pair that came sailed into the decoys and a single shot dropped them both. Perez's chocolate lab, Bo, retrieved the hen first and was then quickly sent for the drake. As he was returning with the drake and about 5 feet from the boat , my partner jumped up pointed at the bird and excitedly yelled those two special words - it's banded!
Massachusetts doesn't allow hunting on Sundays, so after breakfast we drove to Rhode Island in the rain. Because we had to get the trophies and wet gear packed up and catch a mid-afternoon departure, we opted to shoot brant and maybe a few other waterfowl in a nearby bay. Always wanted to hunt Atlantic brant. About the size of mallard drake, they're beautiful little birds that make a living along the shorelines of the Atlantic coastline, feeding on kelp and sea lettuce. We pitched three dozen cork decoys into the black water and settled in against a remotely located, dilapidated pier for cover. As unlikely as it seemed, it worked like a charm. Atlantic brant come in low over the water, hugging the waves like sea ducks, making a distinctive purring sound. They decoy better than most waterfowl I've ever seen. A few black ducks got the better of us by flying from behind us and getting out of range before we knew they were there and a beautiful drake golden eye cruised right over the decoys when, as always happens, we weren't paying attention. A raft of about 1500 brant amassed a few hundred yards away as we were picking up blocks at about 0730.
More info: New England Sea Duck Hunting
Ramsey Russell, GetDucks.com
We quickly located Woods Restaurant, just up the road from Plymouth Rock, a quiet family restaurant where the locals go to eat seafood in a tourist town. My kind of restaurant, too. Lobsters, $11. Decided I'm not a real big fan of steamed clams (and didn't even try the "scrod", though later learned it was just fish).
I've always said I'd rather be lucky than good. After it became my turn to shoot, the first pair that came sailed into the decoys and a single shot dropped them both. Perez's chocolate lab, Bo, retrieved the hen first and was then quickly sent for the drake. As he was returning with the drake and about 5 feet from the boat , my partner jumped up pointed at the bird and excitedly yelled those two special words - it's banded!
Massachusetts doesn't allow hunting on Sundays, so after breakfast we drove to Rhode Island in the rain. Because we had to get the trophies and wet gear packed up and catch a mid-afternoon departure, we opted to shoot brant and maybe a few other waterfowl in a nearby bay. Always wanted to hunt Atlantic brant. About the size of mallard drake, they're beautiful little birds that make a living along the shorelines of the Atlantic coastline, feeding on kelp and sea lettuce. We pitched three dozen cork decoys into the black water and settled in against a remotely located, dilapidated pier for cover. As unlikely as it seemed, it worked like a charm. Atlantic brant come in low over the water, hugging the waves like sea ducks, making a distinctive purring sound. They decoy better than most waterfowl I've ever seen. A few black ducks got the better of us by flying from behind us and getting out of range before we knew they were there and a beautiful drake golden eye cruised right over the decoys when, as always happens, we weren't paying attention. A raft of about 1500 brant amassed a few hundred yards away as we were picking up blocks at about 0730.
More info: New England Sea Duck Hunting
Ramsey Russell, GetDucks.com
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