Slow Start, but High Hopes

Off to a relatively slow start so far this year.  As usual, seems as if Mother Nature just doesn't want to cooperate.  The ducks are in the area, but with temps in the 50's, 60's, and even 70's for the majority of the season they just don't have a reason to move much.  We had a good migration last Sunday night when a big cold front pushed through, and the hunting was good that morning in the rain and the following Monday morning, but other than that things have been relatively stale.  Just waiting on another big cold push to stir things up, but as of right now the forecast doesn't look too promising.

Between planting corn, and the dirt work we did last year, the wetlands are looking better than they ever have.  I still have high hopes for the season if the temperature ever drops.........

(click on an image below and use arrow keys to view full size pics)

     

2012 Duck Numbers

Setting the Table

My dad and our newly adopted partners have been hard at work the past couple of weeks getting things all set for the upcoming season, while I've been stranded at home studying for the P.E. exam.  I've been living through their reports and pictures in the meantime.  Opening has been mowed in front of our blind in the corn field, holes and open strips mowed in our moist-soil unit, levees and roads mowed, downed timber from our TSI project has been piled up just awaiting for a match to be thrown on it, other two timber holes mowed enough to float decoys, and.......the pump fired up!  Now other than hauling down decoys and covering blinds, just need to wait for the fields to fill (over 50% done already) and our feathered friends to show up.  Hopefully the weather conditions will cooperate this year and make this a season for the books!

(click on an image then use arrow keys to view the full size pics)

Trail Cam Timelapses & Videos from 2011

Being that I've yet to make it 20' up a tree with bow in hand this year, I've been trying to fulfill my deer fix by looking through some of last years' pictures.  Just put together a few timelapse videos of cameras that were out on trails last year.

A few trail timelapses from my Reconyx workhorses...

Here's a select few videos I got off of a scrape camera...this set took more videos than I have time to look through!

And here's a cool video over another scrape with a couple dinks feeling each other out and then a nice buck I was after last year that had a body the size of a horse when he was all rutted out. Be sure to have your volume up for this video. The last bit of it is a sequence in the predawn hours during the rut where the deer were in a frenzy....must have been a doe in heat somewhere nearby. Not a lot of action directly in front of the camera that you can see, but you can hear it all....grunting, fighting, and snorting. The kicker to this video is that Jason was in a stand less than 50 yds away from this camera just an hour or two after this all went down.