Skylar McAnelly

Mrs. Rodgers

English 1A

08 Oct. 2012

WATER FOWLING

           Water fowling is one of Americas greatest sports, some would even call it a lifestyle. The hours spent preparing for the hunt and the relationships built sitting in the marsh, blinds and boats with friends and family are memories that last a lifetime. Even with the harsh cold wind blowing in your face and the rain pouring down chilling you to the bone just seeing ducks working your decoy spread and coming to your calls make it all worth it. Water fowling is just one of those things that gets into your blood and makes you wanting to come back for more.

            Water fowling isn't one of those sports or hobbies that someone can just pick up in a matter of hours or days, it’s a constant challenge and is ever changing with the way the land is farmed and shaped, weather throughout the year and lastly and the most difficult thing to predict the movement of the ducks and geese as they migrate from the northern feeding grounds to the southern breeding grounds. I've been living this lifestyle since I was five years old  and even now at twenty three I learn new tricks and ways to hunt these elusive birds in the flooded fields and back waters of California every day  I hunt.  With the challenge comes a great deal of accomplishment when everything comes together and the heavens open up to the sight of flocks of mallards and pintail cupping up and floating down into your decoy setup and working your calls moving right into the perfect shot opportunity then it's all up to the shooter to  not to screw up and finish the job.

          Water fowling is also a complete group effort, that being said it is possible to do everything by yourself but extremely difficult. There is few things better than spending the day before you hunt with your best friends or family members riding in trucks and scouting for the mornings hunt. The talks about life and how to fix all the problems in it are going to be answered in a nice calm environment, as everyone is looking out across the tree lines and  open water for the tell tale sign of black V's and floating flocks of birds heading back from feeding to their roosting spots for the night. As soon as the sun sets and darkness rolls in everyone heads back to the house to relax and prepare for the three in the morning wakeup call and  all the loading and unloading of gear and decoys that will take place. Of course instead of sleeping and resting it has been my experience that everyone is too excited and decides to stay up late chit chatting and throwing a few back enjoying each others company until no one can help but catch a few hours of a nap before that alarm go offs. As soon as the annoying buzzing sounds screams through the house you can hear every ones groans and moans as the coffee machine winds up and breakfast is made, then all the bullshitting and cracking of jokes takes place as everyone loads into trucks to head to the blinds. From the moment that first duck hits the water through the morning air its nothing but high fives and cheers as the occupants of the blind know it was a productive day something seemed to work out of their combined efforts.

        Some would say the worst part of duck and goose hunting comes in the time after the hunt when the real work of picking up decoys, packing up all of the gear and trash begins. It sometimes seems kind of pointless of putting in so much effort for a few hours of fun but in all reality when you look back at the ridiculous shots that you actually pulled off and the straps full of ducks and geese sitting in the bed of the truck it all becomes, at that instant, worth every bit of sweat and soreness it took to pull off a successful hunt. Now when it comes time to pick and clean all the birds I not going to lie it's a tedious and long process but when you taste the first bite of a prepared duck coming fresh off the grill no one I know seems to mind all the blood and feathers and hours of picking and clean up.

          For me duck season just isn't the months of October through January, it starts the day after the season begins all the way to the end of the very next season. All the decoys and Mojo ducks  have to be repainted and repaired, stored in a safe place stacked nicely to keep then in good shape for the upcoming season because any good duck hunter knows that to bring more ducks to you and pull more away from other hunters setups your gear has to look better. Also cleaning and fixing all of the other gear I.E. waders, jackets, boots, bags, guns, and boats is a long process because when you abuse all your stuff for a hundred days straight of some of the worst weather things  begin to fall apart no matter how awesome it was when you first bought it. I cannot hammer this enough to most people but everyone knows practice makes perfect and when it comes to the art of calling ducks and geese you must practice! No one wants to go out and try a difficult challenge just to fail because of lack of practice. There is so many different calls to learn and know some ducks quack some whistle and in a select few cases some may even squeal and when one knows and masters the art of blowing all the calls ducks come in and they come in hard and fast it is just satisfying to know that you made the duck come within twenty yards of you from two hundred yards out just by the way you spoke to them.

       As you can see water fowling is challenging but all  things that are worth your effort and time usually are challenging. Duck hunting is one of those things where if you try it once you'll know if you love it or hate it and if you’re a person who loves a good challenge and accomplishing something that most others refuse to do or try then water fowling is the sport for you and most will find the rewards of either the duck themselves, the friendships, or even the challenge itself  is well worth all the effort and time.