Opening Day 2018 at Lake Vancouver
Opening day of duck season 2018 here is SW Washington did not look promising. The weather forecast was sunny with light wind and highs up…
Hunting Log
An Opening Day 2017 Hunt at McNary in Washington
Sunrise from Blind 6 at McNary National Wildlife Refuge. Opening Day for the 2017-2018 season yields a ton of fun, plenty of ducks, and our first McNary geese. Location: McNary Wildlife Refuge, Fee Hunt Unit, Blind 6 Conditions: Partly cloudy, low 40s in the morning, high 50s by midday, 8-10 mph wind from the south Birds [...]
Late January Hunt in Blind 9 at McNary
McNary offers up Another good mixed bag of ducks with some mallards a specklebelly goose and a bunch of divers. Location: McNary Wildlife Refuge, Fee Hunt Unit, Blind 9 Conditions: Showers early then partly cloudy, cold, shifting winds from South, West, and North Birds Taken: 16 for 3 hunters (3 mallard drakes; 1 mallard hens; 1 green wing teal; 1 specklebelly goose; [...]
Success and Challenges at McNary
Divers rule the day as McNary serves up lessons in identification and reminds us that we're not as good as we think we are. Location: McNary Wildlife Refuge, Fee Hunt Unit, Blind 6 Conditions: Partly cloudy, cold, breezy from the south Birds Taken: 14 for 2 hunters (1 mallard drake; 1 mallard hen; 1 American wigeon drake; 1 pintail hen; 6 ringnecks; 4 [...]
Ducks in a Downpour
Scott digs through his bag in Blind 16 as Phil retrieves a duck in a downpour. Occasionally I'll lurk on duck hunting message boards to pick up tidbits and to make sure I'm up to date on what people are discussing. One of the questions I've often seen people ask is whether duck hunting is [...]
Having a Good Plan Pays off at Ridgefield
My wife reminds me all the time that she likes to go about her days with a plan, mostly around what we’re going to do…
Goose Opener at Ridgefield: What Kind of Goose is That?
The last time we hunted Blind 1, during non-goose season, geese flew over us constantly. A week later we came back to the same blind and continued our lessons in goose identification. Location: Ridgefield Wildlife Refuge, Blind 1 Conditions: Cool, cloudy, between rain bands Birds Taken: 9 for 3 hunters (6 northern shovelers, 1 hooded merganser, 2 geese (cackler and [...]
Early November Saturday Hunt at Ridgefield Blind 1
If goose season had been open we'd probably have limited, but instead we got only a couple of opportunities at ducks on a day bringing lots of rain. Location: Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge, Blind 1 Conditions: Cloudy and cool in the morning; rain midday Birds Taken: 0 for 2 hunters (only two good opportunities) Since the blind reservation system for [...]
Early November Standby Hunt at Ridgefield
Bad luck and a slow day for ducks on the refuge provides some good wildlife viewing. Location: Ridgefield NWR, Blind 6 Conditions: 39 degrees and light fog in the morning, warmer and partly cloudy in afternoon with breeze of 5-10 mph Birds Taken: 0 Typical of a mid-week hunt, work schedules get in the way of hunting. Roman was unable [...]
Late October Duck Hunt at Ridgefield NWR
Sometimes the biggest challenge in duck hunting is getting into a location where the ducks want to be. This Ridgefield hunt provided a perfect example. Date: Thursday, Oct. 29, 2015 Location: Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge, Fee Hunt Unit, Blind 18 Conditions: Mostly cloudy, cool, calm Birds Taken: 2 for 2 hunters (1 mallard hen, 1 ring neck hen) It was nearly noon on this late [...]