As duck season draws to a close (for everyone 18 years old and over) many hunters are left with conflicting feelings about the success of the season. No matter how successful your season may have been, keep in mind the memories made, because the amount of ducks shot will not be remembered in 60 years. I know that I made some unforgettable memories and I hope you all did as well. Below are my thoughts on the 2016-17 duck season.

Duck season overall:

Overall this season was one of the best I have ever experienced. I spent many hours in the blind this year but they proved to be worth it. This year, I killed over double the amount from last year. This was not just because I took more hunting trips, but there seemed to be a larger presence of ducks around. In North Carolina there were a lot of teal and woodies around during the early season and they stuck around in good number until November. November brought large numbers of big ducks and continued numbers of teal remaining. December saw a great amount of diverse and big ducks across the state.  Everything had gone so smoothly until January when I hit a lull in my season. I wasn’t able to hunt as much and when I did, I didn’t see as many birds as I had in the past. The ducks were not flying like they were in December. My theory is that the snow and ice storm hit forcing the birds to fly south of NC. When it became increasingly warm outside, the ducks we did have went back north, and the northern last minute migrators never flew down because of the warm weather. Not to say there were not ducks to be killed, because there were plenty of residents and some migratory ducks, however I was astonished that January turned out to be the slowest month. Usually January is the most productive time to duck hunt, but not this year. I was so eager for the late season to come because the midseason was phenomenal, thinking that the ducks would continue to stack up in NC, but they didn’t. The goose hunting this year was very good because it was a combination of local and migratory geese. The swan hunting was spotty. I saw swan at the coast all December long but they did not show up inland until the last week and a half of the season. I managed to kill one swan the weekend before the season went out, and I am extremely happy I was able to fill my permit for the first time. If you are a minor and accompanied by an adult the season is not over for you just yet. This year the NCRC changed the age to be eligible to youth hunt from 16 and below to 18 and below.. Youth days generally are awesome because of late migrators, typically cold weather, and ducks with a week’s worth of rest. Hopefully there will be good numbers across the state so that youth may all have successful hunts.

Every hunter asks what he or she could have done better, and this is one of the best ways to improve as a hunter. Figuring out those tiny details could be the difference between leaving with one bird or a tote full. Overall, I had an awesome year of duck hunting but  there are definitely a few things I would change. I need to work on my calling heavily during the offseason, especially my mallard which could have been a game changer this year. I would also like to practice shooting in hunting situations to improve my shots fired to birds killed ratio. Finally, I would like to work with my dog more frequently. She had a great season but more time working with her will equate to losing even less birds.

Tip for Youth Day

This very last part of the season is tricky but often rewarding. There are a lot of ducks around but you have to get them into shooting range to kill them. My thought process is that your decoy spread matters very little and your concealment is the key. Scale back your spread and do set out decoys, but all of that is not a big deal this time of year. It is more crucial that you brush blinds extremely well, cover your hands and face, and stay ever so still. These ducks have been shot at for 3 months and recognize blinds and human faces. The key to getting them in range is crossing your T’s and dotting your I’s when it comes to concealment. Staying still and being camouflaged will make all the difference in the world.