Our stellar field crew has been working all spring, summer and early this fall to ready our fields for the season-to-come…which begins October 28 for white-fronted geese and November 18 for ducks. We have fields within the boundaries of our Home 900 acres as well as fields outside of these boundaries.
Randy (our General manager) and Mike (our Senior Guide) have worked during the spring and summer with our farmers with respect to planting and the early fall during the harvest. Once the harvest was complete, the fellows dove into prepping fields, selecting blind positions and contouring our hunting properties for the arrival of water. Speaking of water…while we do depend on mother nature, we will be pumping water onto our fields in the next week.
Our hunting fields were planted in corn, rice, milo and millet this year. These crops are the choice of puddle ducks we hunt to include mallards, pinnies, gaddies, widgeon and green-winged teal as well as scores of specklebelly geese. We hunt ducks over water and specks on our dry ag fields. Interestingly with regard to specks, we hunt them using full-body decoys and a handful or two of socks and silhouettes. We have found over time specks respond extremely well to full-body decoys. And, as many of you would attest, we call them the “ribeye of the sky.” Our guests tell us they eat incredibly well, even more so than snows, blues and Canadas.
By the way, if you’d like to hunt whitetail deer on our properties, we have been planting a handful of food plots with the likes of turnips (deer love turnips!) and have set stands at all. Call us if you’ like to visit on a deer hunt this season – we’d be pleased to host you. .
Enjoy the reminder of October, it is truly a beautiful time of year. Like us, we know you are getting excited for an incredible speck hunt and witnessing mallards and other puddle ducks cupping into decoys. We cannot wait to see those of you who join us for a hunt this season. It is truly an honor to serve you and do all we can to assist in memories made for you and your hunting party.
-Duck Diva