silver pigeon 3 Posted February 20, 2013 Report Share Posted February 20, 2013 Well done! I am regretting going with you so late in the season as I have to wait so long now to go again lol! Your return for the season is sobering in a way - I thought it was easy getting 2 mallard in a few hours for my first go at fowling. Must just be the experience of my guide...no doubt I have many blanks to come. Anthony Many blanks mate, but that makes the success more rewarding. My total bag was from 29 trips out, so for down here its a pretty good return. Lets hope next season is as good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
otherwayup Posted February 20, 2013 Report Share Posted February 20, 2013 I may have blanked my first season as a fully paid up wildfowler. My mate turned up just as the sun was setting and we both clipped birds that went down behind the wall. After a long walk around the delph, we only picked one and I recon it was his. They're harder to hit than Pheasants, that's for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penelope Posted February 21, 2013 Report Share Posted February 21, 2013 I may have blanked my first season as a fully paid up wildfowler. My mate turned up just as the sun was setting and we both clipped birds that went down behind the wall. After a long walk around the delph, we only picked one and I recon it was his. They're harder to hit than Pheasants, that's for sure. Otherway up, is that top picture 'Joyces'? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anser2 Posted February 21, 2013 Report Share Posted February 21, 2013 (edited) Well that’s it for yet another season. Its been a fair one for duck , but the worst goose season for 25 years. September started fairly quiet with a mallard on the 1st inland and a couple more later in the month on the coast. The wigeon were very late arriving and it was the third week in October before any real numbers turned up , but when they came there were thousands. I had a bumper flight on the coast in the fog one morning and several more double figure flights and then they were gone. I discovered a new flash on my inland marsh which produced plenty of mallard and a few wigeon. Then all went quiet apart from the first pink of the season in mid October. The only other foreshore pinks of the season came in November when I managed a triple out of a skein in almost pitch darkness. At last teal began to feature in the bag and I had a great morning flighting pinks inland on a grazing marsh in November ( getting 3 ) plus a week later a Canada and a few greys and then the rains came. One marsh I shoot was more like the open sea. Too much water spread the ducks all over the place and it became hard to get under them until December when a cold snap sent them back to the foreshore and again wigeon and mallard became a strong feature in the bag though there was a night on the floodwater inland with wigeon buzzing all around me when the only duck I shot were shoveller , 8 of them!The New year saw a second cold snap. A great morning again on my fresh marsh on the pinks with a mate and I getting 6 before quickly packing up to let the arrivals in to feed. There was a greylag or two inland , but as the ducks left again for the coast we followed them and had a few very good mornings on wigeon and teal. I spent a week chasing some white fronts on the foreshore without any success and then the final month of the season came around on the foreshore which produced 8 flights without a shot being fired.Overall its been a good mallard season , average for wigeon and teal , but no pintail and very poor for pinks. Only 6 1\2 months to go and we can start all over again. So how was it for you? Edited February 21, 2013 by anser2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
otherwayup Posted February 21, 2013 Report Share Posted February 21, 2013 Penelope - Yes, well spotted. I joined BWA this season after being taken out a couple of times as a guest. I think I should go back to being a guest, as I managed to get something both times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penelope Posted February 22, 2013 Report Share Posted February 22, 2013 (edited) Penelope - Yes, well spotted. I joined BWA this season after being taken out a couple of times as a guest. I think I should go back to being a guest, as I managed to get something both times. Dropped my membership this season just gone, as the dog is too old to cope with the coastal work now and I'm not in the position to have another. It's a great club with some good marshes. Edited February 22, 2013 by Penelope Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildfowler12 Posted February 26, 2013 Report Share Posted February 26, 2013 (edited) Here is my season's review… As usual September was busy, with me completing 8 trips to various places in pursuit of duck. I think this is purely over excitement having waited 6 months to get back on the marsh! Following that I managed to get out 2 or 3 times each month and had a pretty good season with regards to bag numbers. The cold snaps in Dec and Jan produced the best shooting, and on a couple of flights I shot my personal limit. As has been said by others with so much water around, the duck where all over the place, so it took a bit of homework to find them. It paid off however, and my total for the season was 40 duck (14 Teal, 12 Wigeon, 11 Mallard, 3 Gadwall). This was over 20 trips (11 on the foreshore, and 9 at various pieces inland) averaging a brace of duck per visit. (I had 4 blank flights in total) For some unknown reason I had absolutely no desire to chase the geese on my marsh this year. On several occasions I had large skeins fly low overhead, and I left them to it (I know how hard a long walk is with 2 on your back). I did however get the guests that I took out under them, each taking a brace of Canada’s. All in all it’s been a great season, and anyone that’s shot with me in the past, will be pleased to know that my dog seems to have finally stopped singing, he gets more excited than I do!! Bring on Sep 1st Edited February 26, 2013 by Wildfowler12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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