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Wildfowling Season 2014 - 2015


Wildfowler325
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No No No Harry, you've got it all wrong. He has worn out those teeth when he was wolf whistling whilst watch the "parade" when he was on holiday!

 

There wouldnt have been much whistle in him if he had been down Andersons, last time I went, coming back I thought someone had put sand in my hip joints :lol::lol:

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Anser2", excellent description of wildfowling on the North Norfolk salt marshes. Rewarding no matter what the bag, although it's nice to get one now and then.

 

I was out on Monday, morning flight, had the marsh to myself again,I 've been 4 times so far and on 3 of those occasions there's been no one else out shooting.

 

There are still a lot of Mallard about, but with no wind, AGAIN, they were high, AGAIN.

 

However, this time I had a devious plan, 6 Mallard Decoys, the first time I've used them this year. I've got 14 Mallard decoys, but I never take more than 6, anyone got an idea as to why I bought the other 8 then, because I haven't?

 

One pair came into them and I got them both, took 3 shots mind and they were hovering over the creek.....feet down..... I got over-excited, sigh.

 

My dog picked one up, ran with it to the other, dropped it and then stood there looking at them. It must have been in shock at there being 2 birds down at any one time to my gun.

 

Thankfully they were both dead, because, despite being brilliantly trained by my good self, (yeah, right), it was a while before he would move. Has anyone noticed that using bad language on a recalcitrant canine is of no use whatsoever? This is the same dog, by the way, who is baffled by a duck that goes underwater to escape. Totally surprised, every-time.

 

Every other Mallard, lots as I said, ignored the decoys, you can't make them go where they don't want to go I guess.

 

Also got my first Widgeon of the year, nothing to do with the decoys, I just happened to be between where he started and where he wanted to finish up. His journey didn't work out quite as he had envisaged.

 

Still haven't seen or heard a pink.

 

That gave me a laugh anyhow, think how boring things might be with one of these perfect dogs you often hear of yet rarely see in action on the marsh :lol:

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last trip the marsh we did, we walked down and as we droped our bags ready to set up the dog (same one who ran away on another marsh a couple of hours earlier) wandered over with a duck that someone had shot and obviously not found... sadly it wasnt a fresh one or we would have brought it home :)

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im envious of you guys, we decided to have a couple of weeeks of for ther weather to change but i broke my coccyx last weekend while out lamping charlie so not sure how long before i can sit on the marsh all day... might have to look for a rubber ring :)

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Headed out this evening for a flight as the wind had picked up to a good stiff breeze. Got down to the splash about 1 hour before darkness fell and waited to see what came in. It was almost completly dark before they decided to show up, but got my self a left and right mallard before it became too dark to shoot!

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Dog not paying attention to the camera!

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Edited by Wildfowler325
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Had my first morning of the season out on the club marsh this morning, picked my shooting friend up at 4-15am, then a five minute drive to the marsh, first thing we noticed was (regular fowlers will know what I mean) how dark it was one of those mornings with not a patch of cloud to reflect the ground lights. so sat in the car for 20 minutes waiting, then off we set, its a 35 minute walk to our chosen spot for the morning. Arrived at the spot just as it was shootable light, 3 mallard passed 80yrds wide before I had unpacked, saw a few duck mallard, teal, widgeon and we managed to come off with a widgeon each so happy for first outing of the new season.

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We had a litter pick morning on the Blyth yesterday morning.

Saw no ducks of any shape, colour or description but a skein of about 30 pinks flew over.

Very high and heading south.

First I have seen this year.

Still haven't seen any Pinks yet, but it don't mean there not hear yet as one or two people have seen a few and now its turning a bit cooler I would expect to see some any day now, what I did see Saturday morning on a stubble field near one of the broads was a flock of Greylags numbering around 350 feeding within 50yds of the road and if there is that many on the other broads there are a lot of them about.

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I went out for the first time the other day. We were in fields rather than the foreshore after some geese which fly a particular line.


The morning was a slate gray mixture of fog and rolling sea-fret drizzle. Sat in a ditch at 5am I was struck by the way the day comes calling. The colours don't arrive at once, but each gently starts to claw their way through the night. I think the deep green of a few blades of grass came through first, then the golden glow of stubbles still not cultivated in. This is what the geese were after. The way the sounds of night blend into day was amazing as well. Gentle velvet at night turning to louder brightness by day.


I didn't do more than bag about 15 mosquitoes at first, but then the sound of geese! I and my shooting partner sprang quietly from our chairs, dropping ear defenders into place. He took up some slightly amateurish attempts at honking on his shiny new goose call. But alas, they drifted through dawn out of sight and shot. I suggested he avoid attempting a full time career as a goose impersonator. We went back to sitting and I contemplated some reeds for a while. At least it wasn't cold.


Then gliding from the mist like ghosts they came. Canada's, at least ten of them, slow and huge and real. So utterly unlike the pigeons I spend much time out after. They were, sadly, on the very edge of shot. How we prayed they would turn, and they did slightly, but they were still a reasonably long way out. We waited until it was obvious they would come no closer and shot, but missed at about 45 yards. The geese for their part simply dipped their wings and swooped back the way they came. No flapping and flailing like pigeons, just a few alarmed honks.


Later that day we nailed a few pigeons but we hardly saw an adult all day and very few seemed to be about. Then it was off to the flighting ponds after some duck that night.


Again the night came creeping, sinking inky fingers into the water and wrapping me and my friend up in the cool evening air. The sun settled for warming Oz and scampered off over the horizon. Four mallard circled and landed in a small splash just over from the pond we were waiting at. Typical.


So off we went to push them up, but sadly I was limping due to an idiotic accident earlier in the weekend involving a kitchen knife, my foot, and a whole lot of cursing. I couldn't keep up with my partner and was out of range when he startled them. He managed to miss. Silent as statues we stood in the long grasses and reeds around the pond, hoping for more, and literally 20 seconds after the previous shots a wigeon shot in like a missile over my friend's shoulder. He'd only just finished sliding the cartridges home and closing the action, but like lighting he shot without even realising he had. The shot took the bird in mid air and every single pellet hit it in the back. The pattern hadn't even had time to spread out fully, so close was the bird when my friend pulled the trigger. How he even hit when it was in mid air and travelling like a rocket we had no idea. It looked to us like he'd hit it as it landed about 25 yards away in the middle of the pond.


I waited, ready, as he went to wait by the water line for the duck to blow close enough to retrieve, standing so my back was to him and I couldn't swing in his direction, but sadly that was it for the flight and I'll have to wait for another time to bag my first duck.


All in all, a pretty magical day. That first sight of geese, so low and slow in the early morning light, will live with me forever.

Edited by Zechk
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