12-29-13

Despite the clear and dead calm conditions we still managed a good hunt today! Chris Podesta was behind the gun this morning and killed all but a couple of the birds that came his way today. We called it a day around 10:00 with a mixed strap including 6 ducks, a speck, and a honker. By no means was it red hot but watching that honker come to the call from a small speck in the sky to putting its feet down over the decoys, made today a success! There is just nothing like a honker coming to the call when they decide they want in!!

Casey

12-28-13

Today was a great day in the world of waterfowling! We had 3 groups of hunters in the field today and we all had great results! The birds were moving and decoying well and the clients did their part putting them down! Lots of big ducks and quite a mix of birds, hopefully it will continue.

Casey 

12-27-13

The duck hunting still sucks, so pheasants it is!! This morning we hit the duck blind with the Chrisp family for a couple hours and we killed 2 sprig but it died after that so we headed out after some pheasants. Casey had planted the birds earlier in the morning so we loaded up and got after it. We flushed 15+ birds and the guys made short work of them!!

Derek

12-23-13

Today it was Bruce, Rg, and his two boys in the field. The weather was perfect for pheasant hunting and the guys had a blast! We hunted behind my lab pup "Cash" and he did a great job and pointed several of the birds!! 

Casey 

12-22-13

The duck hunting has been slow so we switched gears towards pheasants so that everyone got to burn some gun powder! Today I guided the Dermenjians and they had a great hunt! We put up 15 birds on the hunt and they made short work of them!!

Derek  

12-21-13

Another fine day of crystal clear, dead calm weather coupled with the full moon resulted in some decent shooting. I had 2 groups of hunters out today, 1 group in the Delevan blind and another in the Colusa blind. Neither blind was a slaughter but each blind ended up with 7 birds and a few missed opportunities. I sure hope things change soon because it's way past go time! As soon as we get a change in the weather the hunting should turn in the right direction!

Casey 

12-20-13

I awoke this morning expecting North wind again but it was dead calm in Sutter. I had 2 groups of hunters out today so I went to Richvale and Derek went to Colusa. As luck would have it the West side still had 15-20 MPH North wind and it was near dead on the East side. There were a few birds flying in Richvale and we ended up with 7 birds for 2 shooters. Derek on the other hand had a little better action ending the morning with 9 geese and 9 ducks. Not red hot but a step in the right direction!!

Casey

12-19-13

The full moon has been kicking our ass, but with the weather man calling for strong North winds today I took a chance and loaded the blinds with clients. There are a ton of birds around and I was sure that the wind would get them moving. All of the blinds had a decent early flight that was quick to die off. The only blind that held strong was the Colusa blind. Out of the 4 blinds that we shot today, three of them killed 6-10 birds each and the Colusa blind ended with 17. Not exactly what I had in mind but we will take it!

Casey

12-18-13

The lovely full moon is here and the full moon syndrome has set in! Not only are we battling the frozen rice fields but now the moon as well. We got into the blind this morning and the field was almost completely frozen, but the ice was pretty thin so I broke it up and hoped it would work. The flight was pretty dismal but the birds that were flying responded well to the call! We ended up with 7 ducks and a speck. We let a few more get away today but you can't kill them all right?

Casey

12-14-13

I decided to switch it up and give Colusa a try today. We headed out to the blind and there were quite a few birds flying before hours and we were hopeful that some would stick around. The flight started out ok and by 7:30 we had killed 6 and missed a few others. We stayed optimistic and stuck it out until 11:00 but just couldn't get anymore birds to commit. Not a bad shoot considering the weather we are being dealt.

Casey

12-13-13

Back up North this morning. It was dead calm and crystal clear with not much flying other than sprig! We sat in the blind until 10:00 and tryed like hell to coax the few birds that were flying into the decoys but the only ones who wanted to play were the sprig. We ended the morning with 6 sprig and could have killed several more if we were not bound by the limit!! Hopefully at some point the limit will be increased to where it should be!

12-12-13

I headed up north this morning hoping there wouldn't be any ice and as luck would have it we had very little! That was a good start and as we got ready for shooting time to approach we could hear a few birds moving around. At legal shooting time the flight has deceased and was almost non existent. There were a few ducks around and the ones that wanted to play did it right, coming in nice and tight! The guys shot well and we ended the hunt with 8 ducks and a speck.

Casey

12-11-13

We decided to give the wetland a try this morning since the rice has been a little slow. I met up with Bill and Bob and we headed out to see what we could get done. As we got to the blind I could hear alot of birds and as legal shooting time came I wasn't disappointed. There were alot of birds milling around but they sure were stubborn and did not want to play the game. Slowly but surely we picked away at the singles and pairs ending the mornings hunt with two nice limits of ducks. The guys shot well today and the birds that listened did it right!!

Justin

12-7-13

With the weather man forecasting wind and rain for today I headed to the guide blind South of Colusa. There have been 2-3 grinds of geese in the surrounding fields and I figured we would be able to put the hammer to them! As we got into the blind the fog moved in and killed us!! We had a few birds come in during the fog but the bulk of the birds stayed up above it. We ended the morning with 3 ducks and 3 geese and should have had a few others. Had the fog not socked in on us I am sure we would have had hefty straps!

Justin 

12-7-13

I headed to the blind this morning with Roland, Cliff, and Greg knowing that we were going to slaughter them but as I got closer to the club the fog got thicker and soon we were engulfed in fog!! I could hear the birds flying above it and all we could do is wait and hope that it would break before the birds quit flying. We waited patiently and picked off a few birds but the bulk of the birds were up in the fog. By the time the fog broke the birds had quit flying but we did our best and ended up with 9 ducks and should have had a few others. Casey saw lots of new ducks in the area yesterday afternoon but the fog killed us today!

Derek 

12-7-13

The weather man said wind and rain for today but we were greeted by clear skies and a little bit of fog. I wasn't sure what to expect as I hadn't hunted this blind for a few days and when we got into the field could hear very few birds. As legal shooting time came the fog thickened and we couldn't see many birds but could hear a few. As the morning went on the fog would lift, we would get a few birds and then it would settle back in. Around 10:00 the fog lifted and the wind picked up making for some good shooting! We ended the morning with 18 ducks and 6 specks! It turned out to be a pretty damn good shoot.

Casey

12-6-13

The morning was clear and cold when I met Ken at the casino but the wind was blowing a bit so I decided to head for the rice with hope that it wasn't frozen solid. We got into the blind and there was some open water but as shoot time approached the ice moved in on us and closed up all of the holes. There were a few birds flying but they wanted nothing to do with the ice so we waited, and waited, and waited for the ice to thaw. Around 11:30 the ice started to thin and the wind picked up and I hoped that all of the waiting would soon pay off! Around 12:30 the flight started to pick up and by 2:00 we had limits of ducks and a speck! When we left the field the birds were pouring in and I have no doubt that they just kept coming until dark! All of the birds were super skinny and appear to be new arrivals from up North!!

Casey  

12-5-13

The weather man was calling for a hard freeze last night so we hit the wetland this morning with hopes of open water and lots of birds! We got the open water but not as many birds as expected. The flight was slow and steady and we picked them off one at a time ending the morning with 9 ducks and 3 geese. If it wasn't for some gun problems and some missed opportunities we would have had limits! Either way we ended the morning with a nice strap of birds.

Derek 

12-4-13

Another North wind day! We got into the blind this morning and I was surprised at the numbers of ducks in the air, or lack there of! After yesterdays shoot I figured we would pound them but there just weren't many birds flying. The ones that were decoyed well and the guys put the hammer to them ! We ended up with 12 ducks and a couple specks for the morning. I guess it was quality of quantity today as they were all big birds!

Derek 

12-4-13

We started the morning with strong North wind, plenty of birds, and bent barrels! As hard as we tried Rick, Mark, and I just couldn't hit shit! We were getting groups of birds right in and knocking only 1 or 2 out of each group. It didn't take us long to get back on track and we started making up for our poor shooting earlier in the day. Mark had to get back to work so we called it quits at 10:00 with 15 ducks and 6 specks! Had we been shooting good right out of the gate we would have had our 21 ducks and several more specks, but that is how it goes some days!

Casey 

12-3-13

The North wind was blowing as I met Dave and Ed at the casino this morning, and I knew we would be on the birds! When we got into the blind I could hear some birds but not as many as expected. As it got light we had birds moving around but the majority of them were pintail. We had our pintail rather quickly and then waited patiently for the other ducks to show and they did! Every once in awhile something other than a pintail would make its way towards the blind and the guys would put them on the strap. It took us until 11:00 but we got it done!

Derek  

12-3-13

My Clients for today cancelled last minute so I called Bill Karr of Western Outdoor News to see if he would like to join me for a hunt. He said yes and the plan was pit into motion. We met prior to legal shooting time and headed to the blind where we were greeted by the sounds of ducks and geese as well as a stiff North wind. In the pre dawn it looked as if it would be a slaughter and as legal shooting time came the flight seemed to slow down but there were more than enough birds to fill our strap. We had 14 ducks by 8:30 and then waited to see if we could add some specks to the strap! The specks decided to cooperate and we left the blind with 14 ducks and 5 specks! It was a great shoot and I am hopeful that this is the start to more good things to come.

Casey