Northern Duck Opener is Best Ever
9-27-2012
Now, that was one fine duck opener. In fact, September 22 was the best in decades.
After hiking into Vilas County backwaters on the Manitowish Chain teeming with wild rice, Bob Johnson of Mukwonago, John Ellis of Muskego and I helped set decoys and settled in to wait for the 9:00 am northern zone opening bell. With the clanking of plastic and splashes of tumbling mallard, teal and wood duck decoys, yellow lab Dylan and golden retriever Micah quickly understood a new season lie just ahead.
Connect with "Waterfowl Hunting" to review our opening morning photos.
High, biting winds came in with the season, and a sun splashed day would compete off and on with rain squalls for center stage. On this piece of water, three groups of other hunters took up positions every 400 or 500 yards, offering the perfect pressure to keep the ducks on the move with no conflict for shooting opportunities.
If you have been to the northland this fall, you have seen that the acorn mast crop is tremendous. It is so good, in fact, that bear hunters have had to deal with competition directly from nature; why travel to the bait when the acorns offer an ample diet spread for taking under any oak stand? That will also be useful information for bow hunters, especially when finding the does of late October and November means the bucks will be close behind.
Acorns everywhere also raised some questions in our blind. It was evident early in the hunt, at least in this region, that wood ducks by far would outnumber any other species. We saw several flocks of teal, and four mallards would end up in our collective bag from good numbers of the birds mostly seen high on the wing. But it was woodies and the cry of the majestic bird that dominated the airways. I would say by 10 to 1 over any other duck. Does God and nature produce more wood ducks when the acorn crops can support them?
According to Don Kirby, Executive Director of the Wisconsin Waterfowl Association, what we are seeing in 2012 is the result of ideal nesting conditions in 2011. All species of ducks are reaping the benefit of wet conditions and excellent habitat last year for raising waterfowl broods.
“We’re feeling the echoes of the record duck production that we saw last year,” Kirby said. “There was plenty of habitats for all species of ducks to disperse and have their broods. The bluewing teal numbers that we saw during the youth hunt this year on the Chippewa Flowage near Hayward was unbelievable. Woodies like most species are at historic record levels.
The abundance of acorns according to Kirby, will have a very significant effect on Wisconsin’s ducks and a welcome hangover effect for hunters. Species like wood ducks are notorious for moving out early to warmer southern regions when cold weather pushes in and pushes them.
“Wood ducks will tend to stay longer due to having more energy because of the abundance of acorns,” Kirby said. “They need two things to stay; do they have enough to eat? Is it warm enough? This year, the cold will send them south because they have plenty to eat.”
Our young dogs performed very well, earning most valuable player votes again when one bird that very well might have been lost was tracked down and recovered on a nearby island. Our shooting was good, with modified chokes designed for steel shot combining with the Remington Hypersonic loads to drop dead “right now” almost all birds hit. The only reason I tell you that is this columnist used our waterfowl expert, Todd Lensing to evaluate the load when hypersonic steel was unveiled several years ago. Although I have accepted few products over the years, we’ll focus on anything reputed to decrease the number of cripples. Connect with “Waterfowl Hunting” to get the results for our field test and know too hypersonic steel is expensive but worth it.
This Saturday, our same group of southern Wisconsin waterfowlers will rekindle an annual tradition for the southern zone opener. We back-pack in to Kettle Moraine State Forest oak ridge country and set up camp on a tiny creek. Our opening day target is almost exclusively wood ducks. Three or four decoys and a Woodrow call is all you need with the exception of your gun. If you have not tried this in your own backyard, it provides some of the most exciting early season hunting I’ve ever experienced and some very tough shooting. With the cold weather the woodies will be moving out south so do it now. Just look for the acorns and water. I’ll report on the hunt next week.
Speaking of Kettle Moraine, OWO columnist John Luthens goes in search this week of the Wisconsin cougar in the northern unit. Find it under “Deer Hunting” or “Inland Fishing”. I didn’t read it yet, but…if Luthens finds the cat we’ll post the photos. If the cat finds Luthens, we’ll post the Luthens-laced cat scat….photos.
We continue to hunt mourning doves each week to end our days, every day. The hunt provides great dog work in the corn fields and it appears the migration is picking up. John Ellis bagged three birds of peace yesterday with three shots. I was zero for eight shots and I’m not kidding. I hate being a truthful outdoor writer. (I was 4 for 4 in the duck blind. By the way…I was 4 for 4 in the duck blind.) On the bright side, I went home last night and had stripped and marinated mallard on portabella mushrooms capped with bacon after simmering in the oven for 25 minutes. Oh my goodness you need to try that.
Check in with our guides under “Inland Fishing” or “Fishing Reports”. Phil Schweik with Hooksetters Fishing Services in Wausau reflects what is happening around Wisconsin as fall gathers momentum and all of our expert anglers find action. Schweik says 100 walleye days are not unusual now and sends those photos along with muskies to 45 inches and a basket or two of crappies. Check all the guide reports from the week, each and every week.
Also connect with “Outdoor News” for information received daily from the DNR and many other organizations that want you to know what they’re up to. One of my favorites is the Warden Wire and Warden Blotters that we receive several times weekly with the reports of conservation wardens working in every region of Wisconsin.
We will be introducing a new firearms writer in print and online to bolster S. Wilkerson’s Surplus Firearms column that we’ve run in the print version of On Wisconsin Outdoors for five years. It’s hard to believe that we have published OWO since September-October of 2007. Robb Manning grew up in rural southern Wisconsin before enlisting in the US Marine Corps, where he served for nearly 11 years and developed a passion and knowledge for firearms of all types.
He later graduated from UW-Milwaukee where he majored in Political Science, took numerous English, journalism and writing classes, and served for two years as the Editorial Editor at the UWM Post newspaper. Watch for Robb’s concealed carry column and other articles on guns in our “Firearms” section weekly. Send your gun club competition results and any photos from the field to ellis@onwisconsinoutdoors.co. We will post. Send anything on any topics you find showcased on this website from Trapping to Bear Hunting.
We post a woodcock column this week under “Dick’s Trips” with six photos from a hunt when we trailed an old timer and his English setter in northern Wisconsin. We also include a sidebar that I think offers some unique insight into the migrating “night aviator”. The migration is right on top of us and it’s times like these with declining grouse numbers that having the traveling woodcock as an option makes bird hunter’s and their dogs literally look elsewhere. Read where to look in our column.
State wildlife officials have confirmed that samples submitted from deer found dead in Dane, Sauk and Waukesha counties have tested positive for Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease, or EHD. A number of citizens in southern Wisconsin contacted the Department of Natural Resources with recent observations of small groups of dead deer. EHD has now been confirmed in Columbia, Rock, Sauk, Dane and Waukesha counties.
“Our neighbor states have been seeing EHD outbreaks for the last several weeks and now it has made its way into southern Wisconsin,” said Eric Lobner, DNR southern Wisconsin wildlife supervisor. “It is a fairly common disease carried by midges, commonly referred to as no see ums, which are not a threat to humans, so there is no cause for alarm. “ Read the full story under “Deer Hunting" or "Outdoor News".
Mike Foss sends us another success story and photos from bear camp. Connect with “Bear Hunting” to read how a 12 year old never gave up until he filled the tag.
Thanks for connecting with On Wisconsin Outdoors. You’re company is much appreciated. Thanks to you we’re still on page one when the term “Wisconsin Hunting” is googled. Look us up daily. We post daily and blog weekly.
Shoot straight. Love America like our ancestors did. Don’t believe the media on anything.
Dick Ellis.