# bring on the freeze!



## utahgolf (Sep 8, 2007)

gonna be getting cold!!!!!!!!!!! love this time of year!


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## flyboy (Oct 17, 2011)

utahgolf said:


> gonna be getting cold!!!!!!!!!!! love this time of year!


+1


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## Mud (Oct 28, 2011)

Would be better if I had a late season spot other then fish springs long long dirt road drive.


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## kailey29us (May 26, 2011)

I also love the freeze, it means the southern part of the state will start seeing way more ducks!!! I wish the season was still split to give us down south a little longer to hunt. It seems we only have about a month of really good hunting before the season ends.


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## LETTER-RIP (Sep 14, 2007)

Not sure if I am ready for the freeze? Been having way to much fun with the birds that are stacked up right now. It will by nice to put the hurt on some birds over some small open water!!


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## LETTER-RIP (Sep 14, 2007)

Hey Fly boy,,,, I will be on your boat this weekend!!! I cant make that death march again!!! Did I mention that I am on vacation next week  What day you going to call in???


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## shaun larsen (Aug 5, 2011)

from my past experience, we need birds here first to benefit from the freeze. theres nothin where ive been hunting! usually this time a year, the birds are stacked in those places. in the past 5 days we've killed 17 ducks between 4 guys... i dont understand it. they are not here like they should be. im still holding on to the hope that they just havent arrived yet, but as each day comes and goes, im becoming more and more doubtful.


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## 357bob (Sep 30, 2007)

I hope it holds off for a week or so...I have an 11 year old with a swan tag and am counting on using the boT to get her out. After that, bring it on!!! Maybe I can finally get into some Malards.


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## utahgolf (Sep 8, 2007)

everything will be locked up tighter than a drum after the weekend. you'll be breaking some decent ice by saturday unless you're launching in a channel.


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## Clarq (Jul 21, 2011)

I hate the freeze. There are fewer birds around, fewer places to go, and I have to compete with a bunch of hunters anywhere I go. Not to mention that the puddle ducks are very smart and scarce, leaving me nothing but Goldeneyes and Mergansers to shoot at most of the time.

I won't deny that if everything comes together, late season hunts are some of the best waterfowling experiences. But I still hate the freeze.


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## hatuquack (Nov 15, 2011)

I agree. I know of very few places to hunt after the freeze. I like hunting in field, however, its like the feeling of pulling a tooth to get permission nowadays...


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## flyboy (Oct 17, 2011)

LETTER-RIP said:


> Hey Fly boy,,,, I will be on your boat this weekend!!! I cant make that death march again!!! Did I mention that I am on vacation next week  What day you going to call in???


Not sure what day to call in. we'll see how the week pans out. i love the airboat when it first freezes. fun to drive


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## LETTER-RIP (Sep 14, 2007)

shaun larsen said:


> from my past experience, we need birds here first to benefit from the freeze. theres nothin where ive been hunting! usually this time a year, the birds are stacked in those places. in the past 5 days we've killed 17 ducks between 4 guys... i dont understand it. they are not here like they should be. im still holding on to the hope that they just havent arrived yet, but as each day comes and goes, im becoming more and more doubtful.[/quote
> 
> There are a lot of birds here. They will be heading out after a few days of it being locked up. I hope the freeze is light and the big water stays open for them to roost on.


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## utahgolf (Sep 8, 2007)

judging from the temps and from what I've seen in years past. that big water should be capped by sunday. and start to get thicker by mid week. once lows hit the low 20's and the highs don't get much above 39 degrees its pretty much you find moving water. this wind is definitely helping keep big water open tho.


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## Guest (Dec 1, 2011)

cold not good at all four my dog;


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## Swerv (Nov 9, 2007)

Dont forget me !! haha


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## paddler (Jul 17, 2009)

I'm not ready for freeze up just yet. I've hunted a few new areas this year and having a great time. I thought Salt Creek would have more ice yesterday, so I did Plan B. It was a slow day, but I managed a couple. I've never seen, much less killed a GWT up there, but saw a modest number yesterday.

The set up:










The hide. I'm too old to kneel all day:










The birds:



















Mods, is there a way to post larger images on here? These photos are only 640x480, but you still have to scroll. Duckhunter.net will fully display images 1280x960.


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## Donttreadonme (Sep 11, 2007)

I am ready for freeze up as well. I hope to have another few shoots like these from years past.


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## utahgolf (Sep 8, 2007)

paddler that water looked low! and joel that greenhead took some punishement!


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

paddler213 said:


> I'm not ready for freeze up just yet. I've hunted a few new areas this year and having a great time. I thought Salt Creek would have more ice yesterday, so I did Plan B. It was a slow day, but I managed a couple. I've never seen, much less killed a GWT up there, but saw a modest number yesterday.
> 
> .............................................................................................
> 
> Mods, is there a way to post larger images on here? These photos are only 640x480, but you still have to scroll. Duckhunter.net will fully display images 1280x960.


Beautiful pics Paddler.

Maximum pic size before the scroll bar pops up is 602 pixels wide, sorry. For a long time we were 618 pixs wide, which isn't much of of difference as far as the view goes. Recent Forum page format changes narrowed it down a little. If I have a pic worth saving, or God forbid I have a pic in focus, now I save it at 602 pics wide. I try to avoid the scroll bar. It takes the "big picture" away from the photo, and cuts off text that's important to the reader. An example would be Joel's post on this same page.

The right side of the Forum's web page is reserved for advertisements. Ads carry a lot of weight here; they pay the bills. If someone is cruising the UWN, but is not a registered member, they see all the ads. This encourages the "sulkers" to sign up. Maybe *Petersen *will chime in an explain it more in detail.

Personally I'm good with it, but some of us, including myself, have some cool panorama shots that we would like to see up without the scroll bar.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Joel Draxler said:


> I am ready for freeze up as well. I hope to have another few shoots like these from years past.


Nice pics Joel. I like the goldeneyes in the snow pic the best. thanks for posting.


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## MWScott72 (May 23, 2011)

Love the color contrast on that photo with all the Goldeneyes!

I bet they were a RIOT to clean :| I hate cleaning divers as their skin is thermonuclearly bonded the rest of their body!


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

MWScott72 said:


> Love the color contrast on that photo with all the Goldeneyes!
> 
> I bet they were a RIOT to clean :| I hate cleaning divers as their skin is thermonuclearly bonded the rest of their body!


I hear ya. Skinning soo after they are shot helps. What few goldeneyes I do take, I pluck whole, using the skin like one would aluminum foil. But I have to admit goldeneye fat is not too tasty.


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## Donttreadonme (Sep 11, 2007)

MWScott72 said:


> Love the color contrast on that photo with all the Goldeneyes!
> 
> I bet they were a RIOT to clean :| I hate cleaning divers as their skin is thermonuclearly bonded the rest of their body!


No question GE's are the worst of all to skin, but they are one of my favorite ducks to hunt and the jerky tastes just like any other duck jerky.

Thanks for the comments.


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## paddler (Jul 17, 2009)

Thanks, wyogoob. I will resize to 602 from now on for this forum. I much prefer larger images, as they are nicer to look at. Like many amateurs, I try to make up in size what they lack in quality.

golf, that water was quite low. I moved to a different point later which was even lower. My dekes wouldn't float, so I stuck the keels down in the mud. And just a couple hundred yards from me there were lots of pintail, GWT, etc, walking around feeding on the mud flat. I usually only see that after shooting hours. That pond is ~500 yards across, and all the birds landed out in the middle. It's hard to hunt it, though I did get strafed a couple times by GWT.


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## Clarq (Jul 21, 2011)

> I've never seen, much less killed a GWT up there, but saw a modest number yesterday.


You've really never seen teal up there? I usually get into quite a few there. The only ducks I shoot more than teal are shovelers. I do hunt much smaller water, though.


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## paddler (Jul 17, 2009)

Nope, these are the first GWT I've seen or shot at SC. But I don't hunt it much before freeze up.


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