# Opening morning hunt



## Loke (Sep 7, 2007)

So how did it go for everyone? I didn't hear too many shots, but we did manage to miss a few geese. I don't think that the duck numbers were anywhere near what they were last year. But then again, I missed out on Black Saturday (Farmington Bay opener) with an invite to try some private ground in Utah county. Now to get the improvements in, and we'll be styling. That and the cold front that is supposed to come in next weekend. Then maybe some ducks will show for dinner.


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## dkhntrdstn (Sep 7, 2007)

Heading out in about 30mins


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## Mojo1 (Sep 8, 2007)

we were covered up with ducks before shooting time but by the time came, it was pretty slow. I was surprized that the WMA didn't open up early, they started on time for once. :shock:


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## Swaner (Sep 10, 2007)

Lots of ducks early on. In and out of our decoys all morning. Of course by the time we could shoot they were gone. Also had a goose fly low over us at 715 we let him go since it wasnt open. That didn't stop the jackass behind us from dropping him. He was the 1st person to shoot at HC. We tried reporting them to the CO on the way out and he just said "Ya you gotta hate that!"and that was it. Didnt want a description or anything.


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## APD (Nov 16, 2008)

we did well out at FB. the duck numbers seemed on par with the last two openers out there. shooting started in earnest at 7:18 and there were tons of ducks flying low until 7:30 when we started. most of the groups around us held off too. there were a few errant shots before it erupted but at least most held out that long. 

hope all had a great opener. now we wait for the PTSD ducks to settle down and start flying again.


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## gander311 (Dec 23, 2008)

This is sums up my day. It was all about the puppy and her first hunt.
She exceeded my expectations, and retrieved most of a 4 man limit. 








I had a "picture perfect" moment after this retrieving about the only plumaged bird of the day, a nice greenhead. Great hold on the bird, sunlight hitting the bird and Maggie perfectly, her carrying it all proud and proceeded to drop my camera into the water as I tried to take the picture.
What a morning. Funnest opener I have had in years.


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## huntingbuddy (Sep 10, 2007)

My buddye and I didn't even fire a shot at Farmington this morning. By the time shooting time arrived the birds were gone. I don't even feel like I went duck hunting today. On a side note there were 20 guys shoulder to shoulder on one of the dikes. Yep I counted, 20 guys exactly, I would think you would at least give each other some space. All in all I don't think it was a very good opener, there just wasn't any birds. Most of the shooting had stopped by 8:30-9 which is unusual for FB. I am just going to wait for the migration to start.


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## duck jerky (Sep 8, 2007)

Mojo1 said:


> we were covered up with ducks before shooting time but by the time came, it was pretty slow. I was surprized that the WMA didn't open up early, they started on time for once. :shock:


Thats how it was where I was. Only heard one early shot at 7:06

The Only bird that came into the dekes after shooting started was a coot. I dropped it. Finally did get a couple mallards doing some tulie busting.

Very slow opener I took out a guy from work for his first duck hunt and he never had duck come close enough to shoot. It sucked


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## johnnycake (Jul 19, 2011)

yep huntingbuddy and I had a scenic paddle in cootville this morning....only had about three iffy shot opportunities on ducks that we passed on, as they were just a little too far....


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## travis madden (Sep 29, 2007)

johnnycake said:


> yep huntingbuddy and I had a scenic paddle in cootville this morning....only had about three iffy shot opportunities on ducks that we passed on, as they were just a little too far....


Jake lets them pass because he cant hit them anyway.... :lol:


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## Clarq (Jul 21, 2011)

Dad and I got a real early start due to concerns about parking space and crowds. We arrived in the parking lot at 4:45 and found it mostly empty. We hiked into the marsh to try to claim our favorite pond, but got lost on the way out.  We hiked through the marsh awhile but finally accepted that we had to wait until it was lighter to find our way. 

I finally won the argument about which way the pond was and led us straight to it. Nobody was there so we set up and got ready. Between 6:45 and 7:30 hunters moved in on the southwest, east, and north of us. Normally we rely on southern and northern flights so we were worried about their positions. Oh well, there was nothing we could do about it and I was at least happy that they respected our space and stayed about 100 yards away.

I heard 1 or 2 early shots but other than that people waited until legal shooting time to start. I was very happy about that. Shooting time finally arrived. Nothing came by for awhile (they were all intercepted on the way to our pond). Finally a hen mallard slipped through and I shot it. A few misses later, a Gadwall came close enough, and I shot it too. The morning craziness ended and I had shot about 14 shells and 2 ducks. 

Enough birds were flying to keep things interesting but they weren't getting very close. A drake mallard came within 45 yards. I decided to try it and managed to bring it down. Awhile later my dad made an excellent stalk on a hen mallard and jump-shot it. We couldn't mark it very carefully because it fell behind a patch of cattails. After about 10 minutes of searching a nice guy brought his dog to help us search for it. The dog couldn't find it either. We were just about ready to give up when I saw the spot where I knew it had to be. Sure enough, it was there and our search was over. 

My new Super X3 performed flawlessly and I got a new personal best, 6 shots per duck on this hunt. It wasn't great but it's not bad in my world. 

Everything shut down after that and we made it back to the car around noon. It was great to be back in the marsh having fun with my dad. It was also great to see most people abide by the law. The only downsides were the mosquitoes and the heat. But they are only minor details anyway.


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## johnnycake (Jul 19, 2011)

> johnnycake wrote:
> yep huntingbuddy and I had a scenic paddle in cootville this morning....only had about three iffy shot opportunities on ducks that we passed on, as they were just a little too far....
> 
> Jake lets them pass because he cant hit them anyway....


I didn't want to say anything as the other two openers we've done at FB have resulted in some disproportionate kill ratios...but since you brought it up.... :O•-:


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## Riverrat77 (Sep 7, 2007)

Went out with my buddy scott and his boy.... Lots of ducks out and about and quite a few geese too. We got our shots and missed a few opportunities because our focus was letting the boy shoot first but that actually made it enjoyable. I came home with two, scott got three. Lots of space, lots of birds....pretty good for a utah opener. Might be a bit before I hit a wasatch front wma.


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## huntingbuddy (Sep 10, 2007)

travis madden said:


> johnnycake said:
> 
> 
> > yep huntingbuddy and I had a scenic paddle in cootville this morning....only had about three iffy shot opportunities on ducks that we passed on, as they were just a little too far....
> ...


This is true O*--


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