# GSL hunt



## Riverrat77 (Sep 7, 2007)

Went out on the GSL today... had a good hunt. Seven birds by 9:30ish. Got out there at about 7:30. It was sure dang cold today... but I got wads of teal and golden eyes all over me and didn't run into a lot of spoonies until after I was already done anyway. Good day to be out... only one other mud motor boat that I saw. Just set up on a sandbar, laid out in my little Polaris ice sled and waited... it didn't take long. Had some firsts for the year... shot my first hen GE, shot four teal in one hunt and the best part of the day.... I shot a drake Gadwall in a spot I'd never even seen a gadwall before. Almost let em go because I thought it was a spoonie until I recognized the white wing patch.... when it hit me that they were actually Gadwalls, I hurried and dumped the drake but the hen was just too far away so I didn't waste a shot. My dog worked great for me today. His sled has a small hole in the bottom so he had to kinda rest on a sandbar while dad was shooting.... he chased down all seven of the birds in quick fashion so he deserved the treats he got when he got home. Course, now he's on his rug all crashed out. :lol: I'm glad I had his little doggy vest for him.... probably kept him warmer than he'd have been in the icy water otherwise. Have a mess of pics and some video of some swans I called in and some video of spoonies coming in and leaving in a hurry... should show just how close you can get birds when you lower your profile a little bit. That and watching my dog do his thing are what's got me hooked on hunting this way.... so cool to have birds so close you could spit and hit em. Anyway... as soon as the stuff gets done uploading I'll post some pics and stuff. Leaky, curious to hear how you did with your little blind... hope it went well. The walk out there was fine because everything was frozen solid but walking back to the car was crappy.... soft mud/sand sucks... literally.


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## CHESMAN (May 8, 2008)

Hey, River Rat I was courious if that was you parked at the turn off near the marina this morning?I drove by to do a little scouting about that time.Sounds like you had a good hunt any way.


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## Riverrat77 (Sep 7, 2007)

Nah, I wasn't in the marina area.... I was in the little gray VW Passat (wifes car). Anyway, here are some pics of the birds and some swans and then I kinda threw together some stupid little video clips. I'm terrible at camera work but it'll give ya some idea what I had going on all morning. Only difference was... from 7:30 - 10, it was mostly teal with a few other birds mixed in. After 10, seemed like it was mostly spoonies and a few random goldeneyes that were flying all over the place. Oh well... great morning anyway.


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## Donttreadonme (Sep 11, 2007)

Looks like a fun hunt RR. When it's this cold out, it is almost nice to get it done quick so you can get out of the weather.


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## Chaser (Sep 28, 2007)

That's some sweet video! Looks like you had birds in your lap all morning! I hope you didn't wait around out there for me for too long!


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## Tealboy (Sep 20, 2007)

Nice shoot riley!
Glad to see birds using that area again!
TB


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## Riverrat77 (Sep 7, 2007)

Chaser said:


> That's some sweet video! Looks like you had birds in your lap all morning! I hope you didn't wait around out there for me for too long!


Thanks man... its not much but kinda gives some idea I guess... I was lucky they turned out that decent. On waiting, nah, waited for my buddy Leaky to show and met up with him on the walk back in.... after I talked to Nortah and shot the video, I started picking up dekes and then walked out. I figured if you were going to come out, you'd have been there by then and like we talked about... the walk back was crappy. Still want to meet you and hunt though... gets any colder and we might be looking at next year... I don't do cold very well.


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## Riverrat77 (Sep 7, 2007)

donttreadonme said:


> Looks like a fun hunt RR. When it's this cold out, it is almost nice to get it done quick so you can get out of the weather.


Amen to that.... took off my gloves for a few seconds because my hands were sweaty and they froze right up. Not a good idea. :lol:

Thanks Todd... its been kinda slow out there for me this year and after hearing some "teal" reports, went out and got into em pretty much right away so that was nice to have it finally happen. That Gadwall was sure unexpected. Have you ever run into "big ducks" out there much?


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## wileywapati (Sep 9, 2007)

Riley that looked pretty dang cool. Phil Roberston Cajun seasoning, some bacon and a BBQ grill will make some good eatin'


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## Longgun (Sep 7, 2007)

nice shoot Riley :wink:


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## Fowlmouth (Oct 4, 2008)

Nice shoot!  I think I saw you getting ready to walk out on my way to work. Did you have a load of decoys on your back and parked by the fence? If so props to you because it looked like a heavy load and a far walk.


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## Goshawk (Sep 7, 2007)

Cool ...looks like fun. Glad to hear you had a good shoot for all your work.


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## Riverrat77 (Sep 7, 2007)

Yeah, that was me.... on that pack frame, its not so bad weightwise, but I'm used to doing it too so I'm sure that helps. It is a far piece to walk... google earth has told me its about 1.4 miles out to the spot that I actually hunt. It doesn't seem that far when you hear it but dragging dekes and gear makes it feel like its lots further than that. :lol: It wasn't bad on the way out but slogging through all that slippery crap on the way back to the car was a lot harder than I expected. Made the walk back really suck... :?


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## Fowlmouth (Oct 4, 2008)

Good job RR, you definitely are a true foot soldier. Maybe we will get a little more snow and you can get out there pulling your jet sled with all your gear. Good luck!


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## STEVO (Sep 13, 2007)

Awesome job & some good video. Looks like it was an awesome day.


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## BugBuilder (Oct 17, 2007)

Good job, nice report as always!

BugBuilder


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## Riverrat77 (Sep 7, 2007)

STEVO said:


> Awesome job & some good video. Looks like it was an awesome day.


It was an awesome day... had a couple buddies out there in the snowstorm Tuesday and they walked out with six total between them. I don't know what was different but apparently my hunt was totally opposite of what they had going on... weird. I figure I better get these kind of hunts in when I can because I'm feeling it this morning.... I don't think it'll be too long before the wear and tear from heavy loads and lots of miles will make hunts like this a rarity for me. Thanks for the compliments on the video... just wish I was better at it so I could actually post some quality stuff.


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## Longgun (Sep 7, 2007)

:? i thought the video was fine...


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## deadicated1 (Mar 17, 2008)

if i have to see one more video of someone doing/filming something they love to do...jk. cool video and congrats on a good hunt


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## gunrunner (Feb 1, 2008)

Nice shoot and great video, I enjoyed the fact that you had no ads and did not try to sell anything.... :lol:


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## Riverrat77 (Sep 7, 2007)

gunrunner said:


> Nice shoot and great video, I enjoyed the fact that you had no ads and did not try to sell anything.... :lol:


I oughta try and get Kelty to sponsor me... they're the ones that make the old (early 80's aluminum) packframe I use to haul dekes. That and Badlands.... Thats the pack I put all my food, camera, extra shells, tp etc in.... :lol: I'm just in it for the experience man. I probably would just laugh unbelievingly if somebody mentioned money or sponsorship. Thats way out of my league. All I'm selling is No Charge hard work with a little bit of duck meat to show for it.... don't have anything else to offer really. :wink:


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## RJ-Max4 (Sep 11, 2007)

Atta boy RR77.

That is one good looking Gaddy.


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## Riverrat77 (Sep 7, 2007)

Thanks Rich... it was fun man. Wish you could have made it but if I had a speck hunt in MO staring me in the face, I'd be savin up for that too.  

Heard from my old pal Leaky... doesn't sound like his afternoon went nearly as well as the morning went for me but I'll let him tell the story if he wants. 8)


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## beretta2 (Jan 5, 2008)

Good Shoot! It was crazy how many swans were out. They all came over us from the Duck Club side. We were in the boat that went by. Kudos for you, I know you earn every bird you shoot. We ended up with 12 drakes and 2 hens. I doubled the hen along with the drake. So I messed up my straight 7 drakes I was hoping for. 

Here are my half, the golden eye is getting mounted.


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