It was a beautiful morning, Josh, Steven, Nesene, and I got out early to claim a spot. Cold and clear....

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y2/bob--o/intheblind.jpg

The spread was effective as we had a lot of birds work, the ice was hard to keep out of the hole though and discouraged a few... sky busters flared a few for us too, but hey it's public, to each his own. It is more fun to shoot decoying ducks though...;)

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y2/bob--o/thespread.jpg

And after a nice group worked Nes made a great retrieve busting through a long stretch of ice for this cripple... we also managed 3 woodies.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y2/bob--o/NeseneGreenhead.jpg

Looks like allot of fun.

Better then being at work, like I was.

yea bob i just found out one of my freinds stole my calls. They were in my truck yesterday and i was with him when they went missing. Aint that somne bull crap.

yea bob i just found out one of my freinds stole my calls.


If that's true, he ain't no friend, and you don't need to hang around with riffraff like that. But also make sure they didn't slide under the seat or are in some coat pocket before judging. To wrongly accuse would be bad. People who steal are lazy.:mad:

Looks like a nice morning for duck hunting. Is that at Carlyle? I think I am going to go tomorrow afternoon on the MS river. There have been a lot of ducks rafting up. A lot of the back waters should be freezing up at night so hopefully it will push more birds out to the river. I will let you know how we do.

James

Where do you go on the big river? Do you have to go to a blind drawing? I don't know anything about hunting the MS.

Those pics are off the Kaskaskia. Public land.

We are going south of Alton. It is open hunting down there. If you go up north by Grafton then you get into the restricted blind areas.

So you'll be below the lock and dam? I know there are tons of blinds above the lock all the way to Grafton. Can you just hunt off the bank or wing dams down there?

I believe you can. I have hunted some islands by Grafton and I have hunted on the MS river and up the MO river by the confluence on sand bars. The only tricky part is which area is IL and which is MO. I always just buy a MO license and stamp so I don't have to worry about it. I am not quite sure where the boundry line is in the river. I assume if you are hunting the bank on the IL side you are considered in IL, but out beyond that I wouldn't be sure. When it gets really cold and the divers come down they will raft up in the middle of the river. It would be fun to try hunting them sometime from a layout like they do on the great lakes. Although, I don't know how safe that would be on the river.

Does anyone know the access spots below the Lock and dam? I only know Piasa Creek access, and up at Pere Marquette. How do you get in down river? Heck if not for ducks, there are some HUGE catfish in there.

Like the 125 ponder seen here... (http://bitsandpieces1.blogspot.com/2005/05/record-catfish-caught-in-alton-il.html)


I'm not sure a trout and bass fly-fisherman like my self has the gear for something like that... HONEY I NEED......:D :D :rolleyes: ...

It's been cold here all week in Pennsylvania but I've had to work all week. Saturday the dog and I will head out. It will be the last day of Rifle season for deer so what better place to be then over some water looking up at the sky. Got about 3 weeks until late archery and flintlock season so the majority of my free time will be spent looking for some birds.

Good, your dog needs the work...:D ;)

I'm on my way out the door now for the little buggers. 27 degres, windy, clear, Should be good.