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Saginaw...... pic heavy!!!

Rutin

Senior Member
2,029
0
Ina Duck Blind
Well the 2.5 days I hunted Saginaw Bay were amazing!!!! I'm going to make this kind of short and sweet. Hunting up there makes me hate Ohio waterfowling LOL! Any way we had an absolute blast. Day one we killed our 3 man limit, day 2 we were a few shy, and the last half day I killed my limit but lost a few cripples, damn divers!!! Total of 38 birds in 2.5 days if I recall right.




I was fortunate to harvest my first banded duck the first day up there. We almost didn't see the band because it some how slide up above the joint and was tucked in the feathers. We handled the bird 10-12 times before I found the band. That same day Sarge went to recover a cripple and while searching in a flooded milo strip he found a bird but was hesitant to bring it to me. Kind of made me mad he wouldn't pick it up but he finally did and carried it back very careful with a ewww this is nasty look on his face. I grabbed the bird from him and it was stiff as a board and stunk to high hell (shot earlier in the week) and when I turned it over it was freakin banded!!!! 2 bands in one night, what's the chances!!! I gave that bird to my buddy for hooking us up and setting up some great hunts.





Seeing 5,000+ birds a day never gets old.... even on public land!

Sarge got to take his first boat ride and did great the first day. Marked birds and launched off the front like a champ. We hunted sun up to 10am, took a lunch break, and relocated for an afternoon hunt the rest of the day. He was defiantly a little sore the first night. This was his first experience launching from a boat, and treading waves while searching for birds. He had several challenging retrieves and needed help on several too. I had no problem helping him since this was WAY out of his element.


 
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Rutin

Senior Member
2,029
0
Ina Duck Blind
Day 2 on the big water he would NOT launch from the boat..... don't know if he was sore or what was going on but as soon as I jumped in or pushed his ass over board he was game on. Made his retrieve, brought it back to the boat and climbed up his dog ramp ready for the next one! Day 3 he was ready to go but I could tell he was wore down, treading water and making more retrieves in a day than we do a week here had him a little tired. I gave him a break and tried something new for myself..... layout boat hunting! Talk about tough and FUN! In your face action and its all about timing your sit up to make the shot!. We shot 10 different species on day one, and killed several more the second day including some sea ducks!





 
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Diane

*Supporting Member*
4,715
66
Newark
Love the pictures!

Couple of questions though. A cripple.........is that one you shot but is still alive? And what is the pretty one with the purple on it?

Also, why are bands so great to get?
 

Rutin

Senior Member
2,029
0
Ina Duck Blind
Love the pictures!

Couple of questions though. A cripple.........is that one you shot but is still alive? And what is the pretty one with the purple on it?

Also, why are bands so great to get?

You are correct, a cripple is a bird that is shot but not dead. They will dive underwater from the dog and grab the reeds/roots and drown themselves.

Bands = We'll its like when a guy goes to Jared for jewelry for a woman.... except this is MAN jewelry! lol No, its like shooting a 170" class buck, they are rare and some of them have money rewards along with them so its like hitting the lottery at times.
 

Diane

*Supporting Member*
4,715
66
Newark
Interesting. Thanks, Zach. Glad you had a great time! Sarge sure is coming along, you must be proud.
 

Curran

Senior Member
Supporting Member
7,971
172
Central Ohio
Great pics!! I surprised ammo companies don't promote layout hunting more. Great ways to go through some shells. : )

Glad you had a good time up there!
 

bthompson1004

Member
1,238
100
NWOhio!
Sounds like a great time....love the pics, and like the others, Sarge looks like a great hunting buddy!! Thanks for taking the time on your trip to take photos and sharing with us....

I too am curious, what kind of duck the one with the purplish, irredescent feathers on its head is?
 

Rutin

Senior Member
2,029
0
Ina Duck Blind
Sounds like a great time....love the pics, and like the others, Sarge looks like a great hunting buddy!! Thanks for taking the time on your trip to take photos and sharing with us....

I too am curious, what kind of duck the one with the purplish, irredescent feathers on its head is?

That's a bufflehead, the drakes are very pretty. Fairly quick bird when they buzz you but they are dumb as rocks and decoy into anything.
 

Rutin

Senior Member
2,029
0
Ina Duck Blind
Great pics!! I surprised ammo companies don't promote layout hunting more. Great ways to go through some shells. : )

Glad you had a good time up there!

Isnt that the truth. I just HAD to try it.... I got friggin SOAKED doing it though, I get setup and all was good for about 2 hrs, then a massive storm hit us and the waves crushed me LOL.
The cool thing about this bay is you can walk across the entire thing just about. It looks like it should be 20' deep and because your a mile from shore and you hop out of the boat and its knee high! Perfect place for divers to eat.