Baffin Bay Duck Hunting

For the last three years my Dad and I have made a trip down to Baffin Bay, Texas to do some duck hunting. This trip has always been alot of fun and this year would be no different. First I gotta say that Baffin bay is a special place that is an absolute outdoor paradise, a large part of its border is the famous King ranch and this seems to make it more of an outdoor experience. It's not uncommon to see a wide variety of wildlife when boating through Baffin bay from monster whitetail deer to large diamond back rattlesnakes. This trip was planned for the sole purpose of getting a mature Pintail drake for my Dad. You see last year my Dad had some trouble, after two boxes of shells and no birds in hand he really needed to redeem himself this year. So our first hunt started on the afternoon of Jan 17th 2009 on the north east bank of the King Ranch in a make shift duck blind. It didn't take long for the action to begin as we were putting out decoys we had Redheads buzzing us so we knew it was gonna be good. The first shooting action that we got was on two redhead drakes that came in perfectly into our spread. Two shots two birds. Things were looking good. A few minutes had past and my Father and I were chatting back and forth when all of a sudden three Pintail drakes are cupped and coming in for landing. I quickly scan them over and notice that the far right bird is the trophy. I tell my Dad its the one on the right I hear two shots from his Beretta shotgun and his very first Pintail drake is sitting on the water for Deacon to retreive. It would not have mattered if either of us had shot another bird my Dad's quest for a trophy Pintail drake had been quickly fullfilled. It was cool to see the look on his face when he got that bird in his hand and when I told him that this trip would be a little more exspensive. There was no doubt that this bird was going to the taxidermist. We finished the evening hunt off with a limit of ducks and two happy hunters. The next morning's duck hunt started off very foggy and it took a while for the birds to start flying. However when the action started it really started. We must of had 30 or 40 Pintails come into the spread that morning and just as many Redheads. It didn't take long to get our limits on those species of ducks. We scratched out a few more ducks mainly Buffleheads and we decide to call it a trip. With a big sense of satisfaction we loaded up the truck and headed back home. I always love going on hunts with my Dad it's how we communicate, there is no other person I would rather hunt with. Duck season is coming to an end but I will not have to wait that long to get down to Baffin soon it will be February and the big girls are moving in!

Thanks!

I have never been into New Years resolutions however I have always had in my heart to write about my outdoor lifestyle. I guess I would just like to share the experiences I have had with my family and friends and how the outdoors have brought us closer. So this year I will start my outdoor blogging and try to share all my hunting and fishing experiences. It all started off with me when I was about 4 yrs old deer hunting in Groveton, Texas. It seems so long ago but I still remember almost every detail. I would get so excited at the beginning of deer season it was like Christmas or a birthday. This is where my Dad (the walking legend) would show me respect for animals and others. I remember my dad talking about harvesting the right deer and letting the young ones grow and also showing me gun safety. Dad all I can say is thanks. I hope now that I can pass this heritage down to my son Connor who reminds me of myself when I was his age. I took Connor on his first deer hunt when he was 3 yrs old. Some people told me I was crazy I just could not wait to get him out there. We were bow hunting in Junction, Texas out of a pop up blind. He was so excited to be there with his Dad and all I could think of was when I was 6 on my first deer hunt with my Dad. Is it me or do those mornings when I was a kid seem so much colder? Anyways this would be an afternoon hunt and man it was nothing short of being magical. We ended up seeing several deer that afternoon with none of them being further than 30 yards from us, I do not think that Connor blinked an eye for 2 hours! He was so extremely excited. We ended up harvesting a very old doe and I will never forget what Connor said, he looked up and told me "Dad" "I can not wait to tell Grandpa(the walking legend)". So when Grandpa came to pick us up he took off running to Grandpa to tell him what we did and I knew then he would be hooked for life. Connor and I have been on several hunts since then and it is never short of being amazing, I pray that God blesses us with many many more. There are many other people I would like to thank for all the hunting and fishing trips over the years people like Howard Benge, Jordan Benge, Jeremy McKey and Cody Wellman. The memories that I have with these guys I will never forget and again pray that God will also bless me with many more. Also thanks to my wife who I am still trying to get into a pair of wading boots. The outdoors is my life and I relate so much of hunting and fishing to life such as patience, victory and defeat just to name a few. And for that I will always have to give God thanks!!!!