Excellent shots. Really liked the mid-air shot of the Teal coming in for a landing. The dog's earned their pay breaking through that ice.

Good looking pups.

1-07-15

It was bright out again this morning. This time there was a decent wind. Once again spooked some birds off of the water on arrival. Several birds made their way back in before legal. Action was pretty steady and made for another quick hunt.

The sunrise...



Paxton getting after a Teal...



Whipple with a Teal...



Black Dogs doing work...



Paxton picking up some Teal...

Whipple watching attentively...



Paxton with another Teal...



Whipple with a Teal...



The birds...

1-08-15

Ice on the pond this morning. The GF busted her butt in it while making a hole. Birds were not moving around much this morning. The ones that did were not cooperating at all. The GF stuck it out for a while before heading to the truck to warm up. I waited for the birds to show and they finally started to move later on. They didn't want anything to do with the decoys so I moved my blind away from the original spot and took care of business. Whipple had her longest retrieve ever when a pair of Gadwalls came in and I shot and they flew off toward the back field. I kept watching them and one eventually crashed 400+ yards in the field. I wasn't sure if Whipple saw the bird fall but I looked over and she was locked. I sent her and she busted through the ice on our side of the pond, swam across the pond and broke ice on the other side, took off into the field, spooked up a hawk that was trying to get a free lunch and made her way back. The GF watched it all go down from the truck and decided to give it another go. She lasted for a bit and we called it.

The original hole freezing over...



Decided to move the decoys. They had some ice on them...



The decoys moved out further...



Had a couple of small flocks of Gads land out of range to the right and decided to move over...



This guy took a liking to Whipple...



And to my blind...



Birds finally started to move around...

Whipple with a Gaddie trying to get through the ice...











Had a pair of Widgeons nearly land at my feet while messing around on my phone.

Whipple with the hen...



And the drake...

Whipple chasing down a Shoveler...







Whipple with a Gadwall...



And another...



The birds...

Awesome pictures

Fooshman, I'm not sure if you're a better shot with the camera or the shotgun! Awesome pic's! Love the shot of the Teal coming in for a landing. Nice decoy spread's as well. I used to spend just about every weekend in the marshes here along the coast. After some health problems though, I can't handle that type of workout any longer. Nice to see someone that knows what they're doing! Can't tell you how many times me and my buddy would come in from hunts and see other hunters spread's with just a huge conglomerate of decoys out in front of their blinds with no "landing strip" in the middle for the birds to come into or not using a "J" spread for a cross wind and thus be out of range by the time they land...if they make it that far before crashing! Nice work my friend!

Man, I had to come back and take another look at this thread. Your artistic eye in displaying your birds is not only respectful of the animals, but make for some phenomenal pics! The picture and story of you almost catching the Teal as it crashed near your blind brings back a similar memory of my own. Had that happen to me as well years ago. Although I wasn't in a position to actually catch it as you mention, I did literally have to duck to avoid the bird hitting me! I didn't have to move to pick it up though, just reached around behind me and grabbed it! That was pretty cool! Fabulous pic's of your pup's too! Thanks for sharing!

1-12-15

The water levels had came up a bit from some rain the previous couple of days. This also meant it was pretty muddy out and there was a lot more available holes for the birds in play. Had some fog and mist all morning. We started out shooting pretty bad but that was short lived. Birds were nonstop so we just left the dead birds alone until we were done. Made for a quick hunt. Birds were still trying to get in while picking up and loading the truck.

The spread...



Some birds that flew over while picking up birds...



Whipple with a Gadwall...



The GF and Whipple looking for a cripple...



Some more birds flying over...



Whipple with a Widgeon...



She had to find this Gadwall in the field...





Whipple charging after a Widgeon...



Bringing back a Pintail...

Getting after another Gadwall...



Bringing back another Widgeon while eyeballing another bird...



She about ran past this Can...







Whipple heading out for another Gadwall...





Birds were still looking for a place to settle while at the truck...



Whipple wanting some more...



The birds...

1-14-15

Overcast with a slight wind this morning. Several birds on the water before LST. Birds were pretty steady at first and we should have capitalized but we weren't shooting very good and/or had some missed opportunities. A bit later in the morning the birds sort of shut off and whatever would come over was real skittish. The reason for this was that there was a road crew working on the road. While on the other side of the pond with the dog chasing a cripple and picking up birds a lone Scaup hen came in and landed right in front of my blind. The GF ended up dropping it when it tried to leave to the left.

Whipple heading out after a Widgeon...



Whipple with a Gadwall...



Whipple with a Scaup that came in while picking up birds...



Picking up another Gaddie...







On the brakes...



Bringing back the bird...

She hit this one a little hard...



Coming back with the bird...



With another...



Birds flying over...



The decoys...



Another shot of the decoys. It's a little deceiving since the pic was taken from the top of another tank dam...



Birds trying to come in...



The take...

1-16-15

It was clear and calm with a little fog this morning. Had several birds come in before legal. Birds were pretty skittish and generally uncooperative this morning. At one point I saw a couple of Gadwalls go down in the back pond so I headed out to jump them. On the way a lone Shoveler dumped in also. I ended up getting the Shoveler and totally whiffing on the Gadwalls as they did a delayed jump right in my face. On my way back I noticed two Gads on the opposing shore to the decoys and ended up sneaking and getting one of them. While at the truck I noticed some birds set down on the water and decided to test my luck again. Ended up getting another Gadwall in the exact same scenario as I jumped the other one. Overall, more birds were taken via jump than over decoys.

A touch of fog early...



Whipple heading out for a Gadwall...





Some ice in the shallows...



Whipple with the bird...



A Gadwall that came in but didn't want anything to do with the decoys...



Paxton with the Shoveler...



The decoys...



Whipple goofing around...

Whipple with a Gadwall...



Some birds coming in while at the truck...





Paxton waiting for the go-ahead...



Closing in on the bird...



Whipple watching in the background...



Paxton with the bird...



The birds...

1-19-15

Quite a few birds on the water before legal. We would spook them up and they kept coming back. Had some people trying to get a head start this morning. With the birds acting a bit strange before, I decided to sit away from the decoys. The GF would have to hold down the fort on her own. That strategy worked out marvelously as we both took our limits pretty quickly.

The sunrise to my right making silhouettes out of the decoys and a dead bird...



Whipple with a Gadwall...



And with a Scaup...



Paxton looking for a cripple...



Chased it down...



Paxton with a Gadwall...



P heading out after a Shoveler...



With the bird...

Whipple chasing a cripple...







The decoys...



Whipple with a Gaddie she had to find in a field...



Paxton with a Widgeon...



And with a Gadwall...



Some geese flying over...



Instead of carrying the birds to the truck, I decided to give Whipple some more exercise...



The birds...

1-20-15

Had some thick fog this morning. Wind would pick up a bit here and there and clear some of it out only to have more take it's place. Birds were pretty sporadic which ended up with a lot of surprises. At one point I could have poked a couple of Redheads with the end of my barrel. Heard some geese throughout the hunt but never saw them.

My view...



Whipple wearing the weather...



Paxton getting after some birds...

Couple different views of the decoys...





Whipple with a bird...



Never had this happen before...



The birds...

1-21-15

This morning started off being overcast with the sun breaking out a little later in the morning. Early movement was fairly decent but a little slow. The birds became skittish about the time the road crew showed up again. Whiffed on more birds than I should have. Had one Gadwall sail far off into the neighbor's field across from us that Whipple had to find.

Couple pics of the sunrise...





Whipple waiting to be sent on a search...



Coming back after finding the bird...





The setup...



The birds...

1-24-15

Mostly sunny with minimal winds if any. Water levels were up due to rain the previous couple of days. Ponds were overflowing. Any and every low spot was holding water. Had some folks out in the area that needed a new watch. Action was slower with the birds scattered with all the new water and fewer birds moving around.

The sun coming up...



Had some ice around the edges...



Paxton bringing in a Widgeon...





Paxton shaking off...

Whipple with a Ringer...



Whipple getting after a Redhead...







The decoys...



The dogs coming back from cleaning off in a puddle before getting in the truck...





The birds...

Excellent shots Fooshman! Very artistic.

1-25-15

Clear and calm early with the wind picking up later. Otherwise nearly identical to the previous hunt. Had several groups around the area that wanted to get an early start. Water levels were up due to rain the previous couple of days. Ponds were overflowing. Any and every low spot was holding water. Action was slower with the birds scattered with all the new water and fewer birds moving around. The birds that did come in came in on a string and would have landed on us given the chance.

The sun starting to come up to my right...



Whipple on a retrieve...







Paxton picking up a bird...



Paxton waiting on some action...



Whipple with a Ringer...