Pics from the Chesapeake hunt as promised...

Coulter · January 25, 2010, 05:43:36 PM

This is the little "island" I was telling you guys about that we set up on the first day. This pic was about halfway between low tide and high tide. There was very little ground showing at high tide.

As Forrest Gump once said..."This is my boat..." the one on the left is mine.

My hunting partner coming back from a scouting mission.

Rise and shine on Saturday morning...out after some brant.

Our efforts to get into brant were feeble. However, the highlight of the trip came when we motored back over to the boat launch. My partner spotted a couple flocks of brant loafing around on an oyster bed. Now keep in mind we are both in "sneakboats". These boats are intended to be used as such, and the conditions were perfect for us to put a sneak on these brant. Here is how it works... We both motored upwind of the flock and pointed the bow of our boats at the flock of brant. Once we are all set, the motors get shut off and the guns get loaded. Then we duck behind our spray dodgers so the brant can't see us. The wind pushes the boats slowly closer to the flock and they just pop their heads around wondering what the blob of grass or big log is floating towards them. Once the gunner is in range he pops his head up from behind the spray dodger and the birds spook. As they take flight, you open fire on them and hope your aim is true. My buddy had his flock flush on him and never fired a shot even though they were in range. He knew I had not shot a brant before and wanted me to get mine first. I looked over and realized why he didn't fire and felt the pressure on me as I drifted in closer to my own little flock. When I was in range I popped up and they flushed. I dropped two, which is the daily limit, and finished my first perfectly executed sneak out of my sneakboat. Again, conditions have to be perfect for this type of hunting and we couldn't have asked for a better set up on these birds. Here are the results...the one on top will be heading to my taxidermist when he gets back from his NC duck hunt.

Here is my buddy getting a line of decoys ready to string out off of another little island.

Not really a part of the hunt, but I thought this was neat. There is a hunt club cabin nestled in the trees if you look hard. I was set up right off the island this was located on.

View from inside the boat after a long bout of nothing flying...

This one is from our last day out the sun was starting to set and casting some cool rays down on Chesapeake Bay.

All in all it was a great time. I didn't bag many birds...only 1 canvasback and 2 brant. But the things I learned and experienced far outweigh the value any additional birds may have added to the hunt. Numerous lessons were learned regarding my boat, rigging, freelance duck hunting, classic sneakboat hunting (did I mention that was the highlight of the trip. Not because of the birds I got, but more because of the way I got them

) I can't wait to go again next year. I have a lot of offseason prep work I am looking forward to now. Hope you guys enjoy the pictures.

Steve

slagmaker · January 25, 2010, 06:00:52 PM

Dem little boats look fun!!!

Thanks for the pics and story. Loved the read.

Beautifulll bird. How ya fix'm up for eatin?

What was your prefered firearm of choice for bringing them down?

HaMeR · January 25, 2010, 08:22:37 PM

That's cool Steve!! Congrats on the Brants. It's good to know you made it off the big pond safely too. I've floated the creek for squirrels before. It was a lot of fun & I bet your float was too. Apparently the peeper is working fine as well!!

CCP · January 25, 2010, 09:14:41 PM

Man I love those pic's and the story was awesome.

PLEASE keep them a comin!

pitw · January 25, 2010, 09:26:49 PM

Wow Steve them were impressive pics and the country side looks as flat as what I normally show

. Glad you had a great time and I can tell you did by your plans for a return trip.

. Don't the guys with a hunt cabin mind you setting up just off their island

.

Silencer · January 26, 2010, 03:49:09 AM

Awesome, never hunted there, always wanted !!!!

Coulter · January 26, 2010, 05:50:22 AM

Slag...the canvasback will likely be cooked with some other ducks and made it into duck ala 'range (< no idea how to spell that

) The brant I'll probably cube up and make into spicy brant nuggets

As far as my firearm...I am just shooting my 870 Express right now. I would love to pick up a decent double barrel 12 ga though. Most guys are shooting semi-auto's, I just can't bring myself to using one yet. That's just me though. And the boats...the boats are half the fun if not more! They are absolutely awesome to be in and hunt from.

Glenn...the peeper is working good. Though, I think I will use that as my excuse for any misses that I had on this trip

I have been wanting to float a creek or two for coon in the fall. I just haven't found the time to do it yet. Maybe next year.

CCP...That's all the waterfowling pics for this year. Season is closed now unless I go after geese

Barry...as long as we are not actually on their land we are all perfectly legal to hunt there. Some of the guys will give you a hard time, but there isn't a lot they can do about it. However, if we know there are guys hunting around the cabin we will obviously look for another spot. There are a tremendous amount of areas to hunt out there. No sense in ticking anybody off. There wasn't anybody around this particular cabin.

Vic...you have to go someday, you would absolutely love it!

Steve

coyote101 · January 26, 2010, 05:54:47 AM

Great pictures Steve.

Looks like a lot of fun. Glad the eye is better.

Pat

KySongDog · January 26, 2010, 05:59:42 AM

Great pics and story! I learned about sneak boat hunting. Never knew there was such a thing!

iahntr · January 26, 2010, 06:49:45 PM

Very nice pics.
Thanks for sharin it with us.

vvarmitr · January 27, 2010, 08:25:45 AM

Quote from: Coulter on January 26, 2010, 05:50:22 AM
I would love to pick up a decent double barrel 12 ga though.

Wouldn't ya know I just picked one up last night.

You get over this way Steve I got a gun shop to take you to.

Great story & pix!

slagmaker · January 27, 2010, 11:02:10 AM

I thought that was an 870 laying there in your pic. Nothing wrong wtih an 870. I have taken much wild game with mine. I also have a Winchester 20ga auto. I like it but as you mentioned I would like to have a O/U. I just aint sure what guage I want it in. I like a 20ga for the weight savings but the 12ga is a little more forgiving when it comes to hitting the target.

Spicy brant nuggets? Now that sounds good. Never had wild duck/goose/migratory water fowl before.

Now about these sneak boats. I crave info on them. Who makes them?, where can i get one?, what kind of power do you use for locomotion?, what kind of weight capacity they have? They look like the perfect thing for some of the lakes and rivers we have around here.

FinsnFur · January 27, 2010, 11:28:44 AM

Steve, is there rhyme or reason that the decoys are all lined up like that?
Do you do that on purpose or is that just how they begin as they are all tied together. I never seen em set out like that before.
Cool pics though

JohnP · January 27, 2010, 02:22:31 PM

Great pictures and story. When we lived in VA a friend of mine always wanted to take me duck hunting on the Chesapeake and some of the surrounding islands. It seemed that I was always to busy or there was a work requirement. After reading about your trip and seeing the pictures I regret that I missed out on a good time.

Coulter · January 27, 2010, 04:59:35 PM

James...I have a nice new call I'll trade ya for that new double of yours

Hopefully I am able to pick one up before next season.

Slag...Sneakboats are actually an old time favorite, not many people use them anymore, but they are gaining in popularity again. The old timers used to have their boats propelled by manpower or sail only...no motor. Most of them are propelled by horsepower these days. Here is a site that has anything you would ever want to know about sneakboats and other waterfowling craft...

http://duckboats.net/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi

That is actually one of my favorite sites to visit...beside FNF of course

There are a few makers out there, some good and some...well you know. If you have any questions sign into the forums and they are very willing to help. Try a search first though. If you have any specific questions send me a PM and I'll answer them the best I can.

This link will answer some of the questions you already asked as far as capacity and makers....
http://duckboats.net.nmsrv.com/specs/sneak.html

They are a LOT of fun to mess around with...half the fun is just customizing your boat the way you like it. I have a lot of plans for mine over the summer to make it even more efficient.

Jimbo...you can't tell me you've never heard the old saying to "have all of your ducks in row". Well if you have then that has nothing to do with my decoys.

There are usually 12-15 decoys attached to a mainline to make deploying them much quicker and picking them up a breeze. Each end of the mainline has a dropper with an anchor on it to hold the birds where you want them. I have hunted with one mainline and I have hunted with up to 7 or 8 mainlines at times. We normally also throw out some singles into the mix to avoid having an army of well trained duck soldiers. Strategically placing some singles break up the lines a bit. This method is usually only used by layout gunners and sneakboat gunners. Though some guys are starting to utilize it from shore blinds as well...especially when they are targeting divers or sea ducks.

John...that is too bad you missed out on hunting the Eastern Shore. It is absolutely awesome down there. I can't wait to go again next year...Maybe a couple of times if time allows.

Steve

Silencer · January 27, 2010, 05:42:17 PM

Quoteespecially when they are targeting divers or sea ducks.

Yeppy, I run em like that on the river. All the times I've seen the rafts of divers they've been in a line like that running down the river. I usually run a small line of em out deeper, then set up my puddlers in close all broke up with strategic openings of course

FinsnFur · January 27, 2010, 11:21:54 PM

Quote from: Coulter on January 27, 2010, 04:59:35 PM

Jimbo...you can't tell me you've never heard the old saying to "have all of your ducks in row". Well if you have then that has nothing to do with my decoys. There are usually 12-15 decoys attached to a mainline to make deploying them much quicker and picking them up a breeze. Each end of the mainline has a dropper with an anchor on it to hold the birds where you want them. I have hunted with one mainline and I have hunted with up to 7 or 8 mainlines at times. We normally also throw out some singles into the mix to avoid having an army of well trained duck soldiers. Strategically placing some singles break up the lines a bit. This method is usually only used by layout gunners and sneakboat gunners. Though some guys are starting to utilize it from shore blinds as well...especially when they are targeting divers or sea ducks.

Yeah that makes a little more sense to me, throw out some stragglers to avoid having the appearance of a well trained army of duck soldiers.