Pucknut

That was me growing up Jerseyducker! My Dad would guard the decoys after the early flight and I’d take my chances on the marsh. Stealth versus survival. Some days it seems easy other days impossible! 4-5 mile marsh walks is a lot of work! Good luck with the rest of the season.

Thanks! I guess its a little bit of a memoir because I can remember sitting in the brush as an 11 year 35 years ago watching ducks come in and getting nervous. If you haven't ever tried jump shooting ducks you should try some time. I love it, but that's because I can be a sneaky bastard!

I enjoy true waterfowling as much as the next guy. I love knowing I've put out a good spread and I'm hidden enough enough to fool birds. Not just flying past, but wings cupped and feet down. But this has been a different season and I've never been patient in the blind, perhaps why I don't deer hunt. Owing to this and some time constraints I've been hunting more and waterfowling less. Saturday and yesterday I found myself with fair tides, winds and just enough time to run down to the marsh to jump shoot. I enjoy walking the marsh and it reminds me a lot of quail hunting ( wild quail). Its a place where a creek opens out to the bay and always seem to hold water and black ducks. My Dad and I used to take the boat here to hunt the bay. We'd sit in a stand of high tide bush until that disappeared in the some years ago and hide the boat in this creek. Its about a 1/2 mile walk in and then if you drop a duck it will be on the other side of this 20ft. wide creek. Then its a half mile back to the start point, a 1/4 mile west, and 1/2 back out to the bay before the walk back to the road. Both days I shot a black duck although I probably could have taken a second, but I like to make sure I have a dead bird, before finding another target. One week left so we all have to get out when, and how, we can.

Sounds like a good recipe to me, just remember to dial your expectations back from mallard or venison. I consider Diver to be an acquired taste, like cognac!

I think adds are present on any site with free content. Having the adds is an adjustment, but for me is far outweighed by the quality of the content. Thanks for doing all the heavy lifting! Bob

Congrats on the hunt, but do yourself a favor and don’t rush it to the plate. Most game needs thoughtful preparation. Brine it for a day, then soak in water for another day. In the meantime read up on some recipes.

I checked on the applicability of Farm Bill programs to leased State lands yesterday. The answer I received was yes. I believe these programs would be good for WMA fields, but they are still only optional, not mandatory.

I think I would have gained a lot from that conference. We flew about 400 acres on in Burlington County of which about 300 acres was soybeans. I believe the later harvest of soybean is the main conflict with the the seeding deadline of September 15th set by NRCS if cover crop planting is not performed until after harvest and if the mixture contains a brasica. Hopefully the Technical Committee can provide a little relief for that hard date. For these WMA fields it sure would be nice if they could be left as food plots. The photo above are a bean field in Medford Township, the first prior to harvest and one immediately after combining.

No, strictly for cover crop, but NRCS has programs specifically for Quail habitat and also Black Duck Habitat. I believe these are also funded at a high percentage. For the Burlington/Camden/Ocean county office call the USDA Columbus Service Center at (609) 534-9477 with any questions. NRCS is not currently effected by the shutdown.

Requiring cover crop is a great move! This can actually benefit the leasing financially farmer too. The NRCS branch of USDA cost shares cover crop and pays a per acre cost to the leasing farmer if ranked high enough to be approved for funding. Single species cover crop doesn't usually rank high enough by itself but other factors weigh in. Multi-species cover crop ranks much higher and those applications are almost always approved. This years cost share rate is $50.79 per acre for basic (ie. winter rye) and $56.86 per acre for multi-species. This per acre cost is paid direct to the leasing farmer who is responsible for purchasing and planting the appropriate type and amount of seed. Any monies not spent stays with the farmer. I was involved in a grant 2 years ago and will be again this year to grant fund free cover crop in the pinelands portions of Burlington and Camden County so I've had to learn some about it. What I am curious about is the length of the WMA leases. If they are single year terms the farmer doesn't have as much to gain from improving the soil, but if they are 5 year terms now the farmer has an interest in building up the ground to improve the yield and make more profit.

Nice! Good luck tomorrow!

I was out on Reeds Bay in the rain on Monday. Bagged buffies and broadbills, but missed my shot on a black duck. Did all the hard work, just didn't make the shot. In spite of all the ducks I saw flying off the refuge I'd say the numbers are definitely down, except maybe for Black ducks. As stated previously the cold weather just hasn't been there to push birds south. One more month, good luck!

Best of luck! Make memories! Might be a break in the rain anyhow.

I was out several times early and did ok, but December has been more difficult with work and family schedules. Yesterday I went out but wasn't able to get out on the marsh until 3:30 to hunt/scout a few places. I'm encouraged for January so long as we don't get a heavy snow that knocks down the grass I need to hide in.

Great problem to have! You can always go to the web or Duck Unlimited. Assuming they're breasted out, but are they skin on or skin off? Makes a difference in recipes. I've been cooking mine with an iron skillet recently which is quick and keeps them tender. Try marinades / rubs too. Good luck and enjoy!