An Outdoorsman‛s Journal: Mississippi River duck hunt 2023
Hello friends, You know that you may have some grey hairs on your head, if any hairs, if you are returning for an annual duck hunt that you first did 52 duck seasons ago. This year, there were 15 duck hunters and two fishermen on our annual pilgrimage to an island on the Mississippi River near Ferryville. At least for me, it was the most gear-oriented and exhausting way I know of to spend three days in my year of trips.
Friday, Sept. 29 – High 80, low 54 A long boat ride to an island by myself and within three hours there would be 17 of us, including my daughter Selina who does this trip every year but will not miss a class at UWSP. My dad, the late Robert Walters, was the founder of this trip. For most of the guys – and Selina, who is the only female – this is a cannot-miss kind of adventure. I would call the feeling for everyone, both at campfire time and our duck hunts, “electric.”
One time over the course of the night, I looked at eight kids jaw-jacking who are between the ages of 16 and 32 and realized they all went to Necedah High School. My stepsons Travis and Joey Dushek do not miss this expedition; we have a duck contest and quite often Trav or Joey wins it.
Saturday, Sept. 30 – High 87, low 55 So warm you can be sitting in a canoe in the dark and not be chilled at all. Selina, myself, Ruby and her pup Red had to paddle about a mile to where we would watch night become day. Kind of bad luck greeted us when there were other hunters in our area. Neither of us gets overly concerned about these things, but in the end, we were cut off for much of our potential shooting.
I did get one drake wood duck, which Ruby found but did not retrieve all the way to me. This is new to Ruby, and she is excellent at marking dropped ducks and always finding them, but it is a bummer when she is swimming back to the canoe and drops them 20 feet away. Late in the morning, Selina and I went exploring and found what would be an epic spot to hunt the rest of the weekend. I do have to mention, I rarely cook in my canoe but today we were going to have a breakfast fit for a king, that is until I realized I had forgotten a lighter. This afternoon I witnessed Selina really get a grasp on dropping ducks with her 11-87. She ended up with three drake wood ducks; I ended the day with my limit of woodies and a teal. Red is learning to figure out where the dropped birds are. Tonight, just like last night, 17 people that are all like family had a perfect campfire kind of night.
Sunday, Oct. 1 – High 91, low 60 Selina and I stand in shallow water next to our canoe and watch the sky. Ruby is so into duck hunting that at the age of 7 she stands in the water and sleeps. In short, I try to get her into the canoe to sleep but she insists on staying in the water. Selina and I dropped six ducks this morning and did not lose a one.
When our morning hunt was over, we paddled back to camp. Everyone else had broken their camp and was leaving. Selina and I got our cots out of the tent and we both took a first-rate siesta.
When our gang is referring to this trip, it is always called “The Mississippi.” It is total exhaustion, sometimes not enough or good enough shooting or dog work. The Mississippi is a 110-percent addiction to returning the next year!
Will return each year until I can’t. Sunset
Mark Walters
