Over the past 4 years, Mike “Tuck” Poddo has made a trip to Oklahoma to come duck hunting with me. Without going into details of each of those years, basically our success rate has fallen each time Tuck shows his face around here. Somehow he brings bad luck with him everywhere he goes or at least it seems that way. This last weekend was no different. Although the ducks are few and far between right now, there’s always those spots you can scratch out a few. The first morning we hunted my creek. I had just scouted it the day before and it was holding a couple dozen mallards and gadwall. Friday morning we didn’t fire a shot other than Tuck jumping a few that had landed down stream. He missed of course. We scouted a few spots I’ve been to in the past and found a backwater holding a few birds so we setup on that the next morning. Saw 2 and they never hit the decoys. I sent a message to my buddy Scotty and asked if he had a place that we could kill a few. He took us out to one of his spots that always produces. Saw 3 that never hit the decoys. On the way back last night, Tuck and I decided that he would sleep in his last morning here and I would sneak down to the creek and see if I could get him a duck to take home to his kids (they told him he better bring a duck home). Here’s the story of this morning:
I woke up at 7:45, grabbed my gun and took a walk with Cody, my old lab. I checked 3 spots along the south side and not one bird on the creek. I walk over to the north side and checked a few spots and nothing. Not one bird on the water. As I walk towards the point where my two creeks meet, I hear a drake gadwall make their notorious buzzing quack. I look downstream and he’s down there quite a ways feeding. I decide to make a sneak attack out to the point of my property to see if I can get Tuck a duck to take home. As I get out there hidden behind the last tree, he’s still about 60-80 yds away and there’s also a drake mallard with him. I stand up and as they get up I make three hail mary shots at them which was obviously not successful at that distance. I look down in disgust and I look back at them as they fly way. Well, for some stupid reason the drake mallard ends up flying towards me instead of away. I grab one shell out of my pocket, chamber just in time for one shot. I dropped him dead on the ground on the other side of the creek. After several attempts, Cody finally picks up the scent and makes the retrieve. As he brings it back to me and drops it on the bank, there was a shine on his bright orange leg that I hadn’t seen in a long time. It was a band! I just stood there and laughed and thought to myself “The Poddo Factor”
Kill em!
Rooney