Kansas, My Return to the Central Flyway!

It was our first day in Kansas. We really did not have a clue where to hunt. There was so much good looking duck habitat that we were awe struck! It became immediately obvious that a scouting trip was necessary. So we headed out with a few hours of daylight left. We barely made our way 300 yards when we flushed a flock of more than 100 big ducks! "Looks like a good spot to me!" I shouted. We set up there and threw out a couple dozen fakes. Thirty minutes later we watched a big flock of teal land about a quarter mile away. I mumbled in astonishment, "We are going to need more decoys." We had a good evening, but the next day we were prepared!

Our first evening hunt

Knowing that we were hunting public water, we were up long before sunrise. We needed to get to that spot! We beat everyone to the water that morning. We made our way in the dark to "our spot". We set out two spreads of decoys, thirty pintails just to the west of us, and thirty mallards to the east of us with a hole in the middle as a landing zone. We also set up seven mojos. We were rewarded early and often. By eight o'clock we watched several flocks of redheads land in out dekes and fly off. We could not shoot any more of the beautiful divers. We saw large flocks that morning. In an hour and a half we were two ducks short of our three man limit. With a high wind warning in effect, we opted to avoid the coming 55 mile per hour winds and start picking up! What a day! In addition to the redheads, we shot widgeons, gadwalls, scaup, green wing teal, and a canvasback. Add the mallards from our first evening hunt and we harvested seven species! Not a bad start. We assumed that the forecast kept the other hunters home, and that is why we did not see anyone. 

The next day it was pintails! We had multiple big flocks of sprigs swooping in. It was quite a spectacle for some boys from Ohio! We see a few pins and usually shoot one or two, but we never see big flocks like that. Day two also brought mallards, ring necks, goldeneye, a few shovelers and a ruddy duck. We were shocked that we still did not see any other hunters! In Ohio, if you are shooting ducks, you get company and plenty of it! We limited, but not until 10:00. When we got to the ramp we met a local guy and his sons. He was belly aching about how there were no birds yet! They shot 14 ducks and were complaining! They asked where we were from. We said that we made the trip from Ohio. He looked at us in disbelief, "Don't you have ducks in Ohio? What are you guys doing all the way out here!" We explained that we had a terrible first season and our season wasn't open right then anyway.

A couple bull pins and a nice baldpate

On day three there were trucks and trucks with boat trailers in the parking areas. Oh no! We thought! Here come the hoards! We knew it was only a matter of time. Oh well, maybe no one took our spot. We did hear some shots that day, but we could see no one. There was no interference, nobody shooting when ducks were cupped up working our blocks. It was great! There is so much room it is unbelievable! This day brought Spoonies! Hundreds of them! My two companions each shot very nicely plumed drakes, both were stuffed.

At the risk of sounding redundant, just let me say that we did well every day. We collected 13 species of ducks. We hunted rivers, fields, lakes, swamps and all were productive!

Our last day in Kansas

Our merry band of waterfowlers managed to collect 95 ducks, 3 mergansers and a goose in 5 and a half days. We also managed to wear out two Labrador Retrievers.

Gunner (top) and his dad

Not too shabby! The Central Flyway comes through again! I would like to express a special thank you to all the Kansas residents we met. They were kind, friendly and helpful. One gentleman even shared with us the location of his favorite spot. Now that is friendly! To all of you who are unfamiliar with Kansas, I highly recommend Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Area! It's the bomb!