Pain in ass Pintails

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Rugdoc

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Went duck hunting yesterday and it took be over an hour to get to the spot, set up and wait for legal light, then flock after flock of pintails came overhead and I got my limit of 4 pintails in an hour then I had to quit because despite thousands of birds in the air, they were all pintails and then it took me an hour to pack up 10 decoys. The flood tide had wrapped pounds and pounds of eel grass around the anchor weights and every one took ages to untangle.

I'd have had my 4 sooner if I was a better shot.

And my wife doesn't even like pintails, she wants to eat mallards.
 
Boy do I feel bad for you, NOT! Chuckle...

I'd have loved to be there with ya! I've actually never taken a male pintail & could see having it done up by a taxidermist!

Cheers
Jay
 
I've had mixed shooting in that spot before with widgeons, teal, mallards and even a shoveller in the mix, but this time there was no variety at all. Thus after four birds I had to go home.

Then to make matters worse my buddy called with news that the past two evenings he was shooting a a field he has permission in and limited out on corn-fed mallards both nights.
 
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ANd there are no prettier duck than a drake pintail fully plumed. It's -40 in MB so enjoy everyday of December duck hunting you can
 
I went to work yesterday and busted my ass working on conveyor drives for conveyors that are KMs long.
I was covered in grease ,cut, bruised, stiff and sore.

The only thing that I can think of that would have been less fun would have been having your day. NOT. !
no pity from me
LOL
 
Again if this is the kinda day you complain about, tell me please where this Valhalla of duck hunting is of which you speak, cause your good days must be epic...
 
I think you either being smart a$$, a nice one of course, or you don't know what real problems are like. Appreciate what you have for duck hunting opportunities. I have been hunting ducks since I was 15 and I am 61 now and I have never shot at a pintail. There not on our flyway here. They pass through here heading north in spring as I have banded dozens of them. But in fall they seem to take a different route south.
 
Any day in the blind or on the water is a good day.
What makes it better is being able to call in a few birds to your set.
For those who want to shoot Pins or Sprigs should come over to the Fraser marshes where there are loads of them rafting in the Bays around Ladner, Delta and Tsawwassen and if you know a farmer or two you might be able to find a few more in the feilds eating rotting spuds or pumkins even.
Many years ago with a Gun Club member (RIP Randy Grange) I was invited to shoot in Cloverdale in Fryes Corner we shot a limit(8) of Drake Pins in about 5 hours .
The hardest part about that day was the slog into and out of the flooded field with thirty six decoys and three limits of birds.
The rest is priceless.
Then there was the time with another group of guys shooting Brant in Boundary Bay from the beach... that is for another time and place.
Time for tea and short bread cookies.
Rob
 
mrgoat said:
I think you either being smart a$$, a nice one of course, or you don't know what real problems are like. Appreciate what you have for duck hunting opportunities. I have been hunting ducks since I was 15 and I am 61 now and I have never shot at a pintail. There not on our flyway here. They pass through here heading north in spring as I have banded dozens of them. But in fall they seem to take a different route south.
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I used to do a lot of duck hunting on and around Georgian Bay, Tiny Marsh and Matchedash Bay. One year, I got a pintail drake over a flooded field behind Coldwater. That was about 20 years ago, though...the first and only pintail I've both seen and shot.
 
Chuckbuster

You were fortunate to get a pintail, no doubt in the thousands of ducks that pass by here every fall stands to reason there may be a few pintails. Hunted all the places you mention over the years. Matchedash and Tiny have been off the list for years due to the ethnic crowds of yahoos in attendance from Toronto. The area is not the tranquil little hunters retreat it once was due to urbanization from Toronto.
 
mrgoat said:
Chuckbuster

You were fortunate to get a pintail, no doubt in the thousands of ducks that pass by here every fall stands to reason there may be a few pintails. Hunted all the places you mention over the years. Matchedash and Tiny have been off the list for years due to the ethnic crowds of yahoos in attendance from Toronto. The area is not the tranquil little hunters retreat it once was due to urbanization from Toronto.
Click to expand...

Yes, I thought it was very good fortune as well. I tried to locate that old field a couple of years ago, but couldn't quite find it again. It seems that 20 years was plenty of time for it to become a tangled mess of young trees and scrub...pity since that spot was quite productive for us in terms of mallards and woodies.

I hear you about Tiny Marsh...it was on it's way to being a place not to be on opening day back then. Again, most unfortunate as it was very productive early in the season. But, it experienced burnout quite quickly as the ducks fled soon after the opener. We found a good spot to be was actually in the cat tail maze behind Wye Marsh. A great spot to canoe in and connect on geese and mallards. I wonder what it's like back in there now...
 
I have managed to shoot more than a few pintails from Matchedash Bay and Tiny Marsh, as well as a number of other species, several of which were banded birds
including mallards, blacks, wigeon, gadwall, blue & greenwinged teal, wood duck, greater & lesser scaup, goldeneye, canvasback, redhead, bufflehead, ringneck & oldsquaw,
not to mention Canadas & a couple of snows . I've yet to shoot a shoveler though ! Tiny was (and perhaps still is) one of MNR's favourite banding locations.

ANY day you can put out 10 decoys and shoot 4 pintails is a good hunt. If you're whining about that, you should re-examine your reasons for waterfowling in the first place.

As for tide & eelgrass areas ... I've had mallards shot on the west coast that were feeding on rotten salmon. You can have them. I'd take the pintails any day !
Almost any bird feeding on corn or grain is pretty nice for the table however...
 
Up my way late season mallards start eating large snails off of the gravel bars. They taste just like fish (in a bad way). I will take a white fatted pin tail any day. Shot a few pintails in Manitoba very early in the season and they were great also. I wish I had things so well that I could complain about that kind of a hunt....

Darryl
 
These pintails eat little molluscs once they hit the coast and taste kind of metallic and fishy too.

Yesterday my wife stewed two in a soya sauce/water broth with organic Valencia orange peel, star anise, cinnamon and ginger for Christmas dinner and they were the best pintails ever.
 
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