OPENING DAY, November 24, 2016 -  from Anthony Babich (check out his incredible pictures below, Island Outdoors)

 

“Hey Ant wake up it’s time to go” words I awoke to along with the smell of fresh brewing coffee filling the room along with the drone of an alarm clock here on this day we as duck hunters all await for.. opening day.  Like a kid on Christmas morning, I suddenly came to consciousness and realized today was the day I’d get to finally return to a new season of waterfowling. The long-standing tradition that’s gone back in my family since I was a young boy heading out with my father on the salt marshes of Long Island’s Great South Bay. At this time I carried along a toy Monte Carlo cap shotgun unbeknownst to me, I wasn’t really the one bagging the ducks at 6 yrs old when my father knocked em out of the skies above us. Like many others here on the south shore of Long Island we anxiously await Thanksgiving day, not for the evening feast, but rather the amber-lit skies filled with a mixed variety of waterfowl making the morning flights across the marsh. After some quick breakfast we headed out the back door to the duck boat, she was a 1992 TDB Classic docked and awaiting her 24th opening day morning hunt. Built in Maine of August 92’ she made her way south towards North Carolina hunting some years in the bay until her sale to a man in New Jersey. After years of use in the Barnegat Bay, she was once again sold to a Mr. Richardson living in Ipswich, Massachusetts using the boat for strictly for waterfowl photography along the tidal marsh, until her sale to me here on Long Island, New York back in October of 2013.

 

We loaded up the boat and left the dock towards the faintly lit sky heading south towards an island located within the marshlands that my father and grandfather have hunted for over 60 years along with having one hell of an old retriever’s ashes left there many seasons’ ago in remembrance along the tidal bank so she could be with us on the hunt. I planed off the boat and we had steady winds out of the west 10-15 knots with a falling tide a hunter’s ideal conditions as waterfowl primarily feed along the marsh when the water recedes. I looked out at the familiar outlines of the islands I’ve come to recognize throughout my entire life growing up on the bay and tucked the TDB into the “perfect spot”. In order to have the ultimate deception for waterfowl here on the south shore, we use salt-hay to cover the duck boats up as our island marshes are primarily salt hay mixed with an array of other foliage.  We pulled out a variety of decoys including Black Duck, Pintail, Teal, Brant, Geese and mallard puddlers. For me I like to hunt with both a shotgun and a camera, I find the thrill is in both capturing the action along with backing up my father’s missed shots! Luckily, I had both this morning, more importantly, I had the shotgun but that’ll come later on...

 

After the setup, we looked out at the rising sun watching the tide fall and could hear the whistling wings above us of flights crossing the bay. About 10 minutes before legal shooting time we had over a dozen Black Ducks commit to the decoys, the most I’ve ever seen clustered together land like that. At a moments notice the slightest click of my camera scared them away followed by a disgruntled look from my father.. after that we had some mallards give us a look landing in and I knew it would be a fantastic morning. As legal shooting time finally approached here came a single black duck gliding into the decoys with the camera ready I captured the shot and my father followed up with the shotgun bagging the first harvest of the 2016-2017 season. After that we watched the flocks of Atlantic Brant cross into the decoys, followed by hooded mergansers and the infamous cormorant. Suddenly there came a drake mallard off to the left my father pointed out the distance and rose up to fire taking two shots just behind it, I grabbed my “real” shotgun this time tried to call the bird back fearing he was gone for sure. After a few calls he came back swirling high above the boat I kept on with the drake call and he descended just out across the horizon I looked at my father as the drake quickly approached us once again and said “Let me show ya how it’s done” with the cocky confidence and pressure turned up I fired a shot just as the drake suspected something was up and with a bit of luck I watched the drake fold up and splash to the water just beyond the decoys. My father turned and with a straight face said “Not bad son…. Not bad” My overconfidence was quickly ended when while I was fidgeting with my camera my father suddenly pointed out a drake pintail overhead. We watched it flyover and disappear way out into the sky.

 

 I then followed up on a blackduck, single hen mallard and we decided to get back home as the tide reversed and switched to incoming. As we were picking up the decoys my father suddenly looked up and saw what looked like the same drake pintail that flew over earlier that morning. He took the gun slung over his shoulder loaded up and crouched down beside the boat as I did likewise. We waited and the bird now reversed it’s direction and was heading straight for us! I couldn’t believe it my father yelled out “Ant don’t you mess this up with that damn camera now!” I slowly put my camera down and watched as the bird approached the decoys a bit weary but he stood no chance… my father raised up and fired a single shot and that drake pintail came down with a splash. He looked at me and said “now go out there and get my duck Ant” ahh! Once again he showed me up but all in good fun, we ended the day with our black duck limit 4 puddle ducks 2 brant and that single drake pintail which hangs over this computer desk here today. Like many others it was a memorable hunt for sure and just another opening day for the 14’ TDB!