If you are just starting to get ready for the 2017-18 duck season, you are already late. But you can make up for lost time.
It’s time to make sure you have your blind cleaned up, pumped out and brushed up good. Get your decoys ready, check the lines and weights and clean them up good. We will begin setting out decoys next week.
If you have water to pump up or get ready, now’s the time to do it. You don’t have much longer.
Other things I want to remind hunters is to make sure your gear is in good shape, your gun cleaned and safety checked and make sure you have plenty of shells and other gear. One thing I suggest every year is to make sure your waders aren’t leaking. I don’t care if it is hot or cold, the worst thing you can do on an opening morning hunt is discover your waders are leaking. You can test them good by putting them on and using them while putting decoys out or working on the blind, or you can just hit the shallow end of somebody’s swimming pool. Just make sure there aren’t any issues.
You should have been shooting some all summer, but if you haven’t, you still have time to shoot a few practice rounds. Also, make sure your dog is out and working so he or she will be ready to go opening morning.
It’s a lot of work, but it is all worthwhile when the first set of wings cup up over the decoys and you put the ducks on the lanyard.
Two things to be remembered: It’s a lot better to be prepared than it is to be sorry. And it’s a whole lot better to be safe than sorry.
Coming up: Remember to check back on the Jeff Simmons’ Duck Report for all the latest and greatest duck hunting info from our area this season. We will have the LDWF November Aerial Duck Survey results from Northeast Louisiana for you next week and daily reports all 60 days of the upcoming season! Remember to check out our Facebook Page as well and stay up with what’s going on in the duck blinds of northeast Louisiana.
