As strange as it may sound, I hunted ducks in rain, snow and sleet yesterday — and it was only October 29. Yes, a nor’easter formed off of the east coast yesterday and battered the mid-Atlantic states and New England for most of the day. I hunted in southern New Castle County, Delaware, so I was on the rain/snow line for the most of the day. However, the strong winds and precipitation blew a bunch of migrating ducks onto the banks of the Delaware River, so there was a lot of hunting action.
I arrived at the blind site before dawn and set the decoys out. It was 39 degrees and raining, but the temperatures dropped throughout the day. By shooting time, it was 36 degrees, but the ducks were moving. A pair of wood ducks came into my decoys about 20 minutes after shooting time, and I dropped the drake. A lone teal hovered over the decoys, but when I swung my gun, she took off.
About 90 minutes into the hunt, my buddy Bill showed up. After sitting for another 30 minutes, three more wood ducks tried to pitch in. I shot another one. The other two took off. About an hour later, two more wood ducks came in, Bill shot and dropped a drake. As he went to retrieve it, it flew away. Soon after, a lone northern shoveler came in, and Bill dropped him. By now, it was about 35 degrees.
The windy was blowing about 35 mph from the northeast, and rain was getting in every exposed nook and cranny. We broke for lunch and to warm up and dry off a bit.
We returned to hunt the afternoon, just as the rain was changing to sleet, then snow. We saw a bunch of ducks, but none wanted to pay us a visit.