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I went out for a little bit this morning still hoping to catch some migrators coming through.  No luck yet.  In this area , we don’t hold very many local birds so we are always waiting for something to pass through on their migration south.  This type of hunting means we have very slow periods and with the occasional incredible burst of birds.  I have gone out some mornings and literally saw less than a dozen ducks and then go out the very next day and see hundreds or even thousands of birds.  If you are bowhunting for ducks in areas like this, you better be an optimist or you’ll miss out on some truly remarkable hunts.

After Saturday’s disappointing failure of the new shooting line, I opted to replace it with the original line.  I just hate limiting my range to less than twenty five yards.  That just isn’t much distance when the wind is wrong and ducks aren’t committing.  A couple buffleheads reminded me, when my arrow screached to a halt, that the string tied to my arrow is just too short for ducks that won’t commit and a wind that would not cooperate.

After a couple shots at the buffleheads, I was surprised that the AMS reel had frozen up when I tried to bring my arrow back in.  The retrieving wheel in the reel iced up in the sub freezing temperatures and quit working.  I had been thinking that lighter line would solve a lot of my frustrations, but I guess I have a bigger concern as the mercury starts settling into the bottom of the thermometers. 

So my options for late season shooting seem to be shrinking.  I would love it if I had more opportunities to hunt fields, small ponds, or drain ditches.  Those are the perfect areas to use flu flus.  But lakes and rivers are going to require a better arrow retrieval system.  I guess my next try should be a spincast reel, it might perform better in freezing temperatures.