Waterfowling on the Dakota Prairie Potholes

By

Dan Ackerman
Rough Creek Productions

                Opening waterfowl was just around the corner.  I couldn’t wait any longer, I had to run to the local outfitting store and load up on shells that I would be expecting to shoot at oncoming ducks and geese.  Decisions were on my mind as well about buying a blind.  All this prep work for a couple weekends at a few passing birds!
                While at the outfitting store, I ran directly to the newly decorated outdoors section that was adorned with a flying “v” of mallards, some wings cupped and looked as if they were ready to settle into the decoy boxes that were scattered below them.  Next to the decoys laid the ground blinds.  After gleaning over the decoys and after deciding that I had enough decoys, the ground blinds stood out and I came to the store with the thought that I would at least take a look at the blinds and purchase if one camo pattern that I liked the best was in stock and that the blind felt comfortable to lay in.  After trying nearly every blind in stock, one felt the best and it was very easy to sit up quickly and prepare for a shot so I bit the bullet and pulled the trigger on the pocket book and bought the blind. 
                The next day was scouting day before opener.  The drive to the potholes was excruciating long that day because I was so dang excited.  The thoughts of whistling wings just overhead was overwhelming my mind that I actually missed the first flock of “tornadoing” ducks pouring into a harvested wheat field.  My buddy that was traveling with me yelled at me to slow up so we could locate exactly in the field where the ducks were landing.  We found the “X” and marked it on our maps so we could locate it again the following morning in the dark in the very wee hours of the morning.  A few miles later, we found another field loaded with giant honkers!  After marking our second possible hunting spot, we headed back home and discussed our planned scenarios for the next morning’s adventures. 
                The morning came really early as I was so excited that I hardly got 3 hours of sleep.  The alarm clock sounded at 3:45 am and we were headed to the field to get their early enough to setup 6 dozen decoys.  After setting up the magic “U” it was time to drive the pickup away from the spread and begin the agonizing walk back in the pitch black skies. 
                The daylight was just beginning to show itself and the first flights of ducks were buzzing the decoys a tad too early before legal shooting hours.  Finally, the second hand graced the 12 and shooting time was upon us as a small flock of mallards came pouring into the field just in front of our decoys as my buddy called it and said “take em!”  My buddy gave me permission to shoot first and down come three drake mallards on three shots.  I couldn’t believe it, the season began with no misses!  Game on!  The next flock to come in was a small v of some pintails.  It was my turn to call the shots and yelled so as the pintails were settling in.  My buddy dropped his as I rolled over and pulled up behind our decoys and unloaded a shell as a fleeing blue-winged teal tried to escape his position within the flock of pintails.  I dumped the teal.  Still couldn’t believe it, 4 of 4 shots!  The next couple shots were not so lucky as a flock of giant honkers came overhead and it took me three shots at a single goose to just get him to crumple.  My buddy dropped a couple geese meanwhile I was reloading and another flock of mallards was flying by once and looked as if they were going to come back for a second look.  Behold, our thoughts were right and the mallards came back for a second approach, wings locked, and shells began flying again.  What a sight, flights of mallards I had never seen this early in the season.  My buddy and I finished opening morning with our limit of mallards a teal, a gadwall, and 3 geese.  Not a bad opening day! 
                The opening of waterfowling for the year is always an exciting time, especially with duck numbers and slough numbers up.  This time of year, the ducks are forgiving as they are not so easily spooked and tend to come into the decoys with ease.  The geese might tend to steer clear of the decoys as they have already been hunted for nearly the last month.  This is the time of the year we as hunters and outdoorsmen, must grab the camera, the binoculars, the spotting scopes, and of course the guns.  This is your chance to get out and get a taste for the fall in its true spectacular beauty as the skies are filled with migrating birds.  Good luck out there, shoot straight and good vittles!  Enjoy the Great Plains and their filled prairie potholes!