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The recent post of all those beautiful waterfowl mounts prompted me to post one of my favorite waterfowl stories...
You know how you sometimes look forward to something for years and then when you finally get to the experience, it’s worth it? This is one of those memories for me. I love all kinds of hunting and one hunt that has taken me all across the country is waterfowl hunting. I got on a real focus a few years ago and decided to see how many of the 41 species I could connect with in a short time. In about 3 seasons, I successfully hunted 33 species. There is a story behind each of them but this one is about my favorite small duck; cinnamon teal.
Living in Texas or the Midwest, you see a lot of teal but almost always the blue or green teal. They are beautiful little rockets that are a lot of fun to hunt. The one we almost never see is that 3rd species of teal; the cinnamon. In fact, there are very few places that you can reliably find them in good plumage in the United States. One of those places is the Deep South…of California! I bet you didn’t see that coming.
I did a lot of research and found a professional taxidermist that also guides specifically for cinnamon teal. He is so successful that there is a multi-year waiting list to hunt with him. I booked almost 2 1/2 years out and would text him every so often to ask…any cancellations? Nope. No one cancels on this guide, which should tell you something!
When the day finally arrived, I flew into San Diego, rented a car and drove east for a few hours…almost to Arizona! I kept thinking where’s the water at? You have to have water to find ducks. There’s this relatively small area where there is a marsh in SE California…close to Arizona and the border of Mexico. It doesn’t really stand out while looking at maps but believe me, the ducks have found that water and they love it!
I’ve hunted waterfowl so many different ways across the country….in every kind of blind, boat, dry field setup, laying in the mud with a burlap bag over you, even in airboats on the frozen Salt Lakes (that’s a story for another time). This time we were hunting in inflatable kayaks in a reed marsh where the reeds were way over our heads, probably 8-10 feet above the water. We would quietly paddle back and find tiny little openings in the reeds…maybe 10 feet across or at most 40-50 feet wide. The teal wouldn't come into the larger open areas but would stay back in the little openings in the reeds.
The guide put me into the water and then he would go paddle around and stir up the area around us. I was wearing waders of course but that mud was bottomless in places! The first time teal came overhead, you could hear them coming with that sound that only teal make when they light their afterburners…it’s like you can hear the air tearing apart in their primary feathers. It’s an incredible sound and it leaves you no time for gawking around! It’s kind of like listening to a jet fighter and then realizing it is somewhere AHEAD of the sound you are hearing.
The first time, they came ripping by, I know I shot at least 6 feet behind them! I stood there in the mud thinking I’ve got to get more movement in my gun swing but my boots are locked into this mud. So I started stomping the mud down in this waist deep water. After a few minutes of that, it gave me a little more firm footing. The next brace of teal that came over, I hit the drake and he was going so fast that he went another 40 feet dead in the air and then skipped several times off the water.
We paddled around all over that marsh finding little honey holes where the ducks were hiding. Many times we could see them popping in and out of the reeds. They were really safe back in that stuff! The guide several times asked if I wanted other species that were around us and each time I said no way…I came all this way for cinnamon teal and drakes only!
We spent 2 days in the marsh and then a huge storm came in from the Pacific and started dumping a LOT of snow on the coastal mountains. I barely got out before they closed the highway. My hunt that took forever to get started was over so quickly…but it was all worth it!
You know how you sometimes look forward to something for years and then when you finally get to the experience, it’s worth it? This is one of those memories for me. I love all kinds of hunting and one hunt that has taken me all across the country is waterfowl hunting. I got on a real focus a few years ago and decided to see how many of the 41 species I could connect with in a short time. In about 3 seasons, I successfully hunted 33 species. There is a story behind each of them but this one is about my favorite small duck; cinnamon teal.
Living in Texas or the Midwest, you see a lot of teal but almost always the blue or green teal. They are beautiful little rockets that are a lot of fun to hunt. The one we almost never see is that 3rd species of teal; the cinnamon. In fact, there are very few places that you can reliably find them in good plumage in the United States. One of those places is the Deep South…of California! I bet you didn’t see that coming.
I did a lot of research and found a professional taxidermist that also guides specifically for cinnamon teal. He is so successful that there is a multi-year waiting list to hunt with him. I booked almost 2 1/2 years out and would text him every so often to ask…any cancellations? Nope. No one cancels on this guide, which should tell you something!
When the day finally arrived, I flew into San Diego, rented a car and drove east for a few hours…almost to Arizona! I kept thinking where’s the water at? You have to have water to find ducks. There’s this relatively small area where there is a marsh in SE California…close to Arizona and the border of Mexico. It doesn’t really stand out while looking at maps but believe me, the ducks have found that water and they love it!
I’ve hunted waterfowl so many different ways across the country….in every kind of blind, boat, dry field setup, laying in the mud with a burlap bag over you, even in airboats on the frozen Salt Lakes (that’s a story for another time). This time we were hunting in inflatable kayaks in a reed marsh where the reeds were way over our heads, probably 8-10 feet above the water. We would quietly paddle back and find tiny little openings in the reeds…maybe 10 feet across or at most 40-50 feet wide. The teal wouldn't come into the larger open areas but would stay back in the little openings in the reeds.
The guide put me into the water and then he would go paddle around and stir up the area around us. I was wearing waders of course but that mud was bottomless in places! The first time teal came overhead, you could hear them coming with that sound that only teal make when they light their afterburners…it’s like you can hear the air tearing apart in their primary feathers. It’s an incredible sound and it leaves you no time for gawking around! It’s kind of like listening to a jet fighter and then realizing it is somewhere AHEAD of the sound you are hearing.
The first time, they came ripping by, I know I shot at least 6 feet behind them! I stood there in the mud thinking I’ve got to get more movement in my gun swing but my boots are locked into this mud. So I started stomping the mud down in this waist deep water. After a few minutes of that, it gave me a little more firm footing. The next brace of teal that came over, I hit the drake and he was going so fast that he went another 40 feet dead in the air and then skipped several times off the water.
We paddled around all over that marsh finding little honey holes where the ducks were hiding. Many times we could see them popping in and out of the reeds. They were really safe back in that stuff! The guide several times asked if I wanted other species that were around us and each time I said no way…I came all this way for cinnamon teal and drakes only!
We spent 2 days in the marsh and then a huge storm came in from the Pacific and started dumping a LOT of snow on the coastal mountains. I barely got out before they closed the highway. My hunt that took forever to get started was over so quickly…but it was all worth it!
