11
Jan
2012
by Tony
The second half of the season for us generally means some of the best mallard hunting in the Midwest. This year was no different from an excellent hunting standpoint! However, Mother Nature didn’t have it in her cards to have a ‘normal’ late season in terms of weather. Typically the latter part of the season the weather is cold and we are battling ice. With the use of Mallardview Outdoors Ice Eaters we are primarily hunting in our timber holes, standing flooded corn, and also in dry cornfields.
With the mild temperatures the latter part of the season our flooded corn and timber were still good…but the moist soil foods came on very strong! Areas where we had Chiwapa millet, japanese millet, rice, and buckwheat along with the natural millet and smartweed were being overrun with ducks. No two seasons are ever the same, that’s for sure!
The most memorable hunt for me this Fall was when my Dad was down. We don’t get a chance to hunt together as much as we used to. I killed a blond phase drake mallard thatday to go on the wall next to the blond hen I killed a couple years ago. Having my Dad sitting next to me made that an unforgettable experience! It was a sad sight to see the last of the guests leaving the lodge in Fall 2011 as it was the closing on our best year ever! We are looking forward to putting in the work to make 2012 even better yet!!
If you are interested in a Fall ’12 Missouri duck hunt with us, I would reccommend we look at dates sooner as opposed to later as the schedule is starting to fill. Please shoot me an email and I’d be happy to go over available dates with you. tony@habitatflats.com Thank you!!
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04
Jan
2012
by Tony
I can’t believe it is already here and gone….it was a blur, whirlwind….of feathers jockeying for position to get into the decoys!!! Fall 2011 will forever go down in the books as an incredible one! It was extremely dry early, meaning that we had to pump pretty much every drop of water we had. Overcoming the trials and tribulations of pumping water, the table was set and it couldn’t have worked out any better. The great hatch on the breeding grounds was apparent in the Fall Flight. We always get our calendar ducks, our ducks that get here based on the time of the year and the hours of light in the day. However, when they showed up this year, they came in green WAVES! By far the best early push of mallards I have ever witnessed.
I haven’t had a chance to make it through all of my photos for this year yet…..but below are some of the ones I have made through from November. Habitat Flats was extremely fortunate to have a lot of good friends back in camp this Fall and to make a lot more new friends! Some of the best memories of the Fall are sitting in the lodge in the afternoons with our guests and enjoying the view out back, while hearing about the different styles of hunting they do in their neck of the woods. The memory bank was working overtime to file away all the sights and sounds of Fall 2011. The food has never been better and the hunting was as good or better than it ever has been!
Thank you to our guides, lodge staff, and guests who made Fall 2011 such an incredible one! The schedule is filling for Fall 2012, if you are interested in getting something set up, I would strongly recommend looking at dates sooner as opposed to later! We have a few January Canada Goose/Upland combo dates available yet as well, if you are interested, please email me. tony@habitatflats.com
Looking forward to a 2012 that surpasses 2011, Happy New Year from all of us at Habitat Flats!!!
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26
Oct
2011
by Tony
Set your DVR’s to catch this weeks episode of RNT-V on the Sportsmans Channel! Jimbo and the RNT Crew were up last Spring and should have a great snow goose show in store for you! It airs Friday, October 28th at 12:30PM CST and Saturday, October 29th at 10:00AM CST!
http://www.thesportsmanchannel.com/programming/descriptions/description.php?ID=172
RNT-V… It’s Old Buddies and new friends, late nights and early mornings, the bite of a cold, dark thirty boat ride in anticipation of a new day. Shimmering green heads against a blue December sky, it’s 200 Canada’s feet down over the spread. It’s a stiff prairie wind and a sunrise through a hardwood bottom. A shot well made and the smell of burnt powder, a young pup on his first hunt and a veteran duck dog making a tough retrieve. It’s a newly crowned World Champion and a fight well fought… It’s building the best custom duck and goose calls in the nation… RNT-V It’s What We Do.
On this week’s episode
Once again the RNT-V team is at Habitat Flats in northern Missouri. This time though they’re doing something they’ve never done on RNT-V, snow goose hunting. Watch as Jimmy and the guys from habitat flats hammer the snow birds during the spring conservation order.
Even though we were filming I couldn’t help but have my camera out to snap a few photos of the action, it was too pretty!
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26
Oct
2011
by Tony
It’s an incredible time of year when the pin oak leaves start changing and the warm summer winds start to have a chill in them! On the wings of the wind are the early migrants that come to stage on the waterfowl buffet we have set for them. The first pintails showing up, the first sounds of whitefronted geese migrating overhead are all sure signs that our favorite time of year is almost here!
The Missouri North Zone duck season opens this Saturday, October 29th. Things have been a blur around here trying to get blinds brushed, water pumped, decoys rigged, the Lodge ready….you name it! There aren’t enough hours in the day this time of year. Everything will be lined out and ready to roll come Saturday morning!
We are all anxioulsy awaiting the sounds of wind ripping through the wings of the squadrons of green winged teal that will be zipping around, the sight of big bunches of majestic pintails cupped up and making the last swing, a wet dog at your side shivering with anticipation, a hot cup of coffee while watching the world wake up…..it doesn’t get any better than that!!!!
Another Missouri duck season is almost upon us, we are looking forward to all the new memories that will be made this Fall and the stories told in the Lodge. Friday night we will get the bonfire rolling in the fire pit on the back patio, watch the ducks flying over the refuge, and offer up a toast to the Duck Gods in thanks for the beginning of another season!
“Experience the Ultimate Sportsman’s Destination”
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17
Oct
2011
by Tony
Jim Ronquest and the RNT-V crew filmed three great shows with us last year. The second of which airs this week on the Sportsman’s Channel! Be sure to set your DVR’s to catch another great mallard shoot with us last Fall. This show is extra special to me because my Dad was along! It’s always a treat for us when our family has a chance to spend some time in the lodge.
The show airs on Friday, October 21 at 12:30PM CST and on Saturday, October 22 at 10:00AM CST.
http://www.thesportsmanchannel.com/programming/descriptions/description.php?ID=172
RNT-V… It’s Old Buddies and new friends, late nights and early mornings, the bite of a cold, dark thirty boat ride in anticipation of a new day. Shimmering green heads against a blue December sky, it’s 200 Canada’s feet down over the spread. It’s a stiff prairie wind and a sunrise through a hardwood bottom. A shot well made and the smell of burnt powder, a young pup on his first hunt and a veteran duck dog making a tough retrieve. It’s a newly crowned World Champion and a fight well fought… It’s building the best custom duck and goose calls in the nation… RNT-V It’s What We Do.
On this week’s episode
Jimmy heads to one of his favorite places to hunt Mallards, Habitat Flats in North Central Missouri. The weather is cold, the water is frozen, so the guys are dependent on their Ice Eater and a generator to keep it open white they hammer the ducks.
It won’t be long and those greenheads will be again filling the sky!!!! We are looking forward to another great Fall!
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