I absolutely love Thanksgiving weekend. Spending time with family and friends, enjoying good food and football games, and spending as much time as possible outside in the fall weather all make for a fantastic weekend. From sitting on the dock after our big Thanksgiving Day meal, to waking up early and getting in the duck pond Saturday morning, and finishing the evening in the deer stand watching the sun go down, I enjoyed every minute of it.

The Saturday morning duck hunt was in Georgetown, SC, and was really a good hunt. Once we had made our way out to the middle of the pond, we got the decoys set up and nestled ourselves up in the big clusters of phragmite (reed-like grass that is found throughout the wetlands) to wait for legal hour. With about 10 minutes to go, the ducks were pouring in, drawn directly to the heart of our spread thanks to a mallard feeder decoy (similar here). On calm days with little wind, they really help keep the water moving, making ripples around the other stationary decoys so it looks like they are moving as well. The decoys were about 15 yards from us, and ducks were coming in so close that I probably could have swatted them out of the air with my gun. One wood duck landed so close to me, I could make out his little beady eyes darting from side to side checking out the decoys.

The hunt was over by about 9, so all 14 of us headed back to the house to tally our fare and enjoy a big home-cooked breakfast. We ended up with wood ducks, gadwall, teal, blue bills, and ring necks- All in all, I would say we did pretty well!

The loot from one blind

More hunters getting back from the ponds

Check out that old school camo

Also, as I mentioned, I sat in the deer stand Saturday afternoon before the Carolina/Clemson game (Go Cocks!). I got in the stand around 4, and by 5:15 the only things I had seen were just a few hundred ducks flying over into the pond behind me. Finally, about 5 minutes before it would have been too dark to shoot, I saw movement about 80 yards away. Sure enough, two does had wandered out from the woods and into the clearing, giving me the opportunity for a perfect shot. With my trusty Winchester .308 rifle, it only took one shot to bring down the closer one of the two does. My freezer has been in desperate need of some venison since last season, so I am very excited to get cooking with it again. I had the processor give me the tenderloins as well as make sausage, cube steak and burger meat. Here are a few scenic shots from the stand. Stay tuned for the recipes to come!

Such a pretty view

One of the big duck ponds

Almost a full moon!