I ordered this standing sea gull confidence decoy from Knutson's Decoys. It will sit on my Marsh Rat and help give the ducks confidence that it is just some floating debris.
My only concern is that it might draw unwanted attention from the Bald Eagles. I hope I don't end up with a talon tattoo on the top of my head.
I've had my Marsh Rat Duck Hunting Boat, made by Mallard Marine, for almost 5 years now. It started out as a plain boat with the older style blind doors. I knew I needed to find away to add natural vegetation to better conceal it in the spots I hunt. Here's what I looked like when it arrived.
New Marsh Rat duck boat
I knew I wanted something that wouldn't rot or absorb water so I went to the hardware store, walking the isles looking for something that would work. On the fencing isle I found just what I needed. I bought this roll of green plastic fencing from Home Depot. The boat is 9-1/2 feet long so I cut a 10' piece, then cut that in half length wise.
Plastic fencing for blind material
I have the old style blind doors, so I incorporated the snaps to hold the fencing. The blue tape marks where the snaps will be.
Front View
Side View
I trimmed the edges so they don't hang over the side so I don't catch my waders. This material is soft enough it shouldn't be hazard, but I cut it smooth so as not to risk a tear.
Blind doors snapped over fencing
I took the boat out to a grassy spot and started cutting and ziptie-ing it to the fence material.
I completed one side done before I had to head home. I filled the boat with more grass to complete it later.
Here's what it looked like that first season. I left the grass on for the following year and it dried to a nice brown shade that blends it very well.
Grassed up Marsh Rat
Here's a view of the boat from a distance.
On this day the wind was a steady 30mph, so I had some bare spots that needed some more grass.
Here is what the boat looked like last year. I have a base layer of grass that I leave on and then I add more when I get to where I plan to hunt.
The Marsh Rat on it's trailer
Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
The end of the 2011 Waterfowl Season closes the book on my 7th year hunting the Mendenhall State Game Refuge, located in the heart of Juneau, Alaska.
Overall it was one of my most successful seasons for ducks, but lacking in opportunities for geese. I was blessed to hunt with many friends this year and to be able to hunt both the opening and final days of the season.
One of my most memorable hunts took place on Black Friday. I was fortunate enough to hunt the storm tide with strong winds and shoot my first limit of the season! Alaska has very generous bag limits due to an abundance of waterfowl, low hunting pressure and just plain awesomeness!
I hunt out of my Marsh Rat duck boat any chance I get so this trip was originally meant to take place on one of the many islands in the refuge. When I got to my launch spot, I could tell the wind was too high and the trip out to the island would be dangerous. I opted to stay close to shore and tied up behind a log that had a nice blanket of snow that would conceal my presence.
The log concealing my boat
With the high winds (gusting over 25 knots) and the associated waves, the ducks were constantly moving and looking for secluded places to set. I had several fair sized flocks work and even dropped two of the hen pintails out of a flock of a dozen birds that nearly landed on me.
I shot my last bird just as the tide receded, leaving my boat and decoys high and dry. At that point, I was doubly thankful I hadn't ventured farther for this hunt. Dragging my boat back to my launch spot was hard enough as it was.
My limit of 4 Mallards and 3 Pintails on the bow of my boat
.JPG)
