September 2006 Updates page 5
29 September
Waterfowl
Your MAHA staff for years has sought the advice of a widely traveled waterfowl hunting member that started out in a duck blind at age 5 under the guidance of his daddy that learned from his dad in the deep bayou. He was not allowed to call or shoot until age 7 and from that point on took the lead for spreads and calling.
Most will agree when starting that young, that hunter gains an edge that later in life simply cannot be learned. His duck hunting career while starting in the bayou progressed to river bottoms in several states to marshlands later as an adult. He has seen the highs and lows over the years hunting both field and water sets, provides objective assessment and is passing on to not only his children, but onto other hunter's children the art of decoy and call. His creditability is unsurpassed as his unassuming nature makes him an instant friend of those he contacts. While we have not identified him in the past due to his desire not to have the spotlight on him he has such a widespread friendship amongst waterfowlers that we are sure most of them know who we are talking about. And those that do not know Al Stahl should give him a big thank you as he has opened doors for many MAHA hunters. While having settled in the central midwest in his later years he continues to travel north and his assessment we provide here is part one prior to his week long Canada hunt.
His assessment paraphrased: The duck hunt is the day before and the second day is the duck shoot. He scouts for where the ducks are and where they are flying, chooses between a field set (from 2 dozen to hundreds of decoys) where they are flying near or a water set for ponds they are working. He prefers pond hunts of hundreds of duck that will work sets and calls leaving little room for not bagging a limit to wetlands hunts where thousands of ducks can be seen but work less. How is this an assessment? It is as the migration heads south they are leery and more so in large flocks. The wetlands will hold the ducks here and the ponds/fields in the surrounding area see the most easily called in ducks.
Other more expected comments include the flyway is active with good number of birds, the MAHA fields and wetlands are as good as man can make any duck attracting habitat and all that remains is the strength and timing of the migration. Overall, we are setup for a good season with all the right indicators in place.
27 Sep
Archery
One of the greatest days of bow hunting I've had. Last Friday in [location deleted] this boy came by with another buck at 6:00 pm. Interesting is that his neck was swelled up, seen many rubs and a number of fresh scraps.
Thanks Steve
Thank you Steve for the picture and telling of your great time.
Waterfowl
While covering blinds over the weekend a flock of pelicans dove in, pushed the fish over to one end and then went to feeding in as furious a manner that could be imagined of pelicans.
Overall, we are waiting to see what the rains will provide to our wetlands before any further action of draining reservoir lakes and pumping.
MAHA Teal reports, both north and south, seem to be running above average that along with the Canada and northern USA reports indicate a good season to come.
25 Sep
Muzzleloader Whaitetail
Deer Greetings everyone at the office:
Rex [last name deleted] checking in from IN. This is the start of my fourth year in the club and I am as excited as the first year. Just got back from the Sept. Muzzle deer option for Kansas and had a super trip. Although I did not come home with a trophy whitetail, I did see many deer and passed on 3 separate shooters, and I will tell you why.
Since being in the club, I have harvested 5 whitetail bucks from the 135 range to 162 being my largest. I have raised the bar on expectations for my shooter buck for this year because I know the habitat is holding a fair number of Boone & Crocket quality animals.
I hunted [location deleted] county, and passed on a solid 150 ten pt., two eight points in the 135-140 range looking for my next trophy in the 'Booner' class of 170 plus. Had a super trip, sighting many deer every night, and I got a chance to snap a picture of 
a small spike the last night, he was only about 15 feet away from my blind in fence row from which I was watching a water hole.
Enclosed is a picture of the squirt who eventually winded me and fled the area. I will also include pictures of the five bucks I have harvested the past three years since joining, just to give future members an idea of the quality of the bucks that are plentiful on almost every property I have hunted.
Thanks again to Shaun for being so polite and helpful on every phone call for reservations. Can't wait for the upcoming later seasons.
Rex
Thanks Rex for an article with a twist from the usual.
