Duck Hunting Opening Day-November 23, 2013
Opening Day November 23, 2013 and here at the Lakeport Hilton, tempers are flaring as we experience something in “Peterson” history that has never happened before. There have been multiple times when one or more of us have been up all night completing the final preparations for the big day. You know what I’m talking about, outfitting boats, checking and running the motors, scouting for the best spots, sorting decoys according to each hunter’s preference and cutting Palm Fronds. We might be up all night and plenty of times we have been, but buddy we have never missed the excitement and anticipation of an opening morning on Lake Okeechobee. See a little flat boat with a mercury 25 flying across the lake and you know it’s a Peterson. So here we have it. Never say never, ’cause it just so happens that there really is a first time for everything. Whether it was the “Art of Procrastination”, the recent birth of our newest Peterson member Miss Ryleigh Lynn or just plain old miscalculation of the amount of time needed, we ended up on the eve of opening with one disabled motor which meant a boat down. Six hunters, two boats, just ain’t gonna happen. The Matriarch, aggravated and annoyed. (That’s me). Why did we wait until the last minute to check the motors? It’s not like we haven’t known this was coming. What’s everyone been doing for the last six months? (You know there is a season for everything). Dad, The Patriarch, trying to keep me in check, which is no easy task, while telling the boys tips and know how experience in emergency Mercury motor repair. No matter how much effort was put in, we just weren’t going to be able to pull this one off. Then the conflict and the family drama kicked in. Should Mom and Dad skip the hunt so the boys could go? Huh? Why should we miss out? Our boat is ready. Okay so we had some help there. The Georgia gang is heading in and are expecting to hunt. We can’t sit them out. They only get in a little bit of hunting time during the season. Since it was Ryan’s boat, he should stay. Kyle, his hunting partner, staying by default. What did we learn? In the end it doesn’t matter whether you’re five or fifty, if you’re genetically made to duck hunt you don’t want to be the one sitting out.
Opening morning Mom sleeps in. Kyle’s luck holds out as he picks up a spot with Dad. Georgia crew, Chris and Timmy set to go and the drama continues as boat number two is launched but fails to start. Two Dads down, two boys off and running. The boys returned with a few Ring Bills, but not a limit. The first hunt of the season was a disappointment for everyone. Boat loads of hunters with limited shooting happening at the Lakeport edge. There was definitely a shortage of birds.
Another first happened. Since most of us missed the opening hunt, the second thing we missed was the big table breakfast with bragging rights. We love reliving the hunts. Who went where, what we saw and found and who has the funniest story. We all eat breakfast together and each of us tells our version of the hunt. Reliving the morning and then remember when. True duck tales at their finest.
We all made the afternoon hunt, racing across the lake, only to find that every hunter was congregating in the same area. Tough finding a spot, but worth the effort. A hunter in every head usually means someone is going to be cut off. And that’s what happened to us. We were cut off. Ducks coming in, but shot at before they ever got to us. We watched someone next to us have a heck of a hunt. Ducks just diving straight in made it the perfect spot. Kudos to whoever those guys were. I was really wishing I was in that head and even though Kyle called some birds back, the majority simply wanted to be where they were. Kyle, an excellent shot, uses a Browning Citori and was able to bag the rest of his limit. Me….okay, better luck next time. Miss Ryleigh and Aunt Chrissi tied with zero ducks. November 23rd, 2013 was not the best opening day the Peterson’s have ever had, even if it was full of firsts. Best lesson learned? Be prepared. Hardest lesson learned? Be prepared. Overall, even a bad day of hunting is a good day in the big game of life. The best part of it all, tomorrow is a brand new day.