Duck Hunting Report
Lake Okeechobee Florida
December
13, 2002
Florida
duck hunters husband and wife Brad and Jackie Otto (Lago, FL -
ph: 727-397-3075 - e-mail: jackieotto@msn.com), Jim Duncan (Largo,
FL - ph: 813-610-8520 - e-mail: JMDSQUARED@aol.com) and Craig
Talbot had some action shots on Lake Okeechobee during their first
morning of two mornings of duck hunting with Cap'n Ron on December
12 & 13, 2003. Ducks were taken over decoys in the flooded
field areas south of the Monkey Box area of Lake Okeechobee.
Click
here to view photos
of their latest December 8,2002
Lake Okeechobee duck hunting trip with Cap'n Ron
Click
here to view photos
of their last year January 13,2001
Lake Okeechobee duck hunting trip with Cap'n Ron
Click
here to view photos
of their last year December 8,2001
Lake Okeechobee duck hunting trip with Cap'n Ron
Click
here to view photos
of their two year ago December 15 & 16,2000
Lake Okeechobee duck hunting trip with Cap'n Ron
Here's
2 e-mail testiomonials I received from the above duck hunters
and an article Jackie wrote for the Onshore Offshore Magazine
about their duck hunting adventure with Cap'n Ron:
Duck
Hunting Testimonial - December 9, 2002 - Lake Okeechobee Florida
From: Jackie
Otto <JackieOtto@msn.com>
To: Cap'n Ron <fish@ronsguideservice.com>
Subject: Article I wrote
Date: Monday, December 09, 2002 7:42 PM
Ron,
Here's the
article I just wrote, please note that I put your name, fax and
cell number as the "guide service" we use.....hope it's
good business for you and your future....let me know if anyone
read the article in Onshore Offshore Magazine that calls you.....
I will send
you a copy of the mag when it's published, it may be on the website
instead of the magazine, which is getting very popular..... the
attachment is the article, pre-published.
Jackie
Opening
Morning on the Big “O”
It’s
quiet, so very quiet that you can hear the crackling of dried
cattails when the birds, snakes and gators are making their way
to safety from you, the human intruder. You can hear the ringing
in your ears created from the roar of the airboat ride out to
the hunting grounds of Lake Okeechobee. This is a vast area of
watery grass flats, matted hydrilla, sawgrass, cattails, flooded
timber and boat trails. So vast that without a GPS guiding you
to and from, you will get lost. After all, I have been taken out
there in complete darkness and dropped off with only a bag of
decoys, shotgun, ammo, snacks and the hopes of flights of ducks
to fly over our pre-scouted area. The lake is large, so large
that it is intimidating, it’s beautiful, it’s wild and
it’s full of life.
The abundance
of wildlife on this lake is to the point of unbelievable, wild
hogs, deer, snakes, alligators, fish, rare birds, common birds,
and yes the ever-so-popular waterfowl ranging from Ringbills,
Blue and Green winged Teal, Mottled (Florida) ducks, Gadwalls,
Fulvous Tree ducks, Wood ducks, Spoonbill ducks, Pintails and
an occasional Greenhead Mallard. These are the waterfowl that
we are after.
The decoys
are set, your gear is stowed, now the wait for legal shooting
time. You are backed up into a stand of cattails, sitting on a
stool watching the first few Teal to land into your decoys. They
are calling to each other, a raspy chirp, chirp your heart is
pounding, your ears are ringing, you’ve got twenty more minutes
before you can take that first shot. The sky is overcast, so it
matters not if the moon is out, you can barely see the horizon,
the wind is at your back, your set up is picture perfect. What
could go wrong, what is wrong with this picture? I haven’t
mentioned that when I was dropped off, it was with three other
very close friends. Now it’s really a perfect setting, beautiful
“ducky” weather, decoy spread looks enticing, being
with your friends to experience a wonderful morning of duck hunting,
still: What could go wrong?
The one on the left (above) breaks silence…and says, “I’ve
left my ammo bag in the airboat, and I have no ammo.” The
roar of the airboat was not even close to the roar of laughter
from his best friends and wife. He usually being the leader, head
“master blaster” has made the fatal error of not taking
care of himself and now is going to have to grovel and beg for
ammunition from the rest of us, his wife, his friend and his co-worker
and friend. Did we take advantage of this moment? You bet! As
his wife, it was useful; I got a lot of promises, and his friends,
they got a lot of laughs. We all pulled together and gave up some
of our ammo so he would not have to sit back and watch the rest
shoot away.
Did we get
any, yes, but that isn’t the end results. The end results
is being with your friends when the world is waking up in the
morning, when you hear the whistling of wings overhead, when all
else just doesn’t matter but right here, right now. To share
these times with others makes the experience not just duck hunting,
it makes it a memory, a story to be told, year after year when
we make our annual trip to Lake Okeechobee. You can bet that he
will never forget his ammo again, and that we will never let him
forget the time he had to beg, borrow and grovel with his friends,
but mostly how hard the four of us laughed, forgot our troubles,
the world’s troubles and were just friends.
The results
were Florida Mallards, Green winged Teal, Blue winged Teal, Ringbills
and another story to laugh and enjoy about for future duck hunting
trips. We were the envy of the boat ramp, we had grins from ear
to ear, and we hugged, laughed, joked and had more ducks than
any other groups out there. The competition is null and void in
our group, we take turns, we help, we learn and we shoot together.
We rotate first shots; we hold back so the others can fill their
bag limits, we switch seats, that’s what friends do.
The airboat
ride back is amazing, as you don’t realize how vast the area
is until you see it in daylight. Lake Okeechobee is one of the
wildest areas I have hunted in Florida. We charter a guide service,
which is the fastest way to get to the “ducky” areas.
Here’s
the guide we use, he will put you on the ducks. Tell him Jackie
sent you.
Ron’s Guide Service
Cell: 863-287-8484
Fax: 863-946-2699
Check out his Website
www.ronsguideservice.com
Duck
Hunting Testimonial - December 9, 2002 - Lake Okeechobee Florida
From: Jackie
Otto <JackieOtto@msn.com>
To: Cap'n Ron <fish@ronsguideservice.com>
Date: Monday, December 09, 2002 9:35 AM
Hi there,
here's a few of the pictures I took. Thanks again for a FUN trip,
you always seem to put us in good places and let us have at it......We'll
see you in a few weeks, We are hunting with you on Dec. 22 and
23, that's a Sunday and Monday. I am calling the marina, we're
going to be staying there, where the boat ramp is and where we
ate breakfast, I will call you before we come down to find out
any changes....
(Brad and Jackie Otto, Craig Talbot, Jim Duncan)
THANKS again
from all four of us.....Jackie Otto
Check
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FUN
DAY OF DUCK HUNTING ON LAKE OKEECHOBEE
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on any of the below links for more information on our duck hunting
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