Duck Hunting Report: Otto 12-8-02

Duck Hunting Report Lake Okeechobee Florida
December 8, 2002 Morning Duck Hunt

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 on their second morning of duck hunting on December 8, 2002 bagged 14 ducks which brought their 2 mornings of duck hunting total bag to 30 ducks. On their first morning of duck hunting on December 7, 2002 with Cap'n Ron they bagged 16 ducks. Their 2 mornings of duck hunting on December 7 & 8, 2002 total bag consisted of 30 ducks that included a limit of Florida mallards each day, ring-necked ducks, blue and green-winged teal, merganser and 1 hen wood duck. Ducks were taken over decoys in the flooded field areas south of the Monkey Box area of Lake Okeechobee.

Top photo from left to right: Jackie, Brad, Jim & Graig

photos Top Jackie, bottom from left to right: Brad & Graig

Click here to view photos
of their yesterday December 7,2002
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

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