First Duck!

This was one of those firsts in life, Colton's first duck, a cinnamon teal!

Cinnamon teal youth duck hunt
   One cinnamon teal in the bag...anxiously awaiting next duck to commit to decoys

 

Opening morning of the youth waterfowl hunt had the sky swarming with ducks. Seeing all the ducks in flight was quite a sight and we were excited that Colton had been lucky enough to have been chosen for the mentored youth waterfowl hunt. The fact that all we had to do was to show up with a gun, waders and a license was a huge benefit of the mentored hunt. Not to mention that we'd get the opportunity to learn tips and tricks from experienced waterfowlers.

We arrived at Farmington bay early Saturday morning and met Rob and Tyson in the parking lot. We soon found out that our guides for the day had already set the blind and decoys, so we jumped in their boat and off we went.

youth duck hunt, walking through the marsh
                  Making their way back from a retrieve through the marsh

 

It didn't take long and we had ducks dropping right into the decoys. However, not all ducks were so inclined to commit to the spread and Colton soon found out how hard it can be to hit a duck moving at what seemed to be mach 1! He also found out that not all ducks drop right into your lap after being shot. I was glad to see the boys make good use of the waders because duck retrieval through the muddy marsh is all part of the experience.

 

youth duck hunt, 4 ducks four ducks
                                                          Four ducks opening morning

 

Two boxes of shells later and Colton had four ducks, along with plenty of misses...which is all part of the fun!

 

youth duck hunt, utah
                                       Dallas and Colton with four teal

 

Just after 11:00 AM we called it a day. By this time we had worked up quite an appetite, so the awaiting BBQ for all mentored hunters was a welcome event!