December Ducks in the Sooner State
One of the great things about being a parent is there comes a time when your son or daughter begins teaching you about various parts of life. As a father of two intelligent and well-rounded teenage sons, I’m constantly learning from them.
Example: During the past couple years, my oldest son Elliott, who turned 18 in December 2020, has passed along his love for waterfowl hunting. As an avid big game hunter for four decades, I never spent a lot of time in the duck blind, but his love of the sport has certainly lit a fire within me, too.
For Christmas 2020, we decided to make a father/son memory and travel to western Oklahoma in pursuit of ducks. Our Minnesota duck season ended in early November, and I knew even though Elliott spent dozens of days waterfowl hunting during fall 2020 that he’d appreciate the opportunity to travel on a destination duck hunt.
Content courtesy of Grand View Outdoors
Oklahoma is home to a surprising amount of water, much of it in the form of ponds, which the ducks share with cattle.
The author’s son Elliott was all smiles after his first morning pursuing Sooner State ducks.
Guide Dylan Chabino (right) shows the author how to retrieve deep-water decoys with a fishing rod rigged with a treble hook.
The author and his son endured high winds and persistent rain on morning No. 2 and were rewarded with steady action on brilliantly colored greenheads and other puddle ducks.
