# Hunting Partners



## ducknut141

After losing my last partner today I am going back to what I have said before. A good hunting partner is harder to find than a good wife. I have had my share of unreliable people, ones that change their mind the night before oh ya the ones that show up on your private property to hunt with there other buddies.

I don't ask for much just be on time, don't tear up my stuff because your lazy or can't shoot. When you say your going, be there on time. I guess I am either going to quit hunting or find other people to go. I can still field and shore water hunt alone but layout hunting is impossible to do alone and that's my favorite way to hunt. Oh well it was a great season so far.


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## floater99

Good luck in youre search my age and drive isn't what it was LOL Ive heard great excuses as you have over the years had a few guys who would ALWAYS go at drop of a hat good luck


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## ducknut141

Thank you I still have allot of drive and time now that I'm retired. Just don't have the money now that I'm divorced too.


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## freyedknot

what zone do you hunt?


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## ducknut141

North and PA


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## fishingful

I had a few people I duck hunted with. They either had kids and only deer hunt or it was just an extra expense and liked to fish better. I hunted a few years alone. Got rid of my boat blind and got a final attack one person layout. 

Just turned out to be a bunch of work by yourself. So I sold that boat. I just went to field hunting. It's ok but i came to realize the reason i liked to duck hunt was bsing with people. 

Dont think I will give it up forever. I still have all my decoys and layout and stuff.


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## sherman51

I had this one guy that him and his wife was going to go with my wife and me on a fishing trip. I was a little worried he was going to back out. the guys he worked with told me he told them he wasnt going. I went over the day before we were to leave. I asked him if he had any money to put in on some food. he had 7.00 in his wallet and he gave me the 7.00. the next morning I tried to find him but he was no place to be found. haven't seen or talked to him since then. of course I spent the 7.00 he gave me knowing he wasnt going to go. this is just one of many times where people backed out at the last minute. but once they burned me I never asked them again.
sherman


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## ducknut141

I give guys chances because a partner is a partner sometimes. Most of my hunting I can do alone but not the layout boat. I guess I am going to look into paying someone to go with me just so I can go layout hunting and go solo on everything else. Heck with some of the people I have hunted with I paid for everything anyway including their lunches I might as well pay them for their time too.


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## sherman51

this day and age it'll be hard to find someone you can depend on even if you pay them.
sherman


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## crappiedude

ducknut141 said:


> Heck with some of the people I have hunted with I paid for everything anyway including their lunches


Took a guy fishing...it was my truck, my boat, I bought the gas, I brought a lunch for both of us.
At the end of the day on the way home he said "why did you have to pick a lake that was so far away?" I'm a terrible person.
Even if you pay them they probably still won't show up. I know just how you feel.


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## CStone

Oh my goodness these post are so funny to read, but so true sounds like we’ve all been there!!!


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## ducknut141

I like the work. Being retired it helps me. I like being outside in the field or on the water a little work never hurt anyone especially me. To me half the fun of waterfowl hunting is getting things ready and setting it up.


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## CStone

I hunt with my uncle which is retired, he 5 grandchildren all boys. We have to hunt around his babysitting schedule, but he wouldn’t change it for the world. I tell him soon he’s gonna have to trade in his truck for a cargo van to take all those boys hunting. It’s gonna be a blast!!


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## crappiedude

Personally I think the world is made up of doers and planers.
I'm the doer type. I want to get out and experience things. Some things work out and somethings not so much. I'm okay with it cause I got out and tried.
I know guys who like to plan...they never do anything or they quit soon after starting. These guys will talk a good story but they never do anything. Most of them blame everything on their wives. I try to avoid this type.


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## ducknut141

Crappiedude I like that. I am a planner. I plan every trip to try to make sure everything goes good and everybody has a good time. I plan on my equipment being in the best possible condition so there are no problems. Then I go do it and try to have a good time.


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## sherman51

back when I did a lot of fishing and had a lot of friends I would pay for some of my friends to go that I knew didnt have much money. I had one friend that was disabled but loved to fish. I have took him to Michigan and tn and the trip didnt cost him a dime.

when my little brother started going with me he was working a minimum wage job. I paid his way every time we went. then he got a better paying job and I still paid part of his way. when he started making more than me I started charging him full price. at first he was an a hole about it. he didnt want to even tie baits on for trolling. after awhile he came around. then he got sick and didnt work much. so I started helping him out again. we tried for a few yrs to get him to apply for disability. then he had to go to the hospital because he couldn't breath. then he broke down and let my wife file for him online. but one thing about him I could depend on him to go anywhere with me. to fl fishing to new Hampshire to pick up a boat I bought. we fished our local lake any time we planned to go. then he died at only 52 yrs old. and I quit doing anything for a few yrs.
sherman


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## bethel_caller

I too have similar issues. I only have limited time and access to even OK property is tough to find. I’m reliable and capable in calling and killing but, it’s not as much fun alone. 1 hunt I remember had my brother and oldest son in line to go hunt flooded corn stubble. Rained all night and was in the AM. Both bailed due to weather. Right about shooting time rained stopped. Then it rained mallards. Epic hunt. 

I thought it was customary and just good manners for the guest to offer to pick up the tab for gas and lunch. If somebody needs an extra gun and I’ll buy the lunch PM me. Tipp City / Troy Ohio area.


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## ducknut141

unfortunately you are 4 1/2 hours away from me


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## bethel_caller

I’ve been known to go to extreme measures to get out. Don’t most duck hunters?


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## ducknut141

So true. Most people just shake there head when they see what I have gone through to get out. The amount of ice we have broken , the ice burgs we have moved and lowered boats over a 125 foot cliff to get to open water. Heck I shattered a finger duck hunting my doctor let me position it so I could still hold my gun, he hunts too. I kept hunting after surgery with pins sticking out of the finger. What a pain that was keeping it dry.


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## fishingful

ducknut141 said:


> I like the work. Being retired it helps me. I like being outside in the field or on the water a little work never hurt anyone especially me. To me half the fun of waterfowl hunting is getting things ready and setting it up.


I don't mind a little work either. The spots I hunt are hard to get to because the easy spots suck to hunt. It just became too hard for me to hunt alone. Loading boats motors and decoys over guard rails and down rocks is rough. 

For me it's the hanging out with people is why I did it.


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## ducknut141

fishingful you don't live very far from me. You didn't hunt out by the PA line by chance did you I see guys that did the guard rail thing all the time.


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## kingfisher72

Have you considered entering the Fall Brawl next year instead....??


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## ducknut141

um NO!


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## fishingful

ducknut141 said:


> fishingful you don't live very far from me. You didn't hunt out by the PA line by chance did you I see guys that did the guard rail thing all the time.


I used to hunt Mosquito a ton. But that as far East as I have been.


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## sherman51

my wife's uncle was going to go on a salmon trip with us up in Michigan. we planned to leave at 4:00 fri afternoon. when 4:30 rolled around he was no where around. started looking for him and found him in his favorite tavern. he said give him another 1/2 hr and he'd be ready to go. every 1/2 hr it was the same story. about 6:30 I gave up on him and made the trip without him. later I heard he was complaining that we run off and left him. go figure!
sherman


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## bdawg

Hey Ducknut and Fishingful, I'll go duck hunting with you. I'm 42 and have been hunting since I was a kid. I just got into duck hunting 3 years ago, and I'm looking for more people to learn from and hunt with. I find that I like the BSing with others too compared to the solitude of deer hunting or hunting along. Also don't like to set out decoys by myself. I still hunt with my buddy that got me into duck hunting. We usually hunt Fairport Harbor from my 14' boat and the local lakes. I don't have a blind on it, just camo burlap blankets. 

I waited a long time to get into duck hunting because I didn't know any other duck hunters and I didn't have the time and money to do it. Now, my 3 kids are all teenagers(all girls, though 1 does hunt a little) and I have more time to hunt. Also got more vacation time available at work. 

I'm not free every weekend, but if I say I'm gonna be there, I'll be there and usually on time. I'll be glad to pay for half of whatever. I've hunted in the rain and even snow squalls on Fairport harbor before. I've also duck hunted the Portage Lakes, Wingfoot, Berlin(once), and Mogadore. Want to try West Branch and Mosquito and Ladue. I have deer and rabbit hunted at West Branch and Ladue. 

I've never field hunted or layout boat hunted before, but I'm willing to try anything. I have a field layout blind, camo waders, 2 dozen goose field decoys, 10 mallard and 6 wood duck floaters. I can borrow my buddy's dozen goose floaters and mallard floaters. I have duck and goose calls, but I suck at calling still. 

Send me a PM if you want to hunt. I'd be out on Sandusky Bay hunting with my buddy and his friend right now if I didn't have a deadline to meet at work today!


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## ducknut141

I hunt Fairport too I only live about 5 minutes away.


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## fishingful

ducknut141 said:


> I hunt Fairport too I only live about 5 minutes away.


Proably have seen you around. I work in Fairport.


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## crappiedude

ducknut141 said:


> Crappiedude I like that. I am a planner. I plan every trip to try to make sure everything goes good and everybody has a good time. I plan on my equipment being in the best possible condition so there are no problems. Then I go do it and try to have a good time.


See I CONSIDER YOU A DOER. You want to go out and do things. I plan the hell out of my trips and I have lists for everything. Nothing wrong with being prepared and well equipped.
The planner types I'm talking about is all about the planning but then they back out at the last minute or soon after arriving at the destination they are crying about something and are ready to go back home. I've ran across both types.
One guy had carpal tunnel syndrome and his wrist hurt from catching too many fish. He woke me un in the middle of the night and I had to take him to the hospital to get something for the pain...I swear I thought he was going to cry. When we got back to camp he was wanting to drive him home. I handed him a quarter and told him to call his wife and she could make the 6 hour drive to pick him up. Of course he decide to tough it out and stayed the resto of the trip be cause that drive was too far for him. I told one of the other guys who was with us that if he woke me up again for a sore wrist he'd need a lot more than a few pain pills to fix him up.
Yup is was the same guy who complained that the lake I picked on another outing was too long of a drive. I'm a slow learner.


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## BaddFish

I agree with all the pain and headaches everyone written about...most comments have made me chuckle for sure.... I had a guy from OGF bail on my 4-5 years ago on a hunting trip too.. My friends in high school got me into hunting- my first love was waterfowl.. My first real duck hunt was in flooded timber in Bloomfield- shot a whole box off and only brought one duck home and that duck was sitting at 40yds+ away... LOL, Talk about not knowing what I or my friends were doing..6-8 of us, noone could call, noone had decoys... I would crawl on hands & knees 5 miles naked down an interstate to have that opportunity now!  Then due to losing permissions, swamps dried up etc... we switched our focus to Geese.. It was a blood bath. the first year NE Ohio had that "EARLY SEASON" all the stars aligned and we had permission all over Mespo/Bloomfield/Orwell- We killed 98 geese in 14 days- ALOT of Jerky!! 
Now most of the group has switched solely to deer or have a big family and responsibilities...Duck hunting has fallen off the map for my group because I was the one that had the boat(s) / dog / calls/ decoys- Divorce took the boats and dog.. Goose hunting has lost its WOW factor for now... I say now because my son is 5. I can't wait for some early mornings in corn stubble with him.

Now I yearn for a private swamp somewhere away from everybody (does that exist anymore?) An older friend and I did manage to get out opening evening this year- didn't hit any ducks but was able to call in some blind and deaf ones to make it fun.. As we're walking back to the truck and I tell my friend, "this was by far my best hunt in Ohio for ducks...without even killing anything" 

Ducknut- if your needing another guy in Dec, give me a heads up/PM- I'd love to experience the layout boat hunting thing- but I'll stay in the main boat and let you gun.


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## bdawg

I have deer hunted with pneumonia, cause it was opening day of gun season. Also deer hunted 3 days after having a vasectomy. Missed a close shot that day. I'm blaming it on the pain pills taken on an empty stomach. Also, fished all week on a sprained ankle where I had to use crutches to get to the boat! I was Canada vacation week and I wasn't staying in the cabin! 

Worked out a lingering rotator cuff problem with 4 days in a row of fishing! It was sore to rotate my shoulder and raise my arm above my shoulder for 6 months after an injury. My doctor said I needed to do some physical therapy and take prescription strength Aleve for the pain and inflamation. I took the meds and happened to have a long weekend where I could fish for 4 days in a row. All that casting finally worked out most of the problem! 

You won't find me wanting to leave a hunting or fishing trip early!!!


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