My first taste of waterfowling, my new fall season

Justin Runberg holds his first duck taken while duck hunting. The lone female was called in by Tyler Pearson, and Runberg capitalized on his last opportunity on the day.

Isanti, Minn. — I had never been waterfowl hunting, but during Minnesota’s recent duck opener last weekend, I had my first opportunity.

Growing up, most of my family deer hunted, with frequent ruffed grouse hunts over our hunting dogs mixed in each autumn.

But my friend, Tyler Pearson, had been chasing ducks since he was a kid, though he hadn’t been able to get out for a few years. After some discussions, we made a plan to pass-shoot at a small pond in a pasture near Isanti for opening weekend.

The pond was a couple of acres and held ducks and geese every time we’d visited. Though not a prolific duck sanctuary, we suspected it would produce.

Opening morning had me more excited for a hunt than I’d been in years. It felt like a scene I hadn’t experienced since I was a kid during opening day of firearms deer season. As I unpacked the truck with our gear, shooting hours began. I heard a steady barrage of gunfire from all around us for a straight hour. At that point, I couldn’t wait to get to the water and dang near carried Tyler to his truck.

When we arrived, we spooked a teal as we set up in our positions. The shooting hadn’t waned, so we thought we were going to have some luck. We saw plenty of ducks in the distance making their way to other water bodies, but none visited us.

Our first bit of action came when Tyler called in four geese. They flew low, and we shot. I missed my first shot, but Tyler connected with his. The rest of the day was quiet.

We made plans for Sunday.

The next morning started with a heavy downpour that ended around 5:45 a.m. By the time we reached our spot, we were (smartly) ahead of schedule from the day before. Once it was a half-hour before sunrise, we were ready. Sunday is when I think I became a lifelong waterfowler.

The first two hours were something special.

Tyler Pearson and Justin Runberg hold their shotguns with an opening day goose. It was the only opportunity that came through on opening morning. Photos by Justin Runberg

Tyler first spotted a group of six teal flying from in front of us over the trees. We got in position and shot. I fired one load and Tyler two. We missed them all. The next opportunity came when two wood ducks circled overhead, with Tyler calling them in. Admittedly, I jumped a bit early and missed again.

Tyler was close, too, but to no avail.

Finally, the last opportunity of the day came from a single woodie. Tyler called in the lone hen, who had surprised us by circling the pond. She landed, and I thought it was a spectacular experience to call one in and watch it land.

Tyler told me to get the gun ready as he quickly stood up to scare the duck into taking flight. When the bird left the water, my bead was on her, and I took my 30-yard shot. I hit pay dirt as she fell onto the pond’s bank in some high grass.

In the future, I’ll avoid shooting hens, but I needed to get my first duck in the bag, and I was successful last Sunday.

No more ducks approached. Once we finished for the day, I ran to the other side to find the duck. Though it was only one, I was proud as we started for the truck. We cleaned it when we got home.

Holding my wood duck in my hand gave me an appreciation for how beautiful its coloring was, how important it was to call properly, and how easy I found it to sit on a pond edge for hours at a time.

Though my shooting needs work, my new activity has me searching for excuses and extra time to spend in pursuit of my new favorite type of hunting.