BOOTHEEL DUCK HUNTING HOTSPOT

The voice of a sweet sounding Southern Belle rang through the phone. The lady on the other end of the line turned out to be a high school friend, now Mrs. Silvey Barker. He had not seen one another in over 40 years. Silvey’s father, the late Sam Jones, had been instrumental in keeping me in college in my younger days. “Miss Silvey”, as she is fondly referred to, had called about duck hunting.
As it turned out Ms. Silvey worked as the Director of Tourism for East Prairie, where I had attended high school so long ago. East Prairie is home to the Missouri Department of Conservation’s Ten Mile Pond Conservation Area, which is a duck hunting Mecca. Ms. Silvey is a tireless promoter of the region and quickly explained that the success of the Ten Mile Area had spilled over on to private properties.Ten Mile can only accommodate so many hunters and the excess gunners looked to area farmers for hunting opportunities. Ms. Silvey helps the two parties connect.
I quickly accepted her invitation to Dian and me to duck hunt at two of the finest duck clubs in the area and also spend a day with her husband Sam hunting green timber on one of his farms.
Ms. Silvey also took care of accommodations for us providing a variety of charming places for us to stay during our duck hunting adventure.
The 1,000-acre Pinhook Hunting Club joins Ten Mile Pond CA. The whole area has attracted ducks by the tens of thousands for hundreds of years. I grew up on the borders of Ten Mile before it became a conservation area. I watched untold numbers of ducks and geese pour into the area each season. Pinhook offers hunts in flooded green timber, natural sloughs, corn, soybeans and rice fields. And their guides and highly trained dogs are top notch and an absolute pleasure to watch.
Our guide tossed out a hundred decoys next to a small patch of flooded timber. A 75-yard square area of open water lay before us, surrounded by standing corn. We had landed in duck hunting heaven. And our guide worked his magic on his calls as flight after large flight of mallards poured into the area.
To book a hunting trip with Pinhook Hunting Club call as far ahead as possible. Manager Rick Schuerenberg can be reached at 573-380-0249 or check their Website at www.phchuntingclub.com.
After our hunt ended at Pinhook Hunting Club we traveled a short distance to Second Chance outfitters, owned and operated by Steve and Angie Jones. The Jones are area farmers and have responded positively to the requests of duck hunters looking for places to hunt if they were not successful at the morning draw at Ten Mile Pond CA. Jones converted a tractor shed into a beautiful hunting lodge and now houses hunters for the entire waterfowl season.
Scott Downing, the principal of East Prairie High School, and an avid waterfowl hunter served as our guide. Downing and his retriever, Avery, provided a duck hunting expedition which will always remain in our hunting memories. Downing hauled us by ATV to a strategically located pit blind in the middle of a flooded rice field. We climbed out of the pit hourly to break ice to keep a hole open for approaching ducks. It worked beautifully as birds circled into the brisk north wind and hovered over the hole in the ice directly in front of our pit blind.
Large flocks of mallards circled overhead, seeming to be flying in all directions. Bunch after bunch went down just off the corner of a woodlot to our northwest. Downing’s calling began to work and soon a pair of greenheads drifted towards our set. When his order “shoot” came, I stood, pushed the blind cover forward and found a plump mallard drake in my sight picture. The duck folded and tumbled to the icy water below at the report of my Stoeger 12-gauge. “Wow, that extended range Winchester load killed that duck stone dead,” I laughed.
Downing nailed the second duck and had Avery on the way for the retrieve a soon as the second duck splashed down. I thrilled at the sight of dog and master working together in such a harsh environment.
It didn’t take long to get another trio of mallards to head for the hole. As I kicked the blind cover back, Dian had already zeroed in on a drake climbing for the sky. When we followed Avery out of the blind to retrieve another pair of mallards, Dian said, “I think I just killed my first mallard drake.” The smile on her face told the whole story.
Our hearts raced when two dozen Pintail Sprigs began losing altitude and circled our decoy set several times. Our hearts sank, as the most beautiful birds in the world of waterfowling flared and headed west. “Those guys are hard to fool,” Downing offered in consolation.
Our day sped by as we continued to watch hundreds of ducks fly into surrounding rice fields. The twenties temperatures began to sink in as the afternoon progressed. Dian required a new set of waders for the afternoon. Her trout fishing waders weren’t thick enough to keep the intense cold out. But, she toughed it out and became a veteran duck hunter in her own right
“That was absolutely awesome to see so many ducks flying and coming to the rice fields,” she stated. “And I will never forget seeing Avery make retrieves so far out. I never knew a dog could locate game that had fallen so far away. He was truly amazing and entertaining to watch.”
After the hunt we retired to Second Chance Lodge for a hot meal and showers. The comfort of the couches and soon the beds added that perfect touch to a long, cold and productive duck hunting day. Dreams of more ducks filled our heads.
Extreme cold and freeze- up conditions prevented us from hunting with Sam Barker the following morning, but we are scheduled for a rain check in January 2010. Can’t wait.
For further information about duck hunting around East Prairie, go to www.eastprairiemo.net/waterfowl.htm.