Hunting adventure on Ambro Slough
It was during Wisconsin’s “Antlerless Deer Hunt” in mid-October that I came up with the idea for this week’s column.
I was hunting on public lands on the Ambro Slough on the Mississippi River in Crawford County. Justin Howe and I were exploring this beautiful piece of land when I said to myself, “I’m going to come back here and camp, hunt ducks and hunt deer with a bow and arrow.”
Tuesday, Oct. 27
High 57, Low 38
This was a “shot-in-the-dark” type of trip. Here is an example. I had never paddled a canoe on the Ambro Slough, it is dark out and it is incredibly foggy.
My plan for the first few hours of this adventure was to find a place to put out a few decoys and then whack a few ducks and geese before paddling back to my truck. Then I would unload my boat and find an island to build camp on.
That entire plan became guesswork, as I did not know where I was and could not see a thing. I set out some decoys backed into some cattails with my canoe and became comfortable with my pups, Brownie and Ice.
At 9:00 it was still foggy, I had not seen a duck or a goose and I was thinking maybe I better build camp. Good luck came my way when I heard a duck quack. I quacked back on my duck call and then saw a duck through a tiny hole in the fog.
The mallard ended up in my frying pan and it was the only duck I saw that morning.
Later I launched my boat, trailed the canoe and looked for my latest home. I picked a location that I thought might give me some pass shooting for ducks and geese and then built a low-profile camp.
About 2:00 I found a spot to hunt deer near a well-used deer trail and a buck scrape.
I put up a portable stand and soon entered the “forced relaxation” called bow hunting.
Within minutes I saw a doe and an hour later, I had an eight-point buck with about a 14-inch spread come just out of range.
After dark I was looking forward to sautéed duck breast when I realized that I did not have the gas valve for my Coleman propane stove, I settled for granola bars and yogurt.
Wednesday, Oct. 28
High 58, Low 30
Yesterday, I did some scouting in the early afternoon for a better duck hunting spot.
This morning I made the one-mile canoe trip with the pups in the dark and loved every minute of that experience.
I set out my decoys, hid the canoe and started watching the skies. I saw a total of five ducks, of which were all woodies, and got shooting on one occasion. Had my stove been functional, there would be more meat for the frying pan.
After my hunt, I paddled back to camp and took a first-rate siesta.
I spent my afternoon on another bow hunt and while exploring, found a ground blind that had been washed against a tree and was covered with leaves.
While observing nature, I noticed that the muskrat population seems to be low on the Ambro Slough but there are lots of beaver. My campsite had water on both sides of it and all night long the beavers would be slapping their tails in warning when they realized that an invader had entered their world.
The following morning, I broke camp in the dark, went on another bow hunt and then headed to that peaceful place I call home.
At the landing, I had an outdoorsmen tell me a really good spot to bow hunt. I figure if I come back a week later next year, thinking that maybe possibly more migrating ducks will be in the area, then just maybe I can whack a good buck.
It’s all about the adventure!
Sunset
