Hunting Pictures
[Dove]
[Waterfowl]
[Grouse]
[Woodcock]
[Other]
Wood Ducks
[Overview]
[1997]
[1998]
[1999]
[2000]
[2001]
[2002]
[2003]
[2004]
[2005]
[2006]
[2007]
[2008]
[2009]
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Wood Duck Hunting Overview
Wood
ducks feel right at home in West Virginia. With plenty of
small waterways next to thriving hardwood forests, this state
offers abundant habitat for wood ducks to roost, nest, and
feed. From 1997, the
King & Rooster
have been floating or
wading a lot of those waterways in search of the best tablefare in
the waterfowl family. We have had more success than we could
have ever imagined, and with wood duck populations continuing to
grow in numbers every year, we see good things for years to come.
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October 1997 was our first attempt
at duck hunting. As the following pictures show, we started
as true novices - no gear, no tactics, and suspect shooting.
We learned a lot in that first fall, the most important being that
we were hooked. We only shot 2
wood ducks and found 1 in 1997, but it was the beginning of what would
become our most consistent hunting success.
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10.04.97 |
![](../../pictures/hunt_pics/waterfowl/wood_duck/roos_po97.jpg)
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The Rooster
with the first wood duck taken by the K&R. Notice the
blue jeans and plaid shirt. |
10.04.97 |
![](../../pictures/hunt_pics/waterfowl/wood_duck/1st_wood.jpg)
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The first
wood duck taken by the K&R. We didn't even know how to
take a good game picture at this point. |
10.04.97 |
![](../../pictures/hunt_pics/waterfowl/wood_duck/kng_cook_po97.jpg)
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The King
cooking up the first wood duck on a homemade spit. We
quickly learned that the wood duck was a fine tasting bird.
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In 1998, we improved on
gear, tactics, and shooting. Judging by the results, it was
worth the effort. We took our limit of woodies on opening
weekend and two weeks later, on a day the colors exploded from the
trees, we took another wood duck. We brought home 5 wood
ducks overall in 1998, and were proud of the improvement we had
made in only one year.
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10.02.98 |
![](../../pictures/hunt_pics/waterfowl/wood_duck/kng_po98.jpg)
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The King
with the 4 wood ducks taken on on opening weekend. Out of
these four we took 2 hens and 2 drakes. |
10.02.98 |
![](../../pictures/hunt_pics/waterfowl/wood_duck/roos_po98.jpg)
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The Rooster
with the four doves. Notice, the gear is still spotty; jeans
are still present but a camo vest has been purchased. |
10.02.98 |
![](../../pictures/hunt_pics/waterfowl/wood_duck/po_ducks98.jpg)
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A
close-up of the wood ducks. The iridescence of the drake
heads can be seen in this picture. |
10.17.98 |
![](../../pictures/hunt_pics/waterfowl/wood_duck/plum98.jpg)
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One of
our favorite pictures showing the fall colors in all their
glory. |
10.17.98 |
![](../../pictures/hunt_pics/waterfowl/wood_duck/kng_po98(2).jpg)
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The King
in what would become the standard kneeled pose with the game
(tough to see in this picture). |
10.17.98 |
![](../../pictures/hunt_pics/waterfowl/wood_duck/roos_po98(2).jpg)
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The Rooster
starting to lose the smile.
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In 1999, we took our duck
hunting to another level. We finally got the gear that we
needed, we finally expanded our duck hunting options in both
locations and game, and we finally began to shoot with
confidence. As with the last two years, we began our duck
hunting season at our favorite small impoundment in search of wood
ducks. Twenty minutes later, we had our limit. It was
an amazing morning, one we still talk about every October.
We were able to get one more woodie right before Thanksgiving in
1999, we brought our season total to 5.
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10.01.99 |
![](../../pictures/hunt_pics/waterfowl/wood_duck/roos_po99.jpg)
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The Rooster
showing the bright white markings on the drake's head. |
10.01.99 |
![](../../pictures/hunt_pics/waterfowl/wood_duck/kng_po99.jpg)
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The King
on top of the four woodies taken in twenty minutes. The
camera did not do very well in this shot but does show we finally
got some better clothing to hunt in. |
10.01.99 |
![](../../pictures/hunt_pics/waterfowl/wood_duck/po_dcks99.jpg)
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A
close-up shot of the 3 hens and drake all taken before 8:30. |
11.25.99 |
![](../../pictures/hunt_pics/waterfowl/wood_duck/kng_vb.jpg)
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An after
dusk shot of a wood duck hen (on the left) taken in what would
become a tradition: a duck hunt on the day before
Thanksgiving. A good shot of the size difference between a
young wood duck and an adult mallard.
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More Wood Duck
Hunting
[2000] [2001]
[2002]
[2003]
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