I shot a mottled duck!!!

[lunkerhunter2]

Flycasting called me yesterday and wanted to know if i had to work all day today and i didn't.[sly] I met him at Mt green and we looked all over the weber for some ducks and saw none.[shocked] After that kick in the pants we decided to head out to FB. As we pulled up to the parking lot there were litterally hundreds of ducks pouring into the area we intended to hunt. Game on. We got dressed up and headed into the swamp. On the way out we jumped numerous ducks and it got me even more excited. We found a good place to set up and threw out the dekes. In only 25 minutes i shot 5 ducks. The cool thing is the first shot killed a huge greenie and the next shot pummeled a very nice drake Mottled duck!!!
[inline "Mottled duck 2007 003s.JPG"]
I was a little when i picked it up as it looked like a hen mallard but totally different. The other 3 were a hen and drake mallard and a hen gadwall. I sat in awe having shot yet another rare species for our area. Over the next little while i had several ys land or almost land in the dekes as well as a nice drake greenwing. I passed several shots before killing another greenie and another hen to finish out the day. I thank Tyler for coming with me today and experiencing this hunt. I know he enjoyed it. Ask him about the pass shot at the big greenhead.[]
Anyway, i think i am very lucky to have killed some of the rare birds we have around here. 3 woodies, 2 oldsquaws, and now a mottled duck. Not to mention the 4 bands i have. All in all a very awesome day. Thanks for the company Tyler.
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[Theekillerbee]

Sounds like another great time out Brody. How is that new gun shooting?
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[lunkerhunter2]

Rapidly[]
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[Flycasting]

Thanks for showing me the ropes Brody! Had a great time.

Brody made some incredible shots today. One was at a drake mallard at about 55 yards or so, and he was flying fast!

Can't wait to get out there again! [cool]
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[fishinfool]

Some people would consider that skybusting.LOL.
Nice duck Brody,I looked into it that duck was lost,I cant believe you shot a lost duck.
You going to mount it,there is a guy on another site that does great work,pm me and I will give you the link.
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[HookJaw_Brimhall]

Nice Job Brody, you lucky bass.
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[lunkerhunter2]

Definately getting mounted, BUT the wifey said i shouldn't because "it looks like a mallard"! I have to convince her that it is a RARE kill and needs to be properly preserved.[blush]
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[lunkerhunter2]

Here is a read on this species
[url "http://myfwc.com/duck/mottled/"]http://myfwc.com/duck/mottled/[/url]
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[wiperhunter2]

I was just going to ask you want a mottled duck was but I just read your last post and link about the species. That looks like a nice haul on the ducks but after reading about the mottled duck it sounds like your duck is something else. Any idea what it really is?
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[Flycasting]

Looks like a mottled duck to me...
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[Saberfish]

[black][size 3]I agree.[/size][/black]
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[size 3]Judging from the picture, looks like a mottled duck to me. [/size]
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[size 3]Yes, the duck was a little out of his usual range and migratory habits, but when you remember, locally, we have an escapee flamingo hanging and migrating with a flock of pelicans, such a thing can happen.[/size]
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[size 3]How many of us would have identified it as a hen mallard, harvested it, and never given a second thought as to it being another species?[/size]
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[Flycasting]

I'll be the 1st to admit that I thought it was when he brought it back. Brody was all over it though. At 1st glance he thought black duck.
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[wiperhunter2]

Sorry, I wasn't saying there is no way it could be a mottled duck but just repeating what the link said that Brody posted.
"The mottled duck (Anas fulvigula) is a non-migratory, close relative of the mallard (Anas platyrhynchos). The Florida mottled duck (Anas fulvigula fulvigula), often called the Florida duck or Florida mallard, is a unique subspecies found only in peninsular Florida, residing in both brackish and freshwater marshes. The Florida mottled duck spends its entire life within the state and has inhabited Florida for thousands of years."
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[tlspyder13]

Great job on the duck!

Thanks even more for the reading material. I kept thinking I've seen those before what is the big deal. Now I know why. I saw them in Florida while I lived there and just wasn't putting the two together.
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[Majja]

Glad to hear you did well in the marsh.
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[Kraizee_Skot]

[font "Lucida Console"][#ff4040]Lucky bugger!! Great work[/#ff4040][/font]
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