Noel Ferguson and I hunted in hole 6 today. We had to break ice in the canal, boat trail, and in the hole today. We pushed the boat around in the hole to break the ice. It was a pretty, blue sky day, however we did not see any Mallards.

About 7:00 a.m. a pair of Wood Ducks flew through the hole and I wasn't ready for them. I picked my gun up, hoping that they would circle back through again and sure enough, they did. I only got a shot at one of them even though I thought I was ready for them. They are just faster than you think. The one I killed turned out to be a drake. They sure are pretty.

Since things were so slow, Noel and I decided to leave early, drive to Forrest City, and hunt on the L'Anguille River. Forrest City is where Noel grew up and he knows the area very well. About 10:00 a.m., I picked up my Benelli to remove the shells. When I did, two Wood Ducks landed on the ice in the middle of our decoys. I threw the screen down, shot the hen and then shot the drake. I couldn't believe it! But, they aren't near as fast if they have to take off, as they are if they are already flying. We loaded everything in the boat and went to the landing. When we unloaded the boat into the van, I discovered the hen had a band on her right leg. What a surprise! And, I get to keep the band because I didn't have any claimers hunting with me today. Besides that, I was the only person to shoot.

Noel and I knocked down one Mallard drake on the L'Anguille, but he got away from us. The highlight of the trip from Dumas to Forrest City was eating at Craig's Bar-be-que at DeValls Bluff going and coming back. It was a long day, but we had a good time.

More later,