Putting the Snow FBs to Work

[Doug Steinke]

I must say it is very nice to feel the warm moist south winds again. Spring has been a long time coming. The migration has really popped this week. We've really only had snows here in NE for about three days. We went out to the farm and with a 40+ mph wind today it was a good time.


http://webpages.charter.net/silverbellies/st1.jpg


http://webpages.charter.net/silverbellies/st2.jpg


http://webpages.charter.net/silverbellies/st3.jpg


http://webpages.charter.net/silverbellies/st17.jpg


http://webpages.charter.net/silverbellies/st20.jpg



http://webpages.charter.net/silverbellies/st9.jpg

[Doug Steinke]

We even hauled out some of the canada decoys to play.


http://webpages.charter.net/silverbellies/st8.jpg


http://webpages.charter.net/silverbellies/st10.jpg


http://webpages.charter.net/silverbellies/st11.jpg


http://webpages.charter.net/silverbellies/st15.jpg

[CurrituckBoy]

Great stuff Doug

I like the pintails and those are some very mature snows and blues you have comming in

Michael

[chux76]

Looks like you are in them there Doug for the amount that I have seen around here. How did you guys do?

[Kevin Kriha]

Great pics, looks like a blast, wish we would have a good migration through my part of MN.

[Travis Mueller]

Great photos Doug. Did ya manage to kill any?

[Kevin Dirk]

Your photos are awesome Doug, those Pintails take the cake for me.....

Thanks-

KD

[duxbutt]

Doug, Those pics of the blues Are Awesome, That is some nice work there. Thanks for sharing those,

[Greg Boyd]

Great pics Doug, hope you had a good shoot!

[Erik Nilsson]

Those are some really nice photos you have, thanks for sharing.

[Rob Jepson]

Doug...nice stuff...keep em' coming.

[Jocelyn "Josh" Léger]

Nice pics. You get me daydreaming again ... I just can't wait for them snows to arrive around here ... Nice!

[Doug Steinke]

It could of been a stack'm up day, but all I did was squeeze the trigger for the shutter. Here are a few more. I snapped about 200 photos and about half were keepers. This whole site has made me a better photographer because of all of the tips and guidence of Jim, Tyson, SG, Jeff, Jepson... the list goes on and on.

http://webpages.charter.net/silverbellies/st6.jpg


http://webpages.charter.net/silverbellies/st13.jpg

[Scott Moates]

Great pictures, Doug. Look forward to seeing some more over the next few weeks as the geese should really start their way back.

[Rick Frisch]

Hint to Doug - You run the camera and we will all come down and take care of the shooting. LOL.

Awesome photos - those pintail sprigs are the best.

[Nick Bury]

Amazing pic!!!

[Derek Rambo]

Great shots Doug!! The Pintails and the Lesser Canada are awesome!!!!!

[Ryan Thomas]

Lovin it!

[Isaac White]

Those are some sweet pictures holy cow!! Very very very nice!!!!

[James Staten]

Some great pics man!! I really like the eagle head blues.

The last pic of the pintails is awesome.

James Staten

[GVGoose]

very nice Doug!!!

Got any pictures of the spread? How many were you using?

[NDboy]

OH MY GOD i want to shoot some snows and blues now!! Great pics

[whisker]

Great pictures! :)
Tomorrows wake up will determine weather I load up decoys or shovel out the driveway.....:eek:

[Joe Fladeland]

Great shots Doug,
I love the shot of the Canadas coming in over the grain bins and the shot of the Pintails.

Nicely done.

[The Duck Whisperer]

I really like the picture of those Pintails.

[Jeff Kreit]

Great photos but i would have been pulling something else.

[Shawn Bloomhuff]

Great stuff Doug. I can't wait to get back out after the snows the rest of the month.

[Great White North]

Great pics.

[Mallardbreath]

Beautiful pictures guys.

[David Ortley]

Awesome shots Doug!! As much as I enjoy the winter, and what it has to offer, those photos make me anxious for fall '07.

[Allan Stanley]

Great pics. Look at the size difference of the Canadas standing on the ice.

[BoonMan]

Fantastic Doug a shot of the spread would be nice. I really like those eagle heads getting in the decoys sweet. The lesser Canadas are nice to and that shot of the pintails in there was spectacular.. Thanks for sharing..Boon

[Wayne Radcliffe]

Very nice work. I enjoyed them all.

[Webbedconnection]

I have to agree with Frisch. A little blood on that ice would be good!

That picture of the 3 Eagle Heads coming in is awesome- a triple in the making!

Nice pics Doug!

Jeff, or 'duck' to my friends...

[Eric Larsgaard]

Doug,

Great Job.. Also nice photo's. I cannot believe it is that time of year again..

Eric

[Curt Wilson]

Nice photos, Doug. Those are some awesome pics. How many snows and blues are in the area right now?

[Aaron Hitchins]

Those Snow/Blue pictures are unreal, the plumage is just how it should be, but the pintails take the cake, especially with the Canada's resting on the ice!

Aaron

[goosehunter21]

How many fullbodies are you running in your spread?

[Doug Steinke]

We are running just over 200 Fbs with about 100 sleeper shells with about 2/3 snows 1/3 blues. We have them basically as a dot maybe 100 yards long and 10 yards wide on a spit of ground between two mubflats that are full of water at this time. Very little E-calling. We'll use it to help bring in a flock of 2-300 canadas with snows in it, but for the most part if the flocks are just snows they are coming in without any electronic noise. When they swing wide we'll just murmmer on our canada calls.

Going back into Grand Island and talking to a friend yesterday the snows are really pooling up in the Harvard, Doniphan, Alda area. A buddy was out yesterday with his boy and seen absolutely no other hunters. He said that they made 5-6 sneaks and either the canadas or the cranes would bust them before they could get in range of the snows. The storm missed us. Just a skiff of snow. Even with the 30-50 mph north\northwest wind yesterday we still had a lot migrating canadas\specs. Not too many snows, though. Living here all my life and seeing all of those migrations, I'd say we are maybe at 10% of the snow migration. The Platte is smoking at this time. The most water I've seen in it for 5-6 years. There are going to be a lot of blinds lost this spring.



http://webpages.charter.net/silverbellies/bluepair.jpg

[goosehunter21]

Thanks Doug for the info
Will be running close to 500 fullbodies this spring so it should be pretty sweet.

[callemquacktn]

Man thos pics are awesome!!!

I love the one with the pintails the most!!

[Craig Boyd]

Sweet pics!

Love the pintail/honker shot.

[George Zahradka]

Nice work.......Looks like we need to hop in the truck and head west ...Jeff

[justawantabe]

Doug - Great shots, You are really becoming one hell of a photographer. Better see the pintails get framed and up for auction at the DU banquet.

Todd

[Patrice Picard]

Wow! Crazy stuff you put there! Thanks for sharing.:)

[Bryan S]

Doug

What kind of camera did you use?

[headhunter]

Very impressive pictures, keep them coming!

[Zach White]

The photo of the geese flying over the grain bins is one of the best pictures I have ever seen! That will be in a magazine someday for sure!

[Duster]

Great pictures Doug! Those sprigs are unreal!!!


Chris

[Eric Larsgaard]

Those Blues are awesome....

[Doug Steinke]

Hunting has been tough the past 10 days. It has either been foggy, no migration or the the area we hunt has been closed. Today we finally caught a weather break. Up until 10:30 when the clouds rolled in and we were done, nothing much decoyed after that. Tomorrow is another day.


http://webpages.charter.net/silverbellies/t1.jpg


http://webpages.charter.net/silverbellies/t2.jpg


http://webpages.charter.net/silverbellies/t3.jpg

[Josh Brugmans]

Oh god more crossbreed Canadas and Specks soon.

[Cory Johnson]

Cool pic with the snows and blues flipping!

[Nick Bury]

Awesome pictures!!

[Curt Wilson]

I love the picture with the all of the geese flipping and sideways. Good work.

[Christian Curtis]

Neat picture!

[Rob Jepson]

Neat stuff!

[Hunter Parrish]

Great pics, look at the rust on their heads!!!

[Andrew O'Neill]

Incredible pics!

That last one of the snows is amazing!

[cottonwoodsman]

great pics...good luck on the snows

[Travis Lyle]

Thanks for those pic. Some of the best I've every seen.

[GERRY MAZUR]

Hey great stuff, it was like being there. Nice pics.

[Eric Larsgaard]

Doug,
Thanks for the pics and the post. I noticed 4 large flocks of snows going over Sioux Falls SD today.. Temp around 60 today... They are on the move.

Eric

[Nicholas Lisec]

Doug,

The report I got from my parents back home by Beatrice, NE is that the snows are flat out ALL OVER the place. I wish I was back home to chase them around.

Nick

[Jeff "Pitboss" Coats]

very nice!!!

[Parker Knox]

great pics doug. looks like yall had a good time

[Doug Steinke]

Yesterday was a little better. Hey Mr. Coats, here is a "tip of the hat" in your direction. I've always enjoyed your shot in shot photos. Here is my best attempt. These were 3 of 5 photos in sucsession (1,2 and 5). Look at the last photo, I cropped and zommed in on the 5th photo.


First Shot at about 50 yards high.
http://webpages.charter.net/silverbellies/ttt1.jpg

Second shot
http://webpages.charter.net/silverbellies/ttt2.jpg

You can see the shot from the 6th volley in the lower right hand of the photo as the bird is going down.
http://webpages.charter.net/silverbellies/ttt3.jpg

Zoomed in on the last photo.
http://webpages.charter.net/silverbellies/ttt4.jpg

[Josh Brugmans]

Great photos, who got the band ;)

[Commando]

Sweet pics Doug. Keep 'em coming. Hope you're having a good season. It's just getting started in the Northeast part of the state.

[Cut em]

Please tell me that banded bird died......

Awesome pictures, all of em!!!!

[headhunter]

Awesome pictures Doug.

[SMIGRATOR]

Nice looking photos.

[Jason Connellee]

Looks like a nice nice time Doug. Nice photos.

[Tyson Keller]

Awesome pics, Doug. I wish that I could have taken more photos...the mud held me back a bit.

The pair of blues is my favorite, but they are all very good!

[wizzlinwings]

Thanks for sharing the pics Doug! Great job!

Congrats to you guys on an all-around great day in the outdoors!

[Doug Steinke]

More pics from the last few weeks. My freind has really put this place together well and he knows his waterfowl. I just added the decoys, e-caller and stirred. Couldn't swing fast enough on the first pic, but you can read into it what happened.

http://webpages.charter.net/silverbellies/t17.jpg


http://webpages.charter.net/silverbellies/t25.jpg


http://webpages.charter.net/silverbellies/t21.jpg

Ryan Brentzel or David Duval take your pick.
http://webpages.charter.net/silverbellies/t19.jpg

[David Rearick]

Some sweet PICS there Doug. Especially capturing the band on film, very nice!

[BoonMan]

Yes I can only image what happened in that first picture. The goose hit a bus right. Great shots thanks for sharing

[Brett Beinke]

Great photos man! Keep them coming!

[chad belding]

These truly are special photos. Great work Doug. The pintails got me fired up.

Good Hunting!

Chad Belding
Avery Outdoors

[Ryan Brentzel]

Looks like David Duval to me. Hey Doug is the picture with the snow coming in, the third one, the one we put the train wreck on?

[Doug Steinke]

Another good weekend.

http://webpages.charter.net/silverbellies/t26.jpg


http://webpages.charter.net/silverbellies/t28.jpg


http://webpages.charter.net/silverbellies/t29.jpg


http://webpages.charter.net/silverbellies/t27.jpg


http://webpages.charter.net/silverbellies/t32.jpg

[Allan Stanley]

Great pics! I love #2!

[justawantabe]

As always your pictures continue to amaze me.

Doug, can you email me your email address, I need you to do a favor for me.

Thanks, Todd Travis ttravis@frontiernet.net

[Cory Johnson]

Great pics!

[Ryan Thomas]

Dead Goose!

[BoonMan]

OMG that was a sweet picture, of the goose getting hit. Now that is in your face. The specs look fantastic too

[Weatherby]

great pics! how many did you you guys get this weekend?

[T.J. Owens]

Doug,

Unbelievable photos! Thanks for sharing them with us.

Best of luck,
T.J.

[Aaron Hitchins]

That is an absolutely beautiful collection of photographs, I love the sunset and the dekes, as well as the big group coming in and getting lined up over the barrel of the Benelli, but the snows getting it took the cake... until I saw the speck photo, that is a PERFECT photograph, nice work!

Aaron

[David Rearick]

Great PICS Doug, there are some real keepers in that group!

[Tony Vandemore]

I'd like a lesson on camera settings...those are unreal.

[Stephen Pitt]

Very cool pictures Doug.

[Doug Steinke]

Oh I can't tell you how much I wish these were in season. I can let the bands go, but a neck colar would be tempting. It was just an awesome weekend. The old & new friends in the blind, the birds, the weather and the food were just great.

...and the specs were too.


http://webpages.charter.net/silverbellies/t30.jpg


http://webpages.charter.net/silverbellies/t31.jpg


http://webpages.charter.net/silverbellies/t33.jpg


http://webpages.charter.net/silverbellies/t37.jpg

[Commando]

That banded speck is amazing! If only they would work this nice in the fall.

You're photos are great, Doug. Keep 'em coming!

[waterfowljunkie]

Sweet pics man, those are very nice!

[CurrituckBoy]

Doug very nice.

love the bands and the specks.

Like the work you did on the group of geese with the guy shooting

very nice edit.

Michael

[Doug Steinke]

Wind will do a lot for you. I was in the right place at the right time. The shooting photo is pretty raw, actual photo. The hunter wasn't put in if that is what you meant. Tweaked the contrast a touch. Even left in the dust spots... eeeck I hate dust spots.

Here is another shot, not as good, but neat. Story of the hunt should be up on this website maybe even tomorrow. http://wadebourneoutdoors.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=15&Itemid=26 Wade is a great guy. Same guy you see on TV. It was an amazing weekend. The shooter in the photos are of his son, a fine southern gentleman.

http://webpages.charter.net/silverbellies/t34.jpg


http://webpages.charter.net/silverbellies/t40.jpg

[BoonMan]

Fantastic photos Doug, can you share with us what your settings were and also the lens that was used on these shots. thanks Boonman....

[iawaterfowler88]

awesome pictures doug...I can't get out after snows because of a broken right hand with a pin in it...these pictures definitely help cure the itch somewhat. Keep em' coming!

[Doug Steinke]

Hey Rick, I put that photo back up for ya. Settngs. I have a 20D with either a 100-400L or a 24-105L lens. I shot on Av and just bounced the ISO and the +\- until I get close to a full graph on my meter. That may sound tough to do, but it's not that bad once you get used to it. Basically got that info from the "photo page" on this site about a year ago and one day it just clicked. Tons of good tips on there. Keller and Jepson have been good mentors to exchange ideas with also. Only a couple more days for me to save the Tundra. Hope you all can get out this spring.

[BoonMan]

Thanks for putting the pic back up and also the tip on how you get those great shots.. thanks again

[Tyson Keller]

Awesome Photos!!!

[Stephen Pitt]

It is hard to say which one is my favorite, but I would have to go with this one. Great work Doug, very nice pictures.



http://webpages.charter.net/silverbellies/t28.jpg

[Foldem]

NICE pics, but tell the kid to shoot the adults first!

Kevin