Summing up last season's up-and-down flights of ducks, Mason said the hunting was surprisingly good at times. He added most would agree that they had as many ducks in the area and on refuges around the middle and western parts of Tennessee as we have seen in previous years.

With a cold front that made a good push just before the November opener, Mason said ducks landed in the Volunteer State just in time for a good opening weekend. With the weeklong break until the next opening day in December, things settled down a bit through most of the month until the Christmas holiday.

"Some skeptic waterfowlers still say we don't have as many ducks as in the past, but a drive through any of the Tennessee national wildlife refuges on Kentucky Lake last year would have seemed to prove otherwise," Mason added. "Miles of shorelines were lined with mallards, teal, gadwalls and other species of waterfowl for most of the winter months, and although we did not have many fronts coming through to move those birds, the food in the hunting areas such as Tennessee wildlife management areas across the state was as good as or better than ever."

Mason guides on Kentucky Lake primarily but hunts many public spots throughout the region. As he pointed out, there are public opportunities out there even in these crowded modern times. He said WMAs, such as Camden, Gin Creek, Big Sandy, Bogota, West Sandy, Dover Bottoms, Gooch, Tigrett and Reelfoot Lake, are areas where waterfowl hunters who may not be lucky enough to have their own place can hunt.

If you're new to the sport, you may not be aware annual blind drawings are held across the state on the first Saturday in August. If drawn, the hunter has usage of that particular blind for the season as long as he is in the blind before shooting time each day. If the blind holder is not in the blind before shooting time, the blind becomes public for that day on a first-come, first-served basis.

Mason added WMAs are sometimes crowded in the area where the blinds are located; however, for the hunters who do not mind a little scouting and some work, there are places where those hunters can either walk in or use a boat blind setup. Always keep in mind, though, that any hunter who is not using one of the draw blinds must stay 200 yards away from other hunters on a WMA.

When it comes to attracting ducks, Mason has been using the tools of the trade for years. He hunts mostly on the open waters of Kentucky Lake where huge spreads of decoys are a necessity. Three hundred and fifty duck decoys and 60 goose decoys will round out his spread during the season. He will move decoys around about every other day or two to simulate resting birds.

Most of their good duck days are those that nearly all waterfowlers think are blue bird days. Mason said ducks go to big, open water to rest and raft up during the middle part of the day, and a good, clear, crisp day is just what the doctor ordered on open water for a great day of duck hunting.

Mason is never short of new technology from season to season and likes to have the best there is to offer flights of migrating ducks. His spread will consist of three or four spinning wing decoys for movement.

"I use the Mallard Master Pro Decoy by Quest Outdoors every day during the season as well as the Aviator during the calm days when there is not much wind," Mason explained. "Quest Outdoors Mallard Master Feeding Frenzy Feeding decoy is one of the best feeding decoys on the market today and mimics feeding ducks on the water."