The name stuck.

As afternoon turned to evening, Kent said the "witching hour" was at hand. That's when the ducks begin to move from the refuge and hit the flooded corn for their late-day feed. We'd seen a scattering of ducks in the mid-afternoon hours, and then the last hour of shooting time featured several flights of mallards, gadwalls and even woodies making their way into gun range.

The second morning of the hunt found us greeting the shooting hour and three mallards at dawn in "The Pit." The old underground fuel tank had been converted into a fine pit blind. For the early portion of the late season, there were also still plenty of gadwalls and wood ducks trading back and forth between refuges and making their way into the flooded corn surrounding the pit blind.

"We don't sell duck hunts," said Kent reloading his shotgun. "We sell southern hospitality." The biscuits and gravy Hinson threw together in between flights of ducks and volleys were a testament to that fact. The pass-shooting and decoying mallards were even better than the day before, and we elected to hunt The Pit again after lunch. The second afternoon had the sky filled with more mallards and more opportunities.

By the day's end, we took our share of the ducks in the area. The big numbers weren't quite there yet in the young season, but I saw more waterfowl in two days than I'll see all season in East Tennessee. The big plus was that hunting with Hinson and Kent was more like a buddy hunt than a guided trip. They're old-fashioned and down to earth, the kind of hospitality you expect in the Volunteer State. You can hunt with Black Bottom Guide Service this season by calling Hinson at (731) 692-3107 or (731) 414-8561.

DALE HOLLOW DUCKS?
Dale Hollow Lake near Celina made a name for itself nationally, thanks to its excellent smallmouth bass fishery. To expect it to be a decent, let alone a quality duck destination, seems almost ridiculous. Each year during the opening weekend of the late duck season, I'm on Dale Hollow chasing smallmouths in the Billy Westmorland-Horse Creek Dock Smallmouth Bass Invitational Tournament. It's hard giving up the duck opener each year, but I live and breathe smallies.

What makes it harder is listening to the repeated volleys of shotgun blasts right after daylight from makeshift duck blinds on the lake's many flats. Hunters there have shots during the season at everything from mallards to an array of divers on this big open water. To be honest, the lake has as many puddlers as it does divers.

Danny Stone is a Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) creel clerk and has made his own name smallmouth bass fishing on Dale Hollow. However, Stone will quickly tell you his first love is duck hunting. He shot his first mallard at Dale Hollow when he was a kid and has been hunting its waters for 40 years.

Stone said it has to be cold to push ducks to Dale Hollow's open waters and flats. He said the numbers of divers have diminished over the years, but you can still shoot bluebills and others each season. The most bluebills he saw in an area last year were between 400 to 500 birds. When January's temperature approaches the zero mark, he said mallards will pile in and you can get a limit every day when the weather cooperates. They dry feed in the corn fields around the lake and fly in to rest.

Some of the best hunting on the Hollow is in the Kemper Flats, Lilydale and Irons Creek areas. Stone said it's best to scout them out and see which flats they're feeding on and then roll in with a bundle of cane and put up a makeshift blind on points and flats for success. The mallards and gadwalls move onto flats and are attracted by the milfoil in these areas.

Stone said the first two weeks of the season can be good, but the best hunting is with a cold January. He said all you need are a couple dozen decoys and the will to go. Low lake levels are also key and layout blinds are also suited for hunting flats. Stone said the slow days are also good because it's all about getting out and seeing the sunrise and working retrievers.