Cedar Creek Refuge

07/12/2025

This has been the scene at the blind since April 7th when the river backed up and flooded the field. 3 months underwater…I can’t imagine how many snakes have been hanging out in the blind.

I spoke to Randy, the landowner and he said this was only the 3rd time he has seen it like this so late in the year. When it finally goes down, we’ll spread some millet and hope for the best!

02/02/2025

This year a preseason flood took out the camera. I had to replace it and put it higher. I’m pretty sure that’s to blame for the slow down on pictures of wildlife, but we still got a few nice images. I’ll be interested to see what shows up after season.

11/27/2024

Not a lot of action down at cedar creek yet, but you have to love a great game camera picture! Ruby after a green wing teal hen.

04/18/2024

Blue Winged Teal are on their way back north it seems. They gave Cedar Creek a little visit. Always glad to see these tiny ducks.

03/25/2024

Not a lot of activity this spring….but still a sight worth seeing.

02/13/2024

This duck season threw us a curve ball….there were decent duck numbers early but very little water and very few ducks at the blind. Then when we got water, it was warm and there was no migration activity.

The cold front that finally did bring down the ducks hit us too hard just like last year and locked up the water with ice for over a week as the ducks held to the river. Once it thawed, season was almost over and the birds were shy. To say it was disappointing is an understatement.

Our wood duck numbers were way down. As anyone familiar knows, we have had so many wood ducks the last few years that used the area. Where they went, I have no idea.

Despite the challenges, we still had a couple of decent days, shared some laughs, and cooked a few pancakes. The best thing to do at this point is to focus on next season, and what we can do to increase success.

I left some goose decoys out to see if we could draw more geese, so far it’s only a few wood ducks.

I’ll leave the camera running and see what visits.

12/19/2023

When you have an awesome farm owner who says “let’s dig a ditch and pump some water for your duck hole”….you know he is a stand up guy.

11/29/2023

The blind is ready to hunt but the field is dry…we need some water!

11/29/2023

The Teal and Wood Ducks are showing up along with some other wildlife. We just need a big rain to flood the field.

11/03/2023

Getting closer to ready…water is decent, roof is on, now for some walls, paint, and a ton of brush!

10/27/2023

Joe and I have been busy at Cedar Creek. Clearing out Coffeeweed, digging the beaver packed mud out from around the flash board riser cage, and adding a 6x16 rear section to the duck blind. It will serve as a storage room/kitchen and warming area to make those really cold mornings more bearable.

A new roof over the whole thing with divided shooting window areas will conceal us better on sunny days and keep the rain off of us better on those dreary days. Y’all make plans to come see us. We’ll cook pancakes and bacon and hopefully shoot a duck or two.

Big rain this weekend just in time to fill the hole! Things are shaping up nicely. Stay tuned for more updates.

06/11/2023

Unfortunately, there’s been nothing going on at Cedar Creek Refuge lately, so here is a YouTube video on recoil and choke tubes. Enjoy!

Can an aggressively ported choke reduce shotgun recoil? I used a short barrel turkey hunting shotgun, with high brass waterfowl loads and a recoil sensor to ...