Back to the delta

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Back to the Delta

By Hunter Boehmer

The Mississippi Delta is an expanse of land that occupies the majority of northwest Mississippi. When scanning the horizon from wash-board dirt roads, one can see farms, rivers that run deep brown and levee roads. The people seem to be behind the times by at least fifty years, which helps give the area an eclectic feel. One can envision Muddy Waters sitting on a front porch strumming an old guitar and crooning out blues tunes over a field of beans. It always felt like home, and generally was every weekend during the short winters of my younger life. Many people dismiss this area of our country as a place to visit, but that could not be more of a mistake. The delta seems to transport one back in time, where the stress of the new age dissipates, and one can get back to the basics. I was fortunate enough at an early age to have people that wanted to pass down the tradition of duck hunting the Mississippi Delta to me.

I would generally leave the Memphis, TN metropolitan area on Friday afternoon, and arrive in Crowder, MS in around two hours. I consider Crowder to be the edge of the Mississippi Delta, a little town whose population fluctuates from 300 to 800 people depending on who you talk to. The final destination was a little farmhouse outside of the town that to this day is the home of Aunt Betty’s Hunting Club. Arriving at the camp, there would often be a large barbeque grill roasting the feast for later and some familiar friendly faces.

The typical day would start with a wake-up call of “Get your gear!” from the only person that was really awake at the time. Soon the house would be alive with rustling hunters and the smell of coffee and sausage biscuits. Headlights would spark outside and we would tear off through the dark before the first ray of sunlight peaked out onto the new day. Reaching the parking area on a levee, we would exit out clad in camo waders and dawning headlamps. Ducks, you could hear their quacks and the whistle of their wings as they were coming to life after a night of rest. The first light would start to illuminate the delta as we trudged around “muddying” the decoys. Pretty soon it was “shooting time”.

Everyone settled into the blind and kept a watchful eye to the sky. Even the resident hunting dog kept his eyes peeled, especially when the calling began. Groups of mallards would circle our decoys, until they found it suitable to land. Upon the dropping of their landing gear, you would hear “take em” or “cut em”. Shotgun barrels rose quickly to their targets and sent out blasts of steel shot. Cody, upon receiving command, pounced out of the blind to retrieve the birds. He returned quickly giving a shake shower to all of us in the blind and darted back out the dog door for his next mission.