few options. Laying in cornfields and area ditches proved to be a challenge. Some hunters were fortunate to have blinds in fields, while others would be forced to face the elements. On top of the weather conditions, many birds were decoy shy. To overcome this, the decoy patterns had to be carefully set. Taking special care in setting sentry decoy locations became a must. Nothing could be taken for granted. The number of decoys needed to attract and maintain the interest of passing flocks was high. The addition of black flags was added by some hunters to add motion to their spread. In the northern sections of Ohio, along the Lake Erie shoreline, high winds had moved ice in areas and left open water for birds to congregate. Rivers and lakes in inland areas were frozen solid. Some hunters moved boats and blinds out onto the ice in hopes of attracting more birds. In some cases this proved to achieve the desired result. However, as temperatures remained in the 20s, the hunt proved to be a cold one for many hunters while their retrievers welcomed the
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