Its Been A Long Winter

Here in MN, the winter has taken its toll on my patience. We have had extreme cold followed by short warm ups, then extreme cold again. With snowfall being below average again for yet another winter I know that the water levels are going to be very low, if not dried up unless we get a lot of rain this spring.
Though the winter has been long, it has also come with sorrow. Many of you know my faithful hunting partner King and his love of the hunt. But I also had another dog, Hailey. She was my first dog I ever had and at the age of 13, her age onset complications finally had gotten the best of her, and I had to make the decision no hunter should have to make. About 1 month ago I had to take her into a late night ER and say my last good bye and wish her well.
Loosing a dog such as Hailey, although very hard, is even harder to watch as King looks for his buddy to cuddle with at night, or to show off the rabbit he caught running across the back yard. Hailey was never a great hunting dog, but she did have many other great moments that will stay with our family for years. The one I will never forget is the one and only time we took her duck hunting. What a nightmare!
It was a "ducky day" and my dad and I were at our favorite WI hole. We tied Hailey to the gas tank on the boat to keep her still, even though she was not covered very well. She loved to swim, Jump, and retrieve squirrels so we thought that duck hunting would come naturally. Not so.
We waited for a while as the ducks were slow to move, but one look back a Hailey and all you could do is laugh. She looked so miserable. Ears down, wet shivering and whining. But soon the ducks were moving. We began to call and shortly we heard the meanest barking coming from the boat. She had stood up on the highest point on the boat, dragging the gas can with, and started to bark her head off at the flock of ducks flying around the lake! What the heck! After calming her down we thought that if we didn't call she wouldn't bark. NOT! The birds flew by and again she came unglued.
When we got her I was 14 yrs old. I knew nothing about training a dog for hunting as I had just started hunting myself. We did how ever leave her at home from then on, but always brought her our morning kill for inspection. After 13 yrs she has left me with many memories, but this whole trip is one I will never forget.

A Sad Sad Day

There is no feeling like the one you get on the last day of the season. On Sunday morning Matt and I had a hard time getting out of bed. The night before we watched the video of the new, 2009 world duck calling champion Mike Anderson of Minnesota, had a few drinks and had a great time and a great meal.
We pulled into the boat landing about 5:00 and there was only 1 car in the lot? On the last day? We motored out and found our spot and set up. Unlike Sat. morning the show started right away. Not fast by any means but decent. We had the only shooting on the marsh. Every bird we shot decoyed very well and even circled a few times before shooting. We did however get BURNED by a flock of geese right away.
We were working a pair of mallards way out front when I saw the tails on a flock of geese about 25yds high over the decoys flying away. They made no sound! No honk, not even air from their wings! We did manage 2 drake mallards, one hen, a beautiful ringbill a goose and a drake gadwall. After sitting for almost 2 hours I decided to call it at 11:00. I would have loved to finish the day out but I had a long drive home and with a busted up ankle I wanted to give it some rest before work on Monday. At least I finished the season with some birds but the coolest thing was the final bird we worked in about 5 times and I had a 1 shot clean kill. Something good to build of off of for next season:>)
The bird locations this season has been most challenging. Some people believed they flew early and some said they went back north in NOV because of the warmth. I found a report that on Sat Dec 5th Brainerd MN was hold one of the largest sightings of birds in that area in a while. Due to the season being closed there was no gun pressure so the flocks of birds were aparently a sight to see. Huge rafts of divers and mallards filled the area. So its true we finished a season before the birds even got here!
Now for the decoy. Last season I started to play with the idea of a new decoy design. This season I made a few different versions and each time out we were the only ones having birds decoy in. The mornings I didn't have it with you could almost tell the difference in confidence of the birds. This past weekend we had swans multiple times decoy in and one time they ran it over. The next step is a patent and to figure out true production cost. Hopefully by next season I have something to sell because only 3 people besides me have ever seen it and they all want one so be sure to check back! You never know when it may become available.

Matt Your Bull !! Your Bull !!!!!

I arrived in SW WI late Friday night with a very sore ankle and lots of excitement for the final 2 days. The weather had changed on my way down and was no longer from the north, it was now from the south. Matt and I unpacked my stuff and loaded up for the morning.
Saturday morning reveled a lot of ice at the launch, but luckily some other boats had alreday made a path. We put our boat in right after a group of 3 that had a much bigger boat and we were hoping to follow them so we wouldn't have to break so much ice. Turns out none of their flood lights worked and they asked us if they could follow us. We made a few jokes but were more than willing because if you do not know the channel, especially this time of year when there is no grass left, you will be stuck in weeds and dead heads.
The morning shoot revealed almost no birds. Almost no shooting anywhere and at 10:00 Matt and I decided to take the boat out to find another spot and see what was frozen. We found a great spot and quickly picked up to move.
Once set up in the new spot way back in the prairie where no one else was, on a spot I'll call the lost bull island, we quickly saw some action. I was eating a snack when Matt yelled out "RY right here"! I crouched down and asked" where" without looking which was followed by a quick gun shot and the response, " In the decoys!" Shortly after that it was my turn. Matt grabbed a snack and out of the corner of my eye I spotted 2 flying at us very fast and about 10ft off the water. I told Matt to stop and explained where the birds would be when he turned around but before I could finish they were on us. I pulled up and vaporized the first one and picked off the second one with a long poke. A Pattermaster choke with HEVI Shot at 10yrds on a shoveler flying full tilt does some damage! The problem was the other birds. We watched as a bald eagle swooped down and picked it up! All I could do is yell at it. It dropped the duck and it came around for another pass> Right then 2 hunters showed up in front of us, almost as if sent by God to help us. They grabbed the bird for us way out in the bay but they had to swat the eagle away! This bird would not give up!
About 5 minutes later we had a huge Drake gadwal drop right in on the decoys. We each fired 1 shot making a clean kill and the race was on between KING and the eagle! Matt and I watched in amazement as this bird swooped down on King as he grabbed the bird. He did a great job bringing it back and it is now in the freezer and heading to the taxidermist. Now with 3 shovelers and a gady in the bag the moment arrived!
Matt and I both have a life long obsession with the big bull pintail. In this part of the country they are not in abundance so to shoot one is huge, but for us its better than any jewlery out there. 3 years ago I shot one that is being mounted, and so when I saw this one dart by I knew this was going to be all Matt.
When it shot by I yelled out Matt your bull Matt your bull!! "I know I know!' he said. I imediately grabbed the dog remote and the call. There was no screwing this one up! I worked the mallard and pintail call both bringing the majestic bird into the decoys. First pass was ok but I knew I could do better. Second pass it came right at us with wings cupped and feet down but flared to my side. "No no no" I called off the shot because I knew I was getting this one all the way in. I looked at Matt and the look on his face was priceless. His eyes were fixated on this bird as it kept circling around. His eyes were that of a 2 year old that you just handed a big bowl of candy and told, "go ahead and eat it all." It brought a smile to my face and determination to my calling. Not too much but not to little. I watched each movement of the bird as I called making sure he was committed. On the 3rd pass it was like something out of a video. Feet down and wings cupped, my blood pumped for Matts sure kill shot on his first pintail. I yelled take'm! 3 shots rang out and he flew away! I reached for my gun but by the time I got a shot off it was too late.
We sat in awe of the recent event. Apparently Matt in not ment to have the bull. Both being frustrated we missed a few birds after that but ended with 7 on sat with a couple of cripples. We should have had our limit, but thats why its a sport. The worst part of the whole story is that Matt had one other chance this year also and came up empty. Its just one of those things that you try so hard you over try. I know the day will come when he gets one. I just hope I can be the one to call it in for him. And if anything else maybe his daughter will shoot one before he does{:>) and I can be there for that too!
Sundays review will come tomorrow with a review of my experimental decoy. It is getting late but the cold temps are definitly here. We are expecting 12" of snow tomorrow and temps well below zero on Thursday and Friday. Alot of geese are moving south with the rest of the birds, I just hope there is some black foots left in a couple of weeks for the official last hunt.