Sometimes Bad Things Happen When You Drink

A bet between me and a Green Bay Packer fan, key word PACKER. Made on New Years Eve.

Be Prepared.

With the forecast of freezing fog I decided to dress warm.

Smartwool liner socks. Smartwool heavy weight sock. Polarmax midweight base layer bottoms. Columbia Widgeon fleece pants. 3mm neoprene waders with 1000 grams thinsulate boots. 2 Smartwool tops, layered. Camo fleece turtleneck. Columbia Ducunder 600 fill down liner jacket. Columbia Widgeon parka. Paige Taylor original fleece balaclava. Manzella thinsulate gloves. H7HT hat.

Not being able to lift my arms, priceless

Absotively

A big thanks to HOY7 hunting team member and all around great guy, Steve-a-rino. Rest assured that I will personally make sure this cuzzi holds only the finest domestic beer a little money can buy. I also appreciate how it sums up my thoughts on life all eloquent and shit.

Day Seven & Eight.

I'm taking the liberty of reporting day 7 & 8 together. They had different starts but exactly the same outcome.

Day 7: Important day for the HOY7 hunting team so we chose the Old Old spot for some prime folding action. Slight chill to the air, great sammy, nice nap, no folding.

Day 8: Twin Falls on the menu. Much too windy so we ended up at the Old New spot for the first time this year. Hot breakfast sammys on the way in, even chillier with the gale force winds, short nap, no folding.

There you have it. A short report for this week but not much to show for it anyway. With that being said I must tell you that both days had natural beauty and rustic charm that you can only find on a HOY7 hunting team excursion. ( Just look at the pictures from both days) You too can join the fun for the low low price of three sammys.

Don't be a loser like Bubba Kuehl, plan your trip today

GBCH

Name that folder.

Where Are You Jiggity?

If this man were here today we'd be in jail. Play the video and you tell us why.

Arctic trip by A.C.L.

The following pictures are from my Moms' trip to the Great White North. (Isn't she lookin' good? Notice the white spot in the background, polar bear she made go to sleep with pop rocks and Coke-a-cola.) As minimal text accompanied these pictures I will do my best to provide a fictitiously amusing story to go with them per H7HT regulations.

As she traveled to the city of Hegrestervack she was greeted by this ancient Inuit formation called a "kladstrack" or "pile of rocks" by the literal translation. It is good luck to leave an offering of smaller rocks at it's base and some ammonium nitrate to counteract the effects of the massive radioactive facility in the background.

There she met her guide for the trip. (His name is Wally and he is obviously prepared for his photo to be published in the HOY7 hunting blog by bringing his 12ga.)

Wally sells genuine Eskimo hats made of seal skin and the fur of Free range polar bears on the side but his real occupation is taking tourists close enough to wild polar bears to rub their bellies and feed them snacks. Being the intrepid explorer type, Mom was in. She and Wally traveled 177Km by dog sled and Nordic skis made from seal bones to the spot where the elusive wild polar bears live in order to bring them her famous Ice Box Cake and some killer brownies.

This polar bear they named Mr. Scrunchie Button Nose . He enjoyed the Ice Box Cake and the brownies but became agitated when the treats ran out. At that point he tried to steal her purse and throw her camera in the water (just like another H7HT member) but they thwarted him with a stern "Down boy!". With the treats all gone and the polar bears in a state of hyperactive bliss they retreated to the northern outpost of Rykervydikesk and shot some skeet. Mom of course crushed Wally even though she hasn't shot skeet in years. She also took him for 1,000 Drakcleks ($7) in a second round grudge match.

Thanks to my Mom for these fine pictures and the chance to share this great story. The only thing missing is your official HOY7 hunting team hat. Maybe next time.

GBCH.

Guest editor.

HA! It is I Greenie and I rule!

I see you stupid hunters have started another season of frustration and loathing. Don't think I did not see you shoot my 3rd cousin from British Columbia the other day. His name was Jean Claude and he felt fine. The reason he did not fly when you "jumped" him was that he had eaten some of your American grains and seed. It made him slow to react.

I suspect that you think I will suffer the same fate when I travel through your area on my way to the beachfront home I own in Carmel California. No chance losers! I see your ill-concieved attempt at concealment and am not fooled by the lifeless plastic looking pieces of detritus you have floating in front of you. Good luck with that 3 1/2" shell you have loaded up, it will never reach me because of your poor shooting skills and inability to look down the barrel. Kiss my French Canadian ass, I quack in your general direction.

I am Greenie and I RULE!

“It's like gambling somehow. You go out for a night of drinking and you don't know where your going to end up the next day. It could work out good or it could be disastrous. It's like the throw of the dice"

Jim Morrison

Circa 1965

All Hail the Expert!*

*Picture taken before Day Six

Day Six.

I must apologize as today's post has no photo to accompany it. They say that a photo is worth a thousand words but sometimes a description is all you have to go with. On to day 6.

The day started with one of the most beautiful sunrises you could ever imagine. Red sky's lit up Mt. Hood and thousands of geese flew over our heads on their trek across the island. Even though this is prime time for morning ducks we had to stop and take in the beauty before us.If you had a camera you certainly would have taken a picture or two, maybe even a video to share. I did.

Some good opportunities presented themselves for folding and we had some good shots, but alas,no ducks were downed this morning. We did however have some good photo opps and anyone in their right mind would have gotten some good pics. I did. As the day wore on we had a nice lunch, some more good pass shooting and the chance to share some stories. Of course there were also more times when you would want to mark the day with a nice photo. I did.

So, once again I must apologize for the lack of a good picture for today's entry. I happened to take a nap as I usually do sometime during the course of the day. I also happened to let Fred G. use my camera. I will leave it to your imagination as to what the outcome of this decision was but suffice to say there is no photo for today's blog entry.

GBCH

Video of #2 kill.

Press Play Twice.

Retribution?

From last year:


On day six I had great reaction time and folded a duck at the old new spot. It landed in the water and slowly floated away from the point at which I could retrieve it. The wind and tidal influences took the downed duck all the way across the river to an area which I could not get to. After a feeble attempt to cross the river I was thwarted by high water over the giant hole in my waders and my fear of drowning. Dwayne, as we named him, died an unnecessary death.I told this sad story today because I'm sure my Grandfather would not be pleased with my hunting skills. I learned something today. Don't shoot beyond your ability to get your duck. Always wear the waders without the giant hole. And finally, I need a good dog. Rest in peace Dwayne.


I tell this story from last year to tell you this story from this year:

Day five unfolded exactly as planned. With the return of cold and rainy weather to the Willamette Valley the HOY7 Hunting Team set out to the West side of Sauvies island known as Poker Chip. Fred G pulled the impossibly low number of 9 while I pulled 167. Still there were six groups of hunters in front of us, all who seemed to know the wardens, strange. We picked Mud Lake unit #5 and set out in a light rain to set up for the day. After waiting for sunrise we saw some good action and waited for the 60,000 geese to stop flying in front of our guns.

I took a short nap, of course, and Fred G brought down the second duck of the season, a nice hen mallard followed shortly by a Hen Gadwall. The rain was coming in sheets and the wind was blowing hard. The action was fast and furious but being Sauvies and all, the ducks are scared. After a short while I noticed a nice Greenie swimming in our spread. I prepared to jump shoot him and as I broke cover he tried to fly but was wounded with a broken wing. Knowing that there was no good outcome for him I shot him and added him to our days take.

I tell this story because I don't feel all that great about shooting a duck in the water. My teammate reassured me I did the right thing and that this duck did not die in vain. I remembered Dwayne from last year and hope that in some cosmic way this evens our score. I will now return to the Tom Foolery you have come to expect from us here at the HOY7 HT.
GBCH

I Like This Thing Called Haiku

Klonapin is kicking in

Gun is by the door

Ducks will fall in the morning

History lesson.

Early Sauvie Island ...
Sauvie Island has had various names throughout its history, including "Multnomah Island", "Sauve Island", "Sauvies Island", "Sauvie Island", "Souvies Island", "Wapato Island", "Wappato Island", "Wapatoo Island", "Wappatoo Island", "Wappatto Island", and "Wyeth Island". In 1891 the U.S. Board of Geographic Names made "Sauvie Island" the official name.
In 1792, Lieutenant William Broughton of the British Vancouver expedition visited the island and named the northern end (downstream tip) of the island "Warrior Point" and, according to some historians, he named an upstream point "Belle Vue Point." Other historians say Kelley Point, across from today's Belle Vue Point, is Broughton's Belle Vue Point.
In 1805 and 1806, the Lewis and Clark expedition called the island "Wappato Island" after the Indian word for arrowhead root which grew in the marshes of the island.
Between 1834 and 1835, Nathaniel Wyeth, an American entrepreneur, built Fort Williams in an attempt to establish a fur-trading enterprise in Hudson's Bay Company territory. The Fort was constructed on the island near the confluence of the Willamette River with the Columbia, about five miles from Fort Vancouver, and named for one of Wyeth's fur trade partners. Wyeth was unable to get a foothold into the Hudson's Bay Company trade and he abandoned the project in 1836. Some early maps used the name "Wyeth Island". By 1838, the Hudson's Bay Company was utilizing the island to graze cattle and horse, and by 1841 four dairy farms had been established on the island to supply milk, butter, and cheese. Settler's began arriving on the island by the 1840s.
The lettering "Sauvies Island" appeared on Preston's 1856 Map of Oregon, and in Bancroft's History of the Northwest Coast (Vol.2) it states the island was named after Jean Baptiste Sauve. However, according to McArthur in Oregon Geographic Names (2003):
"... In the files of the Oregon Historical Society is a letter from George B. Roberts to Frances Fuller Victor, dated November 7, 1879, in which he says that Sauve Island bears the name of a Canadian, Laurent Sauve, also called LaPlante. ..." George B. Roberts arrived as a member of the Hudson's Bay Company in 1831, and Frances Fuller Victor was one of the authors of the Bancroft publication. To read more about this check out the McArthur publication.
A post office near the mouth of the Willamette River named "Mouth of Willamette" was established in June 1851. In March 1852 the name was changed to "Souvies Island". This post office was discontinued in August 1860. A new post office named "Sauvies Island" was established in May 1866 about two miles south of Reeder Point.

Poetry for day Five

The long work week is finally done,

Hunting days are coming soon.

After all the ducks have been called and come,

They'll fly unsuspecting to their doom.

A single shot will bring them down,

A quick retrieve will get them in.

There will be a new kill leader in town,

B. DaFolder is sure to win.

Name that folder

A Moment of Quiet Reflection. Reprise

The HOY7 hunting team would like to take this opportunity to send our best wishes to Brother B. As he embarks on a new path of sobriety and cleanliness we ask him to remember his friends are there for him. Happy Trails Brother!

"The problem with some people is that when they are not drunk they're sober"

William Butler Yeats

Name that folder.

Day Four

After a far too long hiatus the two founding members of the world famous HOY7 Hunting Team finally made it back to the mighty Columbia River. We left extra early to accommodate the newly enacted daylight savings time rule. (Strangely enough there was exactly the same amount of light as the day before) After the hike in we set up at the old old spot but soon moved to a new area on the point out closer to the shipping lanes. The water was down substantially and we had to make due with the meager coverage. Fortunately we are not only the best hunters you know, but also the best at camoflage. We are so good in fact that only once did any ducks fly over our head.

The bright sunlight and delicious sandwich combined to create the perfect atmosphere for a nice long nap. I took full advantage. Shortly after we packed up and headed home as the 4:00 workbell rang. Some days there just aren't any ducks to shoot at and this was one of those days. Funny how you can miss a nice cold rainy day eh?

Today's picture is an art photo taken from Fred Gs' late day vantage point. Don't forget to ask him about his favorite way to "leave a bathroom" Good story for sure.

GBCH

Just When You Think It's Safe To Go Back Into the Water

Sometimes the H7HT slays in other ways. Today was Andy's birthday and look what he got. He got a 10 pound steel head salmon, he named him Norman. Normally 357 Like the Magnum is a catch and release kind of guy, but not on this day. Congrats Mr. Inquisitive and Happy Birthday! We'll update you later with the details of how it was prepared and enjoyed.




(Note: This picture would have been a hell of a lot better if Cliff was wearing his official H7HT hat. )

"Alcohol may be man's worst enemy, but the bible says love your enemy"

Chairman Of the Board