Idaho: Day five.

Last night I watched the weather channel and they promised me a low pressure system descending from the north, bringing with it colder temps and possible snow. I took the bait even though it is a Saturday and there should be plenty of other hunters out gunning for Greenie. I woke early and packed the truck, had a nice bowl of Cheerios and headed out into the crisp morning air. As I was leaving the driveway I made a mental checklist of all my gear but something was nagging me, something missing. About 10 minutes into the drive I realized what was missing was that after 5 solid days of 'Reunion 2010' my ole' buddy Fred G was not sitting next to me. Who would critique my musical selections? Who would marvel at all the places the ducks actually were? Who would make the morning sandwich while I watched? I guess today I was going it alone.

Nobody was out on the point at Anderson Lake as I set my decoys and settled in for the morning fly. Birds were whistling over my head in the pre-dawn darkness and I hoped to bring home a nice prize as shooting time neared. I thought back to last week and the last time I planed on coming to this point..........


Reunion 2010: Day three.

By now the tradition had been set so I walked into the room of the sleeping Fred G and woke him up with an ass trumpet of epic proportions. He was grateful. We were heading out to Anderson Lake again today and everything was going just as we planed. Of course, being the H7HT means being able to adjust on a moments notice, so when other hunters beat us to the punch on the Anderson Point we had no choice but to go elsewhere. I knew there was another way to access the shoreline form the other end of the lake. Fortunately our expert sense of direction and perfect timing put us in a secret spot I had never been to before.

Blocks were set and birds were flying. After the previous days adventure with the greenie that just would not die we were primed to put the bead on some nice ducks. We didn't have to wait long. I can't remember now if I shot the greenie or the wigeon first but I do know my trigger finger was hot! Fred would congratulate me with each kill but I knew full well he was itching to get on the board as I brought my total to 5. Then, out of the left at a rockets pace, two ducks came in hot. Fred G took two shots from his trusty old Remmy (Warren made it special for Heston's sake) and brought down 2 mergansers. The drake was enormous and as pretty of a bird as I have ever seen.

We had some more looks and some other shots but four ducks would be the total that morning. A nice sammy and we were off, back to the cabin to clean some fresh meat. A bit later in the day it was decided to head off to Killarney Lake for the evening fly and a trip in the totally sea-worthy jon boat.

I'd love to report that the Killarney trip was as fruitful as our morning trip, but that would be a lie. It was however as scenic and beautiful a spot to hunt as any around. We sat in the too warm sunshine and watched an empty sky until hunting hours expired. A quick row back to the dock and on to a delicious meal. About as good of a hunting day you can get (without a limit of fat banded greenies). That was then................


Idaho: Day five.

No ducks graced my bag today but I did have a nice mallard fly just outside my gunning distance. He slowly made his way toward my decoys and I considered jump shooting him but left him alone, better as a live decoy. He bolted when I moved from one less than comfortable seat to another and that was the only mallard I saw. As the sun started to break through (thanks weather channel) I was fixin' to get ready to head home and in true ironic fashion five big pinnys flew right up. Two landed right away and the other three circled, looking for a spot. Of course my Benelli was just out of reach as I was picking up some other hunters spent shells and putting them in my bag. Knowing full well how this would turn out I still tried to get to my gun before the other three left only to scare the first two off as well. Crap Monkey! I realized as I packed up that if only Fred G were here I would have been more patient and had the camaraderie required to stay and shoot those pinnys. Then again, tomorrow is another day, right?

GBCH