Idaho: Day Ten.

The Pineapple express is in full effect and warm rain has been pelting the great state of Idaho for a week. The rain has melted most of our early season snowpack and the rivers are running full force. The CdA river which runs by my spot is now flowing into Anderson lake, refilling the lake with water and allowing me to set blocks out in my favorite area of the point again. This morning it proved fatal to this pair of mallards flying by.

When I arrived it was a full 45 minutes before shooting hours so I walked under a dry and dark sky. Not long after the decoys were set it started to rain again. The darkness combined with the noise of the rain made it impossible to see or hear the cougar approach so I stood with headlamp and Benelli at the ready. Nothing. The light started to come up and I noticed something different in the channel leading out to the lake. I knew the water was running in instead of out, and much higher than last week, but something was in the water. The Beaver dam that was 60 yards closer to the river had been pushed to just behind my spot. Right about that time the wind started kicking in in earnest. I actually had to move closer to the cover of the highwater shoreline in order to keep from being blown over. Gusts of 30 - 40 mph? I started looking for the tornado all the while knowing I was playing right into the cougars hands by sitting next to the river bank. Shit, where in Heston's sake was the sunrise.

Well, the sun did come up and some greenies were flying. These two came in fast and I took the hen on the way in (sorry) and the drake on the way out. I only fell through the ice once on the way out to retrieve them but it was only a foot deep and just my gloves and sleeves got soaked. The action had dried up, as it usually does now, not long after sunrise. I packed up and headed home and by now the beaver dam had traveled another 10 yards into the lake. I wonder where it will be next week? Stay tuned.
GBCH