Saturday, January 28, 2012

A message from Bob D. (former 'Expert')


Alright, alright already! I'm posting, now stop bothering me.
It's difficult OK? My hunting season is over, over I say! Doesn't anyone realize how hard it is for me to sit here and think about making up some banter about how happy I am for the Oregon Chapter and the fact that they are still having the time of their lives, out in the glory of the duck blind. Waking up early for only one reason. Able to experience the beauty of raw nature. The potential of not only seeing the majestic flight of ducks but also being able to shoot them down if they so desire. It's killing me for Heston's sake. It's OVER!

On my days off I sleep late and watch a movie on DVD. Maybe I'll clean the cabin some. Sometimes I think about going outside and doing something but then I realize....It's over. Nothing fills the void, cookies help but nothing fills the hunger for that moment when the ducks fly close enough in the quiet hours to hear their wingbeats in the darkness. When the sun rises over the mountainside and illuminates your decoys for the first time. The chill of the air and the smell of oil and gunpowder from your Benelli mix to give you an olfactory sensation unlike anything else. And if you are just lucky enough that day, a greenie will fly within range and give your adrenaline a boost that nothing else can, not even a brownie muffin with a peanut butter cup center.

So yea, I'm not posting a lot, arrest me. Maybe after a few weeks of skiing powder and celebrating the Giants win over the hapless Patriots I will be in the mood but for now all I can do is wait. 287 more days.

287 more days.
GBCH.

Last Will and Testament



I'm so pretty
I Greenie here by give my last will and testament.  Being tomorrow is the last day of the season one of you bastards might get lucky and cill me.  That is a good one huh?  I'm only pulling your proverbial leg bitches.  There is no way one of you lame ass bitches could take me down.  Listen here's the truth, let me lay it on ya.  I'm still in town, as a matter of fact I saw Fred G's. fat ass walking around the reservoir this morning, wearing his orange shoes, all though very stylish very GAY!  I saw him mouth wide open and drooling as he "power walked" around and around astonished by all of us just hanging out.  I'll bet he's eating a banana right now.  Tomorrow is our duck song, come Monday we will be partying like it's 2005, all though I really don't know anyone that old, at least no hen's, heh heh heh, you get my drift.  I would wish you luck for tomorow but how would that look?  I quack in your general direction.


Thursday, January 26, 2012

Bob's New Car-Boat?




Just needs paint and a license he says











Wednesday, January 25, 2012

I See You!

My friends and I flying in to poop on you.

You scared the poop out of me on Sunday.  How do you fools know about the super secret spot?  I was bringing my new "friend" out there for breakfast and I wanted to "show" her my super secret spot and there you fools were!  But did you notice how I put that spell on you so you could not pull the trigger?  I did that weeks ago when I flew by you and you missed me, there is only one way to break that spell.  You fools just sat and watched as we ate and I made my moves on her. I don't even know her name, some dudes sky busted her old mans ass out at Sauvies last week, I was just "looking" out for her.  

I am surprised you fools are still making attempts at me and my comrades, with the water so high we could go anywhere and avoid looking at your stinking asses, and by the way you do stink.  I am off to Cabo now have fun next week, if you even get your lazy asses out of bed.  Oh yeah by the way, New England by 28 points.  I quack in your general direction!



Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Day Eighteen Oregon



Hit play and enjoy some Mr. Cash while you read on.

Hunting continues here in the great state of Oregon, and water is up as expressed in the lyrics embedded in this song  "5 Feet High and Rising."  North unit flooded.  Old Spot flooded.  Old New Spot? who knows but I'm assuming flooded.  Not being a Sauvies day we need somewhere to go, it's the second to last day we'll be hunting for Heston sake!  We'll knowledge is power my friends, I got a secret little spot that is perfect.  It's only good when it floods and usually only waste high so retrieving birds is not an issue, only question is would there be birds.  We come upon the spot with a lot of time to spare, gives us time to build some personal blinds and set the best looking blocks out.  Strong winds from the East with light showers is how we started the morning off.  A few pre-shooting fly by's was a great sign as well.  Time to kill.  Some ducks swim through our spread and Cliffy thinks our blocks are being swept away by the gale force winds.  Then Greenie himself flys in with a guest, they circle and then land about 30 yards out.  I know what you all are saying "30 yards out that's close enough to take them down Fred G.!"  It's like he put a spell on me, I looked into his eye and saw a bright light and I could not pull my trigger, I froze.  So he hung out for 15 minutes and chilled and ate some breakfast with his guest.  The wind and rain both picked up walks were necessary to warm up.  I hiked down to the river to check it out.  It's up to the high bank, same place it was a year ago when Bob and I hunted out there.  I got back and Cliffy made his way out.  Well wouldn't you know it as soon as he leaves a Pinny flys in, close enough I could have hit it with a baseball.  Again, there was like a JarJar spell on me, "pull the trigger you don't want."   Well now the rain and wind are in full force, nothing is flying and the biggest, not the best, sammy's couldn't even entice ducks to fly, we call it.  Today was perfect, well almost, wind, rain, slightly cold, just too much darn water out there for ducks to settle into.

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Good Ole Days


No helmets, no knee pads, scared?
Do we look scared?






Monday, January 16, 2012

The Best Sammy Of the Year



Picture does not represent actual sandwich 

I know the season in long from being over, but I'm awarding 
the best sandwich of the year. Cliffy today made:

Toasted Bagel
Ham
Cream Cheese
Avocado
Fried Egg



Day Seventeen Oregon


Breaking Weather Alert!  That has been the news for the past three days now, just what Heston ordered.  Sunday morning hunt is going to be awesome.  Rain and snow with freezing temperatures, bring it.  I wake up with much anticipation today is going to be the best hunting day ever, for Heston sake we have not hunted in any weather all year.  Old spot is where we are heading the weather will bring many ducks. I'm in the basement packing for the freezing cold weather, electric gloves, extra hand and toe warmers, big boy jacket and warmer hat.  Are you picking up what I am putting down?  The weather is suppose to be really bad.  

Cliffy picks me up and it is unseasonably warm and dry.  We make it to the parking lot with one other truck in the lot.  Out at the water four guys are setting up a mass of duck and geese blocks and building a massive blind at the Old Spot, so we head for the island.  A little side note on the wade out to the island in thigh high water,  I spotted a 3 foot sturgeon swimming in front of me, it didn't even care.  Were set and even looking pretty good with what little cover is around.  It is starting to get cold you can feel the front moving in.  45 minutes into the hunt snow and rain start, finally.  A few passes of ducks and some shots taken and misses had.  Breaking Weather Alert!  As I sit here writing the news is on, they are talking about closures, it's not even snowing.   It feels good to be seeing ducks, actually taking shots.  A Bufflehead is swimming through our spread, Cliffy asks if he should jump it.  Knowing he is just one behind me I say "hey if you want to shoot a bufflehead go ahead."  He jumps and so does it, he jumps and wings it and its swimming away fast.  Cliffy jumps in the water he's after it.  After another two shots he retrieves it, he's a good 100 yards out there now, good retrieve Cliffy. 100 yards out remember that.  He's back I look at it and note the golden eye's, I tell him it's a type of bufflehead called goldeneye.  It's a nice size duck.  Conditions are going to get worse as the night goes on!  Needless to say I'm not that happy, I'm happy for him but not happy for me, were tied for the expert status.  Geese flying right over our heads, I shoot and did nothing but made it flare.  I'm trying.  If I had some double W I may have folded it.  

Pintail just before I folded him.
A pintail fly's through the spread and heads away from us.  As he is flying away he has a second thought, he decides to come back and join the party.  I start singing under my breath "I told you once you son of bitch I'm the best there has ever been," as soon as I said "been" I pulled the trigger and splash is the next sound we heard.  Expert I am.  Believe it or not the sun comes out, sky turns blue, blocks are floating away due to rising tides.  A bush that Cliffy was using as a water marker was now submerged.  It's 10:30 and high tide is expected at 2.  Time to call it, that 100 yard retrieve would have been impossible.  36 degrees current conditions.  The water is up, "what's the water level Fred G." you all ask.  "3 feet high and rising" I say.  I'm towing my bag behind me Cliffy decides to wear his.  He's in front of me and all of the sudden I hear "I'm taking water on!"  Damn I think I'm next, but due to my massiveness I averted the soaking.  On our way out we pass the guys at the Old Spot, no shots had by them, finally we are the ones making all the noise.


Saturday, January 14, 2012

Wild Rice From Idaho's Lakes


By SUSAN HERRMANN LOOMIS Published N.Y Times: July 19, 1987

Al Bruner dons ear protectors, sunglasses and a baseball cap, steps into his airboat harvester named Heron and roars away. It's August in St. Maries, Idaho, a tiny town just an hour and a half from Spokane, Wash., and the wild rice harvest is on
.
The airboat, a metal skiff with a huge V-8 engine and a wooden propeller mounted on the back, a long trough with a high net backing on the front, called a header, is nearly lost to view in the tall, pale green rice plants. A plastic pipe across the header strikes the rice plants, tapping kernels into the trough. Some of the stalks are late bloomers with a few dainty purple and yellow flowers still on them. The flowers will turn into rice kernels within days, then take a few weeks to get fat, green and milky, and Mr. Bruner will return to harvest them.

Harvesting requires intense concentration. The boat is heavy in the back, and driving it is like being in a constant skid. At 12 miles an hour it wouldn't take much to capsize it. And it requires skill to avoid the many huge muskrat houses, the tops of which stick above the water like icebergs.
The airboat's noise doesn't seem to disrupt the blue herons, osprey and kingfishers that build nests nearby and feed on the rice. They take flight, and minutes after the boat has made a swath through the rice, they're back.

Idaho isn't the first place one might look for wild rice. Minnesota, perhaps, or Canada or California. But a company called St. Maries Wild Rice Inc. is transforming marginal Idaho farmland into swampy, rice-producing acreage. And this year it will harvest 100,000 pounds of the toasty, wild grain from 400 acres. That's less than 2 percent of the wild rice produced in the United States. But the Idaho rice is long and plump and classified grade A under industry specifications. Mr. Bruner and Jeffrey Baker, owners of St. Maries Wild Rice, are taking aim at the gourmet market.
St. Maries (pronounced St. Mary's) is a logging town surrounded by lakes and low fir-covered hills with rugged trails into the high country. About six miles out of town on State Route 5 is Heyburn State Park, where the shadowy St. Joe River, proclaimed by a sign nearby as ''the highest navigable river in the world'' (officially defined as a river deep enough to float a six-inch log to market), extends, tree-lined banks and all, far into Benewah and Chatcollet Lakes.

The main street of St. Maries is bordered by dusty-windowed storefronts and taverns that look as if they haven't changed much in the last few decades. The high point of the year comes in August when the town holds a festival called Paul Bunyan Days and residents stage log-rolling contests in the town swimming pool and a parade down Main Street.

The area is popular with sportsmen who hunt ducks and geese on nearby lakes. Elk roam a few miles out of town, and roofs sprout huge elk antlers. Stuffed ducks and polished rifles are common elements of interior design. The area is also popular with bird lovers who come to see one of the largest concentrations of osprey in the country, blue heron, even bald eagles, which winter near St. Maries.
For a while the birds almost disappeared, but they're returning, and the owners of St. Maries Wild Rice like to think that their crop is part of the draw. It's not the entire reason they go to the trouble of flooding fields, inventing harvesting machinery and bucking tradition in a conservative area where regional cuisine runs to deep-fried chicken and long, snaky french fries called curly fries. As Al Bruner put it, ''It's the icing on the cake.''

But thanks to the waterfowl, St. Maries Wild Rice came into being. In the early 50's, some sportsmen imported seed from Minnesota and threw it into Lake Benewah, hoping it would provide feed for the waterfowl. By 1980 the rice, which isn't really rice but an aquatic grass, was choking the lake along with other aquatic weeds. In 1982 when Mr. Bruner and Mr. Baker expressed interest in the rice as a cash crop, the Idaho State Department of Parks and Recreation, which has jurisdiction over the lake, opened the harvest to bids. The bid was awarded to Mr. Bruner and Mr. Baker, provided that they help rid the lake of weeds while harvesting the rice. They developed and built an airboat and invented a Rube Goldbergesque underwater mower for the weeds. Their first harvest netted 6,000 pounds, which they shipped to Minnesota for processing.

Since 1984 St. Maries Wild Rice has had its own processing plant just outside of town. There the rice is cured outdoors for more than a week. Then it is roasted, hulled, cleaned and graded as it passes through a series of jostling machines. Finally it is stored in 100-pound sacks. Much of the rice is packaged in eight-ounce boxes with a stylized blue heron on the front. The rest is sold in bulk in the United States and Canada.

The wild rice enterprise, which employs eight people during peak season, has become a source of local pride. Graydon Brown, owner of Benewah Resort on Lake Benewah, like many others, feels that rice will be the industry of the future. If true, that is good news for a town dependent on an ailing timber industry.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

A Word From Your Leader


here we are chillin by the pool
Hello Bitches.  Poor poor Bob, I have not seen him in a long time because I left My Own Private Idaho weeks ago.  I left with a bad habit but now I am in California at the Betty Ford, the pool is really nice.  On my way I passed the other two fools in their rice burner, I am hysterical!  Rice burner and they were going to the rice fields! HA!  I haven't eatin at that dump in years.  Anyway you saw me right after the package store, you almost hit me but you couldn't even do that right even though I was wasted, Beyotches! With MLK day almost here only means one thing sun and fun, I even brought that widow with me I forgot her name, matters the mo, still going to pro create with her.  You bitches made a good run this year well at least some of you did, Bob sucks, what!  what did I say?  Bob sucks!  There I heard it again.  My cousin Filbert, yeah he's a little bit of a nut, (I kill myself) should be coming through in the next couple of weeks, I gave him a message to give to you beyotches.  I quack in your general direction.

ps. how ironic that I make the 1,000 post, you bitches are lame!

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Who Don't like Rice?


Colusa Rice Fields Part I:

Leaving at 3 in the morning only meant one thing to me, who needs sleep?  I text Cliffy and let him know my situation "hey if you're up and want to leave early come on by I'm not going to bed."  Cliffy shows up a little earlier and I did not spend the few hours waiting  to my advantage, it hurt.  I make it maybe 45 minutes down the road before I pass out, it's then I got my 4 hours of sleep.  I awake a little hung at some gas station in South Medford, what a beautiful city.  Next stop is the Liquor Expo just over the border to buy some provisions at rock bottom prices.  We make it there just as they are opening at 8 a.m. Cliffy hands the keys over to me and with visions of an afternoon slay in the goose fields I put the pedal down and in a little less than 4 hours we are now in Colusa, an hour before our scheduled arrival time.  Gives us some time to choke down a burrito and have the state of CA bends us over for a 4 day hunting permit.  $105.00 worth of bending over.  The great state of Idaho for example only charges $35.00 for 3 days.  We hook up with Cliffy's buddy Brennan and we follow him outside town about 15 miles through farm land to the duck club. 

Mt. Shasta on the ride down
The duck club consist of lets say eight "teams" we'll call them.  Each "team" consist of four guns for as you all know equals 32 hunters.  Each team also has some kind of trailer at this space along the rice farm, Brennan and Kevin's being the largest of them all.  Equipped with a small kitchen, three beds, a head, a huge fire pit, a Little Red Ranger ATV, and a deck off the back over looking the rice fields.  Each team is responsible to set up one of the blinds with decoys and maintain with grasses.  In the morning the team leaders meet a hour before kill time and have a drawing at the "club house".   The club house is where you are suppose to check in and out of and log what you killed and where.  The first person picks which blind they want and so forth until everyone has a blind for the day, this way you're not hunting the same blinds every day and you get different looks.  The blinds are "pit" blinds dug into the ground, some are island like in the middle of flooded fields and some are between the rice fields on the burm.  Most house 3-4 people very comfortably they have small fences lined with grasses that pop up and down. When you arrive at the blinds the decoys are already set up with about 10 dozen decoys.  Each blind is approximately 500 yards apart.  There are also a few fields that have not been flooded strictly for geese, from my impression are just open to anyone who wants to hunt the as long as they are a part of the club.  You travel on ATVs along the water ways from 1-2 miles.

Nearby, the 4,500-acre Colusa National Wildlife Refuge is one of six refuges in the Sacramento Refuge Complex located in the Sacramento Valley of north-central California, and is considered one of the most important wintering areas for waterfowl in North America. Pheasant and waterfowl may be hunted during certain times of the year. Other local refuges include the Delevan National Wildlife Refuge near the town of Delevan and the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge near the northern border of the county.

California is the largest producer of short and medium grain rice in the United States. In total, the state's rice industry produces more than 2 million tons of rice annually making it the second largest rice growing state.   Over 95 percent of the California's rice is grown within 100 miles of the State Capitol. For the rural Sacramento Valley communities of Colusa, Butte, Sutter and Yuba counties.

Pork Fried Rice


Colusa Rice Killing Trip Part II:

Geese from blind no. 2
We arrive at the trailer we go over the house rules; no tp in toilet, don't kill Brennan and don't give hard liquor to Kevin.  And after I broke something there was an amendment, don't break anything.  Have a few beers waiting for Kevin to show up so we could head out to the goose fields.  Kevin shows up and we head out on the Ranger and drive about 2 miles to a field and set up 160 dozen goose deeks.  We hunker down and "brush up" and wait for the mass of geese to fly in so we may shoot our limits.  Sitting there in the field it had to be 60 degrees with no wind, we watched as the sunset with our first  dreams of killing our limits.  To my surprise Tom Foolery was in the Little Red Ranger and he thought it would be funny to push me out at 30 mph.  After a small tumble in the gravel, where I did not spill any beer, we headed back to camp where Tom was waiting.  Tom had the fire feature lit to symbolize the beginning of the end.  When I mention fire feature I don't mean something like you would buy at Crate and Barrel,  something along the lines of the Olympic flame, more of something that you can and will burn full pallets .  This thing was lit once and burned for the three days we were there.  These guys are the Mayors of Duck Club for sure. 

Cliffy putting out Leroy blind no. 2
Rice fields at night
A great meal of rack of pork loin lightly smoked with grilled squash and grilled polenta.  The full moon is blazing and I notice that ducks are dancing out in the fields.  We stand on the back porch and take it all in, deciding what our plan will be to slay all of those ducks in the morning.  We do the dishes in the fire pit and we notice that Tom Foolery is now dancing around the fire pit.  I then break a rule, I feed Kevin some Irish wikki.  Oops.  Pallets and I beams are thrown onto the fire, Cliffy is buzzing around the property, all 300 acres of it, on the ATV.  Trees are being brought back from the woods, the fire must have raised the ambient temperature 10 degrees.  Mario the sheriff shows up and I hand him my bottle.  He hands me a beer and jumps in the ATV with Cliffy and Kevin.  Brennan and I sit and shake our heads, he feels his re-election of Mayor for next year may be trouble if this keeps up.  Juan the care tacker of the farm shows up with his house mate.  He brings an awesome rojo salsa that he made.  Tom Foolery and Mr. Mayhem are dancing on the ceiling now.  The ATV rodeo is in full swing, it's getting late and with the ducks dancing and singing in the rice fields it made me sleepy.  With the sheriff now in town I think there are not enough beds now, I take my bed roll and climb into the back of Cliffys truck.  Quiet now.  Now when the crew gets home I'm out of the way, I'm asleep.




Rice With Cabeza and Lengua


The Killing Fields Part III

Cliffy all brushed up
I awoke to "dude aren't you cold?"  Cliffy was telling me it was time to get up and kill all of those green head bastards we saw the night before and I listened to in my dreams.  The clear sky brought freezing temperatures and winds.  Brennan, Cliffy and myself took blind #2 and Kevin and Mario, the sheriff, took blind #9.  "Hunt the weather" was Kevin's motto of the day.  We arrive at the blind and wade out to the center of a rice field in calf high water.  To my surprise all the blocks were set up so all there was left to do is set up Leroy and Brennan's Mojo.  We jump in the pit and watch an amazing sunrise, but not one duck in the pre-morning fly.  Killing time is upon us and still nothing.  From the distance towards all of the refuges it sounds as though there is a war going on, "what about us?" I mutter under my breath.  Geese.  Geese is all we saw all morning flying over our heads, and they're smart enough to know how high they have to be to be out of range.  Bastards!  So with the amount of geese flying what do these smart guys do?  We head over to the goose field that already has the goose decoys set up, "hunt the weather boys" rang in my head.  Head back to camp and refuel, Kevin and Mario are done, they left, wives things.  So the three of us head out to the field and hunker down and brush up.  It's early about 12:30 and I'm thinking a nice nap will be in order.  But no, as soon as we settle in two sets of geese are wanting us.  Must have been something we did or did not say, they bolted.  With the sun shinning in my face and about 58 degrees of warmth surrounding me I fall asleep.  I wake up to Brennan calling some geese in, I'm ready!  Same as before, nothing, but we are encouraged to be seeing more geese than we did the day before, were thinking evening fly is going to go off.  Well mid-afternoon turns into sun setting over our shoulders with nothing to show.  Cliffy and I took a couple of shots at a set coming in but nothing.
  
Mr. Mojo risin
Were back at the club now, it's quite, fire still smoldering.  Ahhh.  A nice dinner of aged rib-eye a good night sleep and hit the fields in the morning.  There's a knock on the door.  "Bueno" I respond knowing who it is.  "Juan!" we all exclaim.  It's Juans birthday and he has invited us all over for tacos.  We look at the steak sitting on the counter and think, just a couple of tacos and we'll be back to you later.  Well Juan stuffed us with cabeza and lengua tacos.  He was quite the host very proud of what he has put in front of us, and we were very happy too.  The steaks go back in the cooler, a night cap is had and 8 hours of sleep are in front of us.  This is living.

Morning brings another day.  There are two other teams there vying for some ducks and we get blind no. 7.  What could be better I think, last day and we get no. 7.  This blind is not in the middle of a field but on the side.   Freezing temperatures and winds greet us as we settle in and wouldn't you know it there is a pre-morning fly!  We are seeing ducks!  Our mouths are watering, "hey did ya see that?" we would keep say to each other.  Morning bell rings.  It was as like the ducks were soaking wet and the wind just dried them up.  Not another duck was seen the rest of the morning.  Geese Geese everywhere.  Even unloaded my gun at one in frustration.  With a long ride ahead of us we call it at 10.  Get back to camp pack up and say our good byes.  Even Juan came over to see us off, I think he got a kick out of us not getting any ducks every day.  With the camp in the rear view mirror we are on our way home.  No ducks killed not even a goose, and an experience I would do all over again.  Thanks Brennan and Kevin, like I said at the end you guys are always welcome here, and we will show you just as many ducks.  


GBCH.






  


Idaho: Day 20+5


With my season quickly drawing to a close I planned a solitary day out on Anderson. As always my sleep was broken and I checked the weather each time I woke as snow was in the forecast. Imagine my surprise when the final wake up at 4:00 revealed massive snowflakes and about 2 inches of accumulation. I packed quickly. This is without question the most sketchy hairball drive out ever, more so than even the "Artic Blast 08" scenario. The highway was covered and no plows had made it there yet. The Pepsi truck that tried to pass me blinded me for an eternity and then pulled off the exit to wait. I made the Rt3 road in twice as long as usual. Wet snow traction was nonexistent and after I finally passed the plow doing 20mph some guy in an 18 wheeler hauling logs tried to drive me off the road and crush me. Oh, did I mention that it was positively dumping snow sideways the whole time, THE WHOLE TIME!

By the time I reached the lake I was nervous and tense on the walk out but after settling in to the blind all the stress slipped away. It was beautiful with a light snow falling and the new snow covering everything that wasn't open water. I was ready to slay. After a bit a lone greenie flys right down the pipe and I took my shots. Being the end of the season I had a mixed bag of shells in the Benelli. A Black Cloud 3" 2 shot, next a Kent 3 1/2" 2 shot and finally some red shell Willy gave me with 1 shot in it. They all missed. I think my 5 layers of jackets and wool prevented me from properly shouldering my weapon, that's my story and I'm stickin' with it. The snow slowed and temps rose out of the teens and revealed a winter wonderland.

More ducks flew but all wanted the big open water further out. The only thing that wanted in was a dumbass goose who flew right into my blocks and immediately swam right to the blind. Willy was sleeping soundly somewhere else and I only shoot greenies so I took these nice pictures of me scaring the crap out of the ignorant Honkey. Stupid geese! Not much action after that and I decided to leave my decoys there for the night because the next day was my last of the season and I would soon return. The walk out was light as a feather and I made it home just in time to take a well deserved nap.
GBCH

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

It's Official!

Willy is a killing machine!
Yesterday he went out to 'the tip' on Anderson and successfully slayed one of his nemesis birds, a fat goose. Congratulations go out to Willy on his first slay. (No word on how Peat dealt with the retrieve) The ballots are now open for Willy's new H7HT name. Please vote in the comment section below. The winner gets a all expense paid trip to hunt with the H7HT*


GBCH
(* of course you pay for all incidentals)

Found Your Cougar


Local hunter slays deer by himself then
takes self portrait.




Monday, January 09, 2012

Idaho: Day 19+5


Willy and I planned a day of slaying, of course Peat was along for the thrills too. We arrived at Anderson in time to set an armada of blocks so big that ducks would be foolish to ignore them being as they were perfect in every respect. The morning fly was minimal. We waited.

Geese flew by out of reach and taunted Willy. Ducks flew far overhead and taunted us both. Willy then took a walk out to the left where the water used to be to check out the far side of the lake. The picture shows the amazing show I saw as the sun broke through the clouds, it lit up the trees in the far hillside over our blind. I watched as the sun came blasting through the fog to light up the day. Beautiful!

Warm temps have ruined the chances for late season slaying that I have come to expect from Anderson, the water usually frozen up and the only game in town is the sliver of water right in front of us. Not this year. As he made his way back Willy set a couple of mallards near me but not near enough to shoot. We waited more. Then about 8 ducks flew into the blocks, turned and made another pass circling again and again right in front of us. Willy was looking to me to call the shot but I was waiting for the 'perfect shot'. The one where they come into the dekes all locked up and ready to land, not realizing that the perfect shot was when they pass overhead thinking about it. Our blocks were 30 yards out after all. My mistake, opportunity missed. I still feel bad about it to this day.

Then it was nothing but remorse. Should have taken the shot. We packed up and waited for the ducks to fly over us as we were packing up but none came. Should have taken the shot! Tomorrow is another day.
GBCH

Friday, January 06, 2012

Hello Losers!

Yep, it's me Honkey! My bestest buddy Greenie told me about this little trip some of the H7HT is taking to CalifornIA and I figured I'd tag along. Seems that in Idaho that Willy guy is just plain inept at shooting me down, even with BB shells, so I flew south to that crap hole of a state, CalifornIA. Warm weather, beaches and many fine Honkey ladies to pass the time with. Of course I figure that you and your new friends are just as bad with your shooting skills as you are up north so my profile pic shows you my opinion of you, asses. Get used to it. I will fly low and slow right by those unrealistic plastic things you think will fool me and then I will gracefully swing around for another taunting pass. Good luck losers, you can't hit me with that 3 1/2" shell. For all I know they are loaded with cornmeal just so I can get a snack as I'm flying away!
See you later on the golf course. I shoot 7 under by the way, how about you? I thought so!
HA.

Thursday, January 05, 2012

A Parable About the Picture


Believe it or not where I am standing is completely under water full time.  If you were to be looking  at pictures from the Island at the Old Spot where my fantastic blocks are floating, that used to be all land.  Bob is standing in water while taking my picture.  Gosh things sure have changed.  We even slayed there a little.





Idaho: Day 18+5

Well here it is, the holidays are over and the long work weeks are behind me and it's been a long while since I have been out hunting by my lonesome, but today was going to be great. I packed up ole' Big Betty and although the temps were too warm for the smell of death in the air I was looking forward to seeing what the morning would bring. I arrived early to Anderson and walked out to 'The Tip' over barely frozen ground that last time out was covered in snowy goodness. The blind had been decimated by a recent windstorm that had ruined our snowpack and blown down trees on the ski hill. I had work to do before hunting time.

I set all the decoys I had out far on the now more open water and threw only 2 mallards and my Teal Pack close to my blind. The early arrival gave me time to reconfigure the devastation of the windstorm back into a reasonable hiding spot for me to wait for the impending storm of ducks in the morning fly. After toasting the day and Heston I waited.

Few ducks flew by in the pre-dawn darkness and geese called out from the far side of the lake telling me that they were possibly the only game in town. I waited. And waited. The picture you see is the absolutely georgeous sunrise that graced me that morning. Heston in all his glory! First it was divers buzzing the spread then some seagulls. Finally a bevy of Geese came from behind me and then some highflyers from behind too. At this point I figured that I should also look to the south for ducks as that's where they seemed to be coming from. My back got some good stretching form all the looking over my shoulder but it was thin.

About 2 hours in my phone rings and it was old friend of the H7HT Brother B Hopf. I had to answer. So there we are chatting away and the Brother asks if he should call back when I'm not in the blind. No I say, and of course just then a set of 2 flies right down the pipe over my head. As I continue talking they fly in again and just that fast my only opportunity for slaying that day is done. Geese fly by but no more good looks for ducks happen but that's why they call it hunting, right? I wait for another hour and although there are high flyers and a few divers the good action is done.

Here in Idaho the same warm weather that has gripped the rest of our nation has screwed us too. The ski areas are fighting to stay open and the ducks are not motivated to move around, both of which are making my life less than perfect. I can only hope that the good Lord Heston will put a stop to this Tomfoolery and bring me some nasty cold and snow post haste! We only have 1 more week here in the the panhandle in which to slay. I don't know how I can possibly face the legions of fans this blog has without "The Expert" title firmly in my pocket. Fred G and Cliffy are headed to a private reserve to slay ducks and their lead will be insurmountable unless I shoot my limit everyday until the close of the season. (Knowing the outcome of my next day hunting already does not help)

Pray with me....
Lord Heston
Bring on the cold
Bring on the snow & rain
Bring on the ducks
GBCH & GBH7HT


Fine Italian Steel






 

Report From the Valley


Waterfowl numbers continued to increase in the Sacramento Valley through early December with the arrival of additional migrants, particularly wigeon, shovelers, and white geese. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s early December surveys reported more than 1.2 million ducks and 481,000 geese on the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge Complex alone. Pintail numbers on the Complex peaked in mid-November with over 774,000 birds reported. By mid-December, a significant number of birds had dispersed from the west side refuges to other portions of the valley, as is the norm.

Hunter success was relatively poor in most of November but a howling north wind on the afternoon of the 30th brought hunters excellent success throughout the valley. The best hunting in the Sacramento Valley usually occurs in December in conjunction with stormy weather. However, this past month was the driest December on record and consequently, hunter success suffered. Good hunting during December was sporadic and generally tied to strong north winds since there was really no significant rain, fog, or south winds to take advantage of. Good afternoon shoots were reported from both the east and west sides of the valley during strong north winds.

The birds are here in the Sacramento Valley but hunter success for the remainder of the season is going to depend on weather, especially for rice field hunters. The weather forecast for early January is not encouraging. However, if the storm door opens by mid-January, hunting season should finish very strong.

 

UUHHH?

So recently I bought a pair of waders on e-bay and scored a great deal. 
 New in the box shipped to me casa for $34.00, what a deal huh?
So I check back periodically and ....





got to love the sun glasses on in the house



Wednesday, January 04, 2012





Warning: Due to the graphic nature of this video a big boy drink is advised!







Day Sixteen Oregon







Today I hope the Idaho Chapter had a better day than me.  Dropped Kathy and the family off at the airporto got home packed up Lisa and headed out to what I thought was going to be a prosperous morning of slaying ducks.  Weather man said big front moving in with high winds.  Excellent I thought.  After much reading on end of the season hunting one of the points was weather fronts, follow them it said because ducks are.  I had only one place in mind today, Old Spot.  I wanted a nostalgia hunt, a good ole days hunt.  Two D-Bags had the point with a dog named Max, which was fine by me cause like I said Old Spot for me.  Throw my blocks out, more on that later, hunker down in the brush, I think I'm looking good.  Sparse my friends sparse.  The only action was the two D-Bags taking 8-10 shots to kill two buffleheads, they took their shots at a set of pintails and a set of mallards but their guns didn't hold enough shells.  Those two buffleheads were out there, Max I must say did a great job swimming 100 yards plus to retrieve their downed birds, poor guy must be whipped.   With the wind slamming my massive blocks I had to set and reset them often, was not special, only upside is that I saw no birds while resetting.  So I'm off to buy some bowling balls to tie them to to keep them put, also it's time for the 2012 license, don't forget.  




Tuesday, January 03, 2012

Do I Look Worried?


The other day Cliffy calls me and asks me to put out Leroy cause he's going hunting the next day.  I must admit mixed emotions ran through my veins like Jameson's on a cold January morning in the blind, all crazy and stuff.  "Damn" I think "I'm only one kill up, this is not good."  I asked where he was headed and he said out to Troutdale so I felt a little better due to the fact of the lack of action.  Then he text me and says he was too tired to even go out.  Phew another tragedy nearly averted.  So now my hand is forced, being up only one I must head out in the morning.  With the vision's of shooting my limit two days in a row down in Calli vanishing before my eyes, due to conditions and such, I have to make a push here. 25 days left in the season with really only 7 hunting outings remaining I'm worried.  But do I look worried?

Warning!

Full moon is on the rise!  When?  Of course this weekend when we head off to Willows CA.  With no weather in sight plus a full moon and the fact were hunting near a reserve you guess what's going to happen.