Remember when....

Clider and I wore sheets on our heads to fool the ducks into thinking that we were snow?  It didn't work nearly as well in the house the night before.  Woe be unto you if you happened to be a duck in the living room though.  Found this beauty on a cell phone pic the other day.

Nestucca 1/3

Day 1 started with a surprising text from Fred at 7 am.........awake, can be ready in 30.  With Daylight Savings, Cliffy was impressed!  Already packed, Waylon and I headed over to deep SE to grab Fred and make our way to the coast.  We took the long way to ensure fresh crab/clams on a roadside dealer for the first nights dinner and a definite Fred Meyer hookup for last minute essentials.  When we finally made it to Hebo at noon, we stopped off at the local bait store to make sure they were still running shuttles and to get the low down on our planned float for the day.  With all thumbs pointing to yes, we proceeded to the cabin (thanks Millers!) to unload and set up the spey rods.  Within the hour, we had my buddies driftboat (thanks Joe!) in the water floating down a 2.1 mile stretch.  Though the river was busy, we managed to obtain a nice drift around the first turn.  Fred threw his line first.  The first time Fred has ever thrown a winter shooting head with a sink tip attached on his spey rod.  A beauty of a cast!  So beautiful, Waylon jumped out of the boat to retrieve his line for him.  Waylon received a small scolding for ruing Fred's swing, but........it's in his blood!  We were able to get a few more spots, but the business of other gear fishermen out weighed our classic technique.  We pulled the boat out and jammed home to prep dinner.  This included marinated crab bodies with the legs all done on the grill with garlic bread, caesar salad and wine/chorizo roasted calms.  Not to mention 2 bottles of wine, a bottle of whiskey and a few Buds.  Phew!!!!!!!  Day 1 folks!

In PDX? They hate us, right?

Join us in Portland for the 76th DU National Convention!

With our first 75 years in the rearview mirror, Ducks Unlimited is looking forward to our next 75. The first big junction on the map will be Portland, Oregon, the site of DU's 76th Annual National Convention, which will be held May 22–26, 2013. The city nicknamed Bridgetown promises to help DU build a bridge to an even brighter future, as members and volunteers gather to usher in a new era in wetlands conservation.

Register today »

Genioussness

Yep, In my neighborhood.  Well, really more Clider's hood than mine.

More H7HT folly.

They say the happiest 2 days in life are the day you buy a boat and the day you sell that boat.  Well, I was not happy yesterday as I watched the boat pull away from the cabin on the back of some other guy’s truck. In fact I felt a twinge of remorse for having to sell it.  All the hard work stripping the aluminum and the metal of the trailer, laying down the primer coat and the painting of the custom camouflage with my old pal Fred G. just driving away.  The trials and tribulations of the Hiawatha motor from which I learned to never buy a motor from the 1940’s.  The summertime trips on the river with my sweetie.  And the days of terror on pitch black mornings with a full load of gear heading out into the unknown.  And how about the time Clider, Peat and I  battled fierce winds and waves over the bow on Anderson . Oh yes, the terror.

The two young guys that came to pick up the boat told me they were planning to use it for fishing and I asked them to at least try to shoot a duck or two from the boat someday.  Then I grabbed the title from the Communist I purchased it from,  (Idaho requires no title so it was still from the last owner) and noticed something odd.  Yesterday was March 6, 2013.  Clider and I went to buy the boat from the Commie on March 6, 2012.  I was a boat owner for exactly one year.  Coincidence?  I think not.

Motor on old boat of mine, motor on.

GBCH

Or. Chapter heading to the Coast

That's right folks!  Fred, Waylon and I are heading to the Nestucca R. next week for 3 days of swingin' flies for  wild winter steelhead, whikey drinkin' and good eatin'!  Stay tuned for pics, vids and an overall look of what we find and what we brought!