Idaho: 11/30/14

Today was an unexpected day off from work and I tried to make the best of it.  Clider had been off scouting, and we all know how that works to our advantage, but I had different ideas.  I needed a day to hunt by myself even though I do so enjoy hunting with friends.  But sometimes I just need a day to sort my thoughts and enjoy my personal space.  Like I say, Clider had been scouting, and he saw a bunch of geese and ducks sitting alone on the bay inside one of the lakes on the way to Anderson.  He called me to say we should go there but I headed to 'The Point' anyway.

I stopped by Clider's to borrow a jerk rig and a couple blocks to attach to them and made my way to Anderson.  It was cold and clear and I had to break out a layer of skim ice before I set the few blocks I had.  Strangely, the clear skies made me think that I had missed the morning fly but by the time I was set there was still 20 minutes until shooting time.  A few ducks flew in the burgeoning light and I toasted the morning and missing friends.  Some buffleheads landed in the decoys and made the moving spread look even better.

A while in I was thinking that maybe the clear cold skies would not bring me ducks in the ultra-traditional spot I had chosen.  I wondered if I should have gone with Clider to the spot he had scouted the night before.  Then I got his text message.  "I think I'm a day late here. I did get a look from some mallards though"  It was 7:32.  I was getting ready to read that message as the Greenie came in from the left, of course I was looking right.  He landed on the ice to my left and as I stood to give him the ole' Booggely Booggely Boo, he jumped up and peeled away to the left.  One shot brought him down and T.J. and I made the retrieve in the ice that had built up in the bay.

My text back to Clider read "Did they look like this one?  Or not quite as dead?" (see pic I sent at the left)  To be fair nothing at all flew by after that lone greeneie but I waited for a while before calling it and headed back home to make more duck bites from the stuff I still had left over from the 'Tour of Champions'.  They are in the fridge right now waiting for a hot skillet tonight. 

I stopped by the spot Clider was hunting on the way home.  He saw stuff. He may have shotten stuff.  It is up to him to tell you about it but I will say I left him a chicken salad Sammy that I figured I would eat in his blind when I lucked out at Anderson.  I was fully planning on edging in on his action after I got skunked at The Point, but......

GBCH.

My Best Moment, by Bob D.

Where to start?  With so many moments of greatness it's tough to narrow it down to just one.  Could it be the way I push pieces of ice out into the channel to sail off down river?  Is it the time I cut down perfect amounts of grass to refurbish the Point?  Or how about the way I meld old bacon and new bacon technologies together to make exceptional Duck Bites?

All of these pale in comparison to my greatest moment of the trip.  It was the 3rd day of the Tour of Champions and Cliffy and I were sharing a blind at The Point.  The morning had been perfect with all 4 of us being completely set and ready to go at shooting time and a few extra minutes of listening to ducks flying over the blind before the magical time of 6:26  I don't remember who shot first or who shot the most ducks that day, but I do remember who shot best.  It was Bob D.

With the other boys using the left side blind that gave Cliffy and I the right side blind with the better water and best shot on incoming ducks.  Because I hunt The Point all the time I let Cliffy have the right side of our blind and the first shot at anything from that direction.  Imagine my surprise as I watched the lone greenie come in from the right heading our way with his feet down.  Now contemplate my further surprise as I realized Cliffy was either unaware or otherwise unable to take the shot. Then, I did the only thing a superhuman folder and former "Expert" could do.  With lightning speed I shouldered the Benelli and squeezed off a single shot that took that greenie from the sky. 

Greenie had been coming in feet down and, noticing us, had tried to make a hasty getaway.  My shot got him on the upswing and his momentum carried him through the blind and landed him at Cliffy's feet.  I had just landed a bird in the blind at some ones feet!  He reached down and handed over my prize.  No retrieve needed.  My best moment of the trip.
GBCH

T.O.C. Day one.

The 'Tour of Champions' has begun and the first day was more like the 'Founders Tour' as it was just Fred G and I heading out on to Anderson.  Team member Clider was hunting another area with a bloke named Otis, who has only recently started hunting, and just shot a 7 year old banded greenie from Alberta Canada.  We currently don't like Otis.

The weather here has been nothing short of arctic. Much of the country is also in the grip of a Canadian cold front which we hoped would bring down ducks from the north.  Temperatures in the low teens and mostly frozen water greeted us at The Point.  We set about breaking up ice and had our decoys set as the shooting hour arrived.  The picture above shows the battle we fought with the ice filling in the slough that runs behind The Point.  Only a few ducks were flying in the early morning hours and I had lost the ability to take the first shot of the day in a spirited game of ducey the night before.  Finally we were able to make a couple geese turn and come to see us rather than the big raft of birds sitting on the open water way out in the middle of the lake.  They set up perfectly and flew in low and slow with the sun lighting up their fat bellies.  They looked to me like a couple of big B52's coming in for a landing and I watched as Fred lined up to take the first shot of the day.  He took 3.  No geese fell.

Founder: Fred G.

After that no other perfect opportunities happened our way and we did some more improvement to the waters in front of The Blind.  I took a walk and tried to get some birds to get off the water in the middle of the lake but still nothing wanted in.  Even after the walk out we felt good about the chances to shoot there again next time.  The temperatures are rising and the ice will have a hard time making a return to that spot.  Next time I'm sure many hundreds of fat greenies will make their way to the perfect spot we have created.  Stay tuned.
GBCH

PAIN!

SatNov 15

31°

14°

Sunny

CHANCE OF PRECIP:

0%

 

WIND:

NE at 7 mph

Details

SunNov 16

35°

16°

Sunny

CHANCE OF PRECIP:

0%

 

WIND:

S at 4 mph

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MonNov 17

40°

20°

Mostly Sunny

CHANCE OF RAIN:

0%

 

WIND:

E at 6 mph

Details

TueNov 18

42°

27°

Partly Cloudy

CHANCE OF RAIN:

10%

 

WIND:

SE at 6 mph

Details

WedNov 19

39°

31°

PM Showers

CHANCE OF RAIN:

40%

 

WIND:

SE at 6 mph

Details

ThuNov 20

39°

32°

Partly Cloudy

CHANCE OF PRECIP:

20%

 

WIND:

SE at 8 mph

Details

FriNov 21

38°

30°

Showers

CHANCE OF RAIN:

50%

 

WIND:

SSE at 8 mph

Details

SatNov 22

38°

33°

Rain

CHANCE OF RAIN:

60%

 

WIND:

SSE at 10 mph

Details

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It Won't Be Long Now.....

Since nobody else will make a post I guess it's up to me.
Today, mere days away from 'The Tour Of Champions', Clider and I made a run in the boat out to Killarney Lake.  We had two reasons to make the trip.  The first was to do some investigative boating to see just how well Clider can build a boat motor out of spare parts, gumption and endless streams of money.  I will leave it to him to report on the outcome.  The second and more important reason was to shoot some greenies.

Another boat trailer was in the lot and we figured that he had taken the only spot at Hidden Lake so we motored out to the west side of Killarney.  Clider had earlier seen some guys hunting from a spot on the shore and we set up in the same area. A mass of decoys were set and we waited for the ducks to come piling in.  We waited long enough for the sun to come up and warm us and to warm the ducks that had, as yet, not shown up.  Soon after one of the decoys had made a break for open water. While Clider took a short walk out to wrangle him in, and right as he waded into the water 3 mallards spun in in perfect formation towards the blind.  I watched the henny land in front of the spot Clider had been in a minute before and the 2 greenies fly off, scared off by the big dog and bigger human in the water. This pattern would repeat itself twice more during the day.

Sadly, no ducks were shotten today but we learned something about the boat and we did see ducks.  I'm convinced that having the big spread, with lots of variety, made all the ducks that did come by take a good look and want to land.  Thankfully we will have thousands of decoys, and time to set them out, this coming week.  Tempatures are dropping and the fronts are moving in.  It's all setting up for a perfect week of slaying action.  Stay tuned.....

GBCH

If Only It Counted.....



 Today it rained and I shot a Greenie.


I left the house today in the pouring rain and I thought of all my days hunting in the state of Oregon and how being prepared was the best defense against the elements.  I packed at least two of everything that I could find and took my truck, just back from the doctors, out to Anderson and another shot at The Point.  The rain settled into a steady soaking kind of rain for my walk out and I set up just in time for the morning fly, but there was none.  Birds trickled in by ones and twos as the rain slowly trickled into my sleeves and drenched my elbows.  Three shots at the first Greenie of the day went off course and other birds came and went, just like dry gloves and hats.

Just about the time my third pair of gloves was soaking through a lone greenie came in from the right and fell with my second shot.  Reaching down into the chilly waters to retrieve him was no problem because everything from my elbow down was already saturated.  You know what wasn't saturated?  My spirits. First Greenie of the year and Co-Expert title in hand I decided that there was plenty of time for yet another fresh pair of gloves and toasty warm hat.  The next 15 dry minutes were great and even the increasingly sideways rain felt good.  I packed up when the rain backed down to a heavy drizzle and my pack felt great with all the extra moisture and duck meat weighing me down.  Here's some pictures and now I'm off to help Clider paint decoys and remind him that his Doctor recommended him to not shoot for 6 weeks.  Bring on the H7HT "Week Of Death" it's going to be great!
GBCH

FTP Ready

My people we don't know defeat

We crush the strong and percolate the weak daily

We make our moves to improve our grooves

Because we love to rule where we lay

Work and play we started at the bottom

Now were leading the way

I'm havin a fit kickin it at the the top

Because I'm too LEGIT to Quit!

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