Haiku

symbiosis in
posting has begun today
let there be a light

It's Rodeo Season

This Man Threatened Me

He said if I didn't post there was going to be hell to pay!

What's the Delay Kenny?

Saturday night was ride naked all over the world, it was to help raise awareness, I think the only awareness was naked people and smelly seats.  Kathy and I tried going home on Saturday night and as we left we noticed a bunch of naked people whizzing by on bikes.  Maybe whizzing is the wrong word, but you get it.  Needless to say we could not get home because the ride which encompassed Hawthorne, Belmont, Cesar Chaves and SeGrand had approximately 11,000 riders this year.  We were stuck in the middle of an ass tornado and could not get out for over hour.  Just wondering how the naked ride went in our Kellogg chapters area?

Set and Looking Good

Hoping for some good weather this year.  Leaving Saturday the 9th, first stop Sumpter OR, for some drinking and dancing with the Saing-Froid Club.  Next stop Missoula to ride along the curvy Clearwater river, I also would like to see Montanna.  Arrive in Kellogg ID on Monday for some cool tasty libations, after that I kick Bob DaFolders ass in everything...everyting.  Leave on Thursday and head to Canada to pick up a tasty piece of ass, you all have heard about the girls from Canada.  Ride along a 100 mile lake, drink some of that Canadian beer, and find out what it's all aboot.  Then it's back to the states, back to where it all started, aboot 2011 miles in 2011, one sorry ass.  May Heston be at my side.

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Thanks to Jenny X for this uplifting story.....

The teacher gave her fifth grade class an assignment: Get their parents to tell them a story with a moral at the end of it. The next day, the kids came back and, one by one, began to tell their stories.
There were all the regular types of stuff: Spilled milk and pennies saved. But then the teacher realized, much to her dismay, that only Janie was left.
"Janie, do you have a story to share?"
'Yes ma'am. My daddy told me a story about my Mommy. She was a Marine pilot in Desert Storm, and her plane got hit. She had to bail out over enemy territory, and all she had was a flask of whiskey, a pistol, and a survival knife.
She drank the whiskey on the way down so the bottle wouldn't break, and then her parachute landed her right in the middle of 20 Iraqi troops. She shot 15 of them with the pistol, until she ran out of bullets, killed four more with the knife, till the blade broke, and then she killed the last Iraqi with her bare hands."
''Good Heavens,' said the horrified teacher. What did your Daddy tell you was the moral to this horrible story?"
"Don't fuck with Mommy when she's been drinking."

Fish on?

The float is on and we are down river, past the bum fire under the bridge, and floating nicely. Cliffy is looking for a place to set the boat down so that the fishing can begin. Cliff and Fred have a $5 bet on the first fish to be caught. I'm out. Just taking pictures, 1000 to be exact. Both of them think I don't have the gumption to take 1000 pictures but I'm sure I've got the sauce.

As we pull into the first spot I take out the telephoto and short lens. My two intrepid fishermen settle in to their spots for some casting action and I start up the Nikon. Pic here, pic there, everywhere a pic. Fred G is looking like he's got something and I zoom in on what could be the first fish of the trip. He battles a swift current and a mighty beast and pulls the kingfish into shore.

Now here's the rub. The fish is lost in the reeds on the grab. Does it count?

The pictures son't show a fish or a grab. I leave it up to you, H7HT readers. Where and when is a fish "caught"? Do you need to bring it on shore? Have a picture taken? Just reel it in? Touch it with your hand? I'm not sure so I leave it up to you, vote in the comment section below and money will change hands.

GBCH

freshly cut grass has a scent all it's own

it wafts from down the street through open windows

evenings are lit with light once reserved for mid-day

children scream and play well past dinnertime hours

summertime is here


thoughts still turn to freezing mornings in the blind

layers of wool and neoprene protect me from the chill

mallards fly in unison and anticipation is great

a sight I won't see for far too many days

summertime is here


.

Perhaps?

Traces of ancient aboriginals found in Ontario lake bottom

Use of a geology-style drill pioneers a novel method for detecting the presence of past civilizations

By Randy Boswell, Postmedia News June 6, 2011

A team of Canadian scientists has used geology-style drill cores from an Ontario lake bottom to gather evidence of toolmaking and perhaps even duck hunting by ancient aboriginals about 10,000 years ago -the first discovery of its kind in North America, and one that could point the way to further breakthroughs in underwater archeology around the world.

The scientists found more than 150 tiny flakes of quartz in the lake's murky depths -strong evidence that an ancient shoreline, submerged long ago, was used by some of Canada's earliest inhabitants as a site for manufacturing spear points, scrapers and other tools for fishing and hunting.

Dropping in.

Cliffy picked us up bright and early at 6am and we were right and ready to go. the coolers were packed and the BB gun was loaded. I wondered aloud what it was that we were missing and nothing came to mind, could it be that we had forgotten nothing?

A couple hour drive through the mountains and plains of Oregon to the Warm Springs reservation put us at the boat launch in time to see many other boaters ready to fish the waters of the mighty Deschutes. Cliffy informed us that this years permits and water levels were higher than any in the years past. The other fisherman were no problem but the record high water made for tough fishing. Riffles and eddys had become challenging fishing spots. Elevated boating skills were a must. No problem, we had 'The Expert' of all things fishing and the 05-06 H7HT 'Expert' to guide us.

We set off into the river and prepared for some mighty fine fishing, icy cold Budweiser beer and stunning photography form yours truly.

Stay Tuned....
GBCH

Neat Gardens West Coast

This is what my yard looked like after a member of Neat Gardens had his hand at it.

Game Bag

Where is Heston when we need him?

NEW ORLEANS — For waterfowlers, the news is official: Those record-breaking rains that created the flooding Mississippi River have left the northern breeding grounds in such great shape we can expect a bumper duck production this summer.

Then why was the president of Ducks Unlimited in such a glum mood recently?

Because the political conditions in Washington for the future of duck hunting are at their worst level in decades. Maybe ever.

The controlling Republican caucus in the House has renewed its attacks on the two most important waterfowl conservation programs. It plans deep if not total cuts to the North American Wetlands Conservation Act, and big hits to the conservation titles in the Farm Bill, including the critical Conservation Reserve Program.

Bottom line: They're hitting ducks in the uplands where they nest, and the wetlands where they spend the rest of their lives.

"I'm kind of stunned this morning," said Dale Hall, CEO of DU, the sportsmen's group that is the largest and most effective wetlands conservation organization in the world. "Just a few days ago it looked like we were making progress, convincing more than 100 House members that these programs were good for the economy, not just ducks.

"Then our folks in Washington called to say the mood had changed, and they were now talking about zero-out NAWCA in addition to deep cuts in CRP.

"It looks like we're right back where we were in the spring."

Last spring is when the newly installed GOP majority in the House decided the nation needed to drastically reduce the deficit. At first it seemed like the axe was being swung blindly, taking a slice out of everything. But the bill that passed had a distinct ideological bent: Anything to do with protecting fish, wildlife and the human environment was critically wounded if not killed — while subsidies to powerful business interests such as energy survived.

NAWCA saw all of its $47.6 million budget eliminated. Waterfowl managers say it is critical to the survival of waterfowl hunting because it is the major vehicle for protecting the nation's dwindling base of wetlands. Over the last 30 years it has protected 25 million acres of waterfowl habitat leveraging $800 million in government funds into $2 billion in matches from private partners.

The House bill was blocked by the Senate, and after long negotiations with the administration, the compromise that passed included $37.5 million for NAWCA.

Wildlife and hunting advocates felt they were making some headway with the House GOP by presenting an economic rather than environmental argument: The $5 billion a year the nation spends on various conservation programs puts $14 billion back to the treasury in taxes from people who make their livings in the industries supported by those programs.

"We kept telling them the cuts they want to make in these programs will just make the deficit worse," Hall said. "I really thought we were making some progress, because of the support we were getting on that letter."

That confidence was short-lived.

As the week drew to an end, the conservation lobby learned the budget-cutters were going back to their hard-line tactics of the spring. And as they turn their attention to the Farm Bill — one of Congress' most pork-laden vehicles — the conservation titles such as the CRP are getting most of the attention. That's because CRP, which pays farmers not to plant, doesn't have the support of the commodities markets, which support subsidies for cash crops.

"It's a fight we're going to have trouble winning," Hall admitted. "The commodities lobby is very powerful."

"The changing picture in the House is very troubling."

Louisiana's sportsmen should be especially troubled. Our GOP members have been voting in lockstep with these cuts. Many of them are members of the so-called Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus. If they keep supporting these kinds of moves, they can change that name to the sportsmen's carcass.

"With over 100 members of Congress in that sportsmen's caucus, it makes you wonder how something like this can happen," Hall said.

"What they're trying to do makes no sense — not for wildlife, and not for the deficit. We're going to have as big a fight on our hands now as we did in the spring."

___

Information from: The Times-Picayune, http://www.nola.com

Fly fishing trip 2011. Part 1.

So there I was, ticket in hand to fly out to the big city on the 2011 fly fishing trip. It was a long winter and nothing was more anticipated then the trip west to reunite with the less skilled hunters of the H7HT for some spring R&R. (I am the 'Expert' after all) As I drove to the airport my mind raced with the possibilities of this trip. Would we catch fish? Could we surpass the level of camaraderie of previous trips? Would Cliffy be attacked by a rattlesnake in his sleep? All valid questions but only one thing was truly important, who would shoot the most cans. More on that later.

The flight was uneventful and Fred G picked me up at the airport as planed. I immediately settled in at his home by eating most of his potato chips and having a cold chicken leg while he was hard at work. I took Lisa for the day and then it was off to my old employer to get a sweet 35mm digital SLR camera from old friend and poor golfer Clayton with which to take, what I planed to be, 1000 pictures. I thanked them for loaning me a tent last year for this trip, and would have asked to borrow another one but for one thing. Fred G. never returned it the first time. Nice! I finished the evening by eating a delicious dinner of Vodka Sauce at the best restaurant on the western seaboard, 3 Doors Down Cafe'. Of course Chucker "V Beered" me 4 times that night but I had been prepared for his shenanigans and came away unscathed.

The next day I spent some quality time with Lisa and the result is seen in these pictures. Fresh wax and full detail. Hey, what are friends for. Look at her shine. I even fixed the rear view mirror which came in handy later. Seems I did not leave any gas in the tank after all my driving to and fro. Upon going to the gas station after I left, Fred G. promptly ran out of gas on the way and cursed my name, until that is, he realized I took the time to reinstall the rear view mirror. Everything's cool.

On a related note: Fred Meyer only sells recycled BBs, made from plastic. What the heck is wrong with these Liberal, cheese eating, micro car driving, hipster idiots at Fred Meyer? Plastic BBs? Might as well be shooting them at targets made from hemp fiber and hummus. Idiots.

Stay tuned......
GBCH

An important message from the H7HT

Due to the agreement of May 21, 2011 the founding members of the H7HT have decided to make important changes to this blog, please read carefully.

1. Discontinuation of Facebook participation.

2. More posting of informational updates on the Blog.

3. The resumption of 'Tom Foolery' on a day to day basis.

Thank you for your time and may Heston be with you,
The H7HT.

The "Expert" is coming to town!

WIll it happen again?

Closer all the time....

31 days and counting

It's been a while since the last postings from us at the HOY7 Hunting Team. Cliffy had Ebola, Fred G with the nightmare of 'screaming turbos' and me stuck in mud season made for little to post about recently. But all that's about to change. It's only one thin month form the annual H7HT fishing trip down the mighty Dechutes river. This year promises to be better than ever. Why? Because we said so.

In the years past team members have been plagued by the lack of catching fish, sleep apnea, cold propane that refused to light, too few BBs for the BB gun, callous road signage, bad hair, hangovers and all sorts of other maladies. This year is going to be great! So stay tuned to find out all the preparations and plans for this years trip.


GBCH

Photo Essay: Spring on the Prairies

Photo Essay: Spring on the Prairies

Click on photo tour link above.

Early waterfowl biologists called the Prairie Pothole Region of the United States and Canada the "Duck Factory" because of its incredible productivity for breeding waterfowl. Dotted with millions of small "pothole" wetlands, this region remains this continent's most important waterfowl breeding ground. In especially wetland-rich areas, duck breeding densities can exceed 100 pairs per square mile. Following is a visual tour of the prairies and why it's so important to conserve this region's wetlands and grasslands for waterfowl and other wildlife.

Welcome to the team little guy.

Smith & Wesson Model 642
By Syd

It was the best selling firearm offered by Smith & Wesson in 2006. Tradition holds that the original design emerged from the creative mind of Col. Rex Applegate. Jim Supica, author of The Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson, said that it was possibly the finest pocket revolver ever made. It is the Smith & Wesson Model 642 Airweight Centennial.

There are three basic form factors for the J-frame Smith & Wesson snubnoses. First, there is the standard exposed hammer Chiefs Special such as the Model 36. Second, there is the Bodyguard which has a shrouded hammer, but it can still be thumb cocked and fired single action. Third, there is the Centennial which is often called hammerless a misnomer because it actually has a hammer which is completely enclosed in the frame. Since the hammer is completely enclosed in the frame, the Centennial is double action only.

The Model 642 is the stainless Airweight version of the Centennial. The modern Airweights are produced in both blued and stainless steel finishes, but the stainless version is far more popular. They have aluminum alloy frames with stainless steel cylinders and barrels. Unloaded, the Airweight revolvers weigh about 15 ounces. The Airweights are still chambered in .38 Special rather than .357 Magnum, and they are rated for +p ammunition. The original model 42 was not rated for +p and +p is not recommended for them, although I have heard of a number of people using +p in the Model 42 without negative effects. The Airweight Models 442 (blued) and 642 (stainless) were brought to market in 1990, discontinued in 1993 and reintroduced in 1996 as the 642-1. As noted earlier, the Model 642 has been enormously successful.

Late night phone message

#1
I guess my question to you is if you gave a guy 2 more days with your car before he picked it up, and you already gave the downpayment with what the car is worth, wouldn't you drive the f'n piss out of it? Oh yea baby, you would. This (uninteligable) works great. I gotta go before I get a ticket.... hold on a minute....I'm passing a lady like....Hello.

#2
Turbos are screaming. I don't know if you can hear this or not. Turbos are screaming.

Wetlands for Tomorrow - You Made it Happen

Wetlands for Tomorrow - You Made it Happen

South Carolina hunters post dismal slay numbers too.

March 7th 2011. The Times and Democrat of South Carolina

Duck hunters finished the season on S.C. Department of Natural Resources public hunting lands, with a total harvest of 6,441 birds, an average of 2.4 birds per hunter, slightly higher than the average reported last year. A total of 2,711 hunters participated in these popular hunts at the 16 Wildlife Management Areas that recorded individual hunt data.

Wood ducks accounted for 38 percent of the harvest, followed by American green-winged teal, northern shoveler, blue-winged teal, gadwall and ring-necked ducks.

"Overall, the season for our waterfowl areas was excellent, with many areas reporting harvests at an all time high in terms of birds harvested per hunter," said Dean Harrigal, waterfowl program coordinator with the S.C. Department of Natural Resources (DNR). "The significant cold weather in early December pushed birds into the state and they stayed here for the duration of the season. Birds were pretty well distributed around the state making for good hunter success on our management areas."

Category II Area, Hickory Top Green Tree Reservoir in Clarendon County had the highest hunter participation and harvest of all areas with 880 hunters reporting harvesting 1,715 birds, predominately wood ducks.

On Category I Wildlife Management Areas (WMA), drawing only 917 hunters (on seven areas) harvested 3,637 birds with an average of 4.0 birds per hunter. American green-winged teal, blue-winged teal, northern shoveler and gadwall were top birds in the bag.

Sandy Beach in Berkley County led in average harvest for Category I Areas with an average of 5.1 birds per hunter, followed by Bear Island WMA in Colleton County with 4.4 birds per hunter, Santee Coastal Reserve in Charleston and Georgetown counties with 4.1 birds per hunter, Santee Delta in Georgetown County with 3.8, and Samworth Wildlife Management Area in Georgetown County with 3.5 birds per hunter.

"Teal are a mainstay of our Category I Wildlife Management Areas, especially along the coast," said Harrigal. "When teal are around we generally have good hunter success."

Top individual hunt units were The Cape of the Santee Coastal Reserve (5.0 birds per hunter), Bear Island East (4.7 birds per hunter), Springfield/ The Cut of Bear Island (4.5 birds per hunter), Santee Delta West (4.2 birds per hunter), and Murphy Island of Santee Coastal Reserve (4.1 birds per hunter).

Hunt data was collected on six of the 25 Category II Wildlife Management Areas (open to the public on specific days). Hunters reported a harvest of 2,368 birds on these areas, the majority coming from Hickory Top Green Tree Reservoir. The average for 1,637 hunters was 1.4 birds per hunter. Wood ducks accounted for more than 89 percent of the bag.

Pack up the truck, we're headin' Down Under!

Duck hunters in South Australia will be able to take double the number of birds this season over last year.

The SA Government has increased bag limits and the length of the season.

It says more water has led to better breeding conditions.

The duck hunting season will run from February 19 until June 26.

A year earlier it did not open until the end of March.

South-east duck hunter Ron Hastings has welcomed the longer season.

"The reports are that there is prolific breeding of water fowl in the north of the state and in other parts of Australia with all the floods we've had and I think the date of February to June is quite adequate," he said.

"It's getting a bit back to the old days."

Valentines Day Couples

Images. MLK weekend 2011.

Last day of the '10 -'11 season.....

Today was the day I finally put away all my hunting gear for the season. Yep, the end. All the waders, extra shells, gloves and hats that had piled up in the garage had to go back into the shed, into the chest that holds all my gear for the summer. It's sad really, to know that I no longer will look forward to early mornings in the blind. No more dark drives to Anderson Lake. No more whistling wings in the pre-dawn darkness. The thrill of the hunt and the joy of a well placed shot. The End.

Last week I traveled to Portland for the last few days of the hunting season. I was able to spend some time with Co-Founder of the HOY7 Hunting Team and former "Expert" Fred G. Although the water was up well over the optimal levels for late season hunting we were able to have a great 3 days near our old spots on the banks of the mighty Columbia River. We walked great distances to find good spots to hunt and marveled at the ways our old spot has changed over the years. When it first began we were out in jeans and cotton layers, hoping for a shot at the elusive mallard. Now we are clad in comfy wool and camo gore-tex. Before the only ones busting through the brambles and fighting the shoreline were Mitch and the two of us. Now a gravel path leading out and a battle with others for the best spots awaits. Still, the basic reason we hunt has not changed.

So it was with great sadness that I put up all my gear today, knowing that a long 8 months of spring and summer stand between now and the time I buy my first box of shells for next year. Yet already the anticipation of next year looms large in my mind. Does it hold the first banded bird for the H7HT? Will we find newer and better places to hunt? Is this the year we take a trip to 'Limit Lake' or 58th & Federal? Who knows. That's the joy of being part of the HOy7 Hunting Team, the anticipation and the camaraderie of friends. That, and of course, shooting that French Canadian bastard Greenie.

GBCH

Cliffy Update

Hello all! Here´s a quick update. I made it 17,500 ft. when we noticed Maggie wasn´t looking so hot. She was very ill. While Blain and Steve pushed to camp 3, we descended down all the way to camp 1. It was very hard, and a long day. The next morning, Maggie still was very ill and I packed us up as we went to basecamp. She recovered well 2 days later and was able to make the 3 day hike out. I was very worried for her safe recovery, but she trooped through it. We are currently in Mendoza having a blast and taking in the sites as we wait for Steve and Blain to make their summit descent. Have to go, lots of people waiting for me to get off the computer. Talk to you all soon!

Find Waldo

Idaho: Day.... The end?

7 Degrees above zero when I left the house this morning to head out to Anderson Lake and as I drove I had no idea what to expect. Holiday work season and a protracted road closure prevented me from hunting for the last few weeks, bummer. I considered some factors while I drove through starry skies. The main one being weather or not there would be any open water to hunt. It's been cold here, real cold. Nothing to do but find out for myself.

After leaving the parking lot with my full pack (I briefly considered leaving most of my decoys in the truck) I could see the CdA river was covered in ice but looked clear by the inlet to Anderson. Being careful to avoid the cougar on the way I made it to the point to find a perfect water set up. The levels had dropped significantly from the last time I was out and the beaver dam had even tried to sneak back to its original spot. Light clouds were starting to move in as I set up in the pre-dawn darkness. My decoys looked great in the light breeze and had a nice swimming motion from the water leaving the lake trough the channel.

It's a good thing the decoys looked great, they would be the only thing I had to monitor. A couple divers swam by my spread, not even bothering to fly in, but that was it. No ducks anywhere at all. By the time my fingers started to freeze I packed up and headed home. A beautiful morning but it seems all the ducks have gone elsewhere. I'm guessing they all went to Portland, so that's where I'm going too. Stay tuned for the adventures of the HOY7 Hunting Team over MLK weekend. Yep, that's right. Killin' for the King is back and Bob D. would never let the team down for what has proven to be some of the best hunting PDX has to offer.
GBCH.

0.0

As my hunting season is officially over, I can now say that I averaged 0.0 birds per Cliffy. You want to know the embarrassing part......last year I averaged 0.0 birds per Cliffy. Unlike last year, this year I didn't even have to clean my gun because out of the 9 or so times I got to go out, I didn't even get a shot off. Not one. I think I have to blame it on the whickey consumption. I didn't even kill a bottle. Therefore, the only thing I'm left to believe is 'number of bottles killed=number of birds killed'. The hope of contributing in bringing the 'expert' title back Oregon is done. Sorry Fred, but this former 'expert' is on a downward spiral and I hope this doesn't roll into my next adventure.....climbing Aconcagua (22,841 ft.) in Argentina. I leave for the airport in an hour and will be back after the hunting season is over, so somebody, just somebody out there, please........kill one for me. GBCH, and may you watch over my flock of two other hunters as they finish out their season.

Look at my new Puppy!

Is what I would be saying right now if I had gone with Willy to get his puppy. This one is Pete, he belongs to Willy. There were 10 lab puppies found under a house here in Kellogg and brought to the animal shelter last week. I told Willy about them and convinced him it would be a good idea for him to get one and teach him to be a duck dog. Of course I was half kidding at the time and I knew full well that I am allergic to every Lab I come in contact with. Seems that I am not wheezy with long hair dogs of some varieties, but Labs, yep. I went to visit him today and brought Willy the latest issue of Gundog magazine. Puppy warming gift. Hopefully Pete will be able to accompany me in the future to retrieve all the Greenies I shoot. And when I shoot them, they don't fly away.
GBCH

Denied!

I left this morning at 4:30 am to go to my old spot at Anderson Lake.
The road was closed due to a massive sinkhole on Rt 3.
It happened about 3 weeks ago.
WTF?
It seems things happen slower here.
I drove home and went back to sleep.
GBCH.

A holiday tradition....

Greenie the Mallard
Was an evil nasty duck
With a filthy mouth and a downy coat
That we'd really like to pluck

Greenie the Mallard
Is a legend that they say
Came straight from Hell
Any hunter will tell
How he always gets away

There must have been some evil
In that little green head of his
For when you shoot right at his face
You always seem to miss

Greenie the Mallard
Is alive as he can be
Heston was overheard
Saying he's just a bird
But he confounds the H7HT

Greenie the Mallard
Knows Benelli's shoot deadly steel
So he flew real fast
And zoomed right on past
And opted out of that ordeal

Around from behind us
With a loud and scornful quack
Just out of range
He thinks it's a game
And our website he does hack.

Greenie the Mallard
Is off to parts unknown
If you see him pass
Get your gun and blast
before he makes it home

Bangitty Bang Bang
Bangitty Bang Bang
Look at Greenie fly

Bangitty Bang Bang
Bangitty Bang Bang
Tomorrow he will die!

Happy Holidays From the Hoy 7 Hunting Team

Day 5.10 Oregon Chapter

Too Much Time On My Hands, (and not enough blood)

Today I didn't even get up to go hunting, I just went, at 11:30 the night before that is. Drove out to Sauvies, me and the Audi crumblier with the heated seats and steering wheel, and found myself in a damn good spot, right next to the crapper. No seriously it's a good spot, you are only maybe 6-8 cars from the front of the line. Settle in and catch up on some well deserved sleep. The morning bell goes off and it's off to the shack to procure my spot on the island, where shall I go today? Being so far ahead in line I'll surely shall have my pick. Well you know what life was not that grand, there were a ton of reservations and when I did make it to the shack I saw Slim Pickins. I was able to secure Hunt 13, which you all know from reading the blog for so many years is a 100 yard walk with your own little end of a pond,

quite nice really. Because of the short walk I had a lot of time to sit and wait until the killing bell goes off. It was then I felt a little irritated, I sat and thought " was I coerced into picking Hunt 13 so that the official in the booth may give a better blind to one of his buddies?" Because when I reached the shack I asked "hey where would you go? how about that Racetrack 6?' To which the dude replied, "Well I wouldn't take that Racetrack over a Hunt, and that Mud Hen is really far out there." "I would take Hunt 13, the water is up it looks good." Well in years past it seemed to me that Racetrack was always a solid spot, for god sake I've never hunted there because there are not any available ever. So now I'm thinking he's saving the spot for his buddy who decided to sleep in this morning and roll in at 6 am., or not maybe he's giving me good advice. The morning before cill time was awesome! birds whistling by at mach 7 just what you want to see and hear. Believe it or not but a Sauvies day turned into a Sauvies day, minus the bounty of scared shitless birds. Ducks were almost as scarce as the number of birds Cliffy has slayed all year, and the ones that did fly trough were Busted. The Ducks won this fight today, you see it's been raining here, a lot. Every farmers field is flooded and when I drove home I saw that every farmers fields were filled with ducks and geese, they didn't need our silly little ponds to hang out in, they could do it anywhere. So as the report read the next day, my man in the booth was putting me on some good info. Racetrack had zero birds that day and the Hunt unit Sky Busted 13.

Do I trust them now? Hell no! "Okay lets have number 1,2,5,and 8 up to the window please."

Brats & Ducks fresh off the grill.

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

And now a message from H7HT member, Jiggity Jeff.

I'm a dumb beaner, so post this to the site somehow. So, I decided it would be a great idea to head out the the Kansas state line for some quality waterfowl, pheasant, and coyote hunting. The first morning we went to the lake, there were 20,000 ducks, snow

s, and Canadians screaming their fat heads off on the lake. So we make a setup.
Problem 1- When your decoys freeze in place every 10 minutes, its pretty hard to get ducks to land in a morgue of duck corpses-A.K.A frozen ass decoys!!! Day 2- Got piss drunk with some local bait and tackle owner, and he told us how to get to this area. Good thing for drunk ass Kenney. We punished 4 geese from 65 yards out with little problems. It slowed down so my hungover ass to a nap in the reeds/my blind, and next thing you know a HUGE fucking possum was at my feet eyeballing my goose. I thought is was Satan himself. I was going to put a round in him, but my hunting license has minimal points left. So the the razor toothed motherfucker ran off snorting.

1 hour later, Jared with the SBE II punched a goose out at 100 yards and barely winged him. He landed in a totally inaccessible space so we were bummed. As we are in the heat of the air war against the shitty
FRENCH Canadian geese, a goose appears 20 yards away on our little trail just walking towards us. I couldn't fucking believe it! It was Jared's goose coming back to tell us to go get fucked, and 'I am still alive bitches!' Well, that ALMOST all ended when I put 3 rounds of Kent Fast Steel in his face from point blank range! Wait a minute, no it didn't! The fucker didn't even sit down, run, or squawk! I thought God was going to use this goose to kill me, for all the fucking geese I have folded over the years! My buddies jaw was just wide open, and my ego was crushed, but only for 5 seconds. I walked to him, he looked at me, I looked at him, and then I went American History X on his ass and stomped him out with 1 big boot to the base of the neck!!! He seized like an alcoholic who is drying out. I put him in my ring strap with the other 3, and headed back to the truck. He was dead right??? I LITERALLY had to fist fight this little cocksucker on the way to my truck. He heard geese overhead sqauking, and rose from the dead on the 3rd hour to beat my ass!!!! He was violently bitch slapping me in the face with his wing. I started to punch and elbow him until I almost broke 2 of my own ribs trying to elbow his head flat against my rib cage. It was a beautiful day.

The next day I folded a snow goose-1st one ever shot by me, and I was pumped! I spent a lot of the trip getting access to prime hunting out here for free. My farmer has warm water ponds the ducks will hit the rest of the year, numerous corn fields, and a shitload of pheasant and Whitetails. I decided to rename Canadian geese. They are FRENCH Canadian!!! They make a lot of noise for no reason. They step in their own shit, and moreover, they are just pussies!!!!!! I hit one with my Diesel yesterday and broke a fucking ball joint, and almost rolled my truck! Motherfuckers are in for beatdown by Jiggity!

P.S. Possums are some evil looking little fuckers, and I no longer shoot geese. I am just going to start punching them into submission!!!

I hate this crap.

A Pineapple Express is driven by a strong, southern branch of the Polar jetstream and is usually marked by the presence of a surface frontal boundary which is typically either slow or stationary, with waves of low pressure traveling along its axis. Each of these low pressure systems brings enhanced rainfall.

The conditions are often created by the Madden-Julian oscillation, an equatorial rainfall pattern which feeds its moisture into this pattern. They are also present during an El Niño episode.

The composition of moisture-laden air, atmospheric dynamics, and orographic enhancement resulting from the passage of this air over the mountain ranges of the western coast of North America causes some of the most torrential rains to occur in the region.

Where's This Now?

Dear Fred

Snow and ice continue to build in the north as a small clipper system moves
across the Great Lakes and towards the northeastern seaboard. As a second
storm moves in, freezing temperatures will slide into the deep south this
weekend bringing much needed rain and additional flights of ducks.

The migration continues to move at a rapid pace as the snow and freeze line
slides further south. While a number of hardy mallards remain in areas in
the north, the coming storms are expeted to move them south in grand fashion.


For the latest migration information, visit http://www.waterfowler.com today.

Idaho: Day Nine.

Ummmm...... Maybe we weren't the most concealed hunters ever. And maybe we didn't have the best blind set up. And maybe, just maybe, we didn't see many ducks after shooting time but we did watch several mallards fly into the spread in the early morning. As we watched the 22 mallards swim around the decoys we set I said " killing time is now". Unfortunately my voice went unheard from 10 yards in a whisper. Three sets of ducks flew in while I waited for Rocky and his Dad to shoot.

They never shot at those three sets of ducks that flew by. We didn't see more than two pairs after that and both Rocky and I missed the greeine circling behind us. We did however see a great sunrise and a stunning vista. A good time (well mostly good time) was had by all and we will try again.
GBCH

Todays Conversation

Time to bring back the "Expert" title to Oregon.

A photo from H7HT member Jenny X.

"This bear tried to steal my tree stand from me the other day. I walked up and saw him all happy and shit so I climbed up and said 'Yo bear, gets the hell out!' He was looking for a fight so I gave him a left-right-left, he's toothless. The bear says 'goddam you ruthless'. I guess he'll remember not to mess with the X."


So endeth the lesson of Jenny X

Oregon Chapter 5.7

What the Hell? WHY?

I DON"T UNDERSTAND!! WHY!! We are the best, Yes? Look we get to Sauvies at about 12 am. How we got there I don't have a clue and neither does Cliffy, don't even bother asking. After a restful 5 hours of sleep in the most comfy truck we wake up to 50 cars in the reservation line, the most we have ever seen, EVER. Listen we are there for one reason and one reason only, to secure a spot on McNary Lake so we could take the boat out to our favorite spot out there. We secure the spot we want on a small island right before sunrise, one of the most spectacular I have ever seen. A few high fly byes. Then the war started, the war in Nam, loud and often shots taken from afar. I mean steel is flying somewhere, just not here. WHY? We are the best right? We pick the right spots, have the best technology, and stealth "we" are. Second guessing about everything ensues, but the bottom line is we saw no ducks that wanted any part of us. DO YOU REALIZE THAT THERE WERE OVER 600 DUCKS TAKEN THAT DAY!! 600.! My garbage man went hunting down on Summer lake and shot 58 ducks in a week...with no blocks! I went to Idaho and shot ...2. Not that I'm complaining cause I ain't, Bob and Paige were the best host and showed me a fanfuckintastic time. It's the only place I slayed this year for god sake. It was a most beautiful morning. Lisa is back at the doc's if anyone cares.

Idaho: Day Eight

So there I am, driving by the parking area for my spot on Anderson Lake to visit the softest paper products ever provided by a public entity, when I see another truck parked in my lot at 6am. It was gone by the time I returned but on the walk out two other headlights were headed to the same spot I was. I trudged through the snow a little faster and beat the other two there by maybe 30 seconds. "What's up guys?" I say. Knowing this was the only open water around I suggested we share the strip of water, them on their side and me on mine. Only one problem.

There were no ducks today. One group flew by as the other guys were setting up but after that, nothing. I pulled up my set after a couple hours and said goodbye. The other two young hunters thanked me for sharing my spot and I felt good that such harmony is still alive and well in the Brotherhood of Heston. Today's photo shows the two lads as white sheet covered dots between the trees. Not a bad idea given the snow cover. Could they be smarter than me, the 'Expert'? Doubtful. Tomorrow I take Rocky the bartender and his Dad out to this spot and I will definitely have more to report. I swear to Heston. Stay tuned.
GBCH