Week 1 Duck and Goose season

Wow what a week it was for me, let me tell you what happened.
Monday I went out and hunted the water, I didn't get a duck but I did get two geese. I was hunting an island and kept hearing some geese. I could hear they were honking behind me on the water. So I called to them and they eventually came swimming around to see my decoys. Once they got in range I jumped them up and shot 2; one dropped DRT but the other one started swimming off. I got out of the boat and got it untied and the chase was on. He made it all the way to shore and stayed still under some brush that was overhanging the water. I got my net and was able to net him before he made me chase him further.
Here's the kicker: BAND

 He was banded in Ohio.
Tuesday my minion and I went to my spot below the dam. Outside of a couple wood ducks that zipped by early and the 5 geese that came in while I was picking up the decoys, I told Sean that we should stay at least 'til noon but I started picking up at 10:30ish because he was getting antsy. We didn't fire a round all day, (savin' money) so we packed 'er in and headed to the house.
Today was a completely different story. We got out to the field, set the spread out and promptly got buzzed by two flocks of mallards before we even broke out the shells. We got buzzed by a couple pairs and a triple of Wood Ducks, of which I got 2.
After that we whiffed on a flock of geese that may have been a little high.
The next flock of geese though we really put a hurtin' to. I got my limit (3) and my buddy got his first goose. We only had a short wait before I was working another flock into range. I called the shot, Sean sat up and dropped his second goose. A short time later I was working a pair that wanted to come in. I had them right on the deck at 25 yards when I called the shot. Boom,boom,boom barked Sean's' Remington with only air to show for it. Not a goose dropped, oh well he said he had a good day and we left with some ducks and geese.
After the morning flight was over Sean took a time out to check the back of his eyelids for cracks.

 Here's the pic

Oh almost forgot.......... all my geese were BANDED.

These were truly Canadian geese, they were all banded in Ontario, Canada.
Super Awesome Hunt Today, should probably pack 'er in while I'm ahead....

Fall Turkey season

This is the first year I have had private property to be able to try to hunt fall turkeys. Season opened yesterday so I went out to my buddy's house with a  friend from work who wants to try hunting. He'll be my Minion this year and for years to come if he likes it. Anyway we got out yesterday I got everything set up and right at daybreak I had a hen fly down 10 feet to my right. Now let's be clear that during the fall season you can shoot it if it's a turkey. Sean was on my right and I was trying desperately to get him to cap this turkey while leaning around me. No matter what I did I couldn't get him to shoot this bird, so we watched her and the other 8 hens meander off never offering a shot. The rest of the day was pretty uneventful unless you call watching squirrels and cat napping eventful. We called it a day at 6pm.
The second day found us on the same property 10 yards back from where we were the first day. To my surprise the turkeys roosted in the same trees, and when they started to fly down the fun started.

We had hens walking around @ 30 yards and I kept asking,"do you see her? she's right there, when you get a head shot... shoot." Well the bird finally cleared enough for him to shoot and when he did the others just kinda jumped up and landed on the path @ 30 yards. That's when I sent some lead flying at her head, I found my target and as it turns out so did Sean's. So there we were about a half hour into the second day with our tags filled.

Caution: there may be some questionable language used

 Yep she's small but she'll be pretty tasty.
By the way the fall season is much different than the spring season. I equate it to deer hunting, a lot of it is luck and good scouting just because they don't really respond to calling like they do in the spring. So you all you can really do is try to get them to cross your path close enough for a shot.

Last Hoorah

Last fishing trip up the year was a day on the big lake. The day started cool and breezy and ended the same way. I hooked up with 3 kings all came to the boat but only one was big enough to keep.

So if you follow this blog you will remember the finch that hung out with me for a whole day last year. Well I had a sparrow hang with me for a while this year, the only reason he left was a fish hit on this rod.

I watched seagulls harass, chase, kill and eat 4 of these little guys. They would chase them around until they ended up on the water then swoop in and collect their meal. I don't know why all these sparrows are so far out on the lake but they would live longer if they stay closer to shore.

Last week and this week

Well with the weather being very warm this year I haven't been hunting as much as last year. I got out a couple times last week and a couple times this week. Last week I was able to bring in a couple geese. I also went to Mongo for a day and did some dove hunting.

This week I got out on the 15th which is the last day for goose, no geese. Yesterday I went to Mongo again for some dove, but the shoot was far less than the first time. I managed to walk up 3 dove to add the 6 I had at home. So lets see..... that's 9 dove..... 6 more and I'll have a daily limit and a meal.
I got the video of the hunt yesterday but have yet to edit it, when it's done I'll get it on here.

Last week was perfect

The temps last week were in the 70's which would be great for the start of the early goose season. This week the temps are forecast to be in the 90's. So I did what anybody would do, that has to get dressed in neoprene up to their armpits to enjoy the great outdoors.
I went fishing.
Yesterday looked to be a stellar day on the big lake with only a 20% chance of rain in the afternoon. So I loaded up and got to the landing at 6am and was on my way by 6:30. I hit 90 fow and started to troll, it wasn't too long before I got my first hit. It was a good fight and I thought it should be a decent King.
Wrong, I was on the wrong side of Brown town- grease district.

I didn't weigh this guy but I'm guessing him to be around 12 lbs. So after the grease release I got back to trolling for some silver.
Bad news, I couldn't get out of the bad side of town. The next tug on the line I didn't land but figure it was a laker because of the way it was fighting.
The next hit came on my newly aquired meat rig on braid and a dipsy.
This one I did land.

Another laker and this one showed his displeasure by crapping all over my boat.
Now if you have ever had a laker crap in your boat you know it's a good way to kickstart a vomit.
Nasty.
Oh yeah 20% chance right? Thunderstorms right? 3 and a half miles out and the old saying, "man it just blew in so quick"

It went from flat calm to 2-3 footers in a matter of minutes. After I heard the first rumble of thunder I started breaking everything down and got ready to run in. The ride in was a little damp but I made it to shore with my boat and my gear. By the time I got to the landing the sun was back out and the 80 degree temp was back. I thought about going back out but a quick glimpse at my fuel gauge and that thought was quickly dashed. So I put the boat on the trailer, untangled my gear and pointed the truck home.