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Lol i forgot Andre got a seagull with his truck on the way back. It was low and only broke a bit of his grill.
2022 Hunting Chronicles
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Glad he's OK! Twelve feet is high enough to really hurt yourself. About 12 years ago I fell about that far on to a window I had just removed. Only got a mild wrist sprain luckily. Glad it was the ild window and not the new replacement!
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4,095 Posts
Just update on my son , he's has bruised ribs , small nub on his knee , and just sore from his face to his rib cage , had a X-Ray last night and showed no major damage , Doctor said he is lucky he landed on spongy ground just away from several large boulders but hit the side of a rotten tree stump . He was back at it again today as I was helping to build the doors for the shed he's building for a German couple . Very lucky and very stuborn not to take a day or two to just rest .
Took 10 yrs off my life yesterday !
Took 10 yrs off my life yesterday !
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Few from Hounds and Bunnies Boxing day , never got my Tactacam Footage checked yet
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Yes , It's a Tactacam , Shot cam with red dot focus
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Couple of Morning and Mid afternoon views from the office today , managed call one coyote in the first 12 mins of first set today but no shot to take as it ran in very hard from top of hardwood ridge towards the thicket of spruce , running along the thicket into the swamp neither of the 3 of us could get a crack at it .
![Plant Sky Air gun Wood Natural landscape]()
![Plant Air gun Machine gun Wood Shotgun]()
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Wanting to get a trip out this Friday past , with calls of 20-30 NE winds , Snow /Rain showers and deep over cast skies, I loaded up the boat and truck Thursday evening with hopes of some good waterfowling weather . By 4 am was on the road to grab a coffee , winds were just right , good stiff chill in the air and made sure to be layered just right not to break sweat but be warm enough to take on a winter morning and hopes of birds willing to come to the kill box .
Drive up gave me hopes with 2 foxes spotted and a very nice large bobcat to be seen moving , I thought well if predators are moving other game should be as well . Waterfowling is a hunt that one prays for nasty weather or at least weather one can hunt and no glare with good cover are 2 major parts , hunting salt marsh one also must endure shifting tides , Ice build ups and the never ending finding open water . Well all the ice build up in coves were gone , tide was not as forecast but was coming in sooner than scheduled . No sounds of birds in the bay or channels , but with NE winds 20-30 kinda hard to dial in on other sounds of the salt marsh .
This yr has been a challenge i will say , new guys showing up more than before , Fiona damaged several blinds , flattening some good well cared for spots , channels moving and digging out normal 2 ft water places now almost tripple in depth and food sources gone . New guys that have showed up are sky busting everything before it's gets into a proper shooting range . Was told by a local he's seen a increase of crippled birds this yr in several spots . Just this week alone he found 2 crippled geese wings blown apart and a crippled Gadwall along with a dead black duck . Live shells that look like the old cut shot guys would make yrs ago outta lead shot were dumped on the beach area that is now Zoned at a no hunting area.
Things like this have impacted a great area and NOW have brought much unwanted attention to a excellent waterfowl area . Stopped by Fisheries on Friday and spoke with them after going thru a full search of truck , boat and gear , older warden knew me very well but new guy insisted in full check , have at it I said , I have nothing to hide and everything in order. Talking they asked of any issues , Told them about whats going on as of late and truck and trailer vandalized this fall .
They are aware from others as well of those who may be responsible for trying push others out and possibly responsible for intentional injuring and not recovering downed or crippled birds . I guess numerous reports are coming in and now enforcement has stepped up . These same individuals were doing same thing elsewhere till crack down started on road side checks and walk ins to blinds and they moved off now in our area . These things bother me deeply , ethics and morals and responsibility to the game I pursue are a thing I preeched to my kids and others I hunt with . Simply cannot stand these types who weave into our culture of outdoors men and women .
Told the Fisheries C.O's plz step it up , this area was good but last 3-5 yrs has slowly gotten outta hand and I've got access to a private boat launch this yr where We are looking at moving our activities to couple different coves and going in with portable blinds so not to leave a notice that we have set ups in there .
None the less , I witnessed the very thing the C.O's spoke of that very morning , Two guys shooting at birds way too high , and atleast 100 yrds away from them , I know this spot very well like back of my hand after 40 yrs or more down that way , distances have been calculated yearly , markers put out to be of natural blend in , we know when and where to shoot and when not to . Told the C.O's of the truck , the boat and what they look like . We have witnessed it several times , not being a rat but when crap starts from others B.S they best have a good paddle to get outta the creek they are bringing in .
Other than that the yr has been filled with memories good and not so good , still have few days left and here are couple shots of what I still consider paradise to me. No birds at all to talk about , not one would come close .
![Water Sky Plant Cloud Natural landscape]()
![Water Sky Plant Natural landscape Twig]()
Drive up gave me hopes with 2 foxes spotted and a very nice large bobcat to be seen moving , I thought well if predators are moving other game should be as well . Waterfowling is a hunt that one prays for nasty weather or at least weather one can hunt and no glare with good cover are 2 major parts , hunting salt marsh one also must endure shifting tides , Ice build ups and the never ending finding open water . Well all the ice build up in coves were gone , tide was not as forecast but was coming in sooner than scheduled . No sounds of birds in the bay or channels , but with NE winds 20-30 kinda hard to dial in on other sounds of the salt marsh .
This yr has been a challenge i will say , new guys showing up more than before , Fiona damaged several blinds , flattening some good well cared for spots , channels moving and digging out normal 2 ft water places now almost tripple in depth and food sources gone . New guys that have showed up are sky busting everything before it's gets into a proper shooting range . Was told by a local he's seen a increase of crippled birds this yr in several spots . Just this week alone he found 2 crippled geese wings blown apart and a crippled Gadwall along with a dead black duck . Live shells that look like the old cut shot guys would make yrs ago outta lead shot were dumped on the beach area that is now Zoned at a no hunting area.
Things like this have impacted a great area and NOW have brought much unwanted attention to a excellent waterfowl area . Stopped by Fisheries on Friday and spoke with them after going thru a full search of truck , boat and gear , older warden knew me very well but new guy insisted in full check , have at it I said , I have nothing to hide and everything in order. Talking they asked of any issues , Told them about whats going on as of late and truck and trailer vandalized this fall .
They are aware from others as well of those who may be responsible for trying push others out and possibly responsible for intentional injuring and not recovering downed or crippled birds . I guess numerous reports are coming in and now enforcement has stepped up . These same individuals were doing same thing elsewhere till crack down started on road side checks and walk ins to blinds and they moved off now in our area . These things bother me deeply , ethics and morals and responsibility to the game I pursue are a thing I preeched to my kids and others I hunt with . Simply cannot stand these types who weave into our culture of outdoors men and women .
Told the Fisheries C.O's plz step it up , this area was good but last 3-5 yrs has slowly gotten outta hand and I've got access to a private boat launch this yr where We are looking at moving our activities to couple different coves and going in with portable blinds so not to leave a notice that we have set ups in there .
None the less , I witnessed the very thing the C.O's spoke of that very morning , Two guys shooting at birds way too high , and atleast 100 yrds away from them , I know this spot very well like back of my hand after 40 yrs or more down that way , distances have been calculated yearly , markers put out to be of natural blend in , we know when and where to shoot and when not to . Told the C.O's of the truck , the boat and what they look like . We have witnessed it several times , not being a rat but when crap starts from others B.S they best have a good paddle to get outta the creek they are bringing in .
Other than that the yr has been filled with memories good and not so good , still have few days left and here are couple shots of what I still consider paradise to me. No birds at all to talk about , not one would come close .
As far as I'm concerned, reporting poaching, vandalism, unethical treatment of animals etcetera, is NOT being a rat! Its the right thing to do.
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18,887 Posts
Agree this year has been tough enough for guys to get bids with the nice weather so Walter doesn't need this crap also
Funny my old but says yesterday can you take my shotgun and clean it so I can put it away tired of sitting wasting time for no birds to come in
He normally likes to freeze 1/2 a dozen blacks and 4 geese every year and this year says his first in over 50 years he didnot get four geese in fact only one and only fired two shots at them
He has no boat or will try new spots and like he said too much green to eat in the fields in town for them to move to where they should be this time of year and weather has just been too mild Then again the old bluebill hunters have been pounding them big time the last two weeks which also means forget about seeing geese in the bay with all that activity
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3macs1, Christien dropped by the house 2 days ago to show me these...
![Water Dog Carnivore Grass Adaptation]()
That's the estuary of the Salmon River in back...just a few hundred yards from my backyard.
"too much green to eat in the fields"
Christien said exactly the same thing. And not just for geese but also for rabbits. He's having a hard time because there's so much natural feed all over the place. And the weather doesn't help. It's been so mild and calm that there's no need for any water fowl to shelter where they normally do...in the salt marshes and inland waters. He said that the pattern was not at all 'normal'. He's still getting some but has to hunt in a different way and at places that he never hunted before.
That's the estuary of the Salmon River in back...just a few hundred yards from my backyard.
"too much green to eat in the fields"
Christien said exactly the same thing. And not just for geese but also for rabbits. He's having a hard time because there's so much natural feed all over the place. And the weather doesn't help. It's been so mild and calm that there's no need for any water fowl to shelter where they normally do...in the salt marshes and inland waters. He said that the pattern was not at all 'normal'. He's still getting some but has to hunt in a different way and at places that he never hunted before.
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Wicked. Believe this or not about 10 were in the field and in my garden yesterday eating the potatoes I left behind and are now soft They are all over town here but no where anyone is allowed to shoot
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Some real nice looking Geese there , Is that the Salmon River in Truro , my daughter is staying right in that area and tells me about the geese going thru there , that and the deer in the yard every day
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Wrap up of our 2022/23 Waterfowl Season ,
Started out with our regular meet up at my son's place , Coffee run and our drive out and on the road @ 4:30 am , heavy fog , very mild , snow melted away everywhere , +8 degrees with winds 25-40 km .
Our drive out was pretty intense , could not believe the water on the roads , heavy rains causing some driving challenges in places , dirt roads were very soft , no frost in them , some had ruts from us driving over them .
Winds were coming from the S-SW right in our faces we said to ourselves , we knew no birds will be on the ocean but all the coves will be opened or flooded over what shell ice would still be there . No wildlife to report and all 3 of us kept our eyes on the roads and ditches to ensure in the thick foggy drive some thing would get spotted before anything could cross our path , driving was slower pace but wanted get up to our location to ensure we were getting there without any one else claiming where we intended to hunt .
Showed up and no one there , parked up in the field and got out to check the tide , only 40 ft out was a large flock of geese that was alerted by our lights , lights out I said they are only swimming up the channel , not flying out . We listened with rain coming down , heavy fog , tide going out as scheduled and sounds of birds everywhere but also carried with the winds still gusting to 40-45 k outta the South .
Back to the truck to figure out a game plan for the geese that are right alongside our crossing , to hard to hunt the thicket on the hill side and risk a bird getting taken down the channel and not risking the dog getting swept out in the current for a retrieve . Safety was key for us all as always , we decided chance it and go across to our blind , hunt it till tide finished going out then walk the flats , use the fog to our advantage . We sat and listened , at the blind was crossed , very low tide , knee to ankle deep , most times Waist deep . We set up our spread and kept check for legal light , while calling both ducks and geese to keep with what we ourselves heard. Legal light and it was game time ! Few birds came low and in the kill box but going fast with winds on the back side . First shots produced nothing but woke up the Salt Marsh , next thing we knew we had a flock of geese coming right over our heads .
First shot out I dropped one into the trees behind us , crash and thud we heard , my son drilled another with 2 shots and it glided to marsh and down it went , Unleashed Marlin for the one in the brush I wacked , Marlin was in and 2 minutes latter he came out Goose in tow , not finished there I heard a 3 rd shot my son called his dog and Marlin had 2 more to get , one going with the tide and it did not stop him , thru the slop and in the channel , goose in tow and he was back going for #3 on the flats .
Bird in mouth he was back , reload I said lets go out on the flats , leave the birds there on the grass flat , we walked out almost on top of the geese and peppered 4 more , our newest guy that we have been mentoring smacked his first goose . Marlin was off again chasing a cripple into the bay , he would not give in and got hold of it fighting to hold onto the cripple he brought right at out feet to finish it off . Damm I said we were surrounded with them today .
Fog still heavy and trying get back to the blind everyone grabbed the birds , Marlin even dragged one back across the flats and channels , what a sweat with heavy waders , several geese and only 8 am !
We stayed still ducks swinging by but still fast , said cripes we can nail the geese but the ducks are not slowing down , just then a lone Mottled Hen swung in and turned with landing gear down , bang it was folded as,soon as it's feet hit the water , feathers everwhere , our buddy Jake smoked that one , Marlin once again going for a swim , @ 9 months old he is proving himself of no give up and love of hunting and a valuable partner .
After that it slowed right down , nothing moved , anything that was moving just stopped , winds died off , everything was calm , we said 10 oclock lets wrap it up , what a way to end a very challenged season in many ways .
We were very surprised the place was dead quiet of activity , last day the place has several groups , maybe after phone calls to DNR&R AND FISHERIES after the using a off road machine on the flats and 2 FB posts in two local groups the disrespectful individuals figured it's best to stay clear . Anyways , next season is getting full change up , from new decoys of different breeds , layout and A frame blinds , fixed blinds are getting taken out , after all we built them and maintain them and haul out the garbage others leave behind after using them or rip them apart to suit their set ups . Heres few pics , my phone won't down load properly , hence reason not to update the thread till today . As I write this just recd one of my 3 orders of Avian X decoys , Widgeons . Still Pintails and Blacks to show up
![Plant Reptile Terrestrial animal Bird Beak]()
![Atmospheric phenomenon Astronomical object Lens flare Midnight Automotive lighting]()
Started out with our regular meet up at my son's place , Coffee run and our drive out and on the road @ 4:30 am , heavy fog , very mild , snow melted away everywhere , +8 degrees with winds 25-40 km .
Our drive out was pretty intense , could not believe the water on the roads , heavy rains causing some driving challenges in places , dirt roads were very soft , no frost in them , some had ruts from us driving over them .
Winds were coming from the S-SW right in our faces we said to ourselves , we knew no birds will be on the ocean but all the coves will be opened or flooded over what shell ice would still be there . No wildlife to report and all 3 of us kept our eyes on the roads and ditches to ensure in the thick foggy drive some thing would get spotted before anything could cross our path , driving was slower pace but wanted get up to our location to ensure we were getting there without any one else claiming where we intended to hunt .
Showed up and no one there , parked up in the field and got out to check the tide , only 40 ft out was a large flock of geese that was alerted by our lights , lights out I said they are only swimming up the channel , not flying out . We listened with rain coming down , heavy fog , tide going out as scheduled and sounds of birds everywhere but also carried with the winds still gusting to 40-45 k outta the South .
Back to the truck to figure out a game plan for the geese that are right alongside our crossing , to hard to hunt the thicket on the hill side and risk a bird getting taken down the channel and not risking the dog getting swept out in the current for a retrieve . Safety was key for us all as always , we decided chance it and go across to our blind , hunt it till tide finished going out then walk the flats , use the fog to our advantage . We sat and listened , at the blind was crossed , very low tide , knee to ankle deep , most times Waist deep . We set up our spread and kept check for legal light , while calling both ducks and geese to keep with what we ourselves heard. Legal light and it was game time ! Few birds came low and in the kill box but going fast with winds on the back side . First shots produced nothing but woke up the Salt Marsh , next thing we knew we had a flock of geese coming right over our heads .
First shot out I dropped one into the trees behind us , crash and thud we heard , my son drilled another with 2 shots and it glided to marsh and down it went , Unleashed Marlin for the one in the brush I wacked , Marlin was in and 2 minutes latter he came out Goose in tow , not finished there I heard a 3 rd shot my son called his dog and Marlin had 2 more to get , one going with the tide and it did not stop him , thru the slop and in the channel , goose in tow and he was back going for #3 on the flats .
Bird in mouth he was back , reload I said lets go out on the flats , leave the birds there on the grass flat , we walked out almost on top of the geese and peppered 4 more , our newest guy that we have been mentoring smacked his first goose . Marlin was off again chasing a cripple into the bay , he would not give in and got hold of it fighting to hold onto the cripple he brought right at out feet to finish it off . Damm I said we were surrounded with them today .
Fog still heavy and trying get back to the blind everyone grabbed the birds , Marlin even dragged one back across the flats and channels , what a sweat with heavy waders , several geese and only 8 am !
We stayed still ducks swinging by but still fast , said cripes we can nail the geese but the ducks are not slowing down , just then a lone Mottled Hen swung in and turned with landing gear down , bang it was folded as,soon as it's feet hit the water , feathers everwhere , our buddy Jake smoked that one , Marlin once again going for a swim , @ 9 months old he is proving himself of no give up and love of hunting and a valuable partner .
After that it slowed right down , nothing moved , anything that was moving just stopped , winds died off , everything was calm , we said 10 oclock lets wrap it up , what a way to end a very challenged season in many ways .
We were very surprised the place was dead quiet of activity , last day the place has several groups , maybe after phone calls to DNR&R AND FISHERIES after the using a off road machine on the flats and 2 FB posts in two local groups the disrespectful individuals figured it's best to stay clear . Anyways , next season is getting full change up , from new decoys of different breeds , layout and A frame blinds , fixed blinds are getting taken out , after all we built them and maintain them and haul out the garbage others leave behind after using them or rip them apart to suit their set ups . Heres few pics , my phone won't down load properly , hence reason not to update the thread till today . As I write this just recd one of my 3 orders of Avian X decoys , Widgeons . Still Pintails and Blacks to show up
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Sounds like a fantastic way to end the season
Great read too
Great read too
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