12/8/10

Today's hunt actually started on Monday.  We hurried out to our spot after work for a "scouting" trip;  we had our guns and decoys though.  We shot two in about 40 minutes, but there was a lot flying.  So I went out at 9 this morning and spent the whole day out hunting.  Todd met me at about noon, Mitch came at around 2 for a couple hours.  It was just about the opposite of Monday.  There was next to nothing flying.  Ended with 7 total.

11-22-10

Took the afternoon off to go after the ducks. I thought the combination of the storm, and the cold weather would make for a great afternoon. Its not quite cold enough yet I guess. Its going to get too cold too fast is the problem. We ended up with 5.

A Monster

I spent the morning chasing "chickens" with Chase. Got my two birds. Chase did really good. I wish the season was longer, this dog was a lot of work for a two week hunt. The first bird that we killed today was a really nice rooster. He's in the freezer right now. Just what Annie wants, another bird to put on the wall.

A Few More

Mitch and I went after the pheasants this morning. It was tons of fun. Ended up with three. Pretty good for a short walk around the bird refuge. The dogs did really good too. Its hard to believe how much Chase has come along in the last few months.

Pheasants

Chase officially got his first pheasant. I took him after work Saturday for a quick run with the possibility of finding something. It was in the first 100 yards that he got birdy then went on point. I moved in, he flushed it, and I proceeded to miss. A quick follow-up shot did the trick though. The bird was in some really thick phrag and it was a tough retrieve but he did it. I was one proud "parent." Hopefully we can get a few more over the next couple weeks.

The Best Wife Ever!!!!

Annie gave me an early Christmas Present. I had nothing to do with the purchase other than she had heard me talk about it multiple times. Could I be any luckier?

Winchester Super X2. It is a sweet gun!!
I haven't had it a week and its already killed 12 ducks.

10/27/10

Skipped class today because Mitch informed me that he "had found the birds." How am I supposed to miss that? Well it didn't disappoint. We had an awesome hunt. I love being patient and only shooting birds that are feet down. Doesn't get much better than that.

Notice that sweet black autoloader on my shoulder? That's right the new gun has not disappointed. Mitch nicknamed our guns the black bandits.

10/25/10

Skipped out on work for the afternoon to try out the new gun. I got 5 and Todd shot 3. It was ok for just going out blind. Hopefully the birds will show up soon!

10/4/10

Mitch and I made a Sunday night decision to head out Monday morning. We hunted the same place as the opener, code name "wisconsin". It was an excellent hour and a half. We both limited and made it to work on time. I took chase with us on this hunt. He actually did quite well considering it was his first duck hunt. This dog is not a big fan of the water either. He had a couple of good marks and even brought a couple back all on his own. Its good to know that I have a back-up dog in case jax gets injured.

Opening Day 2010

Spent the opener with Todd and Darin. Had a really good hunt. This was the first time on an opener the whole group has limited. We did it with two guns also. Darin's gun wouldn't fire. Birds flew really well, especially for such a blue-bird day. Jax did excellent considering I haven't had him out practicing much recently. It was a good start to what hopefully will be a great season.

Youth Hunt Part 2

After the geese this morning I had to go to work for a few hours but I was able to talk the same people into a afternoon duck shoot. The ducks were thick and the boys shot a ton. Alex had a perfect day. He was able to shoot a limit of geese in the morning and a limit of ducks in the evening. Braden was pretty dang close to the same thing. The youngest Stratford boy, Bridger, got his first couple geese. The first goose of his life, you guessed it, was banded! 3 boys, 8 geese, 4 bands, and 18 ducks. It doesn't get much better than that.

Youth Hunt 2010

Made it out for some morning geese today with Mitch's little brother Alex and Braden Stratford. We had found a field that was holding a ton of geese and were super excited to get permission to hunt it. Ended up with 2 limits. Three of the birds were banded. Two of those had a metal band and a yellow band. I'm sure they are all urban geese that were relocated. Pretty awesome way to start this season off.

Check out the band on this last pic. He was shooting that goose right in the butt and put a dent in that band. It made the band look really cool.

9/01/10

Well dove season is finally upon us. Made it out this morning with Todd, Clayton, and Mitch. We ended up with 20 doves. The plan this morning was to hunt out of layout blinds in a grain field. Had to change our setup though; the doves were decoying too close. That is a good problem to have. Chase got his first real attempt at hunting today. He did a pretty good job, but he needs a little work on marking.

Fly Fishing on the Provo

My family went on a little excursion to the Homestead in Midway this last weekend. It was tons of fun but the my highlight was definitely Monday morning. My dad arranged for us to go on a half day guided fly fishing trip on the Provo. It was amazing. I caught some of the nicest fish I ever have on a fly rod. The guides were great to work with and also pretty fun to fish with. The guide service that we used was Rocky Mtn Outfitters. There were two guides for the three of us that went. The guides names were Greg Randal and Doug Askelson. Dave had never fly-fished before so he got a lot of one-on-one time with Doug. He must have been a really good teacher because Dave actually landed 3 fish all on his own. They were all really good browns. I think I ended up with 6; one was a real nice rainbow. The guide said it was a real "slab". The rainbow was cool though because it kept jumping clear out of the water. My dad was nice enough to let the guides spend most of their time with Dave and I, unfortunately he never ended up landing a fish. We all had tons of fun though. Thanks Todd for a really great morning!

Browne Lake

I had the opportunity to take some time off work and go camping with my amazing wife. I always have such a fun time hanging out with her. Especially when we can get away to the out of doors. Just look how much fun she has fishing!

We went up to the lake the same time as my uncle and aunt Mark and Terry. They are always super fun to hang out with. I told them its because they are still kind of immature.

This was a two-point we saw on our nature drive the first night there. We also saw a couple of bighorn sheep. Now Annie finally believes me that they exist.

We spent a fair amount of time fishing out of my newly acquired hunting boat. We trolled on a couple different lake with only moderate success. My cousin Korry and his kids were also with us. Jayden caught the most out of the boat I think. Trent, my other cousin, lost the most lures though.

These are a couple of night shots I took from our camp. Trent helped me figure out how to take them. Pretty cool pictures considering they were taken at 10:30 at night.

The most successful fishing I had was on the stream behind the lake. I probably caught 30 in a couple hours. They were almost all 8-10" brook trout but still tons of fun. Annie was nice enough to come photograph me.

Thanks Annie for convincing me to take off work. It was tons of fun and I can't wait to do it again!

A Little More Coon Action