Devil Creek

Went out ice fishing with Annie, Todd, and Jaron on Monday morning.  The fishing was good and the weather was nice.  It was the best ice fishing experience my wife has ever had.

Hay, Some Ducks

Mike Ballard called me and invited me to come set up on some geese with him, his boy Jake, and Jeff Hill.  We did see a few geese but they didn't work like we wanted.  We did, however, get a few quackers. It was the first time I have ever killed ducks in an alfalfa field. I had to call like crazy, and Jeff flagged like mad, but we were able to bring em in. 

Slow

Spent a cold, slow day at Ogden Bay today.  I went out at 10ish and didn't come back till 4.  Part way through the day my uncle Steve and Chad from the DNR met me out there.  There just wasn't much moving though.  We ended up with 5.  Its getting tough.

Ice

Todd and I went out to Ogden Bay today to try and find some water to hunt ducks.  I had a pretty good idea where a flow was and thought we could set up there.  We got out that way and found some ducks, a few hundred actually.  They were just chillin on the ice though.  They kept flying 50 yards or so and going down again on the ice. There wasn't any water around.  We set up and got them out of there.  It took us about 3 hours but they eventually trickled back in.  12 mallards, 1 pintail, and 1 gadwall.  Pretty fun hunt on the ice.

12/01/11

Todd and I decided to brave the wind today.  We started by setting up on 12 geese in a corn field in West Weber.  We laid under burlap for two hours and nothing.  On the way home we checked the roost; I guess the wind was enough to keep them on the water for most of the day.  After that we headed out to Crane for a little duck action.  Mitch ended up not working today so he joined us.  It was just a little too windy though.  We had decoys upside down and blowing away, mojo's that wouldn't spin, and just plain cold everything.  We had our pintail limits in about 10 minutes, and  that was 90% of what we saw today.  The bull sprigs were the best we've seen this year though. Also, we hunted both dogs on islands with no cover; Jick used the blind and I wrapped Chase in burlap.  It was kind of old school but it seemed to work.  They are two good dogs to hold still enough to decoy birds in wide open territory.  It was a slow, fun, windy day. 

What a stud!

The Streak is Over

I have been scouting some geese for the last couple days and today was the day to set up.  My Dad and Ryan & Braden Stratford came along.  We ended up with 10 in about 40 minutes.  It was sweet.

The best part though....My first band!

11/19/11

Went for a hunt with Todd, and Jordan and Tyler Herzog today.  We hunted Crane again.  The storm moved a lot of birds out of the area though.  It was a fun hunt anyways.  Chase made a couple of 300 yard cripple retrieves.  Todd made a sweet double on some teal right at the end. The total bird count for the day was 23.  Froze my butt off (literally), but its still worth going out hunting.

Todd's Pheasant

I took the afternoon off to take my dad out pheasant hunting. He doesn't remember the last time he shot a wild pheasant and had really been wanting to get one. Last year we only got out once together and the only bird we found was one that the dog caught. I really was feeling the pressure to find him one today. Well it worked out pretty good and he was able to shoot his first limit of pheasants.

 

11/15/11

Went out after pheasants this morning before work.  Chase had two cocks in the air in the first 200 yards.  I had spent 3 shells and missed all 3.  I finally connected on my second shot on the next bird.  It was a fun, quick hunt.  Nice bird too.

A Bucket List Bird

The other day at work I got a visit from Dale Thompsen.  Dale is the father of my good friend Travis.  We were talking about hunting and he mentioned that he had been wanting to get out.  I told him to tell me when and we set a date.  We went out this morning to the refuge and had a really fun shoot.  We walked for about an hour before we found a rooster.  It flushed a little wild, but I was able to make a good shot on it.  After that I was a little concerned about getting Dale a bird.  The spot we were hunting has seen a lot of pressure in the last week.  We continued on and about 20 minutes later Chase made an excellent point.  A little working in and we had a nice rooster up in the air.  Dale made a great shot on it.  After the retrieve he informed me that he could cross one thing off his "bucket list."  He had wanted to shoot one more wild rooster.  It was really cool to be able to help him accomplish this bird.  We were both really excited, and it was a perfectly worked bird to boot.  We ended up getting one more which was just icing on the cake.  Thanks for coming out Dale, it was a blast.

Another Great Day

I decided to head out by myself this morning and chase some cocks.  I hunted out yonder at the refuge and had my two birds in under an hour.  Chase found like 10 birds today.  It was a blast. The first we couldn't find so there is only one in the picture.

After hunting pheasants I went home and worked in the yard for a bit.  Then it was time to head out after the ducks again.  Hit the same spot as yesterday.  Todd came out with me, and Jordan met us out there after a bit.  The ducks worked good but it took Todd a while to start hitting them.  Its an adjustment to shoot from the sitting position. We ended up with 17 between us.  All drakes except for one suzy widgeon.

No Mallards

Mitch talked me into going out hunting with him this afternoon.  We had an exceptional hunt.  Spent twice as much time walking as we did hunting.  It was the first hunt this year I haven't shot a mallard.  We shot pintails, widgeon, gadwall, teal, and a spoony.  We did it in just under an hour.  It was a blast.  Tons of action, tons of fun.

First Pheasants

Mitch and I went out after the chickens this morning.  We walked a long ways and saw a few birds.  I shot one shell and got one rooster.  Mitch shot six shells and got one rooster.  Next time I'm not going to let him shoot, then maybe we could get a couple limits.

The Elusive Wood Duck

I got an invite from Zach Morris to come try and shoot my first wood duck.  Zach spends a lot of time putting out boxes and creating good habit for these pretty little birds.  We hunted two mornings and saw a lot of woodys but never a good drake that was a good shot.  I did take one tough shot but couldn't connect.  We did kill a couple mallards in our pursuit though.  Thanks for the invite Zach, can't wait to try again.

11/01/11

Went out with my dad and the Ogden Bay boys tonight. I got out to the spot around noon. Nothing flew until 4:45 though.  Then it got crazy. There were ducks everywhere.  I think we killed a total of 23; mallards, pintails, and widgeon. Almost all drakes.  I love the all drake limit days.

A Good Sport (And a Great Wife)

Annie called me just before I got off work tonight and asked what my plan was for the night.  I got the idea to take her out hunting.  I was a little surprised that she said yes.  She put on a pair of my waders, and we were off.  We walked about a mile and a half each way.  By the time we got out there we only had about 40 minutes of shooting.  I managed to scrape down 3; 2 Greenheads and 1 Bull Sprig.  I don't think she'll ever come with me again, but it was fun having her out there once.  Thanks Annie!

A Hen Worth Writing About

I shot this hen tonight on an all suzy shoot. I'm fairly confident that it is a hybrid; I'm pretty sure its a young mallard/pintail. Cool bird though.

Hen mallard on the left. Hybrid on the right.

Mallard foot on the right. Hybrid on the left.

Last Chance

Today was the last day before the goose hunt closes for a couple weeks.  I got a call from Mike Ballard last night inviting me to come with him and Jeff Hill and hunt a pit they have in Farr West.  He told me he thought it would be "a sure thing."  It turned out really good.  The birds didn't work perfectly, but enough to get three limits.  Jeff had to leave before the picture. I'm real glad they invited me to come with them. 

10/07/11

I snuck out of work a little early today to try and shoot a few more ducks.  Mitch and his brother Tyler went out this morning and shot their limits in a little over an hour and I couldn't stand the thought of not getting out today.  I went with my cousin Tyler and my dad.  I somehow forgot my mojo so luckily Todd was able to bring a couple out for us. It made all the difference in the world tonight.  We ended up with 18. 

10/06/11

Had the day off and decided to go hunting out in the rain.  I normally don't hunt in the rain but I made an exception this time.  It wasn't that rainy, actually.  We didn't leave the house until a little after 10 and it barely rained after that.  Since it was raining Mitch didn't have to work and was able to come out too.  We had our limits by  2 o'clock.  All mallards except for one drake green wing.  Pretty fun day.

Opening Day

Headed out to Ogden Bay at 4 a.m. with Todd, Steve, and Darin. Hiked a little over two miles to try and get away from all the people. Ducks were few and far between. We need a little migration to start. Steve did end up shooting a goose though. It was really cool to have them bombing us out in the middle of the marsh. We ended up with 10 ducks(mallards, pintail, and gadwall) and one goose. It only took us 4 hours to walk back in. My uncles and Dad are getting old, but I'm glad they are willing to walk out there with me.

Youth Hunt 2011

I had the chance to take some boys on the youth hunt today.  I had scouted these geese for a couple days and it was looking like it was going to be a good hunt.  Ended up being a GREAT hunt.  The boys shot 11 geese. The most incredible part was that 10 of them were BANDED! Every time we would retrieve one I was shocked to see another band.  As per tradition, Mitch and I are still the bandless band hunters.  Maybe someday I will be so lucky.

West Fork Duchesne River

Took the day off and went fishing on the West Fork of the Duchesne River today.  Korey and Todd came along. This was a spot Korey had fished in the past and thought we would like it. The weather was cold and wet and the fishing was slow.  It was still a good time though.