The waterfowl season has been officially underway for just over a month now. It has been a tougher year this year than last, mainly because of the lack of water and extremely warm weather. The cold fronts from the north are what bring down the new birds and we haven't had many yet. This weekend has a big front coming through so that will be good.
Opening day was a fun shoot, my dad, grandpa, and I went out in the boat and shot 3 limits of ducks and 4 geese by about noon. The biggest thing I looked forward to during this opener was seeing Benelli work. We'd spent a lot of time over the spring and summer refining a few things. She performed awesome and I was really pleased with her. She's retrieved a good number of birds so far this year and is getting the hang of it pretty darn good.
One of the things we'd really focused on was retrieving a goose. We had a flock of ten geese commit pretty nice to the decoys and we dropped 4 out of them bunch, unfortunately 3 were cripples. If you ever have wondered where the term "wild goose chase" this was a great example. Benelli got the first cripple and brought it back to the boat and in the mean while the other cripple was swimming/flying as fast as it could out of the spread. It was probably 200 yards or so and Benelli made a great retrieve. To my pleasant surprise the first goose she brought back had a little prize jewelry with it.
Opening day was a fun shoot, my dad, grandpa, and I went out in the boat and shot 3 limits of ducks and 4 geese by about noon. The biggest thing I looked forward to during this opener was seeing Benelli work. We'd spent a lot of time over the spring and summer refining a few things. She performed awesome and I was really pleased with her. She's retrieved a good number of birds so far this year and is getting the hang of it pretty darn good.
One of the things we'd really focused on was retrieving a goose. We had a flock of ten geese commit pretty nice to the decoys and we dropped 4 out of them bunch, unfortunately 3 were cripples. If you ever have wondered where the term "wild goose chase" this was a great example. Benelli got the first cripple and brought it back to the boat and in the mean while the other cripple was swimming/flying as fast as it could out of the spread. It was probably 200 yards or so and Benelli made a great retrieve. To my pleasant surprise the first goose she brought back had a little prize jewelry with it.
The US Fish and Game uses these leg bands to track migration data about the birds. Unfortunately all of the geese I've shot with bands are anything but exotic migrators! The 2 banded ducks I've shot were both banded over 1,000 miles away!
The Fish and Game send you a certificate of appreciation for filing the band info which is pretty cool. I've kept a book with all the band info in it.
Each band always has a great story that goes with it. Benelli's first goose of the 2012 season won't be forgot. My very first goose I shot as an 11 year old twirp was banded. It is fun to keep these on my lanyard and remember the story that goes behind each one.
Anyways, the season has been tough but it still has produced a good number of birds. I've had to change where and how I hunt a little bit to accomodate for the dog but it is so much more enjoyable have her tag along. Below are some pictures from the season so far.
Anyways, the season has been tough but it still has produced a good number of birds. I've had to change where and how I hunt a little bit to accomodate for the dog but it is so much more enjoyable have her tag along. Below are some pictures from the season so far.
Benelli has had a good year so far, I figure she's retrieved pretty close to 50 ducks and just the 3 geese. It's been fun to watch her work and learn. Hopefully this storm moving in over the weekend brings some new birds down.
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