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Old dogs. New tricks...

bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
48,879
274
Appalachia
The great outdoors have the ability to teach us a variety of things from perseverance, to humility; to new tricks that we never knew we were capable of learning. To say that an old dog is incapable of learning new tricks is to sell him short. The same goes for us as sportsmen. Learning to master a new pursuit is one of the things I love most about hunting and my new found passion for waterfowl is the embodiment of an old dog learning new tricks. Some days I feel like an old dog, and the past few deer seasons have only compounded that feeling. With duck hunting becoming my “new trick”, I feel revitalized and passionate about the outdoors once again. When I left the house Saturday morning for what I hoped would be an epic final hunt of the season, I had no way of knowing that I was about to witness the true embodiment of an old dog showing off his new trick…

Our hunt began Friday afternoon when I stopped by the spot to build a blind and check on the ice situation. I was able to build a solid hide using a brush pile as a back drop, along with some burlap and brush to make it appear as if we were hunkered down in a river side thicket. Our hide was in great shape, but our hole was in trouble. The ice was encroaching on the hole, so I used Remi to break up all the slush that was endangering our hunt. Between him and I, we were able to dislodge some larger chunks of ice and disperse most of the slush. By the time we left, I felt we would be in good shape come morning as it was not supposed to get super cold overnight. I couldn’t have been more wrong!

All the way home, I schemed about how to set up decoys and hoped that what we had done would be enough to keep the hole open over night. The more I thought about the situation, the more I felt like Remi had earned his spot in the blind by breaking up all that slush. He had never been on a real hunt before and when given the opportunity to retrieve dead birds on dry land, he couldn’t be bothered to do so. When I first introduced him to a dead duck four years ago, he was 18 months old and I had no way of knowing that I was going to become a duckaholic some day. He and I have trained hard over the years and he is a machine when we are training with a decoy. Despite his success with a decoy, he would never pick up a dead bird when given the chance and I did not want to force fetch him at his advanced age. However despite his unwillingness to pick up a bird, I couldn’t help but feel that he would rise to the occasion if given the chance. I knew he would behave in the blind; that he doesn’t bark when I call; and that he is not going to react negatively to gun shots. So after much debate, I decided it was now or never and Saturday’s hunt would be the first of Remi’s short and hardly illustrious career as a retriever. In addition to it being Remi’s first hunt, my good friend Bryan (Bloody Nock) would be joining me in an attempt to take his first duck. So there was a lot riding on our hunt that morning!

When we arrived at our hole, my worst fears had come to fruition and our hole was locked up. After talking to JB on the phone the night before, I knew we were in trouble if I couldn’t make it look like anything other than a glass of ice water. So I grabbed my shovel and went to work. For nearly an hour, I worked like a madman to open up the hole and was having some issues until I started using the 2x6x8 that we hauled in with us to skim the water. I originally brought it so that I could stand on it and avoid sinking up to my knees in silt, but it didn’t take long to see that I would make a great ice mover! After getting the hole semi opened up, we set out the decoys, but I still wasn’t happy with the results of my ice breaking. I took a short break and tried to get my sweating under control before heading back out in an attempt to open the hole up even more. My last ditch effort paid off and a few short minutes before shooting light, I managed to push a sheet of ice twice the size of my truck out of the hole and on out in to the river. Success! We had an open hole in an otherwise locked up backwater to land and kill ducks!!!



Things were relatively slow for the first 20-30 minutes, and then we had a flock of 10 mallards buzz our location. I was unable to get a reaction out of them on their way up river, but a lone drake bringing up the rear heard my calls and landed just up river from us. I knew he would swim right in to our hole if we left him alone, so we sat back and waited. Not long after he landed, a group of 6 landed a little further up river of him and I felt that that they TOO may make their way to our hole. It wasn’t long before the lone drake appeared around the corner and knowing that Bryan had never killed a duck; I decided not to look a gift duck in the mouth and called the shot. One shot from Bryan’s Remington 1100 and he had his first duck! Thinking that Remi would not retrieve it, I waded out to get the duck and left it at that.

We enjoyed watching several groups of ducks and geese fly past our location during the hunt, but could never turn any of the large groups. They all appeared to be on a mission. We did have a couple close calls with two drake mallards and possibly could have killed them had we been on the alert. It was getting late in to the morning and we were talking about packing up when a pair of woodies landed just outside our hole seemingly out of nowhere! As soon as they landed, they began to swim in to our hole and when they hit the middle of the hole, I called the shot. The drake never stood a chance and was belly up before the hen could get off the water. Both of our second shots hit her, but not enough to drop her in the hole. Bryan’s third shot put her down in the water and a follow up ended her career. But now we had an issue; she was a good 60 yards from the bank and in water far TOO deep for me to wade out after her. While I waded out after the drake, Bryan made an attempt to snag her with the fishing pole, but we didn’t have enough string. Now what?

As I was weighing our options, I flipped the drake near the bank and much to my surprise, Remi waded in a few steps, grabbed the bird and took it up near the blind and dropped it. “Well I’ll be damned…” was all I could say! So now I’m thinking there may be a remote possibility that I’ve been right all along and that given a real chance to retrieve, he would pull through. I grabbed his vest and suited him up, then grabbed a shot shell so I could make a splash near the duck that he could see since his eyes are not the best and he had no idea she was out there. I nearly hit her with the shell and the splash was just enough for him to mark the location. Next thing I know, he’s on a good 70 yard swim from the bank and does not hesitate the least bit when it comes time to pick her up! Once he has her, he turns back towards the bank and I think: “Oh shit, I should record this!”

[video=youtube;kTBai1ZBHCA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTBai1ZBHCA[/video]

To say I was/am a proud owner is an understatement! Just to make sure it wasn’t a fluke, I threw the mallard out in our hole and sent him after it and wouldn’t you know it, he’s not just a one trick pony!!!



So my 2012-2013 waterfowl season ended on as high a note as I could possibly imagine. Not only am I finally independent when it comes to duck hunting, I’m having some success and found out that I’ve been living with a duck dog in denial for 5.5 years! After we finished our hunt, we stopped at Mickey D’s for lunch. While we were eating, Bryan gets quiet and I look over at him. He gets this grin on his face and says: “Yep. I’m hooked!” That to me is as good as it gets because I know what it is like to be in his shoes and to give that gift to him, that is priceless. I was texting JB about our hunt and I told him that I became a duck hunter this weekend. My days of obsessing about deer are over. I’ve got a new passion now!!!

Bryan will be getting his first duck mounted. I also decided to mount the wood duck pair since they were Remi's first retrieves and the first wood ducks I've ever killed on my own. Any time you are on the water and leave with a taxidermy bill, it has been a good day!!!

Remi spent the entire morning keeping an eye on the jerk rig…



Bryan, Remi and our take for the morning…



Remi’s hero shot…



One proud dad and his boy!!!

 
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CJD3

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
14,630
201
NE Ohio
Well now that was a fine adventure Jesse!
Great story and picts!!
Here's to your new addiction. :smiley_cheers:
 

Rutin

Senior Member
2,029
0
Ina Duck Blind
Very cool! My deer hunting ventures will be limited with the new pup and putting waterfowl at the furthermost for next season. I plan on hitting Ontario early and Manitoba the second week of Oct. If your interested in going let me know and maybe we can get a TOO group/discount in Ontario. The guy I know has cabins and hunts Lake St. Clair / Mitchells Bay which is only 4 hours from Columbus. Ive been addicted to duck hunting for several years now but always like to kill a buck first, well after all the added stress and lonely sits im ready to have fun again!
 

xbowguy

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
29,632
234
Licking Co. Ohio
That's Great Jesse! Remi's been thinkin' all along "Hope he falls in the River since he won't take me to retrieve" "Dang Humans, can't teach 'em Nothing!" rotflmao Congrats on the new re-kindled relationship.
 

Carpn

*Supporting Member*
2,234
87
Wooster
Nice job. I recently reached the point myself where I found myself unable to enjoy deer hunting due to pressuring myself. It wasn't enough to see deer, if it wasn't a "shooter" . Well, duck and goosing is nice a refreshing . A duck is a duck and a goose is a goose. You see em, you shoot em . No worrying about size, age , or sex .
 

jagermeister

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
18,060
223
Ohio
Nice job. I recently reached the point myself where I found myself unable to enjoy deer hunting due to pressuring myself. It wasn't enough to see deer, if it wasn't a "shooter" . Well, duck and goosing is nice a refreshing . A duck is a duck and a goose is a goose. You see em, you shoot em . No worrying about size, age , or sex .

Very well said, bro. I couldn't agree more. I love deer hunting... It's fun, there's no doubt. But every year I reach a point in the season where I just don't give a shit about deer anymore. The ducks and geese start flying and they consume me. That brief moment right before the shot is called, when time seems to just stand still, that's what keeps me coming back.
 

bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
48,879
274
Appalachia
Thanks all! And Jake, you are spot on man. I told JB after the hunt that my future as a hunter took a turn towards waterfowl last weekend. My dad is serious about getting a boat and I already have visions of me, him, Tracie and our little girl out on the boat someday enjoying the water and whistling wings. With the current state of deer hunting, I don't see me spending the amount of time and money on it that I have in the past. The worst day of waterfowl is better than 99% of the deer hunts I have. I have a few more things to get so I'm equipped and come next season, it's game on!!!
 
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