Rob's Hunting Journal: A Weekend For the Birds

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

A Weekend For the Birds - January 17-18, 2009

This past weekend was spent bird hunting at the lease with Lee and Shane. We primarily focused on ducks, but also managed to get a quail hunt in on Saturday.

The first morning we got an early start and had our decoys set up in our favorite spot well before legal shooting hours, which happened to be at 7:07 Saturday morning. The waterbody we were hunting is surrounded almost entirely by cattails and is a hotspot for ducks and teal to roost on, so most of the ducks take off and leave before legal shooting light or come back late in the evening after sunset. Just as we expected, several large groups of ducks - probably 80 to 100 in all - took off about 10 minutes before legal shooting hours.

We did have several other groups of ducks come in throughout the morning and bagged a total of seven. This was Shane's first duck hunt ever, so we set him up in a prime spot to try to make sure he got plenty of shots.

It didn't take him long to get his first duck. He dropped the first one that came in - a very pretty drake Wigeon. Even after my dog retrieved the bird it was still in really good shape, so Shane decided he is going to have it mounted.

Scooter did an excellent job retrieving the ducks.

After duck hunting, we checked the status of our protein feeder in the deer sanctuary and got the game camera so we could view the most recent activity at the feeder. The deer have finally begun to hit the protein and the best buck that was seen this season is one of the most frequent visitors. I can't wait to see how his antlers develop this spring and summer.

Just before lunch we decided to walk through the pasture with my birddog to see if we could find a covey of quail. We stumbled across one covey and then chased the singles after the birds scattered from the initial covey rise. I was able to knock down one bird and Sioux retrieved it for me.

Saturday evening we went back to our duck hunting spot and got three more birds. Lee got the trophy bird of the weekend, a beautiful drake Pintail. It was Lee's first Pintail, so he too is going to have this bird mounted.

After the evening hunt we set up on the side of a ridge where we would have a good vantage point to try to call in some predators. After four series of calling with a jack rabbit in distress mouth call, I was able to lure in a grey fox.

Sunday morning's hunt ended up being really slow. We only had one bird come in, a green-winged teal that Shane was able to bring down. So we ended up with a total of eleven for the weekend.

Another highlight of the weekend was the double-meat double-cheese burger at Herd Hamburger (est. 1916) in Jacksboro. If you ever pass through Jacksboro I highly recommend stopping by and trying one.

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My Hunting and Fishing Influences

These people, in no particular order, have each had a significant role influencing me when it comes to hunting, fishing, and the outdoors in general. To each of them, I am truly thankful.

Scott Jordan - Daddy started taking me hunting and fishing with him at about the age of 5 or 6. One of my earliest hunting memories is of opening day of dove season in about 1985. I was only 6 years old, not big enough to actually hunt, but I remember vividly that day being one for the ages. It was steadily raining all day, and we were hunting west of Gunter, Texas in a maize field that was full of round bales, and I got to retrieve the birds. My Dad and my Uncle Robert will still tell you to this day that there were more birds that day than they have ever seen.

Wayne Watson - Grandaddy's eyesight had started to fail by the time I was old enough to hunt, so we never actually got to hunt together. He is the one who taught me how to use open sights on a rifle. I remember him teaching me how to make the front sight sit right on top of the back sight, and to hold my breath while I squeezed the trigger. He always said that by squeezing the trigger instead of jerking, I wouldn't know exactly when the gun would fire, so I would be more accurate. Grandaddy passed away on January 1, 1997.

Robert Watson - I've always wanted to be able to shoot as good as Uncle Robert. He is the best wingshooter I know, and he shoots competitively in a skeet/trap league. Anytime someone compliments me on my shotgunning, I think, man, if they could only see my uncle shoot, they wouldn't think I was any good. He has given me lots of pointers and I always enjoy when I get to go to the skeet range with him. We have bird hunted together quite a bit over the years. When I was about 10 or 11, my Uncle took me and my Dad to his deer lease with him in central Texas. An incident happened on that trip that opened my eyes to the importance of firearm safety, and I will never forget it.

Dr. Tim Patton - This was one of my college professors and advisor at Southeastern Oklahoma State University. I learned more about wildlife and fisheries from his lectures and field trips than anywhere else. He encouraged me to apply for the summer Park Ranger position at Lake Texoma, which eventually led to my career with the Corps of Engineers. Some of my favorite college memories are of field trips with Dr. Patton to trap fish in some of the streams of southeastern Oklahoma.

Kenyon Wood - Mr. Wood was my Ag teacher in high school. During my Junior year he taught a wildlife management class, which is where I completed the Texas Hunter's Education Course and the Boater's Education Course. He took us on field trips to shoot skeet and archery equipment, to fish, and to the TPWD Wildlife Expo in Austin. Mr. Wood passed away during the summer between my Junior and Senior year of a heart defect. I couldn't bring myself to take Ag my Senior year without him there.

Steve Hollensed - Mr. Hollensed was my science teacher in high school. He also assisted Mr. Wood with the wildlife management class. Mr. Hollensed was an avid bass fisherman. He taught us how to make our own lures and to tie different kinds of fishing knots. He took us on a field trip to Lake Ray Roberts to watch the TPWD biologists electroshock fish to take sample data. That was probably the first time I realized I wanted to have a job involving the outdoors and wildlife. The last time I saw Mr. Hollensed I told him that I was a Park Ranger at Lavon Lake and I could tell that he was proud of what I had done and that he had impacted the life of one of his students.

Denny Somers - Denny is a longtime family friend who lives in northwest Iowa. My Dad and I have pheasant hunted with Denny every year since I was 16 years old. Denny and his wife Kathy are very generous people and are an integral part of a ministry that spreads the love of Jesus Christ to physically challenged youth by providing them a means to overcome their disability through hunting. Denny's place is a haven for wildlife and I enjoy the trip every year. He is also an avid deer hunter and harvested a deer in 2001 with his bow that scored in the high 170's.

Carl Davis - Carl was a member of our church growing up and he always gave my Dad and I an open invitation to hunt on his land. When I was 12 or 13 years old, he always made me feel like I was the best shot in the field by complimenting me in front of the rest of the group. It made a lasting impression on me, and I hope to be able to pass that on to another youngster some day. He also bought one of my showpigs my Freshman year, and then turned around and gave it right back to me. Carl was a hardworking painter and he passed away at a very young age when I was a Senior in high school.

Mark and Terry Drury - I've never actually met these guys, but they are brothers who have a hunting show called "Wildlife Obsession" on the Outdoor Channel. Their show, which happens to be my favorite, is more than just about shooting a deer. They are primarily bowhunters that explain the ins and outs of deer hunting and talk about different aspects of the sport that most people don't consider, like why they choose specific stand locations, how to effectively use food plots, and other informative tips. I've learned quite a bit about bowhunting from watching these guys. They also host another show called "Dream Season" where teams of amateur hunters compete by videoing their hunts in an effort to become part of the Drury Outdoors team.

Ben Jezek - Ben was a friend of mine growing up who had his own boat in high school. Neither one of us played football our Senior year and spent many hours on Lake Ray Roberts while our friends were at football practice. Ben taught me how to use a Carolina rig to fish for bass. On one trip with Ben to Ray Roberts, I caught a bass that weighed about 8 pounds. I got it mounted and still have it on my wall today. Ben knew Lake Ray Roberts like the back of his hand, especially where the humps and brushpiles were, and he could put you on fish just about every trip.

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Tuesday, January 20, 2009

A Weekend For the Birds - January 17-18, 2009

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