new(old) split cane

bobby gave me another split cane fly rod he refurbished for christmas this year. very nice of him. i cant wait to try it out on the north carolina trout. i used the last one he gave me this past spring the entire time we were in NC. thanks again, bobby!

christmas eve snipe

andrew and i went out this morning hoping to kill a duck or two but it wasnt in the cards. we settled for a few snipe. andrew and abirdie were pretty cold so they did a little cozying. after we finished i let birdie run around and chase swallows. think shes having fun? merry christmas everyone! we saw doug and his buddy out there. they only shot snipe as well.

the great white squirrel

well, i had another "one duck" day with a mottled that went down hard next to the weeds at first light but i could not find it. the real story is the white squirrel that dwight shot. i drove he and his pirogue out so that he wouldnt have to fight the wind. he shot 3 nice ducks and a very strange but beautiful piebald squirrel. it helps to be mobile! birdie and i had fun watching all the mottled ducks work. she wanted me to shoot another one but i was sure i would find the one when the sun came up. i looked forever but no luck.

just one

well they sprayed the lake so no more hydrilla, which means no more ducks. i did manage to get this one blue wing hen. i took a long shot at a pair of wigeon but no dice.

2 little 2 late

went out yesterday morning with bob and dwight. we got some nice birds including a nice hen pintail that dwight shot. i only shot 2 bluewings because i was waiting till the sun came up to choose quality birds despite having plenty of opportunities to shoot birds early. when the sun came up the wind shut off and the birds stopped flying. oh well, you live and learn. still had a great day in the marsh with two good friends.

still jumping the gun

it was a beautiful day to run the dogs on some quail. perfect temperature and a nice wind for the dogs to catch sent. birdie is doing great. she finds the birds fast, holds point like a champ, holds on wing, and retrieves to hand. she is not holding on shot. i think she did it once today. i need to focus most of my training with her on that one issue. ritter was fun to shoot over as always. the two dogs even ran together on a couple of birds. we ended the day with about 7 quail and a beautiful sunset.