Not much fishin going on here, occaisionally King Mackin Commercially.
Trying to concentrate on the Quackers and Whistlers....
Here is a report from a Successful Outing with my Boykin Spaniel.
Maybelle has been a joy to work with and really fun to learn to train, she is just about as tuned up on bumpers as you can get a dog. Is steady and is castable in the field. She has only has an opportunty to dove hunt once and duck hunt once, which she did get retrieves both times, but really was unsure of what was going on.
We did do some frozen duck retrieving and the like while training her, but it was mostly just bumpers, and as you may know, putting it all together in a hunting situation is a difficult transition for a dog.
I have really wanted to get her on some birds so she could figure it all out.
Natalie and I headed to Mom and Dad K's (Jackson flew in from Los Wages to be with us for Christmas) in Deltaville for the holidays, and took all the duck and deer huntin stuff with us.
Dad and I set out for the Swamp Christmas eve mornin brite and early, it was clear skies and a full moon, so I did not hold out much hope of a very good shoot. It was cold however, frost on the dock coupled with the usual green slime made it interesting.
Dad told us to paddle the Poke boat up to Lewie's Hole and we were able to find where to go with the aid of the full moon.
We set out on the West end of an old Beaver dam and found Maybelle a perfect old stump Cypress knee perch from which to hunt. We waited for it to get light.
I really wanted to Maybelle to see a bird fall, she does a good job of watching the birds and I thought if she could get a good look at one fall she would get a good retrieve.
Just after shooting time a pair of black ducks made a fateful pass about 15yds to my left over head. I fired and one fell. It fell stone like and landed and Maybelle's feet. I told her to fetch it up, and she jumped down on it and looked and me. I got the bird from her and threw it in the pokeboat.
Well she got to see one fall.
A little later a pair of woodies came in from the same way, I fired and one fell, this one fell a little further out, about 6 feet from Maybelle. I sent her to it. The duck was still kicking a bit and hissed at her and tried to bite her, she jumped back not knowing what to think. She then picked it up brought it about 2' closer to me and returned to her perch.
She got to see another one fall.
We retrieved the hen woody a couple times across the swamp just for practice after things slowed down.
Dad and Gypsy stayed by the dock and missed a couple mallards, Roy was in the bowl but did not have any success. I missed a couple more times and we loaded the poke up and went home.
here is the pick from the Eve.
Christmas morning we set out again figuring we would have plenty of time for a quick hunt before everyone was ready to open the presents.
I went to the same spot and Dad joined me a little further up the swamp.
Just after time, Dad had a pair of Blacks come in but no kill. Maybelle heard the shot, jumped down from her perch and looked up as if expecting ducks to rain from the sky again.
Lots of birds that morning but they always caught me looking the wrong way, well finally, Dad warned me that some were comming and three woodies came by cruising over the decoys, I fired and one fell across the swamp in some briers, a tough retrieve for dog or man. I sent Maybelle and she did good crossing the swamp, but not wanting to go far enough, I called here back, sent her again, and she almost went far enough, so I let her hunt for a little bit. In the mean time I downed another one closer to me. I called Maybelle back and sent her after that one, she found it, brought it about half way and dropped it, I guess she is not used carrying birds yet, as long as she is swiming she holds them, but once on land she figures she is done and it is all mine. She has not done this in training so I am hoping to get her over this in the field, we will work on it.
We went back to the perch, missed a couple more times at some big ducks, mallards I think, kind of a long shot, not quite Harrison long.
So after the flurry was over, I waded across the Beaver Dam with Maybelle at heel. I got to where I was within about 20 yds of the bird and sent her. She got it that time, and retrieved it to hand.
I missed a couple more times, and Big Dan and the Pea Shooter, failed to make a kill again, Gypsy was pissed and is seriously thinking about firing Big Dan.
Here is the Christmas day hunt pic.
We went back to Kavanagh's of Chick Cove, woke Jackson up and had a great Christmas.
Blood on the Poke Boat!
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