Long Hollow Retrievers

With the sky clear and the sun cresting the hills to the West it was about 30 minutes before shooting light when the birds began to move........As we waited patiently we enjoyed the sights and sounds of many birds circling above and working the early morning decoy's.........

This fine morning I was joined by Todd Thayer and his dog "Rufus" along with friend and client Jason Lee........Jason and Todd had to be back for their families in the early afternoon so I could only hope for some early action........And I was not disappointed.........:)

It proved to be a cool and sunny morning on the river and due to the calm waters and sunny skies the action was certainly not fast a furious.......But we had a great time and bagged a handfull of Blue BIlls, Ringnecks, and Goldeneyes along with one Teal and a lonely Gadwall........

We picked up at about 10:30 and I believe more ducks came in and worked our decoy spread as we were picking them up than when we were sitting in the blind.......Go figure!

After finishing his Senior title, working to prepare for Masters in the spring,  and now in the middle of his second huting season;  Delta has found him self as my every day dog and is absolutely automatic in the duck blind.........

If all Chesapeakes were like "Rufus" the world would be a better place!

Jason shot a few of his first "Diver" Ducks and I believe that he had a good time sharing a moment with the Sire of his upcoming puppy........

Our second two day trip to the island brought back many fond memories and created new and lasting ones as well.  Day one I was joined by long time friend Billy Ward and hunting partner Josh Wolff.  We did not know quite what to expect since our first trip; however successful; was followed by an afternoon in which the birds had seemed to move out of the area.  None the less we made the slow drive through a snow storm and made it to our destination in time to be set up before first light and we were excited and optomisic about what may be in store. 

Josh and I are looking forward to lunch after a great morning shoot in which we had our limit in the bag and the decoy's picked up before 11 am.........

With plenty of ducks moving up and down the River we were able to give Delta and three of our youngsters plenty of time in the blind.........

Diesel

Delta

Griz

Mac

Griz finishing one Retrieve as he prepares for another..........

"Mac" Daddy proudly picking up the first Widgeon of the morning..........

This was Mac's first limit of ducks and he was a joy to watch........

Josh could only be with us for a day........So Billy and I set up the next morning with out him and we were looking forward to giving three other young dogs some valueable experience in the duck blind.  "Fergy",  "Piper",  and "Rufus"..........Another good morning shoot and we finished up our limit with "Mac" and "Delta"..........

Rufus finally poking his head out of the Mut Hut far enough to actually mark a few birds...........

Mac is already very good at browsing the sky............

Piper picking up one of our first few birds of the morning..........

Widgeon Drake

Our new puppy "Fergy" at just 6 months old got her first lesson in patience waiting for it to get light, just before she did make the first retrieve of the morning and the first wild duck of her life.......The cold temperatures and cold water did not phase her a bit and I am looking forward to her future with us. As you can see from the picture; She is a "posessed" Retriever.........

It was a Goose day and we were ready......But despite one group of Geese that came in and circled one time and moved on; we did not shoot any Geese........

It was a cold first trip up North.  Sunday morning I was joined by Josh Wolff, Todd Thayer, and Curt Ralph along with their dogs Diesel, Rufus, and Griz.  With low cloud cover and an approaching snow storm the ducks were active and the morning shoot proved to be a success.  All three dogs found their time in the blind to be a productive learing experience toward their development in becoming bragging rights Retrievers.

Although we have not told Rufus that he is a Chesapeake;  Todd and his yearling Chesapeake Bay Retriever "Rufus" enjoyed their first trip to the duck blind with us.  And after a few lessons in steadiness and a handfull of good retrieves; the two of them have made their mark as worthy members of our Team.

I enjoyed having Curt Ralph and Griz along this weekend as well for just thier second trip to the duck blind.  Curt Ralph is always a pleasure to be around with his love for the great outdoors, sense of humor and his all around good attitude.

After some fast action, good dog work, and horrible wing shooting we finished up the morning hunt after bagging 3 limits and decided to pick up and move up the river to the pit blind for the afternoon hunt. 

At the pit blind we were joined by Professional Fly Fisherman and proud member of Team Long Hollow, Johnny Boitanno.  We always enjoy Johhny's company but he did not bring any better luck to our wing shooting however.   We continued to struggle to catch up to the fast flying birds of the Columbia River and the afternoon began to slow.  An afternoon snack and a break in the action and the birds began to move again.  I got it going with a couple Widgeon Drake's.

Josh is always a good sport when posing for the camera and he did not dissapoint;  As he pretends to be gazing at a sky full of Mallards.

We finally took a few more birds to fill another limit as Todd gives Rufus some work in the Mut Hut.

Johnny finally took advantage of a couple of us leaving the blind for a minute as he took a beautiful Red Head Drake.

Rufus did very well and learned a lot about patience that afternoon.  Here he poses for the camera as the afternoon is winding down and we begin to think about pick up the decoy's.

Thanks to Johnny and his NRS raft along with Todd's help; picking up the decoy's wasn't too bad.

Avid Upland Bird Hunter and Good friend Josh Wolff and his Long Hollow Retriever "Diesel" are continuing to develop and enjoy their ever growing passion for Waterfowling.

Curt Ralph and "Griz" are very new to the sport having graced us with their presence for just their second trip to the duck blind.  And as you can see it was another successful trip and I blieve that he now has the Waterfowling bug.

Sunday night brought clear sky's and cold temp's......The Cold Spell seemed to begin the southern migration as the local ducks that were there the day before were few and far between on Monday morning.  That should mean that the northern most part of the migration should be down for us in a another week or two.  We'll see!

     Due to the much colder conditions and the slowing of the action we were loaded up and heading home by mid-morning.  But not until after enjoying some much better shooting on our part and some more good dog work.  All and all it was a wonderful trip and I am looking forward to the next time we load up and head out.