Long Hollow Retrievers

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.