Been away from the board here for a while with lots of busy-ness in my world . . . just spent some time catching up on Bay's story. I'm so happy to see her growing up & learning all the big stuff. The little stuff will come with time. There hasn't been a cool night in Va yet, but already my fever for the fall woods & water is in full swing. Max the Dog is anxious too . . . ok, he's dead asleep at my feet, but deep down I know he can't wait!!

Retriever training cont.

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My little yellow princess is in heat. Her disposition has calmed the last few weeks as she sucks up all those new enzymes and hormones. Because of this we have not had many training sessions.

Bay had a habit of "catch me, catch me if you can" when she was asked to retrieve. She thought she was real slick by running away as you approached.

We put a fix to that in 4 retrieves. I attached the check cord to her collar and tossed the bumper. She made it half way back before she stopped and started her game.

I slowly circled her and took hold of the lead. In three pulls she was by my side. I had her correction collar on so I knew the pull bit her good.
Ditto on the second retrieve. So ditto on my part. I made sure she felt the correction collar.

The third toss had her hesitant to retrieve. So I walked her to the bumper. I put some confidence in my voice, got her excited for her bumper and brought her back to a sit.

The fourth toss had her fetch and retrieve the bumper to hand. I was so proud of her I let her know and ended training for the day.

Last night I went out and threw the bumper for her.....with the correction collar and check cord on. Four tosses, four retrieves to hand. I'll keep this up for a couple more weeks before taking the check cord off.

She sure is a fast learner.

(Update. All backyard training with the check cord on has resulted in all retrieves to hand. I took the check cord off last week and she is still retrieving to hand. Yea!)

No more fetch it for a while. We are in the find it mode now.

I love this one man, one dog training at our own speed.

Water dog

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Bay is doing better now with her water retrieves. But that wasn't always the case. Bay knows in the water she is in control. And she uses that to her advantage.

The other night was very hot. I thought a swim would be good for Bay. But before we went we performed 3 backyard retrieves to hand all with the check cord on.

At the boat launch with check cord on I put her in a sit and tossed the bumper a ways back from the water. She retrieved to hand. Next toss I threw the bumper to the waters edge. With check cord still attached she performed a flawless retrieve. Now for the test of faith.

I removed the check cord and put her in a sit at the waters edge. I tossed the bumper out into the water and sent her on a retrieve.

My heart swelled out of my chest with pride when she got to shore and dropped the bumper in my hand. After two duplicate retrieves I praised her affectionately and off we went home to inform the world of our accomplishments.

I am excited Bay's formal training is going to take place during the bird seasons we will be hunting. I have already decided this is going to be a one man, one dog season. Beaver ponds will be chosen with care avoiding other hunters. We are going to walk the unbeaten paths for grouse and woodcock together as we have been doing since she was eight weeks old.

The shooting preserve I joined is having a big Ruffed Grouse Society weekend the 18-19 of September. I have invited a couple guests. One has a springer the other a pointer.

I already told them Rose will point the bird, Piper will flush the bird and Bay will retrieve the bird.

What a team.

Coalman....big congrats on the progress of Babe....sounds like lots of fun and ejoyment for you all in the future...

I love my ladies. This weekend I took them both to the Green Mountain Shooting Preserve.

We went sightseeing. Bay sat in the front seat between us the whole time. Mrs Coalman even saw a spotted fawn along the trails edge.

I love you ladies!

What a great day with better company. It has been a loooooonnnnnngggggg time since I have been on a pheasant hunt. Lots of memories of my Brandy came to mind all the time I watched Piper, Jay's English Springer work.

The day belonged to Rose, Cory's German Short hair. For those not familiar with Cory he is Cwclasvi at NEHN. I have known Cory since our New England Sportsman forum days.
As Jay said Rose's nose was second to none.

Our guide told us due to the conditions we may have some trouble hunting down 12 pheasants in our 90 acre field. That was taken as a challenge. 12 pheasant flushes later resulted in 10 dead birds and some of the best wing shooting I've seen in a long time. We also flushed a grouse who was given a free pass. Well until October anyway. Our field was also full of moose, deer and turkey sign. It was a hunting mecca.

Here's Jay in one corner of our hunt we called the honey hole.



And a picture of each of us with their best friends.

Cory and Rose



Jay and Piper



Coalman and Bay



Cory left first and headed south to his awaiting tree stand. Jay and I went back to the club for some vittles. The elk sliders, elk shish kabob and haddock with lobster sauce topped off a day for the memory books.

Thank you Cory and Jay for accompanying me and helping me get Bay started. She has been shown the path to success. It is up to me now to continue our quest.

Thank you Cory and Jay for accompanying me and helping me get Bay started. She has been shown the path to success. It is up to me now to continue our quest.


Occasionally we’d get the pups to stop for a picture.

The clan

I am especially excited. On the last day of deer season last year I found an active beaver pond way up in the headwaters of family grounds.

Yesterday Bay and I started at the junction where the brook and a stream form a river and worked our way upstream. The water was so low I saw Bay jump from bank to bank without getting wet. Approximately 1/4 mile up the brook I came to a new beaver dam. Then further up another stronger dam. There were no beaver chewing at the dams but the slides were being used. Then we flushed a dozen wood ducks who left us with their tell tale whistle.

When I got up to the place we cross the brook during deer season there was a brand new 30 yard wide dam with 50 acres of newly flooded marsh. The dam forms a big pool. My buddy shot an eight point buck from the rock there a couple years ago. The rock is now an island in the pool. This will make a perfect shooting platform.

Either way you come into this new pond is a 1/2 to 2/3 mile hike. The last time this flowage flooded it was a duck mecca. And I was just out of high school. It has been that long.

I call dibs on the rock. See you on the dam!

Grouse anyone?
Tomorrow is opening day of ruffed grouse season in NH and ME. You can bet Bay and I will be northbound tomorrow night to camp.

When Bay was 10 weeks old last fall I took her grouse hunting. I was hoping for a suicidal grouse. Although we never flushed a bird on our walk we did heard a male drumming in the distance.



Since it was October I knew that grouse was talking to Bay. Maybe taunting her. I said to Bay that day our time would come and we know where he lives.

Bay is now one year and eight weeks old. Old enough to find that grouse. And I feel up to the shot. The weather looks great for a Saturday hunt.

Our time has come my little princess. I have been looking forward to this for some time.

Watch out Mr Grouse. There is a new lab in town.

10-01-10
Friday night from Epping to Moose Mountain it poured buckets. By the time we got to camp the rain let up but didn't quit. It was a soggy set up.

10-02-10
Saturday's sky was sunny and blue when we parked at the entrance to Inch and a Half Hill. I found out something about the landowner as soon as we started down the trail. The sign said..

NO ATV;s
NO BEAR HUNTING

I checked my hip and confirmed my new friend was along for the ride.

As soon as Bay lost the puppy and settled down I was impressed with her hunt. She was quartering and listening to come around. If I did lose sight of her she was only a short whistle blast away. Mr. Grouse was in trouble........I thought?????????

And after three house of some very nice hardwood, river bottom and old apple orchard cover we never flushed a bird. Nothing close, nothing out front and wild.

So plan two was the cut off above the Farm. The temperature had risen 15 degrees since we parked in the AM. And the only way to get to the cut was up. The first hundred yard stretch of the old logging road had visions of grouse and woodcock dancing in front of my barrel. By the time we got to the top of the hill I thought I had died and went to upland bird habitat heaven.

But alas we never flushed a bird. Nothing close, nothing wild. The cover was thick but not even head high. We walked, we stopped, we worked the cover. Nothing.

But I am not discouraged. This hunt was one man, one dog, and thousands of acres. Our paths will cross with a partridge or woodcock soon. I am confident of that.

We opted for a nap in the afternoon and then a scouting mission for hunting places before dark.
Saturday night we were woken up by a barred owl in the tree above Bay's Place. I told Bay it was a sign. A woods blessing. She seemed to understand.

Sunday morning at daybreak found us listening for waking turkeys from the camp yard. We didn't hear any. After that we took a walk up on the mountain.

One observation I made not related to upland bird hunting was how spotty the acorn drop is around camp. I never saw an acorn or beechnut on Inch and a Half Hill. The old apple orchard had no fruit. No acorns on our walk up the cutoff at the Farm. But you have to watch where you park your vehicle at Bay's Place. It is raining red oak acorns. The apples litter the ground under our apple tree. It was good to note the abundant acorns on the trail up the mountain behind camp. Maybe the turkey will be back next spring?

We came home Sunday with a plan in mind. Clear and mark the trail to the new beaver pond we found on Family Grounds last week. It will be duck season soon.

10-03-10
Sunday we accomplished a plan between man and beast. Bay and I marked the trail to the Family Grounds beaver pond with reflective tacks and cleared the debris off the trail for our O' dark hundred walk tomorrow morning.

The main brook comes in from our left. Circles out in front of us and ends in a big pool created by the beaver dam. I cut shooting lanes and used the alders to make a blind complete with a dog seat.

If all goes as planned tomorrow morning I am going to wait until a duck or ducks circle the pool.
As they are about to land with their webbed feet reaching for the water I am going to make sure Bay is watching. Then I am going to speak to them with my Charles Daley.

And if the shot is true and the duck lands with a splash I will send Bay on the retrieve.

That is the plan.

Hope it works out for you!

Ooooowhooooo you cwazy duck. Elmer Fudd I am.

I timed the walk in this morning. 20 minutes from truck to blind. Those illuminated tacks looked like street lights as Bay and I made our way to the pond. We arrived at 0601.

0615 came and went.....no ducks. At approx 0625 the barrage started. Most guys were in the traditional beaver ponds along Rte 101. I could hear shooting from the Squamscott River.

Coalman and Bay?????? No ducks seen yet.

I knew a first year beaver pond wasn't going to be holding a lot of ducks. Beaver ponds season with age. The 2 year old pond is good and if you get a third year they can be duck factories. The reason I chose this pond to start Bay as a duck commander was the privacy. We had the place to ourselves.

As all the shooting in the distance was going on I looked down at Bay. Ya right. At that very moment a wood duck flies over our head. No shot. Ooooowhoooo you cwazy duck!

Then I saw the resident wood ducks leave the pond in three flocks. They were heading over to the beaver ponds with all the shooting going on. They did not listen to my come back whistle.

While I am scanning the sky a male wood duck caught me off guard. He came in from the woods behind us and just like the PLAN landed in the pool right in front of us. Bay and I both saw it at the same time.

In one fluid motion the duck jumped up off the water and Coalman brought the Charles Daley to bear and I MISSED twice. MISSED!!!!!!! Poor Bay. I wanted so badly to shoot that duck for her and I failed........this time.

So the wait continued as I heard shooting from every direction. Here ducky ducky. Here ducky ducky. No ducky

Then I saw it. Three wood ducks on the horizon. I mouth whistled to them and they turned. Here they come....inbound. Three males. I raise the 12.... shoot.....and they keep on flying.

I MISSED again.

And with that miss we never saw another duck. One good thing was we could hear ducks in the flow-age but they were content and not bothered so did not fly. That is one disadvantage of one man, one dog and 50 acres of flooded woodlands.

Because of work we wrapped it up at 0700. On the 20 minute walk back to the truck Bay turned from duck dog on the sit to upland dog on the hunt.

I was very proud of my little princess. In our hour sit there were no harsh words of control. No barking and only a little high pitched whining. I can live with that.

Here is our duck hide.



We had the privilege to spend the morning with a beaver working the dam. We didn't know it was there until that tail slapped the water in the pre dawn light.

Our hide and the pool the woody landed in.



You haven't seen the last of us you cwazy duck.

did you put any dekes out? A half dozen would really make a difference. I am sure your luck will change. Did Bay look at you funny with each miss? My friend's lab will look at you like you're stupid for missing. It is quite funny.

For you Vic!

I have had a Coleman 16' plastic canoe for longer than I remember. I bet in the last 10 years I have used it twice.

Last night with the help of a four wheeler the canoe was deposited on the shore of the beaver pond. I wrote on the bottom in magic marker,

"Sportsmen, You are welcome to use me. Please bring me back."

I also brought out 12 mallard decoys. They will look good in the pool.

I hope the beaver doesn't mind.

Guess where Bay and Coalman will be Saturday and Sunday morning?

More hunts to come!!!!

Our flashlight beam led the way this morning to the Family Grounds Beaver Pond. We arrived at 0558. I noticed I could smell the pond as we got closer. Noticeably different this morning than Tuesday morning was all the wood duck music at the blind. I didn't dare to go any closer for fear of spooking them.

At 0619 a pond to the south of us lit up with shooting. It was a long ways away. No shots this morning from the ponds on 101 I heard Tuesday.

So we started our sneak and got busted. The roost emptied before we could make the shoreline. And they never came back. I saw one wood duck sneak into the set from the furthest shore about 0800. No shot.

While watching for the ducks the water looked it it was raining. I looked up and there was blue sky. Huh? Then I figured it out

CRAB FARTS!

The vegetation in this newly flooded pond was decaying below the surface and gas bubbles were rising to the top. I can still smell it.

This pond is a roost. Even though I don't like gunning a roost at night it may be the only way I get Bay on these cwazy ducks.

Here is the new Family Grounds canoe.



And the view beyond the bow.



The spread is to the left of this rock. Bay had the perfect perch.



Again Bay preformed beyond expectation. The first hour of the morning she sat on her rock in the blind. No barking. But just like a kid she got bored and started to yawn/whine. We needed some action.

We will be on the hunt at sunset tonight.

Stay tuned!