Re: The Triumphs, Trials and Tribulations of Great Bay Babe.
Aroostook County, ME Partridge Camp 10-08 to 10-11-12
Once again this year I was granted permission to go to our traditional Aroostook County, ME deer camp to hunt partridge. Arrived with my friend Dale Sunday evening.
Camp chores took first preference.
After making camp warm and cozy we took a drive around the back roads to check out the partridge population. We were not disappointed. We saw over a dozen grouse, three snowshoe hare and three deer. One cock partridge was in full display in the road. What an awesome October sight.
We stole his picture after he flushed to a tree. It would be the most mature bird we'd see all week. And of course we never did see him again.
Monday's hunt was a milestone for Bay. When the first grouse finally succumbed to our flying lead. Bay made a flawless retrieve. This may sound like normal bird hunting but in Bay's three short years of life she has never retrieved a dead bird. Personally I think she was just showing off for my friends.
But never the less it was new chapter in our bird hunting career.
From the time she picked the bird up until after the picture was taken she held that bird. It was only when I asked her for the bird did she drop it in my hand.
Bay is now an official bird dog. She retrieved every downed bird to hand. I am very proud of my little princess.
Partridge camp is only made better by the company you share it with.
Lots of memories were made.
There is just too much to say and too many pictures to post about the rest of my hunt on Tuesday and Wednesday. I'll take this back up when time permits.
Stay tuned it only gets better.......................................
Tuesday 10-09-12 AM
Due to my fellow bird hunters have prior commitments Bay and I would hunt alone for the next couple days.
Today we started back where we left off Monday. It was a wise choice. It rained most of Sunday night. We found that the soggy conditions kept the birds in the roost long after they should have flown down. Lots of flushes Monday were wild from the trees as we walked the roads. This morning the birds were back to their normal getting grit routine.
In no way did that improve my shooting skills. Only Remington and Winchester were richer for our efforts. It didn't take long to confirm that hunting wild partridge was a whole lot different than shooting preserve birds.
This morning reinforced my trust in Bay's nose. I can't count the times when she was out ahead of me on the road, caught wind of a partridge and charged into the woods. Many, many birds escaped without a shot and the ones I did shoot at showed no signs of pellet contact. Only one bird made a fatal mistake. Bay did one of her exits stage left and a grouse flushed up into a tree. At the moment of landing it saw me and flushed across the open road.
Our diary reads, "6.7 miles, 18 encounters, 13 flushes, 3 shots, 1 bird." On the drive back to camp we saw another 6 birds in the road. Two were doubles. Lunch tasted very sweet in anticipation of our afternoon pursuit.
Just before these self photos were taken I dropped the camera in the wet grass. Hence the blurriness.
10-09-12 PM
I decided to take the four wheeler this afternoon because we had passed a few roads that looked a little soft to traverse with my truck. That was a mistake. Every time we'd see a partridge in the road and slow down Bay would jump off the ATV and flush the bird. By 4PM were at the entrance of a road that looked like virgin ground. There was no sign anybody had been there recently. We parked and started our quest.
I'm sure glad I'd brought plenty of ammo. The birds on this road were supersonic. The travel way had many twists and turns. Many times Bay would be just ahead of me at a corner, I'd see her ears and eyes lock up, she would start a sprint and I would hear the flush. This happened more than I liked but it sure kept Bay's interest up.
The afternoon diary reads, "Hunted the other side of the brook. Lost count at over 25 flushes. One brood was 6 strong. Shot more than 10 times, 2 birds in bag, 1 loss. This place is partridge nirvana."
It's whats for supper.
Stay tuned for Wednesday's hunt. Can it get any better?