Kern NWR 2016

ilovesprig

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Aug 3, 2012
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Got drawn for Kern National Wildlife Refuge yesterday......Invited my old friend Cal and it was the perfect waterfowl day.....Light rain, breezy, and not too cold.

We took a blind instead of free roam.....Just easier for a couple of old guys.....lol.....After making the .7 of a mile walk with decoy cart, it was a pleasant experience walking on hard mud through the water to the blind site.....Put out about 5 dozen. And got ready for the birds.

At 1st light, we could hear the whistling wings, but it was one of those dark morning with heavy cloud cover. Soon we were being buzzed by greenwing & cinnamon teal.....We had decided to shoot the 1st 14 ducks......Well, we shot and we shot, and we shot.....After about 1 hour, we had a grand total of 3 gw's...WTF!.....Oh and at Kern you take exactly 25 shells, because you will get checked.....I look on my shell belt and I have 8 shells left. Cal has less......Well, I found my rhythm and kill 5 birds in the next 6 shots.....I'm done and decided to walk back to the truck for shells and my cell phone.....I give Cal my last 2 bullets.

When I get back Cal has 3 more birds including a big bull sprig.....The rest of the day was trying to pick off teal (big ducks would have nothing to do with our area).....Finally number 7 was in the bag and we were done.

Despite the .7 mile walk, soft road, and carting all the stuff, it wasn't bad for this old guy.....5 hours later we were home.....I love Kern and everyone should try to hunt it some day.


ps......Drew (Trudent)......Maiden voyage for the decoy cart you made for me.....Perfectly balanced and a real pleasure to roll.....Thanks again.

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Nice job Steve! That cart looks like a copy of another....lol. is it bigger than the original? And is it hitch mountable also?
 
Nice job Steve! That cart looks like a copy of another....lol. is it bigger than the original? And is it hitch mountable also?

Yes, bigger to accommodate the sled and is hitch mountable without tools (pins).....The only issues yesterday was the wheels would've been better to the outside instead of the inside.....Mud build up was bad.....The holes didn't line up, but an easy fix.

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Looks like it would be hard to hide 4 guys at that blind. I find it amazing how few pintail are shot there late in the season when they are thick everywhere else but the place is loaded with them in October (and September).
 
Jeff,

We saw a lot Tuesday.....Hell, we saw a lot Wednesday.....It's just the closed areas are huge and the hunting areas with totally different habitat, not so much.....Area 1 is still closed too. Which was jammed with waterfowl, including widgeon, gadwalls, pintail, & mallards.

Had a long talk with the refuge manager.....He won't be opening any more hunting areas any time soon either.....Lots of excuses why he won't.....Got the same feeling I get from most refuge managers.....They'd have no hunting, if they didn't have to...... :rolleyes:
 
I assume he said there wasnt enough flooded closed zone required to be able to open unit 1.
I forget the actual percentage ratio of flooded closed to open area required but thats what i was always told. Years ago DU (i believe) did alot of work there and the write up said it would increase the hunting opportunity. Increased hunter opportunity never happened.
 
45% of the refuge must be closed zone......Per regulars out there, that's not what's happening......In fact, they said there's even more closed areas with water now that it's rained so much.
 
Awesome Steve. That is a great place. The regulars there sure do very well often.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
 
Yes, bigger to accommodate the sled and is hitch mountable without tools (pins).....The only issues yesterday was the wheels would've been better to the outside instead of the inside.....Mud build up was bad.....The holes didn't line up, but an easy fix.

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Glad it worked out I still need to paint mine.

you should be able to turn them to the outside? I thought I drilled some extra holes so you can mount it on the outside and lower the cart if you look at the picture you can see a hole lower on the fork. When are you going to bring it by the shop so I can fix the trailer hitch? I have used mine on two long road trips it gives me a lot more space in my bed being able to put my coolers in it. With the fork style hitch you could put all the weight you want in it.
 
Drew,

The holes don't line up.....I'll redrill.....Probably bring it down after the season.

Thanks again......Great decoy cart.
 

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