Friend Mike House flew up for my last week in Montana...Started off Monday by having the airlines losing his luggage (Alaskan)...But they obviously have great customer service by telling him to go buy whatever he needed to go waterfowling...So, off to Scheel's we went...New waders, new Banded jacket, Cold Gear long johns, banded gloves, and socks (I would've bought Sitka gear...lol)...I had guns & ammo.
The next morning was colder than hell and spittin' snow...But off to Benton Lake NWR we went...Got set-up in some sheet water and waited for the birds to move (15 degrees & 15 mph wind)...Not many big ducks, but the teal were looking for food...In about a 1 1/2 hours, we had 14 ducks...6 gw, 5 bw, 1 shov, and 2 mallards...Brrr
Wednesday morning was a total whiteout and over a foot of snow over night...Decided to just scout...Found birds for the next morning near my cousins place...Good thing...Driving was a slow and go in 4 wheel drive.
Thursday, Mike, Ronnie, and I set up in what was a barley field...Although, you could barely see it...The honkers had melted spots...So, we set-up on those spots...We decided to use the Tanglefree blinds with white sheets in the snow...2 advantages...One was with no wind, we could shoot at all angles and we could sit down instead of laying on the frozen ground...The disadvantage was, despite being the same color as the snow...Ther birds were leary of the BIG snow pile...lol...Real foggy to start (and 8 degrees)...So, the birds were going to work late...Ronnie had to leave at 9:00 am and we hadn't even pulled the trigger yet...Right after he left we had our 1st birds come...As expected the circled the 747's without committing...The 2nd group did the same thing, but came t close to the blind and we bagged 2...After getting a couple more, we moved the blind and some decoys...In short order, we had our limit of honkers (4 each)...We had ducks work, but were mostly gadwalls.
Friday was a scout and get permission for pheasant day...Scored a couple of great properties...So, we felt we were good to go for the Saturday opener...On the way home, I had reserved a BMA prop...Had some honkers decoys & a spinner with us...So, we made the 1/2 mile walk and set-up...Nothing much flying, but I did get my 1st Montana speck...We also added 2 greenheads and a Woodie.
Saturday was the pheasant opener and it was everything we thought it would be...The 1st spot we went to and the 1st ditch we hit was the biggest flush I've ever experienced...70+ birds...WOW!...In all the confusion though, Mike was the only one to get a rooster...I proceeded to a swathed barley field and got 2...Ronnie got one at the other end...We then moved to another field we had got permission on and I got #3...Ronnie added another...We then went back to our 1st spot and Mike picked up two and Ronnie got his last one...Great hunt to end the trip.
Left for home yesterday at 9:00 am...17 hours and 45 minutes later, I was in my driveway...Gone almost 2 months and loved the time in Montana & Alberta, but nice to be back in SoCal.
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The next morning was colder than hell and spittin' snow...But off to Benton Lake NWR we went...Got set-up in some sheet water and waited for the birds to move (15 degrees & 15 mph wind)...Not many big ducks, but the teal were looking for food...In about a 1 1/2 hours, we had 14 ducks...6 gw, 5 bw, 1 shov, and 2 mallards...Brrr
Wednesday morning was a total whiteout and over a foot of snow over night...Decided to just scout...Found birds for the next morning near my cousins place...Good thing...Driving was a slow and go in 4 wheel drive.
Thursday, Mike, Ronnie, and I set up in what was a barley field...Although, you could barely see it...The honkers had melted spots...So, we set-up on those spots...We decided to use the Tanglefree blinds with white sheets in the snow...2 advantages...One was with no wind, we could shoot at all angles and we could sit down instead of laying on the frozen ground...The disadvantage was, despite being the same color as the snow...Ther birds were leary of the BIG snow pile...lol...Real foggy to start (and 8 degrees)...So, the birds were going to work late...Ronnie had to leave at 9:00 am and we hadn't even pulled the trigger yet...Right after he left we had our 1st birds come...As expected the circled the 747's without committing...The 2nd group did the same thing, but came t close to the blind and we bagged 2...After getting a couple more, we moved the blind and some decoys...In short order, we had our limit of honkers (4 each)...We had ducks work, but were mostly gadwalls.
Friday was a scout and get permission for pheasant day...Scored a couple of great properties...So, we felt we were good to go for the Saturday opener...On the way home, I had reserved a BMA prop...Had some honkers decoys & a spinner with us...So, we made the 1/2 mile walk and set-up...Nothing much flying, but I did get my 1st Montana speck...We also added 2 greenheads and a Woodie.
Saturday was the pheasant opener and it was everything we thought it would be...The 1st spot we went to and the 1st ditch we hit was the biggest flush I've ever experienced...70+ birds...WOW!...In all the confusion though, Mike was the only one to get a rooster...I proceeded to a swathed barley field and got 2...Ronnie got one at the other end...We then moved to another field we had got permission on and I got #3...Ronnie added another...We then went back to our 1st spot and Mike picked up two and Ronnie got his last one...Great hunt to end the trip.
Left for home yesterday at 9:00 am...17 hours and 45 minutes later, I was in my driveway...Gone almost 2 months and loved the time in Montana & Alberta, but nice to be back in SoCal.
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