Re: New member!! / McCormack Refuge 12-3-03
Yep...my galfriend, Miss Lil, had a permit for Thanksgiving day...draw #4.
A buddy of mine from Pendleton has been hunting the refuge for about the past month and had done pretty well out in the goose fields, limiting on Geese on 5 occasions. He steered us towards Blind #44.
But when we got there and looked at the previous few days results I was really tempted to take a slough blind...like 30 or 31 (29 used to ALWAYS be my 1st choice...till they messed it up!). 31 had done REALLY well on the previous day as had FB #41. In the final decision I decided to stay with what HAD been good over the long haul, #44.
We got out there...it got light...nothing! It got lighter...it got to be 8 a.m., still NOTHING! Then, at about 8:30 the geese started getting up off the river in a big chorus...they were THERE! Thousands of 'em...but 90% of 'em got up and headed upriver about 1 mile before making a LEFT turn towards Washington! The other 10% climbed up waaay high and headed out "long"...probably 2/3rds of the way up to Heppner!
Finally at about 9:45, after what seemed like forever with only hearing just a few shots off the slough, we heard a single low goose somewhere. I scanned the horizon with my binoculars and saw a Honker approaching from over by the silo...it headed right by Blind #45's full bodies making a bee-line for our spread. We got down and started calling as it swung into a big circle around the dekes. It made about 5-6 passes before starting to head off when I backed off on the calling when it was right over us, still a little high. I called it back and it made 2 more circles and on the 3rd time it was close enough, low enough that I said, "This is it!" 1 shot and it dropped on the edge of the cultivated field...nice big Honk!
About 45 min. later we heard geese again and this time it was a group of 5 smaller Canadas heading in our general direction. We got down again and I started calling. They came right for us and made 2 high circles, looking us over. Then they were gone! I popped up and looked to see where they went...they were headed off over the slough. I noticed I only saw 4 of 'em going away and looked around and noticed the single still circling the dekes! I got down again and started calling...it made 2 more short circles and headed right INTO the dekes, flaring out about 60' up and settling down facing us on the inside of the decoys. I whispered to Lil, "Get Ready". When the goose was about 30' up I was about ready to say, "Take him!" when "Kaboom" her gun goes off and she folds him!
This one was a Tav, and her first goose and she was pretty pleased with herself...me too!
We packed up around 11:15 and things were DEAD! We probably didn't hear 20 shots all morning from the refuge, including our own!
Checking later, that day 47 hunters shot 9 Ducks and 6 Geese. Pretty much how it sounded to me.
Don't know what's up with Umatilla?!! Used to hunt there all the time...back when there were lots of ducks/geese around... Of course we're not hunting when it's been freezing for a month and when there was corn planted EVERYWHERE you looked!
[ 12-07-2003, 04:52 AM: Message edited by: billc_sbio ]
__________________
(If you're doing it "right" you "talk to" Ducks!  )
|
:grin: 
Linear Mode
