The Three Amigos

There are days afield when you just have a feeling that it will be the type of hunt you’ll remember for many years to come. That feeling was almost overwhelming as I sat in the pre-dawn darkness listening to gobbles echo in all directions from the nearby ridges. I was hunting with a good friend of mine, Chuck Weaver, and his son Jacob. Jacob is ten years old and we thought it would be a good day to take advantage of PA’s mentored youth program. And judging from the number of birds sounding off that morning, it seemed to be the perfect setting for Jacob to harvest his first turkey.

Rays of sunlight shine through the morning clouds

AJ tries to coax a gobbler into range with his glass call.

Also accompanying us that morning were AJ Johnson and Kirk Byerley. Five hunters might seem like a few too many for most turkey set ups, but our crew operated like a finely tuned machine. Each person had their own task during the hunt: AJ was the caller, Chuck would help Jacob when the turkeys got close, Kirk would shoot back-up in case a wary longbeard tried to sneak in behind us, I would run the video camera, and Jacob, of course, would try to fill a gobbler’s head with copper-plated pellets.

The trio of gobblers cautiously approached our position along the field edge.

As the sun began to peek above the treetops, several turkeys appeared in the field below us. They were a couple of hundred yards away, but the uneven fans let us know that the flock was mostly comprised of jakes. AJ called to them with a series of soft yelps, and a hen fed slowly toward us. At first, the jakes seemed content to show off for each other and held their position. But as the hen disappeared in the timber, a series of excited cuts on AJ‘s mouth call brought them running.

The three gobblers jockeyed for lead position as they crested the ridge near our decoys. As they closed the distance to 30 yards, they fell into perfect formation, matching each other stride for stride. I heard Chuck tell Jacob to take his time as he excitedly cradled the 20-gauge. I heard the soft click of the safety and prepared for feathers to fly.

Jacob proudly displays his first spring gobbler.

As the shotgun roared, the left bird crumpled to the ground, quickly followed by excited shouts of joy from the crew. AJ and Kirk sprung from their hiding places among the oaks to collect the flopping bird.

Jacob and Chuck with the morning’s harvest

Jacob displays the young bird’s spurs.

The young gobbler was a fine bird, sporting a 6-inch beard and spurs just shy of half an inch. We all offered Jacob our congratulations with a round of high-fives and hand shakes. Everyone told their version of how the hunt unfolded, and Jacob admitted he was pretty nervous as the three birds worked their way toward us.

Jacob needed two hands to hoist the hefty jake; Kirk and Jacob celebrate with a high-five.

No hunt is complete without a group photo!

I’ve been fortunate to experience many successful hunts over the years, but it’s nice when I can share the day’s events with my hunting partners. It’s even better when I’m able to witness someone’s first harvest or see a new hunter introduced to our great sport. I know I won’t soon forget the events of that morning, and I’ve got a feeling that after our hunt, Jacob is hooked on turkey hunting. I’m also fairly certain that Jacob will be joining us on many more hunts in the future. Just call it one of those feelings.

Our hunting heritage depends on the next generation.

Drake’s Training Part 2

Click Here For Part 1 of this Story
Well last week Don and I headed down to Maryland to see Drake and how he was doing with his training at Ponderosa Kennels.

Drake holding the dumb-bell in his force fetch exercise. Holding until given the command “out”

I contacted Pat the day before we were to head down and he gave me directions to yet another location they would be training. Now I am not complaining, I am amazed. This is such an important element of dog training. Exposure to different locations and Pat certainly has that! I have been down there 4 times and have never been to the same place twice. So we pulled into the driveway of a nice little pond and wooded area and Drake was already outside the truck sitting beside Annie. It was nice to see him notice our vehicle and he was definitely happy to see us when we got out and walked up! He looked great and was sitting very patiently and well behaved may I add while we greeted him. Not the usual body slamming we were so accustomed too. That was a relief.

Picture of the pond.

We accompanied Annie to an area up from the pond so she could show us what Drake has been learning and how he is doing on his force fetch. Annie also gave me instruction on how to use the dogtra collar on Drake and how to work him on what they have been teaching him. This will help me know what I am doing when he comes home. Annie was a very good instructor and I felt very comfortable in what I needed to do.

Drake has been continuing with his obedience and has been being taught to force fetch. Some of you who have retrievers or hunting dogs have heard and possibly done this training before. Force fetch is training a dog to fetch or pick up on command, a dummy, bird, or any other object. The purpose of force fetch training is to accomplish the following goals:

1. Cure the fault of either not delivering to hand and/or dropping birds


2. Cure the fault of having a hard mouth


3. As the behavioral basis for forcing a dog on lines

It all boils down to a simple concept. The idea is to train, through the use of some form of compulsion, a dog to pick up an object in his mouth, carry it firmly but gently and deliver it to the handler’s hand. Many people fail to understand why a dog that already retrieves naturally should be trained to retrieve. The truth is that the forced retrieve is more about control than it is about retrieving. Most dogs that complete a force retrieve program are more flexible and obedient than dogs that still control how and when birds are retrieved. A dog that is properly force trained will retrieve items that you want him to retrieve, in the order you want them retrieved and will carry and deliver them in the manner that you expect. The retrieve is completed on your terms, not the dog's. Otherwise the dog is free to drop the bird, sniff around, take the long way back, go for another swim... or dictate anything else he may wish during a retrieve. That was Drake’s problem. He would retrieve excellent 8 times out of 10. But the other 1 or 2...were on his terms. And that 1 or 2 that he doesn’t had proven last year to either be a danger to him or just a pain for us. So he needs to be more consistent. The force fetch is helping with this.

We then got the pleasure to meet a few other people who had their dogs training with Pat and it is always such a delight to see dogs so effortlessly doing what they were born to do. One such dog was Lucy. Her new Owner had purchased Lucy in her own words, “cheap”. Lucy was not working the way she should do to another trainer over correcting her. She was very collar shy and lacked any confidence. So her new Owner took her to Pat and told us that after 4 sessions with him Lucy went to an Amateur Field competition and placed first. We got to see her first hand work on some placed birds and dummies and she was remarkable.

Drake then had his opportunity to retrieve a live bird. The first go around wasn’t bad...better than the last time but not perfect. Pat then changed the direction and handled him on the last attempt and he did very well.

Again, we were quite impressed with Drake’s progress and all the training Pat’s operation was doing. Being Don’s first time down he felt very good about Drake’s advancement. He especially liked how every thing Pat did he explained as to what they were doing, why he did it like that, and how it helped or taught the dog.

It was another great trip and learning experience for us as well as Drake. We were glad Drake was as happy to see us as we were to see him! He still has his wonderful personality and although I miss him I am so glad he is doing well. I look forward to more progress the next time down. Time is sure going faster than I thought. Before we know it...Drake will be putting his new skills to the test for goose season!

Until next time!

Teresa

Our Morning In The Spring Woods

Two weeks ago I had the opportunity to go turkey hunting with my cousin Jason.  I was looking forward to this hunt because it was the first year Jason committed to chasing spring turkey and only our 2nd turkey hunt together.  Our goals for the day were to find some birds to work and best case scenario get a crack at one.  I knew, regardless, we would have a good time.

Me with My Spring Gobbler In The Woods Where He Was Harvested

For me, the only bad part about spring turkey hunting is the early alarms.  Once I’m up, my favorite time to be in the woods is at first light, but to say I’m a morning person is a far stretch.  The 3:50 am alarm that morning was absolutely brutal, but after a cup of coffee, I was ready to make the trip to the Clarion area.  Jason was already at our meeting place as I arrived, and we quickly made the roughly one mile trip to an area we knew some birds were roosting.  We were hunting a strip mine top, surrounded by pine trees, a steep ridge and hardwoods bottom.  First light was quickly approaching, and we planned to wait until we heard gobbles on the roost before we would set up.  Unfortunately, daylight came and we hadn’t heard a gobble, so I decided to make a few soft tree calls followed by a fly down cackle.  Again we heard nothing close, but we did hear a fairly distant gobble down on the bottom in the hardwoods.  We also heard distant gobbles several hundred yards back from an area we walked through to get to this spot.

It was apparent there was nothing going on up top, so we decided to circle the ridge and hunt the hardwood bottom.  We were walking the long ridge on the bottom in the hardwoods, stopping every 75 to 100 yards to call, but never heard another gobble from that entire area.  I enjoy hunting this way after the morning flurry (which never came this morning) because of the opportunity to see wildlife, new woods, and the possibility of rounding that next bend and hearing a hot gobbler.  It also gave us a chance to catch up on each others lives, as I haven’t seen Jason in quite a while.

Heading Home For Some More Photos

The time was getting to be around 8:30 and we only heard distant gobbles, so we decided to make a change.  We headed back to our vehicles and went to an area about 5 miles down the road.  Our game plan was to walk one of the many logging roads in that area calling along the way, in hopes of finding that one hot gobbler.  We stopped about 100 yards from where we parked and listened to crows going crazy in the woods just ahead of us.  I figured if there were birds in the area, they might shock gobble at this, but we heard nothing.  I called several times and we listened for about 10 minutes and once again… nothing.  We made a few more steps down the road, rounded a bend and a gobbler exploded into the pines at the sight of us (I could see his beard).  I couldn’t say for sure, but I figured he was coming in silent and we destroyed our only chance to put a tag on a bird for the day.  We continued on stopping and calling for several hundred yards on the logging road without an answer.  Again we flushed a big bird except this time it was from a tree about 30 yards to our right.  This may or may not have been a turkey, but Jason said he had a good look at it and felt it was.  I’ve never seen a turkey roosted in a tree, mid morning on a bright and sunny day but I don’t doubt what he saw.  I remember saying if that was a turkey on the roost at mid morning, I can’t imagine it being a good sign for us.

Jason and I With My Spring Gobbler

At this point, even though it was still mid-morning, my confidence was fading.  We continued walking to the top of a large hill with a strip mine in front of us, and Jason stopped dead in his tracks.  He said he heard a gobble and it was close.  I let out a few yelps and Jason looked at me and said he heard it again.  He gobbled on top of my yelps so I still didn’t hear it but Jason said “it’s right there”!  Even though I didn’t hear the gobbles, I could tell by the way Jason was acting we needed to find the base of a tree and fast.   I told Jason to face the bird and set up so he could see and shoot in the only open area between us and the bird.   We quickly readied ourselves and I told Jason I wasn’t going to call for a few minutes.   I waited and after a couple of minutes, I asked Jason if he wanted me to call.  He said “Yes I want you to hear it”, so I gave a soft yelp.  Halfway through, he boomed a gobble and it was close.  I said get ready, he’s coming, and should show up any second.  Just then I heard Jason say “there he is: I see him”.  I couldn’t see the bird as my back was to them but I told Jason to shoot whenever he’s ready.  I heard Jason’s safety go off, and prepared myself for the loud boom that was about to happen.  Then I heard Jason say he couldn’t get on him and that the bird was all mine.  I still couldn’t see the bird and I told Jason to do what he needed to do to get a shot.  Jason’s reply was “I can’t but you should be seeing him any second”.  Just as he finished saying that, I saw the bright white head clear a couple of trees to my far left.  His head was up and he was searching hard for the invisible hen.  I glanced at the beard, lined my sights up and verified:  “Are you sure you can’t shoot”?  Jason’s reply was “yes take him”, so I touched off my shot.  The next thing I see is the flash of his fan and the thrashing that turkeys do after being fatally hit with a shotgun load.

We both jumped up and quickly made our way to the gobbler.  By the time the gobbler was done thrashing, it found its way to the base of a Multiflora Rose bush (the kind with the very large hooked thorns).  I remember Jason saying congratulations on your bird, now have fun going in there to get him out.  After retrieval from the bush, we tagged the bird, took several pictures and rehashed the events of the hunt.  Jason said the bird came out in the opening but never stopped in an open place for him to shoot.  As the bird worked down, the angle he took prevented Jason the ability to swing and get on him.

7/8 inch Spurs

9 3/4" Beard

We decided we would end our morning by working our way back to the truck, stopping to call every 100 yards.  This proved uneventful and ended our day hunting.  As with many other types of hunting, it’s amazing how in the turkey woods, all it takes is a few minutes to turn a slow day into another great memory.

Good luck and be safe.
Mike

Our First Family Fishing Outing

Our New Boat

This journal entry is very special to me because it represents many firsts in my families’ lives.  At the beginning of this year, my wife and I decided we would purchase our first new fishing boat.  We talked with several boat dealers, and did a lot of research to decide which style/brand of boat would best suit our needs.  After looking at many different styles of boats, we decided to order the Lowe Fishing Machine 165.  The boat finally arrived after six weeks of waiting, and we were eager to get it out.  Last weekend was the first chance we had to take this boat out, and though we didn’t catch anything over 6 inches, I consider this trip to be one of the best I’ve ever had.

My major concerns for this trip were getting used to trailering and launching this boat.  I have never trailered anything or launched a boat in my life.  Catching fish was a distant second for me but I’m sure if you asked my kid, his ideas were much different.  Upon arrival at Lake Wilhelm, we realized (to my relief) there were very few anglers or boaters, and we launched the boat with no issues.  This was Nate’s first fishing trip and our goal was to find a few willing panfish no matter what the size.  We had our eye on a nearby cove and decided to give this spot a try.  I first rigged my 4 year old’s spider man rod and let him cast out.  While rigging my wife’s rod, I heard Nate yell “I got one!  I got one!”  This was his first fishing trip and his first fish (a 6 inch golden shiner).  I can honestly say he did everything himself in catching that fish.  We were all extremely excited and took many pictures to capture the moment.  This scene played many times over with both my wife and Nate, as they both caught several bluegill’s (or blue gray’s as my son would call them), shiners, and pumpkin seeds.  My main job was to keep everyone’s lines in the water weather it meant baiting, untangling, or taking off fish.

Nate's First Fish

Nate reaching for my wife's small bluegill

Nate with another bluegill (or blue gray as he calls them)

We made a couple moves to try to find bigger fish, but I could tell my fishing partners both wanted to go back to the spot where we were catching numbers.  We returned back, but it seemed even the small bite turned off so we decided to pack our stuff up and call it a day.  As we were heading back, another highlight for my son was being able to drive the boat.  I think, as you can tell by the pictures, he is hooked and has been asking about getting back out since we quit that day.  Once again, trailering the boat went without a hitch and soon we were on our way back home.

Nate driving the boat

Nate taking a Cheetos break

Loading the boat to head home

To end this entry I would like to share some of my thoughts on the day.  I was incredibly excited to take my family out on the lake to spend some time together outdoors.  My wife enjoys the outdoors and loves to be outside, but with our busy lives and young child we haven’t taken the time to go fishing together.  Hunting and fishing have always been my activities.  Now, though I don’t believe I would ever get my wife out on a hunting trip, fishing is an activity we all enjoy and can share together.  Fishing with my son also gave me many moments of reflection.  One particular moment came when my son threw a huge birds nest.   I was thinking to myself, “How in the world did he do this”?  This thought brought a huge smile to my face as I remembered the many times my father would fix my setup only to have me tangle it again and again.  My son is just like I was in that I didn’t want dad to do anything for me, so casting for him was not an option.  By the end of the trip he did very well and made his dad very proud. Enjoy the pictures…  Hopefully there will be many more soon.

Good luck and be safe
Mike