It is fun to hunt with the young flat-bellied tough youngsters that remind you of your youth.  

Such was the case on Thursday, Dec. 31, 2020. I am always grateful to get an invite from these guys. Eager, skilled, and dedicated—they are impervious to the cold and are very precise and careful with the setup and blinds to hunt prairie geese. It was a unique day for the ringleaders and I am eager to applaud them for doing several things that reflect their heritage, good nature, and thoughtfulness. They got up early and set up the decoys and the blind. They took a youngster with them that has not yet killed a goose and won’t have a driver’s license until next year. I would recommend that the waterfowl get ready for this young man to be in the Bottoms and hunting hard. His enthusiasm and participation were infectious. They also included an old guy that is most grateful for the opportunity. They let him arrive in time to enter the blind before shooting time and had a chair set up for him. The meticulous blind and decoy arrangement with the wind and the direction the ducks/geese will take to approach the spread was perfect. Clementine is a young lab that correlates well to the youngster in the 4-man group of hunters. Guns were carefully checked and positioned, camo was perfect (even Clementine had a camo vest on – it was cold), watches were checked to know precisely when shooting time was legal—and the game was on! Prairie chickens flew across the field and a wiley coyote winded us and traveled well away from the set. Shooting time was counted down to the minute.

It is normal for the ducks to attack the layout very early. In fact, they will often appear during the setup and well before shooting is legal. It is a thrill to stand in the decoys and watch mallards buzz the set as it’s being laid out. Mallards and the larger ducks “sizzle” through the air. The smaller teal turn and cut so rapidly that it sounds like someone tearing a newspaper. That is my earliest recollection of setting up in fields in Texas – ducks before geese is the routine. They appear out of nowhere. I think they fly low over the fields in the poor light looking for corn cobs or grain or other groups of waterfowl and you don’t have a visual in the high sky. The moon is still out and full. One of the hunters had a photo (cellphones are mandatory for documenting stuff to share on the next outing) of his shadow in the moonlight during set up. I wish I had been able to document, show off, share and celebrate the particulates of some of my early adventures when I didn’t have access to a camera. There are so many things in these little hunts that mean so much – and almost everyone is aware of that. Isn’t it almost amazing that a young man busy setting decoys would stop and take a picture of his shadow cast by moonlight. These are very special young men.  

I think this type of activity is unique for these guys. Normally they are up early getting everything together to go to the Bottoms and wade out a mile or so to a special spot they have scouted, set their decoys, kill a limit of ducks and wade back in to clean and package their ducks for the freezer. We all enjoy duck dinners! They clean the birds with the same attention that they used to set the decoys. Then they eat a mountain of food and take a nap with Clem snuggled right up to dad. We hunt for the joy of those dogs. I miss mine. They make an afternoon set for a deer or whatever legal waterfowl or pheasant and quail they haven’t hunted. They have jobs and responsibilities that require most of their time. They don’t waste any of their leisure time when the season is on.

Did I fail to mention what we killed? The success of this event wasn’t measured in numbers or limits. It was four guys and a dog having the time of their lives until the next one comes along. If you ever get that invite – don’t turn it down.

Doc

Doctor Dan Witt is a retired physician and nature enthusiast.