by Rick » Fri Apr 13, 2018 8:57 am
When looking ahead to 2018-2019 and for ways to avoid another first split like last season's, I've been looking back through past logs, compiling lists of issues I've found and becoming more and more aware of just how hide-bound and even complacent I've become in some regards and slow to realize I've perhaps taken wrong turns I thought wise in others. Is worse than embarrassing to think on how many fewer guests I might have disappointed.
Long story only somewhat shortened:
I now plan to kill the living canes on our island, as well as most of the nearby patches I've been protecting from general marsh spraying to keep those on the island from standing out, and return to the "less is more" scabby-patch concealment approach I took for my first several years at the Mudhole. As handy as I've found the living canes for big duck cover, that cover has likely come at the cost of way too many potential shooting opportunities, not just by way of hiding too many low little birds from my view as well as hiding the spinner's attraction from their view but also by necessitating more boat time in order to have line-of-sight to handle the dog to birds, large or small, falling behind them. Much easier for me to hide from new birds when out handling the dog from its stand by the blind than out in the boat. Unlike seasons past, when teal would still frequently come regardless, the guys did not shoot a single bird when I had the boat in the pond this last one. So I've also camo painted the boat to see if that doesn't help when warm/alligator water requires ferrying the dog over the pond.
Also adding a second big spinner, so one can be pegged to hopefully draw the attention of little birds currently staying well east of us, while the other flashes north and south to those following their favored more open water flyways there. Hoping, of course, that the way I'm now rigging them will still eliminate enough of the spinners' downsides that adding another won't prove more bane than boon. We'll see...
And we'll see if I stick to my guns about sharpening Marsh's handling, so our disagreements over what should be handled how and in which order don't get in the way of not just recovering downed game but potential new shooting opportunities. Peake is still the big dog at our house and in my heart, and giving him as much field time as I can has put a serious damper on what I've been able to devote to Marsh's education, but I simply must better manage that. Want to be fair to the big dog, but also need to be fair to the hunters who help pay for his feed.
Then there's the calling. I fancy myself a fair hand at that and am still learning new ways to draw game I once conceded as too this or that, but the log shows I've also a tendency to forget some things and have to "discover" them more than once - or twice. To that end, I've compiled some related notes from the logs and hope to remember to review them before and during the season.
And finally, at least for the present, I'm inching closer to my long time (decade or so?) goal of repainting the '04 and '05 Hardcore decoys the specks seemed to favor over even DSDs when I used them together in the "way back when..." they'd not lost much of their paint. That project's been expanded to doing not just they but my DSDs, Tanglefree floaters and a few GHGs for motion with the same paint for perfect match to see what, if any, effect that might have on our marsh draw. Been more than a little slow in coming, but is being spurred by the recognition that the camp's ag land speck prospects have petered to nil, and my increasing craving for finishing specks. Still working on improving both my airbrushing skills and paint scheme, but feel like some progress finally being made - if only by learning what I feel doesn't cut it.
Guess we'll also see if public commitment helps with those projects as much as it has with maintaining a log...