Tweet
I hope 3rd Coast Killer doesn't mind that I am posting this over here. He posted this on MMT and thought it deserved to be shared over here. The letter below gave me chills. The Dad’s letter back to his son describes my feelings & passions that I have for the sport, something that at times I find so hard to put into words.
Here's the original post: http://www.mudmotortalk.com/mmt_v2/v...hp?f=7&t=23833
Wrote my dad an email this morning asking his opinion on which day to hunt this week based on the front coming through. Below is his response. You can truly see the passion he once had for chasing waterfowl…
James P,
I may have had a suggestion at one time, but I don’t remember all the angles !
I know that goose hunting in the rice fields is always better the day before , or morning before, a norther come in because the clouds are low and the south or south east wind is strong and the birds are low. After passage, the sky clears and the geese are on oxygen. I was told this by Marvin Tyler that owned and ran the Blue Goose Hunting Club in Altair. Hunt geese before the norther, not after !
For ducks in the marsh, my favorite is a blue bird morning, a day or two after the norther passes, west wind around 10-15 knots, usually after 9:30 – 10 AM – after most fair weather duck hunters have already left the marsh. You might not see a duck for an hour or two, but usually around 10-10:30, looking to the southwest, you might see what first appears to be a distant thin cloud approaching , as it gets closer, you realize it is Sprigtails , with long necks of white and brown spying down at your spread! If you listen carefully, you might hear the bulls clacking in unison, like an airborn orchestra !
If you have matured beyond the knee jerk urge to pass shoot , and can stand the pressure for one, two, sometimes three passes , with them often 10-20 feet straight over the blind, you will be rewarded with the supreme experience of shooting sprigs in the face – no not 5 feet, but 30-35 feet – straight on – feet down, strung out like so many well trained soldiers marching in a victory parade ! Anyone can pass shoot, but the real sportsman does not shoot until all is in proper order – The way it should be done by real men !
Someday (usually a little later in age ) , most hunters will understand, it is not how many animals or birds you kill, but how you played the game and how you respected and conserved the game animals you seek, and all the great moments you spent with friends and family in God’s wonderful outdoors ! ( I think the old outdoor writer in me may have resurfaced unexpectedly !!! )
Sorry for the long dissertation on matters that I know you already understand, but some of you hunting buddies may not, but hopefully will someday !
Please don’t use up all your vacation days now, there will be a stronger calling to the marsh for you in December & January, when the hair on the back of your neck will stand straight up, and the cold blasts from the north will beckon you to the great coastal marshes to witness, and be part of, the ancient mystery of migration !
I am much older now than “ When I wore a younger man’s shoes”, but the recall is vivid, and each and every blast from the north still calls me outside to stare at the approaching front and feel once again the cold wind on my face ! Then it takes my mind for a ride, to a wonderful grassy point and a sunken box blind, where good friends and black dogs will always stay young, because there, time stands still ! And the ducks will always fly fast and often!
Good hunting!
I Love You,
Pops
Here's the original post: http://www.mudmotortalk.com/mmt_v2/v...hp?f=7&t=23833
Wrote my dad an email this morning asking his opinion on which day to hunt this week based on the front coming through. Below is his response. You can truly see the passion he once had for chasing waterfowl…
James P,
I may have had a suggestion at one time, but I don’t remember all the angles !
I know that goose hunting in the rice fields is always better the day before , or morning before, a norther come in because the clouds are low and the south or south east wind is strong and the birds are low. After passage, the sky clears and the geese are on oxygen. I was told this by Marvin Tyler that owned and ran the Blue Goose Hunting Club in Altair. Hunt geese before the norther, not after !
For ducks in the marsh, my favorite is a blue bird morning, a day or two after the norther passes, west wind around 10-15 knots, usually after 9:30 – 10 AM – after most fair weather duck hunters have already left the marsh. You might not see a duck for an hour or two, but usually around 10-10:30, looking to the southwest, you might see what first appears to be a distant thin cloud approaching , as it gets closer, you realize it is Sprigtails , with long necks of white and brown spying down at your spread! If you listen carefully, you might hear the bulls clacking in unison, like an airborn orchestra !
If you have matured beyond the knee jerk urge to pass shoot , and can stand the pressure for one, two, sometimes three passes , with them often 10-20 feet straight over the blind, you will be rewarded with the supreme experience of shooting sprigs in the face – no not 5 feet, but 30-35 feet – straight on – feet down, strung out like so many well trained soldiers marching in a victory parade ! Anyone can pass shoot, but the real sportsman does not shoot until all is in proper order – The way it should be done by real men !
Someday (usually a little later in age ) , most hunters will understand, it is not how many animals or birds you kill, but how you played the game and how you respected and conserved the game animals you seek, and all the great moments you spent with friends and family in God’s wonderful outdoors ! ( I think the old outdoor writer in me may have resurfaced unexpectedly !!! )
Sorry for the long dissertation on matters that I know you already understand, but some of you hunting buddies may not, but hopefully will someday !
Please don’t use up all your vacation days now, there will be a stronger calling to the marsh for you in December & January, when the hair on the back of your neck will stand straight up, and the cold blasts from the north will beckon you to the great coastal marshes to witness, and be part of, the ancient mystery of migration !
I am much older now than “ When I wore a younger man’s shoes”, but the recall is vivid, and each and every blast from the north still calls me outside to stare at the approaching front and feel once again the cold wind on my face ! Then it takes my mind for a ride, to a wonderful grassy point and a sunken box blind, where good friends and black dogs will always stay young, because there, time stands still ! And the ducks will always fly fast and often!
Good hunting!
I Love You,
Pops
Comment