11-30-12

Today was the weirdest day of duck hunting that I may have have ever seen! The weather was great with wind and light rain but the birds just wouldn't fly and the ones that were would not cooperate! We had 3 blinds shooting today for a total of 6 ducks. I am not too sure what is going on, as we have had a great week up until today, but hopefully it will change tomorrow.

Casey

11-29-12

This morning we did not have any clients but I had to go any how, so I called up my buddy Rock and we headed to the blind. When we got to the field the conditions were great, but the flight sucked! We had overcast skies and a 12 mph South wind, which is some of my favorite weather to hunt in, but this morning looked to be slim pickings. As it got light a few birds were milling around and the first to meet their maker where a pair of mallards. After the first pair it was pretty slow but a few birds were coming into the rice and we capitalized on our opportunities. We hunted until 10:30 and then called it quits a few shy of our limits. We ended the hunt with 4 specks, 2 snows, 4 mallards, 4 widgeon and 2 sprig. Of what we shot at this morning we only let 4 get away! It was a great hunt with a good friend and I hope we can hunt together again before the season is over, we had a blast. We got so busy laughing and having a good time that I forgot to take a final kill photo but have attached one that I took prior to getting the last few birds. They say a big storm tomorrow morning, so I will be out there again trying to get it done. Good luck to everyone hunting in the morning!!!

Casey

11-28-12

Not fast and furious, but a great shoot. Today I guided Matt, Pat, and Brad on a duck hunt. We got into the blind and the wind started to blow and then the rain came as legal shooting time approached. Right off the bat we had birds working and within the first 30 minutes had six in the tank and let another 6-8 get away. The action continued but was pretty slow given the conditions as we would have a bird work in every 20 minutes or so. This went on until around 10:00, when the rain started pouring and then so did the ducks out of the refuge. Flight after flight left the refuge and came out into the rice resulting in plenty of action! We killed our last bird at 11:00 to round out our limit of 28 birds. We had a nice strap of ducks of which almost half were mallards, a couple sprig, a couple gadwall, a couple teal, 3 spoons and the rest were widgeon. The birds that actually worked came in beautifully and acted like new ducks, while the sprig continued to play hard to get. It was a great hunt and we had alot of fun. Hopefully the Northern birds are headed this way, but I am a little reluctant to think that these warm storms will move the new ducks down. If nothing else the next few days of weather should stir up the birds that are already here and result in some more good hunting.

Casey    

11-28-12

Today I guided Louie on a duck hunt. We got into the blind and had overcast skies and a slight breeze. There were a few birds leaving the rice and heading back to the refuge but the flight was pretty dismal. Right off the bat we killed a couple teal and got back doored by a few others and then things went quiet. We sat patiently and when the rain came so did the birds, but when the rain stopped, so did the flight. We stuck it out until 10:00 and then called it quits, ending the hunt with 7 ducks and a speck. Not exactly what I had in mind but that is how it goes sometimes. Hopefully the Northern ducks are on their way down!

Derek    

11-27-12

Today I guided Arman on a duck hunt. We got into the blind a little before legal shoot time and there were a few birds milling around. As shoot time came we watched as flight after flight of birds left the rice and headed straight back to the refuge. With the skies being clear and calm and the big full moon it was evident that the birds had been out all night and the flight was going to be dismal. As legal shooting time came a pair of teal came in and Arman smoked them. A short while later a pair of gadwall came in and he put those down as well. After a short lull a pair of widgeon came in and down they went as well. After that we had quite a few more birds take a look but just would not commit. We kept after it and before long we had a suicidal bull sprig come in and Arman smoked him, ending the hunt at 8:30 AM. All though it was not fast and furious it turned out to be a decent hunt with a nice strap of birds.

Casey

11-24-12

Today I guided Jim and guests on a duck hunt. The weather was clear and calm but we managed to scratch together a decent looking strap. We ended the hunt with 8 birds! Not red hot but it is typical for the November doldrums!

Justin   

11-24-12

Today I did a 20 bird plant for Chuck and his crew. The guys knocked them down as Tripp put them up and it was not long until we had flushed all of the birds and the guys ended killing 18 of them. It was a great day for pheasant hunting and all of the guys had a great time.

Derek

11-23-12

Today I guided Rick, Chris and Melissa on a pheasant hunt. We hunted the natural cover along the slough and had a ball. Tripp did a great job getting the birds up and has now learned to point the birds. It was a lot of fun watching the group as they knocked the birds down. We ended the hunt flushing over 20 birds and they took 11 of them home.

Derek 

11-20-12

Today I guided Jim and Mike for ducks. We headed to the blind over by Delevan with the expectations of a big storm, but it never panned out. It seemed to be raining all around us but not where we were at! The wind was blowing and we stayed at it until 11:30 when we decided to call it a day. We ended the hunt with 10 birds and should have had a few more. For the weather being what it was I sure expected a better flight but it is what it is! We had a good time and ended up with a decent strap!

Derek 

Story Behind the Smirk!

I think it is safe to say that every hunter has a "bucket list" of game animals that they would like to successfully harvest in their lifetime. Maybe its a beautiful black bear, a perfect limit of green heads, a trophy class mule deer buck or a combination of many. I personally dream of the day that I can successfully take a tom turkey with my bow. I have been blessed enough to kill many nice trophy animals, but for some reason I think that a successful take of a tom turkey is the ultimate challenge for an archer. 

Each season I work diligently to hone in my shooting skills, I spend hours patterning several flocks in our area and even more time in the blind or propped up against a tree in full camo. I'll even admit that the hour I spend driving to work and home each day makes for a great opportunity to slip a diaphragm call in my mouth and practice my clucks, purrs and cackles, without an audience of any kind (now you know what I'm doing if you ever pass me on the road). Regardless, I have yet to check this task off my bucket list. I've come painfully close a time or two, but haven't been able to seal the deal quite yet.

Now that you have a little bit of background on my ultimate pursuit, I will also let you know that I am extremely competitive (I wish I wasn't, life would be a cake walk) and a tad bit ornery, which is not always an ideal combination. My Dad has fallen victim to this almost-lethal combination once before when we he shot a mule deer buck from across a canyon right underneath me. He, regretfully didn't 1. know that I was there and 2. realize that I had watched that buck bed down almost 2 hours before that and was waiting patiently to capitalize on a shot! My own Dad shot a buck right out from under me!!!

-that story has become somewhat of our hunting group's main inside joke. They all love to tease my Dad and I about that particular hunt.

Even more recent, however, my Husband became a victim as well. After a long weekend vacation, I offered to drive the two hours to my parents house alone to pick up the kids when we returned home. I knew he had a lot of work to do and plus he hates the drive, so I headed over the hill by myself. After a quick visit with my Mom, I loaded up the kids, and began the drive back home, calling Casey to let him know we were on our way. I was tired and had been fighting a flu bug (plus the competitiveness and orneriness mentioned above) and was not thrilled at all when he proudly told me, as soon as he answered the phone, "Man Babe! Your gonna wish you were checking water with me today! I bagged myself a beautiful Tom right out of the rice field!" At first I thought about just hanging up on him, but I had to know why he thought it would be cool to kill a bird that he has not one ounce of desire to kill! I calmly explained to him that my thoughts were either 1. He killed it out of spite. A Haha type moment to show me just how easy it was or 2. He killed it just because he could without any regard to his Wife's feelings!!! No difference either one, he was sleeping on the couch for sure! Of course my reaction was comical to Casey and completely laughable, which also didn't win him any points. So before I lost my wits, I calmly told him that he would be eating every last bit of that bird for dinner every night for the next week!!

So now you know the story behind the smirk! Hey at least I was nice enough to take a picture for him!

I've also included a recipe for one of the "Wild Turkey Dinners" we had that week!

-Regina

Easy Crock Pot Turkey Burritos

Breast Out and Wash thoroughly the Breast Meat from Your Gobbler

Cut Into Quarters

Place Cuts into Crock Pot

Pour in 3 Cans of Rotel Canned Tomatoes, 1 small can Diced Jalapeños and a half of a packet of Taco Seasoning.

Cook on Low for 8-10 hours. Until Turkey Meat is tender enough to spoon shred.

Spoon Meat into Warm Tortillas, Roll into Burritos, Top with Shredded Cheese and Sour Cream

Yum!

11-18-12

Today I planted 20 birds for Ron and Eric Jensen. I got the birds out and gave them time to acclimate themselves and then we went hunting. We hunted in the Natural cover along the slough and it made for a great hunt! The cover is alot of fun to hunt the birds in and my new pup Tripp did his job as he performed flawlessly on the hunt. We ended up putting 22 birds in the air and the guys put 15 back in the dirt. It was a fun hunt and the guys had a great time.

Derek

11-17-12

Today I guided Jay and his son for ducks. We got into the blind and had action right off the bat. The storm was happening and the birds were flying and decoying well. A lot of the birds were high flyers but the ones that were down low responded to the call well and the guys did there part putting them in the decoys! It was a good hunt and the guys left with a nice strap of ducks for the table.

Justin 

11-17-12

Today I guided Ron Jensen and his son on a duck hunt. We started hunting South of Colusa and killed 5 birds but the flight was pretty weak so when Casey called and said he was done we jumped blinds and headed over to the blind near Delevan. As soon as we got into the blind we had birds all around us but they were mostly sprig and they did not want to work! We waited patiently and each time something other than a sprig came by they decoyed right in. We ended up with a nice strap of ducks and called it a day! It was a good hunt despite the storm breaking apart and the weather turning clear!

Derek

11-17-12

Today I guided Spuds, Doug, and Ken for ducks. Ken brought along his daughter Teddie as an observer as she wanted to see what all of the hipe was about. We got into the blind and the rain was pouring and the wind howling, perfect duck weather! As shooting time came we had birds all around us and were only taking the shots that were optimal. As it started to get a bit lighter outside the ducks seemed to work better and soon we were putting some numbers on the board. There were a lot of ducks in the air this morning but as usual most of them were sprig so we waited patiently and picked the widgeon out as they cam by. We had our limit of 28 ducks and 4 bonus specks by 10:00. It was a great hunt and as always a real pleasure to hunt with the illusive "SPUDMAN" and gang!!

Casey

11-13-12

Today I guided Tom and Dan Wilkins for pigs. We hit the ground running this morning and as we climbed the first hill I spotted a herd of 30 plus pigs. We came up with a quick game plan and took off on foot to try and catch the pigs at a reservoir a mile or so away. We made it quickly to the reservoir but the pigs were not there, so we sat down and took a breather. Within minutes we could hear the pigs in the brush and caught a glimpse of them as they moved towards the pond. It seemed as if we had the perfect plan up until the wind swirled and the pigs took off in the other direction! We quickly made our way back the other direction trying to relocate the pigs but could not find them so we set off to try and find some others. As we began to climb the same hill as this morning I looked over and spotted the same group of pigs again! They were headed towards us so we put together a plan and were off to the races. We ran down the hill and tried to beat them to the flats but they got ahead of us so I told the guys just to stay ready and sooner or later we would catch them again. We got to a cross roads where the pigs could have went two different directions, so I left the guys and ran up the hill to see if I could figure out which way the pigs went. I had only gone a couple hundred yards when I spotted the pigs down in the creek bottom feeding so I ran back to get the guys. As soon as we got back up the hill the pigs were still feeding in the creek bottom but were feeding away from us and not offering any shots. I decided to let the pigs get out of sight and then we would make our attack. I knew we had to catch up to them and get it done this time as Dan looked as if he was going to shoot me if I made him go any further on foot! We eventually caught up to the pigs again and got set up. Tom was the first to touch the trigger and the 175 pound sow dropped in her tracks! Not long after Dan had his BAR 7MM singing and a nice sized 125 pound sow in the dirt. It was a great hunt with a couple of great guys! I look forward to hunting with them again in the future.

Casey 

11-11-12

Today I guided Robert and his son for ducks. We decided to try the rice today and it proved to be a good choice! The shooting was not fast and furious but it was slow and steady. We ended up with a ugly strap of birds but had a good time doing it!

Derek

11-10-12

Today we did a duck/pheasant combo with Robert Onesian and his son. We started the morning hunting ducks in the wetland but were stuck in the ground fog as all of the birds worked above us. We stuck it out in the blind until 9:00 and ended up with 5 ducks before deciding to go try for pheasants. The pheasant hunt had plenty of action and we ended up killing 3 roosters and letting several others get away. Those wild pheasants can be a real challenge. Either way it was a great hunt with good company.

Derek

11-10-12

Today I guided Scott and Bill for ducks. We went to the blind near Delevan Refuge and had a pretty good shoot considering the weather. The morning started out slow but we were getting a bird here and a bird there. We ended the hunt at 11:30 with 12 birds and should have had a few others. Not a bad shoot considering we let all of the spoons go!

Casey

11-9-12

Today I guided Steve and Brad for ducks. We headed to the blind near Delevan Refuge with big hopes, but today was not going to be the day. We had birds working almost all morning but they just would not commit. We stuck it out until 10:00 and ended the hunt with 10 birds. Not red hot, but not to bad considering the weather.

Casey

11-7-12

Today I guided Dave and Cindy Bonini for ducks. We got to the blind this morning and there was a surprising number of birds flying around before legal shooting hours. As we sat and waited for legal shooting light they kept flying and as soon as we got the green light we went to shooting. Right off the bat a pair of widgeon came in and they knocked down 1, shortly there after a pair of teal decoyed in and Cindy shot a sweet double. The action was pretty steady for the first hour but slowed down as the sky lightened and the temperature began to soar, typical of a calm sunny day. We stuck it out until 10:00 before calling it quits. We ended the morning with 10 ducks and should have had another 8-10. Not bad for a no weather day in early November.

Casey 

11-2-12

We are getting close to having all of the fields ready for water! The harvest is complete and we just have a couple fields left that the mowers and discs are working hard to finish up. By the 6TH I hope to have water running on all of our properties as I know most guys are very eager to get into the field.

In the last few weeks I have spent alot of time traveling from ranch to ranch and have taken it upon myself to do a little predator control. Over the last week I have eradicated 3 coyotes out of the 4 that I have seen. Who says a 3.5" BB, fired out of  a 10 Gauge with a pattern master choke isn't a coyote gun? I have been knocking them down out to 75 yards!!

Just thought I would post the pictures of the small amount of fun I have been having while trying to get all of this work done.

Hopefully I can get to killing some ducks soon! It's getting to be that time of year.

Casey