Pit Blind Geese
Field-hunting geese from a pit blind represents the epitome of waterfowling. Each gust of wind brought the smell of freshly spread cow manure from the cut cornfield below. The maize had been harvested in the fall, and the ducks, geese, turkey and whitetails devoured...
Carving Out a Duck Hunt
Tom Modin doesn’t see himself as much of an artist, but his hand-carved, hand-painted decoys say otherwise.
Gertrude the Mason Brant Decoy
Born in a small shop behind William Mason’s home, Gertrude the decoy would live a life most fulfilling. Here are a few of the many stories she has to tell. Hello, my name is Gertrude. I was named after Bob’s Aunt Gertrude Reade, a woman with a special gleam in...
The Stalemate
Ryan Bybee is a tough guy to fish with. Well, for me, anyway. It’s not that we don’t have a good time when we’re fishing together, it’s just that we have different ways of fishing. I like to run and gun. Find the active fish, pick off the biters, move, move, move....
Dowsing, Ducks, Dynamite and Damnation
I felt the shockwave through my feet before I heard the thunderclap explosion. Mud flew, water ran and two days later, I had a new pond. Brothers and Sisters, I am a water witch. Water witching, dousing, doodle-bugging— call it what you will, finding unseen things...
Ducks Down Under
The author would enjoy many pleasant surprises during his week of waterfowling in Australia.
The Day I Found Myself – A Wood Duck Hunt
The day I found myself, the wood duck came full-speed. From upriver and darting among cypress and willows — spilling air from his wings. Things had not been going particularly well, one single and specific vehicle of distress difficult to identify. Perhaps it was...
A Christmas Eve Swan Shoot
Two old renegades pull off an illegal nighttime hunt, despite a surprise collision and dunking. Shooting swan by night may seem hardly the correct thing in the estimation of many, but we fowlers of the wild and “feathery” West occasionally obtain under cover of the...
October Snow
Taking advantage of an early-season cold snap.