We came into the trip with lower than normal expectations. Dan expected Winnie to hunt at a slow pace, only in light cover, potentially ineffectively, for 30-45 min day, every-other day. We both expected the waterfowl hunting to be difficult/very difficult due to low water levels/pond counts & very few birds. We both expected pheasant hunting to be additionally difficult because we never experienced high numbers of birds in ND before. While some of these proved accurate, none of them were as bad as expected. The only thing that proved to be as bad as expected was the drive home. After a week of fun and hunting, a 27.5 hour drive (or 22.5 for Dad & Dan) is never fun.
While the duck hunting was significantly harder than past years here, we still managed to bag an average of 3 birds per day, for a total of 19 ducks & 3 geese (4 geese if you count the Snow that someone else shot that died on our pond). While there were fewer numbers of ducks, we still had a lot of activity and birds keeping us busy - the problem was that virtually none would decoy into shooting range (see the pic here of 2 ducks sitting 100yds away - this was representative of the whole week). We attribute that to the ducks being older & more educated - since low pond counts led to poorer nesting/less young ducks in the fall flight.
In the most surprising twist of the week, we saw more pheasants (& other upland birds) than we ever expected. The downside is that we didn't get shots at the vast majority - it was either very windy (making them flush out of range) or they were in larger concentrations that all flushed together. In total, we killed 3 ring-necks in 7 days of hunting, but generally agreed that our upland hunting experience was a lot better than that number would suggest.
This was another trip where Bill & Dan avoided any significant arguments. All 3 of us - yes, even Dad too (he's learned/learning enough about our type of hunting on these trips) thoughtfully contributed to our plans/strategies/schedules each day. The hotel was just what we needed - a lot of space, functional appliances, and not expensive.
Jackson did a good job all week - hunting waterfowl each morning & ducks every evening except the 1 evening I gave him off. He mostly worked in range when pheasant hunting & didn't hesitate to hit the heavy stuff (though I tried to limit how much he did that, because I knew it would tire him out). His work was far better than it should have been, given the lack of training opportunities he's been given the last couple years - and his general obedience has been great (sitting in the brush watching ducks swim around out in front of us). Overall, he's made me very happy this week & significantly contributed to my enjoyment.
Also contributing to our enjoyment was the day that, when pheasant hunting in the rain, Jackson shook his head & the flapping sound of his ears fooled Winnie into thinking she was hearing a pheasant flush. I didn’t see it, but Dan said that she jumped & turned to look in his direction so fast that it was hilarious. I can attest that it took him several minutes to stop laughing!
Winnie hunted exceptionally all week as well. She pointed multiple birds (as many as would sit tight for her!) & made 2 difficult find/retrieves in the cattails on 2 of the 3 that we did manage to kill. Her health was virtually a non-factor in the field. She hunted a little slower than when in her prime, but still VERY effectively and at a faster pace, for longer duration, in heavier cover, and more often than we ever expected, while taking no days off the entire trip! She didn't shy away from & continually wanted to get into the heaviest cover (where the most scent was). Dan actually had to actively work to keep her out of the cattails as a preventative measure. This surprising "apparent health" likely stemmed from a lot of bird scent and 2 daily doses of Rimadyl and Gabapentin.
The weather was a bit odd all week. We had everything from cold (skim ice on the ponds when we arrived last Friday) to warm (yesterday pheasant hunting was 55 degrees). We had wind: two days with sustained winds of 25mph with gusts to 40+, and 1 day (yesterday) with very little wind. We had rain 2 of the days, significant clouds a couple days, and bright sunshine a couple days. We never did get much help with the wind direction (for ducks), with most wind being from the South or East. Also, the wind velocity most of the days was enough to negatively impact the pheasant hunting (especially since we were trying to keep both dogs out of the heaviest cover).
On the way home, Dan made doubly sure to prove the hypothesis that ND is the best state in which to get a speeding ticket. He got nailed doing 81 in a 55 through Fargo (IMO, not all his fault as the cop was sitting at the start of a step-down from 75 to 55 on the interstate). After ‘cutting him a break’ & knocking it down to 75 in a 55, the ticket was a whopping $50!
All in all, we had a good trip, enjoyed being together & with our dogs, and incurred no major injuries or mechanical breakdowns.
