Yes, I try to keep them pretty even with the retrieves. I do tend to give Paxton the easier and dryer retrieves though. Her nose and how she uses it is still light years ahead of Whipples but little Whipplet is coming around. Whipple has always had the speed.

11-10-14

This morning started off slow. Had a lone Teal come in before shooting time and stay until legal when I swatted it. A little later we started to see movement but they didn't want anything to do with us. Luckily we had Gary the Grebe on the water for entertainment purposes. About an hour later it was like a fence was lowered. Had a flock of Redheads crash into the deeks and play around for a while until they spread out enough to pick out four. A couple of Teal came in immediately after shooting the Reds. A bit later a flock of Shovelers made an appearance. Then it went dead again. We waited around a little looking for the last bird but it never came. As luck would have it the birds started moving around again as we were walking to the truck.

Paxton watching Gary the Grebe...



Some birds flying around...



Three of the four Redheads on the water...



Whipple picking up one of the Redheads...



Paxton bringing a Teal in...



Whipple eagerly waiting for her turn while watching Paxton finish a retrieve...



Whipple with another Redhead...



Paxton retrieving the other Teal...



Flock of Gaddies passing over...



The birds...

The rest of these guys can have all the green, I like all that red!

Amazing pictures and hunting location. Looking forward to what this thread has in a few months too.

Really really like the pictures.

11-12-14

Went out for a quick hunt this morning. It was not nearly as cold as I thought it was going to be. There was definitely more birds in the area. Had quite a few come in early but they all left before legal. The home team ended up losing the competition with the two rafts of live birds. Made a decoy adjustment a little later and convinced a group of four to come in.

The sunrise...



Whipple picking up the first bird...



Whipple picking up the second bird...



Whipple waiting for some action...



Snipe!...



The adjusted decoys...



The take...



This guy was pacing the truck on departure...

Great thread

11-15-14

The birds shot today were all taken early. When it gets light out just can't compete with the raft of birds on the safe havens in the area. Tried to fool some with a decoy move a little later in the morning. The only ducks that it stumped was a small flock of Shovelers that happened to come in while out moving the decoys around. Need fresh birds.

Some geese moving through the area...



Original decoy setup...



The changed up spread...



Dove have been driving me crazy...



Paxton waiting...



Whipple wondering why the birds won't play...



The take...



Part of the rafts....

You need some hand carved flocked gadwall decoys in your spread

11-18-14

The cold, ice and lack of wind made it rough this morning. Paxton stayed home in order to mend her foot. On the previous hunt she tore a toe up pretty bad chasing after some mice under some wood . A few hunts before that she gashed her back pretty good on the fence chasing after them. I guess she is pretty mad at them. When she doesn't go on a hunt she is always waiting to grab a bird and carry it around on our arrival back home. I was getting ready to clean the birds and there was one missing. It seems as though Henry has developed a liking to duck head and neck.

Frozen blood on my gun...



Whipple waiting for a call to arms...



This guy was watching the action...



Some ice...



A hull stuck in the ice...



The birds...



All it takes is one little mistake...



Henry with his precious...

love the impaled grasshopper!

11-20-14

Had several birds come in early this morning only to leave before legal. Whiffed at more birds than I'd like to admit. A single crow came too close and after being hit tried to fly off only to fall right in the middle of the lil pond. Took Whipple to get it and when she hit the water a wounded duck jumped up and flew haphazardly into the field over a hill. When it jumped I tried to run back 10 feet to grab my gun that I had laid down but I wasn't fast enough. We looked for it but could never find it. I am still baffled where it came from and where it went. My only guess is someone had shot at it the day before and it tried to find refuge in that lil mud hole and maybe went further over the hill than I had thought. I am happy to report that Paxton did exact revenge on the mice.

The sunrise...



Some birds moving around...



Whipple with a Redhead...



Paxton picking up the hen...





Paxton with a Teal...



Whipple with the Crow...



Looking back on the spread from the lil pond...



Whipple waiting to be called back...



The strap...

awesome thread

11-21-14

Took Whipple out this morning for her birthday hunt. She turned 4 years old today. There were plenty of birds and abundant opportunities. You know the old saying "couldn't hit a cow's arse with a banjo." It definitely rang true today. She still had a good time though.

Whipple with the first bird of the morning...



The decoys...



Whipple with a cripple she had to run down...





Whipple with one half of a pair of Ringers that came in...



Whipple getting after the other half...

Whipple watching some birds that swung behind us...



Some birds that came over...



Whipple with a Gaddie hen...



Whipple with her haul of the day...



She loves it when the vest comes off...

That's a nice wigeon on the last pics!!! Love seeing all your hunts. Wish I could get out that much. Only been 3 times so far this year...

11-26-14

This morning started off with quite a few birds in the decoys quite early. Apparently it was more than the dang ole dirty early shooters could bear. To my surprise the ducks eventually trickled back in. There was a variety of other birds than came in as well.

Paxton bringing in a GWT...





Whipple with a GWT...









Spencer on the hunt...

Whipple picking up a Gaddie a few minutes later...



Pelicans came to check things out...



Paxton with another GWT...



This guy was on the hunt...





Some geese that came over while we were leaving...



The strap...

11-27-14

Went to get a quick hunt in this morning before doing the Thanksgiving thing. Birds worked pretty good. Shot a double on a couple of teal that circled and dropped in. Took out a single that came in. Then shot a triple on three that decided to check things out. The third bird tried to get away by flying low out into a field to the left and ended up crashing by a fence. When I went to find it and finish it off a hawk happened to fly towards me down the fence line carrying the bird. I changed directions and went to where I saw him land. I never saw the hawk again but found the teal at the bottom of the fence.

The Pelicans showed back up and decided to stay for a few minutes before heading out...









Paxton picking up some GWT...





Whipple waiting for her turn...



Whipple picking up a couple...





The take...

Awesome thread! Great quality pictures.

11-30-14

This morning was a very bittersweet hunt. My buddy (gf's nephew/"son") was in a bad head on collision Thanksgiving night. He was in a car and on his way home with his gf, their 5 year old daughter and his gf's 14 year old sister. His gf ended up with a few scrapes on her left arm. Their 5 year old broke her left wrist. His gf's 14 year old sister was killed on impact. My buddy had to be care flighted to Temple and ended up passing away the next day. He was an organ donor and we got the call that they were taking him into surgery at 11:00 while throwing out decoys. It was also my old gal's 11th birthday today. So, we did a very quick birthday hunt before heading to the hospital. There were early shooters again and as usual the birds did not cooperate with us, so I ended up shooting a snipe for Ms. Paxton.

The only birds that came in this morning...



The spread...



Paxton wondering where the birds are...



Found this lil guy in a cow hole...



Paxton excited to retrieve her snipe...

The girls taking a swim...



The birthday girl coming back to shore...



Paxton with her snipe...







Had to throw out the bird for Whipple...

Sorry about your friend / family member. That's not good at all.

Glad you were able to get your pooches a snipe. Thanks again for all the pictures

Wow, sorry to hear about the bad news.

what part of the state are you in?