Rain, Mud, Waterfowl and the Occasional Seal

  I really got into Duck hunting this year, and not just a little.  It filled the place of my bowfishing obsession this winter when all my fish faced friends were hiding in their deep pools.  Once I found out it was legit to hunt a little stretch of river along the Pacific Coast Highway, I was all for getting my Browning out and really putting it to the local duck population. It has been an up and down season with all the rain or lack there of here in California, my first Pin Tail and the constant battle with all the yahoos who think when you hunt you need to leave your brain at home.  I pressed on and here are the highlights and low lights to my season.

The Good
 By far the best part of my season was taking my son on his first hunt "Pass'n it on". To this day it still puts a big smile on my face every time I think about that day.  That Gadwall became his triumph, his duck, his special day with dad.  Nothing my son has done has made me prouder to be apart of his first day in the mud and water.



  I also was able to meet a lot of good people out on the public land, one guy hooked me up with my new Chocolate Lab Boone. Another gave me the recommendation I needed to join a hunting club here in California called Wilderness Unlimited. It truly was a good season and I am looking forward to next years as well.

The Bad
 So that was the best of days, but I also had a few moments where I wanted to reach out and stick a decoy where the sun don't shine on a few fellas.  First was a group of "intelligent gentleman", and I use that term loosely, who decided they were going to go hunting in blue jeans and white t-shirts.  I really wouldn't care if that was all, but they also decided to drive their truck around looking for ducks instead of sitting in a blind or jump shooting them on foot.  It's bad enough when a person walks by you while your are in a blind, but a metalic blue Ford 250? Really? Next was the yahoo shooting divers while they were sitting on the water about 40 yards from us, not sure if he likes divers or just likes looking like a tool.  Jury is still out on that one.

And the Ugly
  Okay maybe not the Ugly, but at least the strange.  I was talking to a friend who was in our normal blind and he could not believe what he was seeing, a seal swam past him as he and his son. That would be unheard of for most, but understandable given the fact that the area where I hunt is at the far end of an estuary. So though highly unlikely to see marine life in there, not improbable.  I have heard from another guy that said he caught a shark and a Ray in the same area to.  So go figure.

   It was a good year for sure, not major complaints to speak of. Just a good reminder that I need to teach my kiddo's the proper way act in the field.  I am glad that I spent the time over the water and under the wings, but I am looking forward to being able to sit on private land with like minded individual who respect you and water that the are shooting over.  Still have three more weeks of late season goose hunting so we will see if I can get out and put the hurt on some Whites, but to be honest I am a little worn out from a long season.  Plus we are in the height for pig season.

Peace be the Journey,

The Bearded Boar

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Christmas Pigs and White Deer

I wish I could say that I was able to shoot both a pig and an the an albino deer, but sadly I was unable and unallowed (sp?) to remove the pig hoard and genetic freak from the lush gated community of Bear Valley Springs in Tehachapi, CA.  All the same it was a pretty game rich holiday for me starting on Thursday when I took a friend and his son out to my local duck hollow for a little evening jump shoot and flyby massacre.

  Boone my pup is still to young and at only 15 weeks he still needs more time so I left him at home and just dreamed of what next year was going to be like when he finally is big enough to come along.  We unloaded tromped in and within an hour 4 ducks were to be had by my friend and his son. I pretty much just wanted them to get some action since I still had a few ducks on ice in the freezer and was in no hurry to replace them right away.  It was fun though for sure, to see them stoked on shooting ducks was good enough for me.  Hmmm Bearded Boar Guiding Service does sound pretty good to me to be honest, but I digress.  Fast forward two hours and I am now dining on 4 pounds of pure Idaho Elk steaks cooked medium rare and oh so tasty.  I am not relinquished to the doldrums of beef, desiring nay hungry for more of the most prestigious and succulent of game meats.

  Fast forward to Saturday morning Christmas eve and I am now in the beautiful Tehachapi, CA where the game is plentiful and the ability to hunt them is not. Either you pay to play or really you just don't play because it is illegal to shoot them on private property (Home Owner Association Rules).  So mix that with a few really wet, but mild winters, lots of food, little hunting pressure and a really big fire nearby that pushed all the game up into the mountains you have a recipe for these fine specimens, and to be honest this is just what is in the front yard of my father-in-laws house.  Notice the Grey thing at the bottom of the right picture, that is my wife interior door panel.  They were driving down the driveway watching that bruiser.

Oh so not fair, but really cool all the same.  Strange thing is that on Saturday I went up to the same spot to look for those "little guys" again and I found something entirely more astounding and truly way more exciting than I could ever imagine.  Pigs!!!! Oh yes my friends, those hairy little beasts have invaded the little mountain community of peace, puppy dogs and flowers and are now rototilling up a front yard near you.  The exact area where that big buck on the left was sitting two days later looked like we were about to plant corn on it.  No more nice green grass, just a war zone of porkic proportions. So with video camera in hand I walked the area and checked out the damage.  It was pretty extensive and honestly quite disturbing.  I mean I have seen it in the field a lot and have watched pigs to it to land, but never right in the midst of houses like this.

  Later that day the kids and I took a drive to check out some houses that are for sale in the area, which is a favorite past time of mine.  House, house, deer, deer, house, more deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeer and wait more rototilled front yards!  I could not believe what I was seeing. So many yard had been destroyed by the pigs it was unbelievable. Earlier in the year a really big fire had pushed them up the mountain side and into the valley. Pardon the pun, but the are really living "High on the hog."  And as we called it quits on the drive we came across this fella, which is just as shocking.


 
 An albino Pacific Black Tail-Muley Hybrid, a genetic defect that only effect 1 out of 250,000 deer.  The thing looked a little manged as you can see from the pic in the top, but really cool all the same. Look at the color difference in the middle pic too, the deer in front of him blend in nicely and he stick out like a sore thumb. Also notice all the deer in the coral behind him on the bottom pic, can anyone say "Bait Pile?"  Probably the only Albino I will see in my lifetime and honestly, he should be glad he does not live on my property, because daddy would have a new mount come next fall if he did.

  So for me a really cool Christmas, ducks, pigs and a ton of deer all of which did not grace my freezer, but was great all the same.  So to all of you, Merry Christmas and hope your days were as great as mine.

Peace be the Journey,

The Bearded Boar

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A Love One Lost & A Lost Love Discovered

     I do not usually get too personal or divulge deep feelings of my life over the Internet or discuss things about my family too much, but this week a few things happened to me that caused me to rethink my commitment to keep the blog centered on "The Beard".  First on a sad note my grandmother Joyce Kathleen Summers-Catalde passed away at the distinguished age of 93 years old.  She was a wonderful woman that loved me and my family dearly.  Always a kind word and a smile for me as far back as I could remember and she always had a warm embrace to give to anyone who would take it. So before I go any further "Thanks Grandmom. Miss ya."

    At the same time while I was loosing something so dear to me something else brought me more joy and amazement than almost anything else in my entire life, I took my 6 year old son hunting for the first time.  Sure we've gone out to spot n' stalk Black Tail deer at grandpa's house but this was a whole new adventure, a whole new world of dirt and discovery.  Just "Chew" and Dad, the boys out to get dinner for the fam.  I'll be honest I did not have high expectations of the trip, I mean I knew that there were ducks at my spot, but I did not think he could stay still long enough to allow me to get a shot off.  And for the record we did have a set of Mallards and flock of teal come in earlier and he was so excited he just kept yelling "get'em dad!" and "great shot!"  But the funny thing is I think they knew we were there from a mile away, something about a little boy, guns, dad and hunting that can turn up the volume on a normally quiet kid.

   Life was good even with the busted fly by of table fare. We just sat there and honed his skills of marksmanship by shooting his slingshot at lizards, rocks, and the river.  I had to explain to him that he wasn't Rango and "we do not shoot hawks."  He just replied, "hawk dead, snake comes." All you parents with kids know what I mean.  So after a break from our little "Lord of the Flies" adventure, we took to our boots and headed down the road.  After some creative stalking on a few ducks we were able to call a nice Gadwall in to join us for dinner. The turn, the approach, and the shot all went perfectly.  Luckily for me the tide was low and I was able to wade out in the river and pull her to safety.

  What happened next made my year, my son's first experience with a duck.  The video does not do it justice in the least.  His amazement and wonder at the duck was astonishing, he had to know everything about the duck and studied it's intricate details for the rest of the hunt.  I am still not sure if it was my duck or his, but the more I think of the day, it was our duck.  We, together, provided for our family and were able to fill the freezer. Chew's words of encouragement, "great shooting" and "let's get a daddy duck" will always stick with me.  I am not sure who enjoyed the afternoon more, me or him.  I guess all I really know is we both gained something that day, Chew got a little older and closer to being a man and I found the best hunting buddy a man could ask for, his son.

  I lost my father a few years ago and I'll be honest, hunting just hasn't been the same. Last Tuesday, I had the same feelings of being connected to another person while hunting that I had not had since my last dove hunting trip with my father.  It was not just a good day, it truly was one of the greatest days of my life. I look forward to taking my son, and someday my daughter, out hunting as much as I am able too.  So yes, I did loose something this week, but I found a lost love with my new hunting buddy.




Thanks,

The Bearded Boar

****This is my submission for the Sportsman Channel Writing Contest for Hunters hosted by the Outdoor Blogger Network.****

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