Honk, Honk, Honk is all I heard for three straight weeks in late January as the 2010 waterfowl hunt came to a close. The bad part was that most of the time I was making it up in my head .  The good part was that there were enough Geese around that its all I could think about and wanted to do. Die hard goose hunters are pretty easy going and have great patience. So for me, I struggle sitting in a blind freezing to death with a hope that a flock might come. Like all hunting and fishing its the behind the scenes planning and scouting that assured me that freezing in a blind would be well worth the pain. 5 am my phone was about to go off, but it didn’t matter. I had been up since 4:30 am too excited to sleep. What I’d seen the following evening  boiled my blood with anticapation. I couldn’t wait to meet up with Derek and the rest of the group as we set up the decoys and preped our blinds. By the time we had the spread out we had missed out on two smaller flocks of geese that wanted to be where we were standing. We hurried and drove the trucks back  to the barn and started walking to our field, but before we got half way back we heard a Honk, Honk, Honk. Like clock work a pair of geese came straight to our spread, made one pass and locked up. Luckily Weston had stayed back at the blind and with two shots. Had our first two geese of the morning. By now Derek and I started jogging to get back to the blind, but again we had a group of five locked in and heading right at Weston. SUCKKKK! We though,  as they passed right over Westons head without a shot. We now ran to the blind. Getting there, I asked what happen!  Weston shrugged his shoulders and said “I didn’t want my hunt to be over yet”. Wow! I didn’t think I would ever hear a goose hunter say that. It didn’t really matter, our scouting paid off.  The 200+ geese that ambushed the corn the day before wanted another buffet. Flock after flock gave us a shot and after all was said and done, we had a ditch full of geese and a bunch of happy hunters. This was one of the best days of the 2011 waterfowl season. It was hard not to feel like we were in Cananda or Chesapekee Bay, but being surrounded by the grandour of the Rockies I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else in the world. Its a hunt Derek and I will have a hard time beating. Can’t wait for next year…

This years waterfowl hunt flew by like a Teal through the decoys.  I was only able to get out a handful of times before it was to late.  This season started out awesome with a great opener at FB and finished off with a crazy goose hunt in my backyard. 

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 Like the opener, I spent the last days of the hunt with my hunting buddy Brandon Carter,  his dad (Bob) and friend Rob.  I had gotten word from my little brother that geese had been flying into our families fields every morning, so I had to set something up before we missed our window. The plan was set and at 6:30 the following morning found us out in the freezing morning air setting up goose decoys and fixing our blinds.  The morning didn’t go exactly as planned, we hoped the at the geese would start flying in around 8 am, but by 9 am we had only been teased by 3 loners who didn’t give use the time of day. As the sun came out and the cold January breeze tried to push us out of our blinds and back to our warm trucks, we heard a faint honk that all waterfowlers know well. (And can’t get out of there heads)  Game on I though! For the next 2 hours we were graced by flocks of honkers looking over our spread, giving us the wing and a few locking up.  We were rewarded, but the real measure of success was the experiences that we will each take away and learn from this outing.  I know in the future I will sit back with my hunting buddies and recount this experience and laugh at the birds that turned away and the shots that were missed. Not to mention the ghost geese that come out of the fog when you least expect them. It was a crazy end to a great beginning!

Bling Bling Bling  

Spending time in the marsh has become tradition with my brothers. Every year we try and get out together to harvest some birds and refill our fly tying feathers. On this morning we didn’t have the best of luck as far as bagging a limit of ducks, in fact we shot almost two boxes of shells and only had one duck to show for it. Pretty crappy shooting by me! But it was great to be out and see the birds work the only open water in the area.

Its hard to beat a morning with my brothers in the marsh.

Since we had a few hours to burn we decided to hit the river for some winter trout. The fishing was constant with deep nymphs on almost ever drop off we targeted.  The midges didn’t show like we hoped, but it ended up being awesome anyway.

Life flight Heli stopped by to see how the fishing was…or maybe…to help out with the narly wreck that stopped traffic for an hour…pretty crazy stuff to have a front row seat at.

It was neat to see the differences in the two species…Especially in the colorations and spots. This was the first of a few doubles.

One of the all time most successful flies in fly fishing is the Pheasant Tail nymph. It works on fooling trout all over worldwith its mayfly appearance. I personally took a liking to it early in my fly fishing days, in fact I remember the first summer I started fly fishing on a regular basis. I was sixteen and had an old 70 Chevy truck that was my vessel to places and things I always wanted to experience. With the freedom to drive I started fishing the Lower Provo River whenever I got a chance. Since I could only tie a few flies the pheasant tail became my go to fly. At the time I didn’t realize what it imitated, all I knew was that it caught fish and it made fly fishing fun. That summer alone, I probably tied over 200 pheasant tail flies to full fill my fishing craz and all those dang break offs. (2 PTs per break off) Since those days I have expanded my fly boxes, but when the situation calls for it I don’t forget my roots. I always have a few trusty PTs to pick up some picky trout.

To me the making of a pheasant tail nymph goes a lot deeper than simply tying feathers on to a hook to imitate a small mayfly. No to me its a unique experience that makes these little bugs special. The process starts ever early November as the cold weather graces us with its presence. It is the time to bag the birds that carry the tail feathers that make up the flies name. The ring neck pheasant is a majestic bird known for its beautiful colors and long tail feathers. It is the king of all upland game birds. 

A week already into the pheasant hunt I was starting to wonder if I was going to have the chance to bag a bird and rep the benefits. So with an open Saturday and a fresh coat of snow, I was off to try my luck. At first things started off good as I heard a rooster chuckle, but somehow the wiley birds eluded Cash and I. For the next few hours Cash I pushed through the thickest brush possible, but all we had to show for it was soaking pants, cold hands and a wet dog. As I was about to give in, I noticed in the distance a couple pheasants walking back into the pasture where we started. I sprinted to the spot and started looking around for the birds, but again nothing. By now I was done, I couldn’t believe they had given us the slip again. So I started walking back to the truck, when I thought what the heck I’ll try this patch of tumble weeds on the way out. I walked through the weeds confident-less, as I approached the end of the patch aroyal ring neck erupted from my feet. I only had seconds, I brought my gun up, shot! Missed!!! I pumped in another shell this time aiming at the target that was flying away like a jet, it was getting out of shooting range, but I pulled the trigger…the bird dropped like a rock!!! Cash ran after the fallen bird and with a big dog smile, let me know our day and season was a success.

 As I looked at those tail feathers today I couldn’t help but feel a longing for summer fishing and pheasant tail nymphs. Its funny as I am hunting pheasants I sometimes envision the fish at I will catch on the pheasant feathers I that I harvest and make into flies. It is truly the purest form fly fishing that I can get when I can harvest the features from the pheasants I bag and than get peacock from a friend who raises them to make up a completely pure fly that symbolizes the reason why we all fly fish.  So to me a pheasant tail isn’t just a fly, it is a story of a bird that I bagged and a fly that I personally handcrafted to imate a mayfly nymph that will outsmart a trout that is as wild as the pheasant that roamed the pastures. So next time you tie on a pheasant tail nymph sit back and think for a second about what its story could be, because I will.

Growing up on a farm has had it rewards. How many kids do you know that can say there backyard was 500+ acres of farmland? With all that open space I was constantly occupied with with exploring and using the land to its fullest. If I wasn’t building huts along Utah Lakes shoreline or catching monster channel cats, walleye, white bass, and carp, I was chasing ducks, geese, and my favorite the mighty PHEASANT!

To me pheasant hunting is a tradition, it is something I have grown up doing ever since I was old enough to shot a shotgun. So every first week of November I get really excited about the opportunity to chase these majestic birds with friends and family as wecontinue to renew our heritage. (Plus its a great way to replenish my fly tying feathers) The past few years haven’t been the best for pheasants, with an over abundance of predators (foxes, skunks, raccoons, hawks, bobcats, and human influence) The pheasantnumbers were way down. This year has been the first year in a while that I have started to notice a substantial rebound in the population. With this in mind I had a hard time sleeping Fridaynight. The hunt the next morning was great, we saw a few birds, shot a couple and missed a nice one. (You know the one you miss is always the biggest) But more than the birds it was the time spent in the fresh November morning, pushing through fields, running dogs and telling stories. Those will be the reason for our return next November.

For years, my good friend Brandon Carter would tell me stories and show me pictures of the amazing opening day of the Utah waterfowl season. It is something I have always dreamed about experiencing and I had put it on the top of my list.  Brandon Carter is one of the greatest sportsman I know. He lives and dies spending time outdoors with friends and family and thrives over the challenge of the hunt.  It is this passion that has proven to be his secret weapon to success. He simply has put in the time and effort to improve his odds and make success in the field a thing of constant matter. It was this reason I was ecstatic to be part of his group for the opening of the 2009 duck hunt.  The hunt started a day before the legal shooting began, Carter and a couple of his other buddies wanted to claim one of the best spots in the marsh at a very popular duck resting marsh. (In fact it is the largest resting spot on the Pacific Flyway) After setting out the decoys that night, we were all set and now awaiting the blessed morning to come.  As I approached the parking area that night, I was blown away by the excitement, craz, and culture of waterfowl hunting that I had never witnessed, in my years of hunting ducks on the Utah Lake shoreline. There were $40k dollar Air boats, hundreds of long shaft motor boats, camo as far as the eye could see, excited water dogs and a parking lot full to the brim with jacked-up trucks covered in waterfowl decals. It was the real deal when it comes to public land duck hunting. In fact as I glassed over the parking area there were as many license plates from out of state then in state. I just couldn’t get over the excitement and feeling of the hunt to come. At our camp we were living life to the highest standard when it comes to hunting. We had a group of 8 shooters, 2 young guns and Max the dog. To top it off we were going to be spending the night all together in the Carters 35ft motor home. As the night progressed and the hunting stories started to stretch a bite, we decided we better turn off the Duck Commander DVDs and get a few hours of sleep before 4:45am was upon us. As the alarm rang, we all were more then ready to start the day. It is always hard for me to sleep with the anticipation of any hunt or fishing trip on my mind and I know it was for the rest of our group. (Plus it was hott) So we loaded the boat with shells and guns and sent them off while the rest of the group got on their bikes and headed down the dike for a 15 min ride to our spot. The next 2 hrs was torcherous, as the daylight broke the ducks started flying by the 1000s. It was one of the coolest sights I have ever scene out in the marsh. When the glorious 8am came I wasn’t ready for what was to unfold. It was as if a war had begun in the marsh. Shots by the hundreds rang the air for the next 2hrs. The ducks must have been just as excited because they were flying high and fast. It was as exciting as one gets when it comes to fast shooting for ducks. Within the first hour most of our group had shot over 2 boxes of shells and working on their 3rd. As we settle down, our shooting got better and the ducks started to fall.  

We even were lucky enough to have the chance at a high flying banded goose that Carter hit just right with his 2 shot. (It was an awesome shot!) It was an amazing experience to say the least. We ended up shooting over 30+ birds and a banded goose.  

Brandon, Brian, Travis, Tyler

I fill very lucky to have been part of such a great day of waterfowl hunting, as well as sharing this experience with my new friends (Bobs (Both), Bryan, Tyer, Shawn and the rest of the crew) I can’t wait for next years opener!!!