Luck of the Draw...

I hunted Magee Marsh today with one of my best friends. This is a lottery hunt sponsored by the Ohio Division of Wildlife.  Magee is a beautiful marsh that adjoins Lake Erie and the ODOW does a great job managing the facility. You draw for your blind from a wooden box of ping pong balls and hang your tag on the map.  We drew a open hole just off the lake, that hadn't been hunted all week. We were excited as the weather has been stale, and any birds have "been there, done that" for 3 weeks now.  We enjoyed the "train ride" of boats to our hole in the marsh...

Milestones

Talk about a fairy tale story...when Bill, Seger, Roux and I settled into our spot on a North Dakota pothole on the morning of October 10, Roux was 2 birds short of 1000 career waterfowl retrieves. I shot a gadwall early that Roux made short work of, and Bill and Seger collected a fine mallard. As if God himself sent them, a pair of drake pintails worked perfectly into the decoys shortly thereafter and we dropped both. The wind carried my bird out 70 or so yards while Seger brought in Bill's drake, as Bill wanted to film Roux. He made a perfect retrieve, like so many others over the last 5 seasons, and I admit I got a little choked up. 

I have had several people ask me why I bother keeping track of numbers.  Truthfully, I guess Im not sure.  While numbers may not translate to natural ability or to learned skill, I do feel it is a yardstick of experience and opportunity.  Certainly, I don't feel he is better than any other dog based on those numbers alone, and I am sure there are plenty more skilled out there, but he is mine.  

I also realize 1000 may not compare to the numbers racked up by dogs in duck-rich states that hunt every day, but for a weekend warrior from Ohio...well, I couldn't be prouder. 

From the puppy nobody would take to the dog nobody could buy...its been a great ride, and we are just getting started, Roux-ster.

Brown is Beautiful...so getducks!