One of Rachel's producers was having trouble with geese pounding one of his fields and he actually got ahold of me to see if I was willing to put a little pressure on them.
Was I willing........
After I looked at my schedule, I booked a day, and spent my time thinking about how I was going to pull this one off. September was chaos for me at work so as happens often, I had the Friday before my hunt day off. I did not feel like going into this day blind because I had never seen the property and hadn't had the time to check it out until Friday. I drove out in the drizzly rain and brought my binos. I glassed the field.
Nothing there as of 8am.
I got out of the car and walked the field to get the lay of the land and see what my options were. When I crested the hill, I could see where I would eventually set up, but I was a little disheartened to not see any birds on the field.
At about 8:30am, the sky was peppered with flocks.
Group after group made there way across the field, some stopping in, others flying past into another field to the north. By the time I got back to the car I had seem close to 500 geese, and there were more coming. I knew this had the potential to be epic.
I spent the remainder of my day fashioning a makeshift layout blind out of a sled I had been using for ice fishing. Without spending a dime, I was able to put something together to hide myself and hopefully a dog.
When Rachel came home from work she told me about her day as usual, and a little snippet popped out from the rest about a guide that came in with their dog. They had shot 50+ geese that morning... I was really hoping they were south of town...
When morning finally came, Mocha and I collected our gear and headed out the door. We dragged our way across the field and found a decent spot to hole up for the morning. I laid out my dekes and brushed in the blind. When I finally settled in, it was just a waiting game.
And waiting is exactly what we did.
My instincts were right about the guides. They were pulling into their field about 15 minutes after I pulled into mine. They were a half mile to the north of me in a different field.
Mocha and I didn't so much as hear a bird until after 8am. The droves of geese coming off of the roost from the south were nowhere to be seen. I figured it was all but over as the sky was darkening quickly from the south. I knew the weather was going to get dicey, but I figured it was going to be later in the morning.
A few flocks made their way over us after the guys to the north had pounded away at them, but they were not about to stop at our homely spread.
At about 8:50am a pair of honkers came in from behind me and took a big loop around the field. When they cross out in from of us I figured it was a lost cause and at the last second, they banked left and dropped their landing gear. Again, it was like something out of an outdoor magazine.
With two well placed shots, I dropped both geese without a hitch.
Again, as I sat in my hide, I could not believe it work! I stood up to grab both geese but when I did I could see another flock coming in from behind us. I buried myself and Mocha in, and honked my brains out on my goose call. They banked just like the pair did, but something must have been fishy, as they flared early. I flipped open my blind and did my best to pull one down. My second shot managed to connect, and a lone goose sailed from the flock. I knew this was going to be a long retrieve, but it was field hunting and I knew where the bird would come down. When I stood up to collect the errant bird, Mocha was nowhere to be found.
Having a very deaf dog no longer in sight is a terrifying feeling.
I just started walking in hopes I would catch a glimpse of her somewhere. When I crested the hill I could see her working back and forth in the field, looking for the downed goose. Her eyes aren't perfect either but she knew what she was there to do. She worked back to me, and I guided her to the goose's location. I could see it laid down in the short wheat stubble and when it decided Mocha was too close for comfort it tried to get back up again. Mocha locked on the bird and she barreled head first into the flapping honker. Mocha has not retrieved but five geese for me since I have had her, and she proudly waddled her way towards me with this one. Because she is a little out of shape and quite geriatric, she paused a couple of times along the way back to me to take break, but she brought it all the way back to me. This was the absolute icing on the cake for the morning.
I will not get many more hunts like this with Mocha. Even this one bird was a struggle for her, but she was about as content and happy as I had seen her in awhile. I didn't hammer the birds but as many know, I just wanted one anyway, and having the old pup with me made for a great hunt.
Stay Tuned
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