01/07/2025
Happy New Year!
Wildrose Midwest escaped the cold weather this weekend to hunt ducks in South Texas. Although an abundance of water across the Laguna Madre dispersed the ducks, our guides successfully located them, and the Yeti is now full on the return trip.
It was enjoyable to have two new "rookie" dogs, WR Duke and WR Jackson, with us this year to learn the ropes. These two did great from a game recovery standpoint. It was fun to watch their learning each day. There is no substitute for the real thing.
Day 1, we quickly reached our limit on pintails and watched as hundreds more poured into the decoys throughout the morning. Among flocks of pintails, it was fun and challenging to identify the occasional bluebill, wigeon and shoveler who dropped in the decoys.
Day 2 the redheads were abundant, and after quickly reaching our limit, we were treated to hundreds more dropping into the decoys. With strong 20 mph winds, they literally hovered motionless over the decoy spread.
Following our morning shoot and obligatory nap, we engaged in an afternoon of fishing, and the speckled trout did not disappoint.
On Day 3, 35 mph winds resulted in a nice variety of ducks, and with 20 minutes left before we had to leave, we were graced with the arrival of three model ducks - all mounters. We successfully dropped all three of them.
Now back to below zero temperatures, training dogs, and a notebook of drills to work on before next year.
Training list:
1. Remote send with other hunters in the line of site between my dog and I.
2. Stop on the whistle at extended distances in the water.
It won’t be long before we are training with live ducks and open water. We invite you to come and train with us as we work on these advanced skills.
