A season with the hounds

quail hound

quail hound

Moderator
I'm going to share a photo journal of my season and travels here. A lot of these pics will be cross posted on other threads as well with maybe more commentary on those threads. With a green pup and an older dog with a touch of arthritis my expectations of this season are tempered, it's all about the journey and memories this year.
 
Cool pics. She's a good looking dog.

I'm not big on recommending products but I got a free sample of 'Canine Active' and it really helps Trap recover from a day in the field. ymmv
 
I'll have to check it out. He's not bad but his front right paw swells a bit at the carpels. He's been taking glucosamine/ chondroitin which seems to have helped and have some rimadyl I give him if he needs it, 25mg usually does the trick for him.
 
We saw a good amount of birds this weekend and my pup pinned these two for me today. She's going to be a good one.

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quail hound said:
Up north. Hunting Kesterson tomorrow.
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Hi Robert,

I think you will do okay at Kesterson. Stay away from China Island. It was really bad. We only saw one bird in one spot that were flushed by a large group. Otherwise nothing. Only 5 pheasants taken on the opener at China Island. That is really bad. I should have known better with the refuge flooded out last winter it was going to be a bad year. I am going to try San Luis NWR later in the season.
 
There were definitely birds out there, it was just too warm to hunt too long. Lady ran 15.8 miles, pointed two covies of quail, and had a point that produced eight hen pheasants. As they had our attention two roosters snuck out the end just out of range. We also had two more roosters that flushed wild as lady tracked them. No shots fired today but it sure beat going to work.

Here's lady pointing a single quail after the covey rise.

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We had our asses thoroughly kicked yesterday. Hunted the old dog for an hour and the pup for three without moving a bird. My spots seemed pretty good and seeing some weedy standing wheat in some of them was a nice change but we just weren't there when the pheasants were. The day ended when I tweaked my knee a bit in a furrow that I couldn't see in a pasture. That's hunting for you huh?

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quail hound said:
We had our asses thoroughly kicked yesterday. Hunted the old dog for an hour and the pup for three without moving a bird. My spots seemed pretty good and seeing some weedy standing wheat in some of them was a nice change but we just weren't there when the pheasants were. The day ended when I tweaked my knee a bit in a furrow that I couldn't see in a pasture. That's hunting for you huh?

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I have had similar experiences thus far for pheasant season on the Grassland refuges. I am hoping it is just too dry and an intersection problem. Then again, I am always overly optimistic. Most people who aren't pheasant hunters and have tried it think I am completely insane. Then I take them chukar hunting and they KNOW I am insane.
 
That was the first time I remember not seeing a bird but I know they're there so we'll take the goid with the bad. Much better than staying home anyways.:cheers:
 
quail hound said:
That was the first time I remember not seeing a bird but I know they're there so we'll take the goid with the bad. Much better than staying home anyways.:cheers:
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Absolutely. The dog doesn't know the difference and they are just having fun being out there and looking for scent. I should take a cue from my dog and just enjoy the wetlands.
 
enzinn said:
Absolutely. The dog doesn't know the difference and they are just having fun being out there and looking for scent. I should take a cue from my dog and just enjoy the wetlands.
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I was tempted to take the springer back out and shoot a handful of snipe for him, poor dog is getting the short end as I've really been running the pup a lot.
 
quail hound said:
I was tempted to take the springer back out and shoot a handful of snipe for him, poor dog is getting the short end as I've really been running the pup a lot.
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So you noticed the same thing I did - the snipe are in early and there are shit tons of them. I am going to try to work the cover for pheasants along the slough on southwestern Salt Slough WA tomorrow, starting right at the check station parking lot and working north. I am sure the dog and I will be hot and exhausted after three or four hours of that (supposed to be 75 degrees tomorrow). I am going to bring a box or two of #7 steel and head for Parking Lot B after that - they hogged out all the cover northwest of the parking lot and are currently flooding that up, with the end result being hundreds, if not more, of snipe using that area. The dog will be absolutely ecstatic at the shooting and hopefully I can hit a few to give her a retrieve and have an appetizer for the evening.

Of course, now that I said that, I will head out there and they will have moved to somewhere else. :eek:
 
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