Clark -- Watertown Assistance

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birdhunter6

Member
Can someone with local knowledge inform me when the wetlands/potholes will be free of ice just south of Clark??

It is extremely important to me.

Thanks in advance..you may pm me...

Richard
 
birdhunter6 said:
Can someone with local knowledge inform me when the wetlands/potholes will be free of ice just south of Clark??

It is extremely important to me.

Thanks in advance..you may pm me...

Richard
Click to expand...

This seems like a rather strange request without some kind of explanation as to why you are asking?? Can I ask why?

I'm not sure if you were out in this area last fall but many of the smaller potholes have dried up due to last years drought. I don't think that area just south of Clark ever dried up entirely but it sure was way down. Now, the bigger question. When will the ice be off these areas. Best answer I can give you is not any time soon. Last year on this day, the 18th of March, we set a record high for the day here in Watertown of 82 degrees. Right now we still have over a foot of snow on the ground, winds today are gusting to 40 mph and the high temp for the day is 11. Suppose to get below zero tonight. My best guess is the ice won't be off the lakes and sloughs around here until late April.
 
Explanation for Ice Out Question near Clark - Watertown

I was invited to hunt the Clark area in early December by a friend on property owned by an absentee landowner...My friend and I traveled to Clark along with my 3 English Setters. We had a good day on December 7 friday. We began hunting on saturday, temps in the upper 20's, 3 inches of fresh snow, windy, after a 45 minute walk north of my truck, my 10 year old English Setter Sage crested a small hill and dropped out of sight. When I followed up behind him and walked up the slight rise, he was not in sight...Figured he was on point like always, we were approximately 60 yards from the frozen pothole that was adjacent to us occassionally. I scanned the area for a minute and asked my buddy if he saw him, then located with Beeper collar which sounded east of my position towards the frozen ice...Walked about another 50 yards and spotted him about 70 yards offshore in a spot of water opening smaller than the size of a queen bed....Suppose he went to water, despite the fact I was carrying water, must of smelled it...Told my friend to run to the truck and drive through the fields because I was going to break out through the ice to get him probably couldn't walk back to the truck wet...I began walking on the ice breaking thru and falling,,,going too slow, so I plowed back to shore to get my gun,,,,cleared weapon and began breaking ice with the stock,,Sage was trying to climb out while barking to me...I got within in 30 yards where the water was over my waist when he went down...Went back to shore and waited for the truck to arrive...But I couldn't sit because clothes were freezing so I starting walking...

I lost the best setter I ever owed hunting over him in 6 states,,,,I am traumitized beyond words...I plan to travel up there soon after ice out, hopefully to retrieve my dog, bring him home and bury him with the rest of my hunting companions. My boat requires a ramp of which there isn't one on this body of water, therefore, gonna try and borrow one that I can slide off a trailer, put a motor on, drive the shoreline or drag for him..

Richard Whitton
Wildlife Biologist
Illinois DNR
 
Richard, I am very sorry for your loss. That had to be really tough. There is a "Sticky Post" in the Main Pheasant Hutning forum that I made that is a warning about hunting around ice. Two hunters were lost in 2011 while trying to retreive their dogs that has gone through the ice.

I am sending you a PM.
 
Thats awful. I almost had the same thing happen to me at Jamestown, Kansas. My dog ran across ice out to open water and went in. Fortunately, I was able to break throught the ice to get her in arm pit deep water. It was below zero, and by the time we walked the 1/2 mile back to the truck we were both sheets of ice. I was just fortunate I got to her before she went down, and that the water wasn't much deeper.
I'm really sorry about your dog. I wish you luck finding him.




birdhunter6 said:
I was invited to hunt the Clark area in early December by a friend on property owned by an absentee landowner...My friend and I traveled to Clark along with my 3 English Setters. We had a good day on December 7 friday. We began hunting on saturday, temps in the upper 20's, 3 inches of fresh snow, windy, after a 45 minute walk north of my truck, my 10 year old English Setter Sage crested a small hill and dropped out of sight. When I followed up behind him and walked up the slight rise, he was not in sight...Figured he was on point like always, we were approximately 60 yards from the frozen pothole that was adjacent to us occassionally. I scanned the area for a minute and asked my buddy if he saw him, then located with Beeper collar which sounded east of my position towards the frozen ice...Walked about another 50 yards and spotted him about 70 yards offshore in a spot of water opening smaller than the size of a queen bed....Suppose he went to water, despite the fact I was carrying water, must of smelled it...Told my friend to run to the truck and drive through the fields because I was going to break out through the ice to get him probably couldn't walk back to the truck wet...I began walking on the ice breaking thru and falling,,,going too slow, so I plowed back to shore to get my gun,,,,cleared weapon and began breaking ice with the stock,,Sage was trying to climb out while barking to me...I got within in 30 yards where the water was over my waist when he went down...Went back to shore and waited for the truck to arrive...But I couldn't sit because clothes were freezing so I starting walking...

I lost the best setter I ever owed hunting over him in 6 states,,,,I am traumitized beyond words...I plan to travel up there soon after ice out, hopefully to retrieve my dog, bring him home and bury him with the rest of my hunting companions. My boat requires a ramp of which there isn't one on this body of water, therefore, gonna try and borrow one that I can slide off a trailer, put a motor on, drive the shoreline or drag for him..

Richard Whitton
Wildlife Biologist
Illinois DNR
Click to expand...
 
Pictures of Sage

Pictures of Sage == Sired by direct son to Stillmeadow's Jim 5x Nat Grouse Champion Inducted in field trial hall of fame.

pic 1 - At home in southern Illinois with an unusual snow
pic 2- Western Kansas pheasant limit
pic 3 - Wood cock point near Park Falls, WI

After hunting the prairie, big woods and west, I thought I'd seen my fair share of dog accidents,,,,barbed wire tears, pocupines-skunk-raccoon-badger-oposums-house cat run-ins, pickly pear cactus, sand spurs (Larned, KS), prairie rattlesnakes near prairie dog towns and even getting bit myself by a copperhead during preseason conditioning...But watching him drown and me struggling in the water to get to him has changed my perspective on life.

Richard
 
Richard: What a beautiful dog and very sad and touching story; it must have been very difficult to leave that place without your dog - can't imagine the feelings that you experienced.

If I lived a bit closer to Clark, I would gladly help you find your buddy. Good luck to you.
 
Very good looking pup, and a sad story that made me choke up as I read it. It happens that I too have a pup named Sage. I can't imagine what you are going through.

Best of luck and God's speed to you in finding your pup. Take some solace in knowing that his last day was spend doing what he obviously loved to do.
 
Richard, thanks for sharing your story and I am sorry for your loss.

One of the things I have gotten from the UGUIDE business is a much greater appreciation for just how much dogs mean to their owners and how much of a part of the hunting and life experience they are.

I hope you find your friend.

PS. a week a go the forecast looked warmer but a real cold snap came thru state and is here now even hampering my plans at the lodge.

Dakotazeb might be best source for when open water will return to eastern SD.
 
What a horrible tragedy. I feel for ya Buddy. I cannot begin to imagine being in that situation.
You wanting to go look for him tells me an awful lot about the type of person you are and what he meant to you.
I wish you well.
 
birdhunter6 said:
I was invited to hunt the Clark area in early December by a friend on property owned by an absentee landowner...My friend and I traveled to Clark along with my 3 English Setters. We had a good day on December 7 friday. We began hunting on saturday, temps in the upper 20's, 3 inches of fresh snow, windy, after a 45 minute walk north of my truck, my 10 year old English Setter Sage crested a small hill and dropped out of sight. When I followed up behind him and walked up the slight rise, he was not in sight...Figured he was on point like always, we were approximately 60 yards from the frozen pothole that was adjacent to us occassionally. I scanned the area for a minute and asked my buddy if he saw him, then located with Beeper collar which sounded east of my position towards the frozen ice...Walked about another 50 yards and spotted him about 70 yards offshore in a spot of water opening smaller than the size of a queen bed....Suppose he went to water, despite the fact I was carrying water, must of smelled it...Told my friend to run to the truck and drive through the fields because I was going to break out through the ice to get him probably couldn't walk back to the truck wet...I began walking on the ice breaking thru and falling,,,going too slow, so I plowed back to shore to get my gun,,,,cleared weapon and began breaking ice with the stock,,Sage was trying to climb out while barking to me...I got within in 30 yards where the water was over my waist when he went down...Went back to shore and waited for the truck to arrive...But I couldn't sit because clothes were freezing so I starting walking...

I lost the best setter I ever owed hunting over him in 6 states,,,,I am traumitized beyond words...I plan to travel up there soon after ice out, hopefully to retrieve my dog, bring him home and bury him with the rest of my hunting companions. My boat requires a ramp of which there isn't one on this body of water, therefore, gonna try and borrow one that I can slide off a trailer, put a motor on, drive the shoreline or drag for him..

Richard Whitton
Wildlife Biologist
Illinois DNR
Click to expand...

Richard,
I have a little duck boat with an electric trolling motor on it, it is not big and you might want a bigger motor in it, but you are welcome to use it if it would help.
 
I have to confess that I read this yesterday and cannot get it out of my mind. The breed really doesn't matter except that I have a setter right now that "hung the moon" as far as I'm concerned, and your story hit very close to home. I am so sorry for you and the dog both! I cannot imagine what mental anguish you both experienced. I wish I was close enough to go with you to make that retrieve. I always try to steer clear of this kind of situation with ice and will double my efforts as a caution in the future. God bless you and your efforts to bring Sage home. You and your efforts are in my prayers.
 
I see that birdhunter6 has not updated this thread to let everyone to know what has recently happened. I trust he will not mind me posting the email I received yesterday from him.

I received a telephone call from South Dakota on May 2 (ironic since its my wedding anniversery) from a tenant farmer who farms the adjacent property...During routine field evaluation, this individual found Sage and called to tell me that he has him in his freezer. After a rapid thaw, warm temps with southwest winds washed up Sage on the west bank of the wetland. This occurred only after a week after ice out. The beeper collar and his regular collar has my name and telephone number on it.

I will be making a trip later this month to retrieve him once I can "breakaway" from family activities this month such as Prom, Mother's Day and High School graduation for my daughter.

I have borrowed a 150 quart cooler to transport Sage from a friend who uses it on elk hunting trips out west. I will be burying him next to his sire, however I will be forever "haunted" by this experience...As a dog owner, it is difficult to travel with the dog to the vet for the "last time", however its always at my discretion and all medical treatments have been exhausted.

I know that I will never be the same, nor will I ever forgive myself for taking my "eye" off of him for just a minute...
Click to expand...
 
Thanks, George:

Was wondering what had happened to the end of the story - thanks for posting.
 
Thanks for posting george. As hard as I am sure this trip will be, I am sure he is gratefull to be able to bring it to a closure. I wish you a safe trip.
 
This is one of those threads everyone should read. It raised my consciousness level a good bit, because it could happen to any one and anybody's dog. I visited my son's farm just a couple of days ago and turned my dog out to run there. It is diamondback country and gator country and he had heard a gator rumbling that morning. A dog is a sitting duck for a gator and they love dogs. I had my dog snake broken last year about this time and last Thursday night we were at a friends place on west coast of Florida. Gunshots just after dark proved to be a neighbor shooting at a cottonmouth a bit over four feet long. After explaining the shots to us he went back to see if he could find the snake and I helped by producing a stronger flashlight for the job. This was about a hundred feet from the house where we were staying. The snake was killed and the head removed. I laid it in the carport and called my dog too see if she remembered the lesson and she did! She put me between her and the snake. I was glad to see her do that! We do all we can to protect them but things still happen! This man's story is quite touching and I feel for him, because it could happen to anyone no matter how hard we try. I will remember his plight and forever be in sympathy with him. He tried so hard to get to the dog and it just wasn't possible. It touched my heart for the both of them. Thanks for the follow up on the story.
 
I am just now reading this, I can't believe I have missed this. As I read it I have tears in my eyes. For some reason the thought of losing my bird dogs just tears me up. Hell I usually don't even get this emotional when humans pass. I guess something must be wrong with me, but damn I love my bird dogs! They work their ass for you for so little in return.
 
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