Hunting Blog June 23, 2010 So you want to be a better caller... As waterfowlers we invest a great deal of time, money and energy into the pursuit of our quarry. The one thing I have found that benefits me more than any other tool I have is my ability to call birds into gunning range. Investing the time, and energy into practice is critical to success in waterfowl hunting.  One of the things I do to prepare for a calling contest is record myself practicing on my call. If, when I play back the audio it doesn't sound good, well then I make a change to the routine. Over the years my calling has improved drastically. My improvements are directly related to the amount of time I practice. If you are willing to invest some time, then you to can become a better caller!     June 11, 2010 Colusa Hunt with a suprise As hunts go, this one was rough!  The morning started out with three hunters and me heading down the long check out to the steel hole in the ground we would call home for the next few hours. I'm not quite sure how to explain the next 4 hours... uneventful. That's it, just uneventful. There was literally no duck flight in the morning and the specks were just sitting as well. Blame it on the moon, the sun, or the stars; this hunt just wasn't working out. I had high hopes that morning, confident I would "make it happen" for the three hunters that were out with me. It just didn't work out!  We all decided the hunt was going nowhere fast and decided to head back to the truck for the day. At the truck I mentioned we had another property that the specks had been working for at least the last week. The property was not too far, and one hunter decided to join me at that location for the next hour. An hour is all it took! Running traffic was the name of the game for that hour, and it only took a few "lookers" to drop into the decoys to have a single limit of birds in the blind.    June 11, 2010 Are you ready? Next waterfowl season is right around the corner! Will you be ready?  Are your decoys touched up, and your layouts mudded? Are your calls setup how you like them. There are many things a waterfowler can do in the off-season to make opening day one for the books. I take preparation seriously. Anyone who has ever hunted with me knows this. One element I rely heavily on and focus on during the off-season is calling. Getting to know our calls makes all the difference. My RedBone, for example is my go-to speck call. I spend an hour a day, on average, working with that call. It doesn't really matter what my focus is during the time I spend. What does matter is that I am excersizing all of the muscles it takes to blow that call effectively. Have you ever noticed how difficult it is to run your call in the beginning of the season. Muscle memory is an important thing to keep in mind. Besides just blowing your call here and there, preparing for a calling contest can really get you motivated. Contest calling is a great thing to get into. Going to calling contests, and meeting other folks in the waterfowl industry is always a great time.There are many reasons I enjoy contest calling, but the biggest reason is to simply get better at running my call. Preparing for a calling contest is a great way to get the muscles in shape before waterfowl season and there is no doubt in my mind that it makes all the difference in my success while in the field. September 20, 2009 Central Valley Gun Dogs Training Day with Central Valley Gun Dogs   Troy Merrill with Central Valley Gun Dogs is a professional retriever trainer operating out of Modesto, California. He runs an excellent program that can bring out the best in your pup, or older dog.  One of the best things Troy has to offer is his mobile training sessions. He has a schedule that takes him all over Northern California throughout the year. One weekend he will be in Stockton, the next near Davis, and somewhere else another day.  His training style is based on consistency and patience. I have enjoyed working with Troy and will take time to meet up with him at a mobile training session soon. Archives September 2009 June 2010

2009/2010 Duck Season November 5, 2009 One man, and his first waterfowl hunt... Opening weekend is often a time when the local birds, ducks and geese, are just figuring out that "something" isn't right about the marsh they have been landing in for the last six months. It is a great time for us, as hunters, to put together all of our resources and get out there... they'll wisen up before we know it. October 25th was a day that Tim will not soon forget. I believe his face may still hurt from smiling so often. He didn't say much... the occassional "Wow", and " That was amazing". This day was his first waterfowl adventure ever. I felt a great deal of pressure as the sun started to rise in the East that morning. I knew if this hunt went well, that I would have single handedly brought another hunter into the world of waterfowling; if it went wrong then I would have let down all of waterfowling. As the hunt went on, it just seemed to get better. The Giant Canadas were moving through the area in small groups which was great for what we wanted. We had roughly 15 different small flocks come into the decoys that morning, and in the end... Tim had taken a full limit of very large Canada geese. We took a number of pictures throughout the hunt and he kept reminding me of what a great time he was having. I am thankful to have been part of his maiden waterfowling voyage! The only down-side to this hunt is that Tim has a 10 year old son and he didn't know what to expect so he didn't end up bringing him on the hunt. Had I known this, his son would have been right next to him in his own layout; shooting geese with a camera!  November 5, 2009 Opening day with Aaron and Jalen! Our annual Father/Sons opening day hunt was GREAT.  We got out to a local refuge for an afternoon hunt that was a great one that we will each remember for many years. It is amazing just how much goes into outfitting an eight and nine year old hunter so he can go out on a single trip to the marsh. IT IS SO WORTH IT, though.  I wish I had a video camera for this one... Aaron and Jalen blew their Echo mallard calls at each and every duck that flew near our pond. The gentlemen with the spinners North of us were pulling most of the birds off of the boys, but they were able to coax at least five ducks into the decoys for me.  I shot so-so, and finished with 5 ducks for the afternoon. Being able to watch the sun set with Aaron and Jalen on the opener was great; a time that every Dad out there can understand. November 5, 2009 A new season is here... The Early season Hunt "Up North" What can I say... the trip did not live up to the hype from years past. That's ok, because it gave me an opportunity to find out a few things about myself. Anyone can be a good hunter, and friend when there are tons of birds and nothing to do but retrieve the geese that fell from the last volley.  This trip tested my patience and taught me many things about public land hunting that I had always taken for granted. My hunting partners learned quickly that hunting refuges is more battle and less hunting. Though I was prepared for the challenge... somehow I had forgot to mention it to them in enough detail for them to get the actual mental picture I expected them to have. How could I haveexpected my partners to understand that when another hunter, at 0 dark 30, yells... "get the hell out of my spot you $&#$", or other statements... even threatens us, that he doesn't really mean it and he is only trying as nicely as he can that he wants to hunt the spot we are in.  LOL. Too much fun. There were many highlights during the 5 days we spent "up north".  Gunner was able to retrieve his first specks, honker and successfully retrieved a mallard that was on top of a giant tule patch. He really enjoys climbing the tules and searching for cripples.  Our new FA Brand gear performed flawlessly. What more could I ask for...?   Archives November 2009

2008/2009 Duck Season February 5, 2009 January 31st- Two Juniors... and their 1st Honkers! January 31, 2009 The NO CHARGE Junior hunts this year were amazing.  It gave Jason and Mathew a chance to take their first Honker and it gave their Father Tony a chance to watch it all happen.  I took numerous photos of the adventure and you can check them out in my photo album.  Watching these two young hunters on their first ever Canada Goose hunt was exciting to say the least.  Each of the young men had ample opportunity to put a big honker in their daily bag and that's just what they did!  Duke did a wonderful job retrieving the birds, and each of us had the time of our life. Mathew Jason A proud father...    February 5, 2009 January 25th-Unbelievable Grand Finale!!! January 25, 2009 The 2008/2009 waterfowl season is now a fond memory for some of us. Some of us had our best season to date, and others simply had to enjoy the photos and stories that others posted. Either way I hope each of you enjoyed one or the other. I am posting this as a Final Note so to say. I’ll still be around… but not in the same capacity. When the season is over I drop waterfowling like an old girlfriend and pick up my bow for turkeys, pigs, deer, bear, and elk. I saved the following pictures for today because I wanted to see just how depressed everyone was going to be around here after the season closed. Well… I have seen some sad faces, but I am happy to say it seems like each of you seem motivated as ever; so with that being said I would like to present to you the last waterfowl picture I will post for this season. This hunt took place on Sunday, and last only a few hours. I was a guest on this hunt and had a great time calling a shooting my share of geese. Each of these men had a look of excitement to start the hunt off, and a look of amazement when we finally “called” the hunt. I have had to stack birds before, but this stack was big... it wouldn’t cooperate at all. All of these specks were big and fattened up; just ready for the table. In the end, 15 hunters took 64 geese. The opportunities were many that morning and the smiles were bigger than ever!  The afternoon hunt was just as amazing but in other ways than the morning hunt.  Dave had scouted a pond and had high hopes the six of us could get into the Honkers in the evening...  We did... with a little help from Cole!  Stay safe, brother. A picture of each of us with our birds from the entire day!   February 5, 2009 January 24th-Local Refuge Shooting display... January 24, 2009 I got another ressie for a local refuge and had a great time... again. What a good habbit to have! there were many birds to choose from.  I had a great time… I started off with a nice flock of widgeon coming in from the North, fighting that 10 mph South wind, and right on the deck… less than 30 yards right overhead!  I pulled up and dumped a drake from the back of the flock; pulled up the bird next to him… bang… scotch double on hen widgeon.  WOW… three birds down, and have only been set up in this spot for 5 minutes… Not bad.  Next group of widgeon to fall for the mallard call was a flight of about 10… so I pull up and pick a drake out of the back of the flock, boom… one down… boom again… another hen down.  Man… is there a better way to start a hunt?  I don’t think so!  I get all five birds and have to dump them in my tule patch quickly because I see some callable mallards in the distance…  I hit them with a soft nasally hank… hank… hank….  The pair came right in… less than 15 yards, I pull up and dump the drake… I let the Susie go.  5 seconds later… same scene.  Drake sails 50 yards off to the East, and I have to go fetch him up.  He’s a swimmer with a strong will to survive.  Great!  I get him and come back to my tule seat with a giant grin!  A feeling of complete satisfaction… the sunrise was beautiful, the wind stung my neck… it was great.  It seemed as though nothing could change this positive outcome.  Until… I started counting birds… only 4 widgeon… I must have counted 10 different times.  Same thing.  All of my ducks were dead when I placed them in the tule patch and I was at a loss for what had happened to my missing widgeon.  Oh well… I looked for 15 minutes…  I was in the middle of an open water area with no cover in site.  I ended up smashing a drake spoonie for my 7th bird of the morning.  Good times…   February 5, 2009 January 23rd-Three guns and a pile of specks... January 23, 2009 This morning was good to the three of us. We started off a few minutes tardy to the blind, but didn't miss out on much. Cloudy, and foggy and just overall ducky weather. I was a bit worried because the specks don't commit very well in this kind of weather, but I was determined to make the most of the day because that's what we do. We walk through mud and water, we fall down in it, we get up, and we like it. Anyways, the birds worked like I had a Magical Flute. Between my father, a great family friend and myself we had more fun than should be legal. The last few times out to the Gridley tank I was only able to get the immature birds to commit and land, but today... almost all bar bellies. One was just plain black... I know...breeders... FYI-these won't be breeding! We only shot a hen woodduck after 10:30. The geese just had a bad attitude after breakfast??? There's always tomorrow! February 5, 2009 January 22nd- A long Delta morning hunt... January 22, 2009 Got together with the Young Slayers again…  it was no different than the other times… they shot great and had a good time doing it!  Our hiding spot was less than sufficient, and the birds let us know with the oink…oink…oink.  Not all of them got away!  Thanks for the invitiation Dave.    February 5, 2009 January21st- Local refuge damage... January 21, 2009 Had a ressie for a local refuge and hit up a backup pond.  Seemingly the primary pond for most hunters that go to this refuge…  wow…  This pond was a war-zone!  It's a hard-core game out there on our local refuges. All in all it was a great solo day on the pond. I opted to go solo on this one so I could get a Gentleman and his son in for the morning shoot. I looked all over the parking lot until I found the pair, but they got in... and had the shoot of their life! I met them on the bridge heading out of the refuge on the way back to the lot and they had the biggest grins I've ever seen! They told me about how they got out to their favorite spot and about how their dog had retrieved a BANDED Speck!  WOW... BTW- The guys had near limits of Specks and Ducks!!!  Good times…     February 5, 2009 January 20th-Winter Wheat-Oh yeah! Janaury 20, 2009 As I write this post I am thinking about the guys that didn't get to hunt that much this season and also for the guys that didn't get drawn for ressies. I'm sorry things worked out that way for you. I wish you could have got out more and I also wish the ressie would have come in the mail for you. Imagine this: shiny winter wheat sprouts everywhere... goose foot prints EVERYWHERE... you're standing there thinking... the X is a good 150 yards out in the middle of this... Do you: A> set up on the edge and HOPE the birds will work back to you? B> set up out in the middle of your spread and hope the birds are blind or special? C> set up out in the middle and cover up with available grasses that make you look like a 2 foot tall mound of winter wheat? We opted for C, and set up for our "One Hour" hunt. We set up the traditional "U" with a nice landing strip up the center. It wasn't magical or anything... just traditional. The first 5 birds to enter the scene were more than warry. I called them around three times lower than 30 yards, and they came by one last time... but it was clear they weren't sticking around for another pass. We let the moment get the best of them and since it was the first up of the evening... we were rusty... No birds??? That's ok... A couple of small flocks of maybe 3 specks were milling around within a mile of us. Hit them hard on the call... they came to check us out. This 3 pack came around perfect. Just like a John Wayne flick where the guy in the white hat always wins! They swung wide right into the 3-5 mph NE wind and drifted up the runway we layed out for them, right into us. 15 yard shots... 3 birds down. Next was an awesome single...big ol' bar bellie from the South. As soon as he heard me he was on a string. He dropped straight down from over a hundred yards to under 20 and Mr. Wilson turned his light off. Nice. Next was another single that did like the first group of three. Then was the grand finale. Mr. Wilson had been saying the entire hunt that he just wanted three good ups, and well, we already had that many. There was only 5 minutes of shoot time left, and I was still hopeful, but more realistic... He said out loud... and nearly in slow motion... "I hope we get one more good up? Not 5 seconds later a 3 pack of specks came from behind us and kind of suprised us. Hit them with the call, ground talked them and pulled them straight up death alley. Whammo... 3 more BIG bar bellies in the bag. Whew... what an awesome hunt. I hope you all find that magic X this year. As this season comes to an end I hope you all find time to remember all of the people that made this season so great for you, and thank them. Good times, Gentlemen.     February 5, 2009 January 11th-Another solo at the Gridley Property Janaury 11, 2009 I made a solo trip to the Gridley tank... I neglected to invite anyone since I fell asleep early yesterday evening.  Sorry guys. Hope the rest of you enjoyed this blue-bird weather as much as I did. I got out to the blind five minutes after shoot time. Nothing was flying... I mean nothing. The geese hadn't got up yet and NO ducks were in the air. Two minutes after getting into the blind a single speck was off to the South, and was doing the "aww-aww-aww" of a lost juvenile. He responded oh too well to the call/decoy combo, and came in to less than 20 yards before I added him to the daily bag. Just fifteen minutes later a few geese started moving around the area and I noticed a group of fifteen off to the East. Now the sun was breaking through the low mist in the distance... and I could tell that the geese were callable. Even though they just got up from the dry fields they already had "call me and shoot me" written on them. I started calling them they entered my South pond and were moving towards me with still over 300 yards to cover. They also needed to drop another fifty yards to be in range... From the North came a four-pack of young specks and it was clear that they were racing the larger flock to go home with me. They came around with a few clucks, and then finished strong from the South just underneath of the larger flock. I had to hit them hard to line them up for the final approach... they finished just a bit to the right... I pulled up and smoked the furthest bird... and moved through the flock moving closer to me and then the third bird in line... the only bird to get away was the lead bird. He's still out there to pull his buddies in next time!!! May he bring his buddies to your decoy spread next...       I was able to get out to our local refuge since I finished early on geese at the Gridley property.  Even when we had to cross waist-high water Aaron and Gunner were right there with me.  Birds were moving throughout the refuge and our location was no different.  My son helped call birds while I had the easy job of finishing them off.  Gunner loved playing fetch with the already retrieved birds.  Good times… February 5, 2009 January 17th-Delta Region.... January 17,2009 What a great morning hunt.  These guys can really shoot; that's exactly what they did.  We smashed limits of specks in just a couple of hours, and spent the rest of the time hi-fiving and telling war stories of how great the hunt was.            February 5, 2009 January 10th-Solo at the Gridley Property  January 10, 2009  Ok... so how much could I have possibly pounded them... 4 deep is all one guy can go. I had to go solo due to limited time. That's why "you" didn't get the invite. Next time... Please enjoy the photos.      February 5, 2009 January 9th-Goose crushing... January 9th Gridley, CA This hunt started off just like it ended... Great. The hunt was full of action including a four-pack of cacklers, multiple specklebelly geese landing in the decoys. Lone specks at 10 yards for multiple passes. It was great that I had the chance to spend time with my Father and good friend Eric. This hunt will not be forgotten any time soon.     January 19, 2009 More Bars in More Places...  January 19, 2009- More Bars in More Places   I should simply let the aftermath picture tell the story of this hunt...  It was unfortunate that all of these birds were taken on "one up"!!! It was a pretty long "UP" though. It started a minute after shoot time and ended just before 8:00am. Confused... Let me help you out... the birds started coming to the call at shoot time... the first group landed... and it was downhill for the specks after that. All I can say is Thank you to my brother Dave for getting me in on this one.  Jeff, JB, Cole, Ian,Billy, Trevor, Dave Jernigan and I had one amazing hunt!  Please enjoy the photo. I took numerous others, but you guys would recognize the Willows area if you saw it...   January 18, 2009 January 18th-OUT WITH LABIN  Janaury 18, 2009     This morning was "quality" and "quantity". Labin and I had to sneak out to the blind so as not to jump up the swans, specks, and ducks that were roosted up. We made it out with ten minutes to spare before shoot time and fixed the decoys that had fallen over in the past week since I last hunted this tank. Only a minute into the shoot the first speck entered the scene... an immature goose giving us the distant "I'm lost and want to come into your decoys sound". It was perfect. I locked him up and he followed the call right into the hole. He was less than 20 yards when his adventure ended. Shortly after that a pair worked in from the East. I love it when they come in from the East side...They worked the call a little too well, and found themselves in the middle of a hurt sandwich. The next few birds were way too excited to visit the Jernigan Speck Hole. Labin kept reminding me that he was having a GREAT time... it was nice to hear... but I was more than happy to call birds in for such a great guy. My job- CALL Specks... His job- SHOOT Specks! The rest of the birds of the morning were just like the ones I've already told you about. You wouldn't believe how the birds worked the call/decoy combo! I landed three different geese less than 20 yards out in the hole at different times today. Heck... we even let one get out of dodge... just to keep him in the gene pool.  Full two man limits of specks for us plus a snow goose. Who can argue with that??? January 3, 2009 This North wind is a killer! Apparently a North wind is magic at the Gridley tank!!! I must be crazy hunting... now 4 days in a row.  I can barely type this out.  I have fallen asleep twice while editing pictures... anyways.  The hunt today was magical.  I got out with my father, Anthony Rojo, and Gabe Garcia in the morning and had a great time.  We had some of the best ups of the season.  I got to call birds into the hole and watch as Anthony and Gabe pulled pairs out  of the air... bird after bird.  It was beautiful.  Gabe took a banded bull sprig this morning as well.  My Dad had some stellar shots on specks and put two in the blind during the morning shoot.  I did my fair share of smacking the birds in the North wind, and was more than satisfied with my pile as it grew throughout the day.  Gabe and Anthony left the blind at noon with 3 geese each and 11 ducks between the two of them.  They wore smiles all the way home... I'm sure. The two of us stayed on to finish our limits of specks and ducks.  My dad pulled out two more specks and in less then 30 minutes after Gabe and Anthony left I had call more than 30 singles or pairs of specks into the decoys.  It was very nice...!  I pulled my limit down in that 30 minute window.  I returned a call to my brother Dave, and he let me know he would be there before 2:00 to try his luck on the geese.  He ended up pulling down 3 specks and 5 ducks in less than two hours...  very nice.  A few mallard came into the area with a half hour to go.  This was a day to remember... at least until the next hunt... Ha Afternoon birds... January 2, 2009 The Generations Club... Round 2 Generations Club, part 2 I have start this one off with a giant THANK YOU to Labin, Rocky, and Ross for hosting such a great hunt at the Generations Club.  This place is a gem stuck in the middle of the Delta Region of Northern California.  It seemed as though we were in the closed zone of a duck refuge... all morning long.  We piled the birds quickly and something that usually takes a day to complete was over in just a couple of hours.  We barely had time to talk about how great the scenery was or have that early morning coffee break between flights of ducks.  The birds kept coming... and we kept picking out "the one".  Each flight of birds had one or two that looked "good enough".  Ace retrieved our birds each and every time with great enthusiasm.  Thanks again! Labin was able to take a couple of bonus geese after we "called it" on ducks. Labin gave Ace some assistance on long goose retrieve. Archives October 2008 November 2008 December 2008 January 2009 February 2009

2007 CA Duck Season January 27, 2008 The Grand Finale! Date: January 27,2008 Weather: Cloudy, rainy all day. Hunters: Dan Jernigan II, Dan Jernigan, Dave Jernigan,Dale Martin, Pete Teglas, Anthony Rojo Location: Garcia's Hunting Preserve Hunt:  The last day of the 2007/2008 season was a banger for our crew.  We started off slow, but the birds were steady.  We shot better than one would expect, and came out with 25 geese and 5 ducks.  I'd like to thank Dave for the great setup!  The day ended with us making our way to the truck when we spotted a small flight of specks.  My Dad pulled up on the middle, biggest, speck and just drilled him.  It's the 2nd one on the left.  I just love the big bar-bellied specks.  What a way to end the season! January 26, 2008 Family and Friends... Date:  January 26, 2008 Weather:  Overcast-sunny after 9:00am 40/55 Hunters: Dan Jernigan, Dan Jernigan II, Dave Jernigan, Anthony Rojo Hunt:  Dave worked things out to get us access to a private pond that is part of Garcia's Hunting Preserve.  We had a little trouble getting accross a creek and it set us back quite a few minutes.  We knew that the first 30 minutes would be our big opportunity to bang up some greenheads, so we did our best to get into position in spite of our tardiness.  As soon as we got into the pond and set up the birds were landing everywhere.  We passed on a number of non-mallard types, and finally decided to take a pair of widgeon that circled too many times.  Luck was on our side this morning when two different groups of Canada's fell victim to the call and decoy combo.  I had a great time, and it seemed as though everyone else did too! January 23, 2008 Wilderness Unlimited-Butte Creek Date: January 23, 2008 Weather:  Drizzly rain all morning.  Low/Hi-38/46 Hunters:  Dan Jernigan II, Bob Neighbours Hunt:  Let me start off by thanking  my life long friend and host Bob Neighbours for a great morning of waterfowling.  We had an exciting morning with plenty of shooting.  We teamed up to take 5 ducks and a snow goose.  January 22, 2008 No water... Date: January 20, 2008 Weather: Low/Hi-35/45, partly cloudy, 6-10 South East Wind Hunter:  Danny Jernigan II Hunt:  It was your typical morning North of the Sutter Buttes.  The sun rose in the East and cast a red stain against the mountains.  I just knew this hunt would be a good one.  I felt the wind sting on my neck every few minutes, and just knew the first flights of geese would be coming my way any time.  It was 8:30 before the first flock came through, and I smoked a mature snow goose out of the lead bunch.  My benelli prevented any follow-up shots by jamming up on me.  She gets moody some days! It was another hour until I had any other birds in close.  The next guest at the motel was a drake widgeon that thought it was a good idea to inspect my spread.  WRONG...  Add one drake widgeon to the daily bag.  Next was an odd one...  Flights of specks had been cruising around all morning and not one of those darn birds would work the dekes, until this one goose just couldn't stand the Chen Caille any longer.  I was clucking non-stop until he broke off of the flight of forty birds he was with.  I could see two other birds attempting to get him back with the flock, but there efforts were too late.  I had him hooked.  He commited suicide.  Ever since that storm on the 5th of January the spread has been, let's say, less than perfect.  We now have NO WATER in our rice fields.  Oh well...  Maybe the geese will like it better???  We'll see... January 11, 2008 First the boat...then the rice... Date:  January 11, 2008 Hunters:  Danny and David Jernigan Location:  Boated out to a flooded area, then off to the rice fields in Lincoln Weather:  Drizzly rain all day then a light 5-7 mph wind in the afternoon Hunt:  We missed the mark in the morning, and the ducks just didn't want to work the decoys.  There wasn't many birds in the vicinity so we decided to try something else.  After making a couple of sandwiches and a few phone calls we came up with a spot to hunt for the afternoon.  I photographed some geese in a nearby field before we got to the rice field we were going to hunt.  As luck would have it I got photos of two collared snow geese.  Each of them had a black neck collar.  What a day. Snow with a neck collar in the middle. January 5, 2008 The storm of the decade. Date:  January 4, 2008 Hunters: Danny Jernigan II, Bob Neighbours, Anthony Rojo, Gabe Garcia, Dave Jernigan, Dan Jernigan, Richard Crawford Location:  Gridley Property Weather:  STORMING!!!  South Winds over 60 mph.  Hunt:  This hunt was pure insanity!  The wind was blowing the rain so hard that you couldn't actually walk.  Bob found himself crawling through the water after attempting a 20 yard retrieve on a duck he downed.  Birds were everywhere on this hunt, and all of us got plenty of shooting.  There was a crew that started out in the morning and then an afternoon crew that came in.  The morning crew had it the hardest with the worst part of the storm, and we ended up with 16 ducks.  The afternoon crew came out at noon and had the best part of the hunt.  I was there to witness it all, and loved every minute of the it!  The afternoon guys took full limits of ducks... that's 28 mallard, widgeon and a sprig for each man.  I also took three snow geese and there were three other geese shot by others.  I will surely never forget this hunt.  Grand total 46 Ducks, and 6 geese.  Wow! January 5, 2008 The day after the storm. Date:  January 5,2008 Hunters:  Danny Jernigan II, Dave Jernigan Location:  Gridley Property Weather:  Overcast, and post storm.  Just a sliver of a moon.  Weather blew in as we were leaving. Hunt:  Today was a day to remember.  The mallard came in to the call like crazy.  Two different times Dave and I went up on a pair of mallard and simultaneously shot our bird.  It sounded like only 1 shot was fired each time.  There were plenty of hi-fives today, and our shooting was pretty well on fire.  I scraped a snow goose, and we teamed up on a speck that Dave convinced to come over at 30 yards.  Grand total was 6 mallard, 3 widgeon, 2 drake pintail, a snow and a specklebelly goose.  Not bad for a few hour shoot! January 1, 2008 New Year's Day Speck Slaying... F.Y.I.---There are twenty eight speck missing from the grind South of the Cross Canal.  I finally got to meet one of my brother's great friends Pete, and hunted with a group of people that Pete put together.  We hunted corn stubble out of Power Hunters. January 1, 2008 The Generations Club Thanks has to go out to Labin for the invite on this one.  What a day...  Labin and I had a great hunt on his family's duck club.  Birds were skirting our decoys until we figured out what they wanted to hear.  Then it was divers feet down.  Ace had a hard time trying to retrieve diving ducks all morning and showed his frustration at the last drake redhead by barking at him while he swam out into the open water.   January 1, 2008 Two hour hunt... Well... After my Dad, Dave and Anthony banged the geese up in the morning I decided it might be worth while to get the boys (Aaron, Jalen, and Jordan) out to the tank and give them some face time with the geese.  The total bird count for the day was 13 geese and 12 ducks.  I ended up shooting 2 speck and 2 ducks before the closing bell, and the boys got to see tons of geese fly through the pond just out of range.  The sunset was special with my Dad, and the boys.  January 1, 2008 The grinds are just close enough... 10mph North Wind The goose grinds were kind of moody due to the constant barrage of poachers.  The geese didn't get settled in and relaxed until 11:00 am, and by then we were ready to hit the road.  It was a great hunt.  I enjoyed some great humor with a long time friend.  Thanks, Bob. December 23, 2007 The Grinds are gone! I was beginning to think the goose grind was going to stick around forever.  The grinds of geese have moved out for the time being.  Jalen and I sat in the tank for the afternoon and we ended up taking a drake mallard and a drake pintail.  Both were nice birds.  It was a great time for the both of us. Jalen was a champ out at the blind, and enjoyed every minute of the hunt.  He kept his eyes on the sky the entire afternoon!  Good times...       December 21, 2007 North Wind a-blowin' The specks don't seem to like the decoy spread anymore!  I can't believe the difference.  December 8th we started hunting the club, and we have now taken 80 geese total.  I lost count on the ducks.  Well... today's hunt was great.  Labin, Anthony, and I took a total of 5 geese, (4 specks, and 1 snow), and 4 ducks, (3 widgeon, and 1 Pintail).  Time passed too quickly, and it was time to go before we knew it. December 21, 2007 It's raining DUCKS??? at the Gridley Property Some how, some way, ducks found the club.  I guess it just takes gail force winds to get them in.  My Dad, Dave, and Richard Crawford were on deck for the hunt of the season.  When all was said and done there was quite the pile of waterfowl in the blind; 26 Ducks, and 11 geese in all.  Dave had to leave early so the picture is missing his 5 mallard and 4 geese that he took with him.  My Dad (on the right) also took his first double-banded bird.  His Ross Goose had a $50.00 REWARD Band and a standard band.  NICE. December 16, 2007 A looooong day... Yolo then Gridley What a long day... I had reservation #2 at Yolo today, and invited two great friends; Bob Neighbours, and Ted Carman.  We took blind #16 and ended up shooting a grand total of 6 drake greenwings.  Not a slammer like I thought it would be...  So Bob and I decided to head over to the Farris Road club and shake the Specks up a bit.  It worked.  We got to the blind at 2:00 pm and I pulled four specks out of a flock of forty.  They worked right into the blind at 25-30 yards, and we dropped three out of the four.  The next group that came by was a pair.  They just loved the Chen Caille speck call and bombed right in.  We dropped both of them in the decoys to finish the day off.  Nice...icing on the cake.   Archives November 2007 December 2007 January 2008