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HEADED
TO THE LONE STAR STATE FOR SOME GOOSE ACTION
By: Ron Wilson
February 17, 2005….. Carlos Velazquez of Turlock, Jim Fernandes, and his
son Jim from Salida, along with my son Donald and I headed to Texas to
shoot Snow Geese.
With a 25 goose limit, we were worried that it would cost us an arm and
leg just for shells on this adventure!
We flew out of Oakland and each of us had ammunition and a shotgun, so it
took awhile to check in. They went threw everything with a fine tooth
comb.
We arrived that night at Mike Ladnier’s Bay Prairie Outfitters Lodge in
Midfield, Texas. Our accommodations were great, except for the snoring
that took place! I think we all took turns the first night!
Early the next morning the phone rang announcing time for breakfast where
we met our guide Mike. After chow we headed to a pasture where he said the
geese had been feeding.
We put out almost 20 dozen goose decoys before sunrise. We studied the
horizon as daybreak came but the sky was pretty empty. Around 7:00 a.m. we
saw a huge flock of geese get up off in the distance. The anticipation
built as they headed our way.
A
half dozen came by about 70 yards away and the guide said “shoot them”.
Big Jim blazed away and Donald fired a couple Hail Mary shots as I just
laid there wondering what was going on!.
Jim had broken a wing tip on his first shot and we watched the bird
finally go down. I guess the dog was used to this as he marked the bird
and then made a quarter mile retrieve.
The huge flock of geese settled down about a quarter mile away in a plowed
field and that was it. The guys were so unhappy with the first days shoot
I couldn’t get them to even hold up the goose for a picture!
Here there was a 25 snow goose limit and we had scratched one and fired a
total of 4 shots when the noon quitting time came!
That afternoon we had also paid for an upland game bird hunt so after a
hardy lunch we headed for the marsh near the ocean. Jim commented that the
thorny shrubs were similar to what you would see in Africa.
Our guide’s son Jason, who also was the dog handler, planted the birds,
and we were off through the tall grass and bushes on our afternoon
pheasant hunt.
We were soon busting caps and having a ball. If it flew it died! We even
got into a bust em as soon as they cleared the bushes contest. We were
having fun until bird number 31 ran around a bush and a rattler in the 4
foot class struck the dog 2 or 3 times before we got her out of the bush.
The 6 wheeler was quickly boarded with the stricken dog and in about 20
minutes it was at the Vet getting a shot. I didn’t think she would make
the night as big as the snake was!
Our guide came back and asked it we wanted to go shoot the rest of the
birds that were out there, but we declined. We all have dogs and seeing
one get hurt takes all the fun out of it.
The next morning our guide couldn’t make the hunt he was so sick. He was a
paramedic as well as a guide, so I guess between two jobs a guy has all
the right in the world to be sick after rolling around in the muck and mud
day after day.
Guide Mark Cook was assigned to us for day two. We ended up out in a rice
field laying in the muck after putting out a couple hundred decoys.
Daylight came and the ducks were bombing the spread.
The geese started flying and the first few were specks that came in range
but were non-shooters.
Jim nailed the first goose and Mark went and got it and said, “Well at
least we’re not skunked,” “Skunked” I asked, “Mark, how many times have
you been skunked this year?” He replied, “a couple, its been kind of a bad
year for waterfowl down here.”
Another flock came by and Mark said, “Get em,” Again they were about 70
yards out. When nothing fell Mark said, “What you guys shooting.” I said 3
inch #1 and BB’s. Mark said you need 3 inch BBB’s down here!
I
thought, “Holy crap, here I am with refuge hunters and the guys here in
Texas shoot at them even higher!”
Donald bought a box of shells from Mark and when the next flock of geese
came by, Donald nailed one at darn near 100 yards with a shot to the head!
I
though with a 25 bird limit, we would get the birds in close and be able
stack them up!
A
single came in at 70 yards straight over head and Donald drilled it, a
beautiful blue goose! We at least had some shooting and managed to nail
down some snows!
After a fried chicken lunch we were back after pheasants that afternoon.
We had not walked 40 yards from the 6 wheeler when Donald said wait a
minute pop, as he drew a bead on a 5 foot rattler as big around as my arm.
One shot and he blew its head off!
I
had glanced over at it as I approached it, but it seemed like a big cow
patty at first until Donald stopped me in my tracks. Well needless to say
we all started walking with our eves glued to the ground which made
shooting the birds a little harder! I noticed the Jims were not near as
accurate as they had been the day before!
A
few bushes later and Donald blew the head off another five foot snake!
Everyone was really more worried about where they stepped than what the
dogs were doing.
Donald completely quite hunting pheasants and started hunting rattlers and
was quickly rewarded with a double find in one briar bush. Carlos went
over and they each killed a huge rattler!
The weather turned cold and the snakes went back down out of site and we
managed to bag close to 30 birds before calling it an day!
One of the funniest parts of the pheasant hunt was when Jim Sr. shot a hen
pheasant and even though the bird was hit hard she struggled to stay in
the air and managed to fly about a quarter of a mile into the open shed of
some Vietnamese shrimpers before she fell in a heap inside the door.
Another funny happening was when a half dozen pheasants that were not shot
were walking back to the pens about a mile away. They were heading for the
safety of the pens they were raised in.
We scouted a pasture that had several hundred geese feeding in it and that
was where we would set up for our 3rd days hunt!
By daylight the next morning we were setup in the field. The geese started
flying at first light but they picked up and went around us.
We nailed a long shot and while Mark went after it we had several geese
come to the decoys from our backside but we never got a shot at them. By
the time Mark got back we should have killed a half dozen but didn’t have
zip!
We managed to kill one more goose and that was it for the day! By 11:00
a.m. we gave up and got out of there before the storm hit!
Total game for the trip, 5 rattlers, 9 geese and 60 pheasants, we donated
the pheasants and geese and left the snakes for the buzzards! We saw Texas
from Houston south, its big and flat.
I
can’t afford Texas. Between the grits, biscuits, fried chicken, scallops,
shrimp, oysters and steak I gained 5 pounds in 3 days.
I
really don’t think the hunting is all that great in Texas and I believe if
we had applied ourselves during the regular season we could have done
better right at home.
But I had a great time and the reason was the people I was with and the
one’s we met. We were treated great on our adventure.
We took the lemons dealt to us and made lemonade. But when we stopped at
Hooter’s in Houston for a quick bite before heading home, our waitress
came up at 5 feet tall and 8 months pregnant! That lemonade was a little
hard to swallow! |
