My best friend (Chelsea) and I got out for a day in the swamps on Wednesday. Unfortunately we only have access to public land. We ran into quite a few other hunters and you could tell the birds are really pressured. We made it to 4 different areas and there was standing corn at all of them. We spent the day hunting the grass boardering the swamps. there was some ice but it was very thin. At one point the wind was favorable and Chelsea dissapeared into the cattails and I could hear her sloshing around and out came 5 hens. The first bird came in the first 5 minutes of the hunt. I got Chelsea from the pound when she was 2 and she is now 10. She has a great nose and does well finding the birds but she is not great on the retrieves. The first bird was dropped in the standing corn and still had it’s landing gear intact. Chelsea was on it immediately, I went to where it dropped and bird and dog were gone. I was about ready to whistle her in when I heard her coming, she proceded to drop the bird at my feet. 
To make a long story short after a couple of hours without a flush we were about ready to call it a day and decided to check out a stand of dogwood boardering a swamp, she got birdy immediately and out pops a rooster. The good thing is I dropped him on the first shot, the bad news is I dropped him in the swamp. Chelsea was on him immediately and the cattails were flying and wings were flapping. After several attempts to try to get her to retrieve I had to go in after her. Of course the first step I was up to my knees in ice cold water, and she made me walk the 30 yards to get to her. She did hold it down, the bird was still alive and would have scampered accross the ice in which both Chelsea and I were breaking through. My boots were sloshing and my feet were freezing on the walk back to the car but I didn’t care we were able to outsmart not one but two roosters. She isn’t much but man do we have a lot of fun together.
zoomer
November 21, 2009 at 1:41 am
#212129
