I hit the field Saturday expecting to see very few birds this year, but to our surprise that was not the case. At 9:02 Saturday morning we saw a rooster land 100 yards away from the trucks. At 9:05 I had a rooster in my bag. For the next 4 hours we made zig zagging drives across the 120 acres of land bagging a bird here and there, missing a few, and losing a couple. In the early afternoon the dogs were spent and we called it a day with 10 birds for 6 guys.
Sunday started out very similar to Saturday. There was a light breeze, a little dew on the grass, and roosters spotted almost instantly. The plan was to hunt until Noon, so we focused our efforts in all of those perfect areas that seem to hold birds every year. On the final drive I was the lucky one who got to trudge through the thickest and wettest brush and cattails on the property to end up being the poster for the large group that was going to work around the edge of the slough. It worked out pretty well because I bagged a rooster within 30 seconds of getting to the spot. I waited 15-20 minutes for the drivers to kick a bird up to me, but in the end my limit bird came when my dog locked up 20 feet from where I had been standing the entire time. I gave her the commmand to “get em up” and I dropped it dead in the thick cover. Jazzi made the retrieve and we finished out the last hundred yards of the day. Sunday’s effort produced another 8 birds.
I was fortunate to get my 2 birds each day, but for me the highlight is watching my dog work. 
I hunted a ton in college with no dog and when I bought my pup I just assumed that would instantly lead to more birds. Well the first couple years were frustrating as she just wasn’t getting it, but for the last 4 years it has been a blast. When I think about the big walleyes biting on Mille Lacs right now or the bow in the garage I could be shooting, its weekends like this that remind me why I always choose to load up the dog and hit the fields or the woods instead.
Here is a couple pics from the game farm a couple weeks ago and one of my Brother and Me from opening day.
