Posted by Raymond D. Duchesne on September 05, 1999 at 08:36:15:
My father, who was born and raised in the unending forests of Northern Canada, was an avid hunter. Some of it was probably passed on to me and to my three sons (aged 20, 17 and 15)( I just turned 47 last month). I have been hunting small and big games for years, mostly in Eastern Canada, but about about ten years ago, I gave up all other pursuits to become a competent waterfowler : needless to say that I'm still aiming at that goal! My friends and I (aka the Beretta Bunch, guess why!) have been harassing puddlers (mostly Blacks, very abundant in our heck of the woods!) and Snow (Quebec is a great migratory halt) for years. But last Fall, I decided it was time to do something about those divers, which are left pretty much to themselves during the hunting season. Very few hunters care to hunt from boats on the mighty St-Lawrence River in October and November, where, beside frigid waters and strong currents, one has to cope with 15' to 20' tides. Not to mention heavy shipping traffic. Undaunted, I ordered a set of plans from Sam Devlin's and built the Broadbill. That was a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to build something more adapted to the River by the City (a Honker maybe) . In the meantime and between hunting seasons, I keep myself busy with maintaining my new flock of styrofoam ringnecks and shooting skeet and sporting clay. Being an historian by profession (I teach at a local university), I enjoy everything pertaining to the evolution of the sport in N.America, especially traditional duckboats. Bonne chasse to you all!