Todd Duncan Tennyson
Well-known member
we like to get out early
me and the friends i roll the big river with
i can count them on 1 hand
my buddy mike and his big dog cody are 2 of them
me and mike have hunted all over the place
he is a hell of a good guy and has been known to bust a bird or two
skin a deer
shoot a deer
pick a huge bag of chanterelles
catch a salmon and then help a friend skin and butcher a deer
all in the same day
we hunted a location that involves a drag and slog across about 400 yards of mud and through the reeds and drop-offs
it is always dark and we each have about 50- 60 lbs of gear
mike had a hole in his boot right above the top of the toes
he didn’t bitch about it
because it is just not in his nature to do something like that
i believe that it is a good quality
“endurance”
we decided to run our layout boat in a little cove before the diver season started
to work out the kinks and figure out if it floated
we’ve had it for a while thanks to brother Zachariah
but this year we decided to get it set up and figure it all out so we can use it on a late january sea duck hunt on puget sound
it was difficult to load it up by myself
i am not a strapping paul bunyan of a man
i mustered the fortitude
and swore enough to do the job of getting it up and in the boat
by myself
it isn’t that it is terribly heavy
but it is bloody well awkward to move and hoist it up alone.
my neighbors probably wondered what all of the commotion was at 0245hrs
they know me
so they went back to bed
we placed it up over the gunnels on the trusty wool blanket that goes in the boat everywhere the boat goes
it was a good set up
pretty stable too
cody wanted to sit up in the cockpit of the layout boat
mike said “no”
cody just leaned into him and wagged his baseball bat of a tail and thumped the boat like a drum
we shot some dabblers in the morning
then the sun came out
we decided to get out the layout boat for some practice in it
mike and i moved the boat off the tender and he looked at me
i looked at him
“here mike
i am giving you 2 camo life vests and here is your box of shells”
he said, “don’t you want to try it first?”
“no” i immediately interrupted
so i dragged the man out in the little layout boat with a couple of 25 window sash weights as a bow and stern anchor
cody really wanted to be in it with him
and i wondered what i should do when we are out in puget sound in 70 feet of brine and the big dog goes for a fetch and wants to bring it back to mike?
i told mike
“ i am going 200 yards up and away into the inlets. i will keep my eye on you”.
he said “ok”
i watched him settle in and slipped away
cody was anxious to be in the layout
it was a perfect day for anything but hunting ducks.
blue sky and sunshine
i got hot in my duck coat
had to take it off
my mittens and my duckbomber hat too
i even dried out the p coat on the motor cowling
steam rolled up and off of it
i felt like i should have been out there fishing for bass
we anchored up in an inlet and listened to the birds and watched the water flood in
cody is a great dog
big too
probably 100 lbs of chocolate lab
well mannered
a real joy to be around
he said, “hey, you should take a shot of what a fine dog i am to post it on your picture page”
i said, “you are right, good call”
so i took a few shots of the hound
“come on cody, stand up on the gunnels” I said
“like this?” he asked
after about an hour of watching mike sleep in the layout boat
i motored up to him.
“hey,”
i yelled
he did not respond
“you sleeping in your columbia river waterbed?” i laughed
mike flipped me off
(a sign of true water fowling kinship and deep respect.)
i said, “i am going to take cody for a ride in the boat and go check some other spots, so don’t go anywher.”
mike laughed.
“i am anchored fore and aft, have no paddle and would like to catch a snooze”
he tipped his hat and was back at his post.
cody and i decided to roll the river for a while and it was nice to get out.
cody was happy to see all of the birds on the water and in the air.
(there are little specks in the photo above his head
the specks are all ducks)
cody’s tail thumped the boat like a giant drum
i laughed at him for making such a racket
it was good to get out and not sink in the layout boat,
just ask mike
“hey mike, wake up”
oh well,
it was a sunny day
and mike had been pretty busy
after all, we like to get out early
me and the friends i roll the big river with
i can count them on 1 hand
my buddy mike and his big dog cody are 2 of them
me and mike have hunted all over the place
he is a hell of a good guy and has been known to bust a bird or two
skin a deer
shoot a deer
pick a huge bag of chanterelles
catch a salmon and then help a friend skin and butcher a deer
all in the same day
we hunted a location that involves a drag and slog across about 400 yards of mud and through the reeds and drop-offs
it is always dark and we each have about 50- 60 lbs of gear
mike had a hole in his boot right above the top of the toes
he didn’t bitch about it
because it is just not in his nature to do something like that
i believe that it is a good quality
“endurance”
we decided to run our layout boat in a little cove before the diver season started
to work out the kinks and figure out if it floated
we’ve had it for a while thanks to brother Zachariah
but this year we decided to get it set up and figure it all out so we can use it on a late january sea duck hunt on puget sound
it was difficult to load it up by myself
i am not a strapping paul bunyan of a man
i mustered the fortitude
and swore enough to do the job of getting it up and in the boat
by myself
it isn’t that it is terribly heavy
but it is bloody well awkward to move and hoist it up alone.
my neighbors probably wondered what all of the commotion was at 0245hrs
they know me
so they went back to bed
we placed it up over the gunnels on the trusty wool blanket that goes in the boat everywhere the boat goes
it was a good set up
pretty stable too
cody wanted to sit up in the cockpit of the layout boat
mike said “no”
cody just leaned into him and wagged his baseball bat of a tail and thumped the boat like a drum
we shot some dabblers in the morning
then the sun came out
we decided to get out the layout boat for some practice in it
mike and i moved the boat off the tender and he looked at me
i looked at him
“here mike
i am giving you 2 camo life vests and here is your box of shells”
he said, “don’t you want to try it first?”
“no” i immediately interrupted
so i dragged the man out in the little layout boat with a couple of 25 window sash weights as a bow and stern anchor
cody really wanted to be in it with him
and i wondered what i should do when we are out in puget sound in 70 feet of brine and the big dog goes for a fetch and wants to bring it back to mike?
i told mike
“ i am going 200 yards up and away into the inlets. i will keep my eye on you”.
he said “ok”
i watched him settle in and slipped away
cody was anxious to be in the layout
it was a perfect day for anything but hunting ducks.
blue sky and sunshine
i got hot in my duck coat
had to take it off
my mittens and my duckbomber hat too
i even dried out the p coat on the motor cowling
steam rolled up and off of it
i felt like i should have been out there fishing for bass
we anchored up in an inlet and listened to the birds and watched the water flood in
cody is a great dog
big too
probably 100 lbs of chocolate lab
well mannered
a real joy to be around
he said, “hey, you should take a shot of what a fine dog i am to post it on your picture page”
i said, “you are right, good call”
so i took a few shots of the hound
“come on cody, stand up on the gunnels” I said
“like this?” he asked
after about an hour of watching mike sleep in the layout boat
i motored up to him.
“hey,”
i yelled
he did not respond
“you sleeping in your columbia river waterbed?” i laughed
mike flipped me off
(a sign of true water fowling kinship and deep respect.)
i said, “i am going to take cody for a ride in the boat and go check some other spots, so don’t go anywher.”
mike laughed.
“i am anchored fore and aft, have no paddle and would like to catch a snooze”
he tipped his hat and was back at his post.
cody and i decided to roll the river for a while and it was nice to get out.
cody was happy to see all of the birds on the water and in the air.
(there are little specks in the photo above his head
the specks are all ducks)
cody’s tail thumped the boat like a giant drum
i laughed at him for making such a racket
it was good to get out and not sink in the layout boat,
just ask mike
“hey mike, wake up”
oh well,
it was a sunny day
and mike had been pretty busy
after all, we like to get out early
