Cal's first hunt

Ryan Werden

Ryan Werden

Well-known member
So I decided today would be the day for Cal's first hunt. It was pretty warm, even with the 10-12mph winds, with a slight off/on drizzle. He's only 3 so I wanted it to be an easy place to get to, hopefully little to no pressure and I didn't want it to require the boat. So after a little thought, I decided I would take him to this little public spot that has a couple little ponds. It's actually this first place I went duck hunting and killed my first duck, a drake bluebill. A bonus is that it's only 30min from my house so if we got there and he wanted to turn right back around we wouldn't have killed a ton of time. The plan was to pack light and only use his "rig" of 3 hand carved decoys. One BB from the Yukon, a Gaddy from Jason Russell and a Mallard I carved. It's a little bit of a trek for those little legs through the woods from the parking spot and I figured I may very well end up carrying him at some point so I better go light. He was a trooper and made the trek each way without a single complaint. Although, he must have asked me 100 times on the way in when we would see the "lake". So we get to the spot and on the other side of the pond I can hear a lot of geese honking away as I threw out the first decoy. I was just tossing out the second when they lifted off and flew not 20ft off the deck right over our heads. My gun was still leaning on the tree - unloaded. As they're flying over Cal's yelling for me to shoot...shoot..shoot... I don't think he knows that I actually have to have the gun for that to happen. We saw a couple of mallards a short time later, local birds that knew what the gig was and didn't want to play. Kept this to a short hunt I think we were there for about 1 1/2hrs. We had some interesting conversation - why do bad people go to jail and when will our dog die. In that short time he polished off a PB&J sandwich, two packs of fruit chews and 3 cookies.

All in all it was a great time and I can't wait to get him out again. Hopefully next time we'll bring some birds back. Here's a few pics from the day.

The little hunter
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Jason's gaddy and Mike's BB
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Mallard I carved
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Taking care of business...
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He decoy collection
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Ryan Enjoy your time with your son, it doesn't last long.He will always have a certain bond with you if your hunts are enjoyble. I have lots of stories and memories of both of my boys hunts. I wouldn't trade those for anything else. I hope to be able to hunt with them for many more years. Looks like you are doing a good job. John
 
That's awesome! I don't know what it is about hunting and fishing that makes little guys want to talk, but it seems that's when a lot of heavy topics get covered. You are a lucky man Ryan, well done.

Mike
 
The decoy collection pic is priceless Ryan......glad you two had a good time

Best
Bob
 
AWESOME! As the father of a 3 year old boy as well you got me thinking. That's smart he has his own collection because when I was painting some new deeks this summer I would often loose 1 or 2 only to find them in the playroom a day or so later. Thanks for the pics!
 
That's great! My son will be six in a few weeks and this is the third season he has joined me. The end of the season last year he started giving input on hunting spots and decoy placement. I often waffle on such important decisions but he has a confident decisiveness that I can't argue with, and he's usually right! Wait till he tells you where to go (in a good way!) and how to set up AND you kill some ducks. That brings a BIG smile.

You did a great job picking a good spot and being well prepared, that's what makes it fun for the little ones.

Best wishes,
Gene
 
Thanks All. We really did have a good time. He wants to know if next time we'll kill a duck...

His rig grows every year on his birthday. I stole the idea from Brian F. This March he has a Redhead from another great carver he'll soon enjoy.
 
That's great Ryan. These first few years keep it fun and before you know it you won't be able to leave the house without him. Looked like a great time.

Take care,

Ed L.
 
Great hunt! I keep pumping the hunts up to my 3 year old about all the good food we eat and sometimes we even get to see some ducks. I plan on taking him this year on the warmer afternoons. I'll have him blowing a Shawn Hollis call over some Jason Russell gadwalls and hopefully have the turners/carvers in the blind! It would only be better if Jode Hillman could come down and we could throw a blackduck in the water also.
Get ready for some road trips down south in the future Ryan. We need to have some father/child road trips across the duck boat forum family.

Take care,
Brian
 
WaHoo! Way to go Ryan!!
Man that is great stuff right there.
For the past couple of weeks every evening that I get my little guy from daycare he asks me if we're going hunting. Ha!

You have Cal hooked now. A couple more outings and you will only be able to hunt with him as he won't let you go without him along too.

Awesome!

See you at Houghton Lake in a few days.

Best,
Brian F.
 
Ryan,
Thanks for the story.
I am compiling a birthday spread for my son as well. He is almost 11 months old right now so he will have his second decoy in about a month.
On Saturday I was putting longlines together in the living room while watching football and he kept stealing the blocks to play with. He was really captivated by them.
I can't wait for that first hunt but dont want to wish this time away. I know it will be here fast enough.
 
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