Lucky sonsabitches!

[tod osier]

One of my goals for the year was to get Gus out to enjoy some of my favorite waterfowl haunts. I have spent a lot of time chasing brant and wanted to get him out to see some of my favorite spots.

We were out on Monday and set up in one of my favorite spots to hopefully toll in some birds. This is a rocky area that you can ditch the boat and sit among the rocks as a blind at the right tide.

Skeet with the first brant Gus shot.

Boy, bird and dog.

Picking up at low tide nearing sunset.

Fast forward to today with a seasoned pro, here is Gus with his first bird of the day.

We were setting in a different area with a little bit more marsh.

Shot of the a portion of the rig.

and his second bird of the day.

Just in case anyone missed it.

I had to get in the action just to keep the youngster honest.

I did not even have to drive the boat back in.

What a day.

 

[Huntindave McCann]

Todd,
I guessing the honeymoon is over and you aren't going to be holding back anymore? I swear, some people just spoil their kids with all their wishes.

 

[MIKE-SID]

Congratulations on a great day with your son, and the jewelry! You are very lucky to have your son hunting with you. Looks like you guys are a great team.

 

[Eric Patterson]

Tod

I think the smiles are telling. Congrats to Gus on his first brant and the band. I bet Jen was excited too when she got the news of Gus's success. Or maybe she was there taking pictures seeing as how there is one picture with both you and Gus. At any rate Gus sure does seem to bring good fortune when he hunts with you and I know you already consider yourself blessed.

Eric

 

[jode hillman]

Wow, what an awesome looking spot. Great hunting location. I can see why it?s a favorite. Congratulations on the jewelry!

 

[tod osier]

Tod

I think the smiles are telling. Congrats to Gus on his first brant and the band. I bet Jen was excited too when she got the news of Gus's success. Or maybe she was there taking pictures seeing as how there is one picture with both you and Gus. At any rate Gus sure does seem to bring good fortune when he hunts with you and I know you already consider yourself blessed.

Eric

11 sheets of plywood, some glue, paint and time. What a world of experiences that boat brought us. All these years later... thanks for taking the time to document your build and to create the forum to inspire me to build. What a ride it has been.

Jen was out with us on monday, but we were alone today. We entered the band data and the bird Gus shot was a female banded as an adult 8 years ago and mine was a male banded this year. They came in as a pair and were banded the same place in Nunavut. You have to wonder if they were a mated pair, traveling all that distance together. I have to do some digging to find about the color band on mine.

What a day, it is really something else. Tired old dog, tired old guy, young punk still has plenty of pep.

 

[tod osier]

Todd,
I guessing the honeymoon is over and you aren't going to be holding back anymore? I swear, some people just spoil their kids with all their wishes.

He is a punk, I suppose that is all my fault. He is pretty good at putting decoys out and picking them up, so he has that going for him.

 

[TimJ]

Seems to me that you sonsabitches are earning your luck.
What is the next adventure you want to share with him? Has he got a big gobbler yet?

Tim

 

[tod osier]

Seems to me that you sonsabitches are earning your luck.
What is the next adventure you want to share with him? Has he got a big gobbler yet?

Tim

Trophy squirrels in Michigan are next on tap. Grays, blacks, reds and fox. Looking for enough for a nice pot of stew.

 

[tod osier]

Wow, what an awesome looking spot. Great hunting location. I can see why it?s a favorite. Congratulations on the jewelry!

That first spot with rock and gravel is just about as far as you can get from the traditional marsh brant hunting. Being on the edge of their range they are a special bird that I sure enjoy.

 

[Craig F]

Very cool pictures and experience with your son! I believe the colored bands are part of a new study they are doing. Our brant season is closed until tomorrow so they've been getting a break lately.

NJ fish and game link with some info: https://njfishandwildlife.com/news/2019/brantstudy19.htm

 

[Bomber]

I believe I know that spot looks like a great time. Damn they grow up fast! Gus looks like he fits right in

 

[Ed L.]

Great photos and story Todd. Gus is growing up fast. It's fun watching the kids grow up on this site. Congrats on a couple of successful days on the water. Do you have any pictures of the blind walls you built for your boat prior to affixing the camo netting. I bought netting to do something similar for my boat since we mostly setup against hardwoods on the Mississippi. It looks like a simple solution.

 

[Todd Duncan Tennyson]

Looks like Captain Gus has everything under control out there.

What a great write up, How old is that dog of yours? Got a little frost on the nose.

Keep at em, Enjoy every minute with your son.

 

[Charles H.]

By the smiles on his face in the photo with the banded Brant and while running the boat, that boy is 100% hooked for life! Congrats on a couple of awesome hunts!

Do you decoy many Black Ducks into those rocky areas?

 

[Carl]

One hell of a Christmas present!

 

[Dani]

Looks like a great couple of days. Congrats on the bands for you and Gus!

 

[benp]

Y'all are both just spoiled, you show him where the birds are and he sets up and drives you around, shoot some prize birds.... doesn't get much better than that. Thanks for sharing with us.

 

[tod osier]

Great photos and story Todd. Gus is growing up fast. It's fun watching the kids grow up on this site. Congrats on a couple of successful days on the water. Do you have any pictures of the blind walls you built for your boat prior to affixing the camo netting. I bought netting to do something similar for my boat since we mostly setup against hardwoods on the Mississippi. It looks like a simple solution.

Hi Ed, I pulled these out of ancient history for you. They were even taken on film.

The blind is cordura with grommets and cordage laced through the grommets to hold the net. I wanted fabric to allow maximum flexibility of hunting the boat with a low and high blind.

Quite a bit of seamstress work, so not exactly simple, but it has held up really well and the cordura backing keeps the netting from hanging up on everything. It hides as well as anything I've seen along the coast and well enough against a bank inland.

Over the years I?ve hunted the blind low 99% of the time other than hunting with geezers with limited mobility. Now with a youngster with limited discretion on when to move, I will use it in the up a LOT more. .

High blind before camo side

High blind camo side

High blind above

Blind low before camo above

Blind low camo above

 

[tod osier]

Very cool pictures and experience with your son! I believe the colored bands are part of a new study they are doing. Our brant season is closed until tomorrow so they've been getting a break lately.

NJ fish and game link with some info: https://njfishandwildlife.com/news/2019/brantstudy19.htm

Thanks Craig, I'll do some digging there. The color band is black with a "K", which seems like a poor color for a brant as far as visibility. I wonder if there was another color band on the other leg that I shot off (thinking of your post about shooting the band).