Steve Sanford
Well-known member
All~
This past year has been truly exceptional. Off-season, carving and boats kept me more than busy. The best part, though, was working with Craig Kessler and a bunch of others documenting the history of a certain era – When the Broadbill was King on Great South Bay. Both the boats and "BBKing" brought me to Long Island many times – 3 trips in January alone.
Thanks to the dedication and talents of duckboats.net member Anthony Babich, January focused (pun intended) on the production of a film to go along with our display at the March 7 show of the Long Island Decoy Collectors Association in Hauppauge. Anthony captured a bunch of interviews and a traditional Broadbill hunt on his several cameras. Here is a teaser:
http://vimeo.com/116558936
The "world premiere" of the full (87 minutes?) documentary will be on March 7. We plan to sell copies at the Show for $10 – and mail out copies for $20.
Back to the duck season. The 2014-15 season was my 50th year gunning. In many ways, it was among the poorest I can recall. Locally, a late-summer drought dried up 2 of the 3 duck ponds here at Pencil Brook Farm. The only birds taken on the farm this season were a pair of Woodies I shot on Home Pond. We enjoyed a few fine hunts – especially on some new spots – and always savored our mornings afield. One of the best was a September Youth Day hunt – where we helped a fine young lad shoot his first Mallards. Also, our once-in-a-lifetime trip to to Maine – to hunt Eiders and Scoters with duckboats member Capt. Troy Fields ( http://www.traditionsguideservice.com/ ) – was productive in every way imaginable. In fact, I feel a bit sheepish. Having just read others' accounts of the Dearth of Ducks year, I managed to cobble together a fairly nice total, well to the right of my 50-year average.
Although our local season ended just after Christmas, the Long Island Zone ran through Sunday, January 25. I hunted on the 22nd, 23rd and 24th – and gave a talk at the Long Island Maritime Museum on the 25th.
HUNT # 1
Our first hunt was an afternoon hunt "up west" on the South Shore. Our goal was our "one Black Duck apiece" for four of us. The weather was perfect for Bluebirds, though, so the gunning was a bit slow - and we never did shoot at a Black Duck.
We follow Freddie and Dave out. That's a Carstens Pintail 'cross the gunwales of Freddie's 19-foot Carolina Skiff.
We passed lots of Brant on the way out.
The Butterball were rafted up, too.
We look for some meadow attractive to Black Ducks - but where we can get the boat out on a falling tide. Can you make out the Harbor Seal hauled out on the bog?
The all-important Consultation....
Dave sets the Brant rig.
Freddie's broken finger - a recent softball casualty - has him shooting his 20.
The Black Duck side of the rig shows the Bluebird-friendly conditions. When we gunned here 2 weeks ago, the gale almost tore the camera from my hands.
Craig dropped the first Brant right in front of the boat - his 17' TDB - and soaked us all with the splash.
Dave retrieved Freddie's Brant - a nice long shot for a 20-gauge.
Craig retrieves my Hen Mallard - the only puddle duck opportunity for the day. That cigar in his other hand is a sure sign that we are not skunked.
Craig finds some navigable water.
The Unskilled Labor Force drags the boat as directed.
With 3 Brant and 1 Mallard, we pick up the rig and head homeward.
We stick close to Freddie over the thin waters.
And back to port...
HUNT # 2
Hunt 2 was about 50 miles to the east – an upland adventure in quest of Canadas. No boats, short boots – but still plenty of gear.
A pair of Snows "just in case"....
Our host surveys the Big-foot part of the rig.
We each hide amongst a cluster of the big shells.
This is my nest.
The trap is set....
Another day for Bluebirds kept most of the Canadas high and wide. This one, though, made the grade.
Some needed coaxing with a flag.
This was my "sailer" - a long walk brought him back to the fold.
This is half the bag. We wound up with 2 birds apiece.
HUNT # 3
Hunt 3 was the perfect ending to a wonderful year. Just the two of us, Craig and I hunted the morning in his 17' TDB. It had all the elements - starting with the elements. After a white-knuckle, 40-mile drive out through rain-saturated snow, we motored out in the dark from Craig's home. We rigged mostly for divers in drifting ice at the tail end of a falling tide. The birds were very cooperative. Broadbill is still King with us and they gave of plenty of attention. As important, they offered what we call "memorable shots". Not content with straightforward, stooling birds – aka "sucker shots", we prefer a bit of drama and challenge. We took 6 birds – each "episode" sure to reside in our memory banks for our remaining days.
The ice did not wait long to re-arrange our rig.
I typically do not shoot Shelldrake – but will make exceptions for nice specimens that "present well". I had announced earlier to Craig that I would likely take a nice adult drake if I got the right opportunity. This nice bird reacted to the rig just as it was diagrammed in the playbook – cupped all the way - then rising up as I rose to shoot.
He is now in the hands of another old friend - headed to the taxidermist.
Moving ice meant lots of work for the guide...
Re-rigging was the order of the day - but we never moved the boat.
Navigate, rig, shoot, retrieve - Kessler does it all.
The rewards for all the work were bountiful - and I provided him with words of encouragement and praise throughout. This is Craig's first big drake of the morning.
The best episode – without doubt - was the pair of Broadie-beaks that tore down on the rig from the west. Without speaking a word, we knew that the lead bird was his and the tail bird was mine. His never slowed and he folded it going away. Mine jammed me and cork-screwed skyward. Neither gunner saw each other's shot. Craig reported "I got mine!" - and I replied with the same words. Both birds - as planned - "dead in the air".
My final bird of the season was this perfect hen.
I was happy to see the "darkest brown" head color – just as I recommend in my tutorial: http://stevenjaysanford.com/...ng-broadbill-decoys/ The touch of deep iridescence on the cheek is wonderful to behold.
And the rich browns on the chest invite careful inspection.
THE LAST DAY
I spent the last day of the season talking about my restoration of the Ted Sanford – the Great South Bay Scooter I restored early in 2014. I took an audience of 40 or so through each step. It was a nice crowd of gunners and boat people.
The whole story is at: http://stevenjaysanford.com/great-south-bay-scooter/
Now to begin preparation for 2015-16....
All the best,
SJS
This past year has been truly exceptional. Off-season, carving and boats kept me more than busy. The best part, though, was working with Craig Kessler and a bunch of others documenting the history of a certain era – When the Broadbill was King on Great South Bay. Both the boats and "BBKing" brought me to Long Island many times – 3 trips in January alone.
Thanks to the dedication and talents of duckboats.net member Anthony Babich, January focused (pun intended) on the production of a film to go along with our display at the March 7 show of the Long Island Decoy Collectors Association in Hauppauge. Anthony captured a bunch of interviews and a traditional Broadbill hunt on his several cameras. Here is a teaser:
http://vimeo.com/116558936
The "world premiere" of the full (87 minutes?) documentary will be on March 7. We plan to sell copies at the Show for $10 – and mail out copies for $20.
Back to the duck season. The 2014-15 season was my 50th year gunning. In many ways, it was among the poorest I can recall. Locally, a late-summer drought dried up 2 of the 3 duck ponds here at Pencil Brook Farm. The only birds taken on the farm this season were a pair of Woodies I shot on Home Pond. We enjoyed a few fine hunts – especially on some new spots – and always savored our mornings afield. One of the best was a September Youth Day hunt – where we helped a fine young lad shoot his first Mallards. Also, our once-in-a-lifetime trip to to Maine – to hunt Eiders and Scoters with duckboats member Capt. Troy Fields ( http://www.traditionsguideservice.com/ ) – was productive in every way imaginable. In fact, I feel a bit sheepish. Having just read others' accounts of the Dearth of Ducks year, I managed to cobble together a fairly nice total, well to the right of my 50-year average.
Although our local season ended just after Christmas, the Long Island Zone ran through Sunday, January 25. I hunted on the 22nd, 23rd and 24th – and gave a talk at the Long Island Maritime Museum on the 25th.
HUNT # 1
Our first hunt was an afternoon hunt "up west" on the South Shore. Our goal was our "one Black Duck apiece" for four of us. The weather was perfect for Bluebirds, though, so the gunning was a bit slow - and we never did shoot at a Black Duck.
We follow Freddie and Dave out. That's a Carstens Pintail 'cross the gunwales of Freddie's 19-foot Carolina Skiff.
We passed lots of Brant on the way out.
The Butterball were rafted up, too.
We look for some meadow attractive to Black Ducks - but where we can get the boat out on a falling tide. Can you make out the Harbor Seal hauled out on the bog?
The all-important Consultation....
Dave sets the Brant rig.
Freddie's broken finger - a recent softball casualty - has him shooting his 20.
The Black Duck side of the rig shows the Bluebird-friendly conditions. When we gunned here 2 weeks ago, the gale almost tore the camera from my hands.
Craig dropped the first Brant right in front of the boat - his 17' TDB - and soaked us all with the splash.
Dave retrieved Freddie's Brant - a nice long shot for a 20-gauge.
Craig retrieves my Hen Mallard - the only puddle duck opportunity for the day. That cigar in his other hand is a sure sign that we are not skunked.
Craig finds some navigable water.
The Unskilled Labor Force drags the boat as directed.
With 3 Brant and 1 Mallard, we pick up the rig and head homeward.
We stick close to Freddie over the thin waters.
And back to port...
HUNT # 2
Hunt 2 was about 50 miles to the east – an upland adventure in quest of Canadas. No boats, short boots – but still plenty of gear.
A pair of Snows "just in case"....
Our host surveys the Big-foot part of the rig.
We each hide amongst a cluster of the big shells.
This is my nest.
The trap is set....
Another day for Bluebirds kept most of the Canadas high and wide. This one, though, made the grade.
Some needed coaxing with a flag.
This was my "sailer" - a long walk brought him back to the fold.
This is half the bag. We wound up with 2 birds apiece.
HUNT # 3
Hunt 3 was the perfect ending to a wonderful year. Just the two of us, Craig and I hunted the morning in his 17' TDB. It had all the elements - starting with the elements. After a white-knuckle, 40-mile drive out through rain-saturated snow, we motored out in the dark from Craig's home. We rigged mostly for divers in drifting ice at the tail end of a falling tide. The birds were very cooperative. Broadbill is still King with us and they gave of plenty of attention. As important, they offered what we call "memorable shots". Not content with straightforward, stooling birds – aka "sucker shots", we prefer a bit of drama and challenge. We took 6 birds – each "episode" sure to reside in our memory banks for our remaining days.
The ice did not wait long to re-arrange our rig.
I typically do not shoot Shelldrake – but will make exceptions for nice specimens that "present well". I had announced earlier to Craig that I would likely take a nice adult drake if I got the right opportunity. This nice bird reacted to the rig just as it was diagrammed in the playbook – cupped all the way - then rising up as I rose to shoot.
He is now in the hands of another old friend - headed to the taxidermist.
Moving ice meant lots of work for the guide...
Re-rigging was the order of the day - but we never moved the boat.
Navigate, rig, shoot, retrieve - Kessler does it all.
The rewards for all the work were bountiful - and I provided him with words of encouragement and praise throughout. This is Craig's first big drake of the morning.
The best episode – without doubt - was the pair of Broadie-beaks that tore down on the rig from the west. Without speaking a word, we knew that the lead bird was his and the tail bird was mine. His never slowed and he folded it going away. Mine jammed me and cork-screwed skyward. Neither gunner saw each other's shot. Craig reported "I got mine!" - and I replied with the same words. Both birds - as planned - "dead in the air".
My final bird of the season was this perfect hen.
I was happy to see the "darkest brown" head color – just as I recommend in my tutorial: http://stevenjaysanford.com/...ng-broadbill-decoys/ The touch of deep iridescence on the cheek is wonderful to behold.
And the rich browns on the chest invite careful inspection.
THE LAST DAY
I spent the last day of the season talking about my restoration of the Ted Sanford – the Great South Bay Scooter I restored early in 2014. I took an audience of 40 or so through each step. It was a nice crowd of gunners and boat people.
The whole story is at: http://stevenjaysanford.com/great-south-bay-scooter/
Now to begin preparation for 2015-16....
All the best,
SJS
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