Washington Brant

fred slyfield

fred slyfield

Well-known member
Got out with Hunter and two buddies from North Dakota for Brant last weekend,the wind was tough on Saturday but Sunday was much nicer, we did well on the birds with some great grey bellies for the wall.

Monday we got out for some sea ducks but the wind was terrible so we had to move to more protected waters, we did well shooting a 3 species of Scoters.

Me with my 2 birds from Saturday

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My good friend John from North Dakota, John has taken all North American duck species that can be legally hunted, he has over 80 bird mounts in his house

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Butch wit a nice Grey Bellied Brant

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Butch headed back in after a long retrieve

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Nice birds there.

I been up there when we had a bad bad north wind and the waves damned nearly flipped the boat at the launch.

Glad you got a few and lived to tell the tale.

Looks like Butch's bird knows the Jig is up.
 
Great pics. Is that a tanker in the background? Seems kind of strange to me to be huting near ocean liners but I guess that's the norm elsewhere. We only have to deal with barges.

All 80 species! Not a small accomplishment. Can he list all of them?

Eric
 
Thanks for the pictures and post. Not too many Wa guys seem to post anymore brant pictures, seem like a common trend for fear or more guys showing up to hunt them. I always make a big post after each season here, and will continue to do so. Some guys may never harvest a black brant and I think they appreciate the effort we put in.

Good on ya.
 
That sure looks like a fun type hunt, Fred. You live and hunt in a mighty fine looking area. Makes you a lucky man.
Al
 
Fred ! Great photos! Brings back all the memories of our many Baja and Morro Bay, California hunts.
Enjoy the preening Brant decoy that I shipped to you. Only made a few of them but they add a little realism to a rig.
Bob H
 
Fred, are the brant edable, is so how do you prepare them for table fare. I've shot atlantic brant down here in reahobeth bay but they stink like hell if you try to cook them. I've only hunted them for sport, but doen't to kill things I can't eat. thanks cas in delaware.
 
Cas these birds are great table fare, I just slice thin and cook on olive oil with a little seasoning

Bob, The preening Brant will be floated proudly in the spread next season!!, can't wait to get my eyes on it.

Fred
 
We do have a couple of neat bays up here that the Brant love. Fred I recognize the area you were hunting, I was not far from you that day. There seems to be more Grays this year. Tides were not great for that day, but it will get better the last three days of the season.......... And roasted Brant are my favorite of all waterfowl !!
 
Tom, all of our birds were grays I was hoping to get a good black for the wall, looks like this weekend will be a wash with the big winds they are predicting. Depending on the weather I might shoot the pass for the last weekend.

Fred
 
The big difference in palatability of between Atlantic Brant and Pacific Brant is diet. The Atlantic Brant used to eat eelgrass and was considered great table fare. Unfortunately the primary food source was wiped out in the 1930s. Brant switched to eating sea lettuce (algae) and Spartina and other less nutritious foods. The population levels plummeted and so did their reputation as table fare. More recently brant have adapted to feeding lawn grasses and pasture mixes. Their population has increased. I don't know if their palatability has improved. Pacific Brant still feed on eelgrass (albeit a fair amount of Japanese eelgrass, which is not native to North America). Pacific Brant remain a fine table food.
 
Cas, TOTALLY defat the breast, then proceed with the above recipe. Rare to medium rare makes them taste pretty darn good. Caveat: DO NOT freeze, of try dealing with leftovers. After cooking and an overnight in the fridge, they seem to take on an aroma akin to the ols Hartz Mountain turtle food--It is a specific odor that i dredge up from my very early years.Great with crusty breas and some red wine!
 
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