Grandalf Posted January 14, 2014 Report Share Posted January 14, 2014 (edited) At last the act came together! Each season I take out three guests on the Norwich club grounds - today was the turn of number three. Number one was one of my beating team, known as a brusher in this area, who didn't get a shot. This was back in November. That morning we saw 100's of pinks but none came near us. This is always an interesting trip on the intellectual level - I am an atheist and he is a Baptist Minister. This leads to interesting conversations in the hide. We are very good friends and have been for many years. Number two is an old working colleague of mine. He used to be the Chief Pilot of a popular cheapo airline you might have heard of. Anyway, a week before Christmas he decided to have a heart attack so his trip was cancelled. Luckily he is making a good recovery. Number three is the game keeper of my syndicate shoot. Used to keeper a large estate in the South which had its own large marsh area. Some of the Kent guys will remember meeting him when they 'strayed' a little. Anyway today the problem was where to go. Norwich club shoots a very large area of Broadland grazing marshes. I got advice from various parties but Pavman of PW fame drives through the area every day going to and from work and he was out on Yarmouth club's ground yesterday. He had got all the right gen that I needed. Reveille at 0320 hours. Pick up keeper at 0430. Arrive at marsh at 0530 and raining hard. Sit in truck 'till ten to six by which time the rain had stopped. Off across the marsh with the sound of very close pinks in our ears. Tried to get into position without jumping them but to no avail. These grazing marshes are as flat as a pancake and absolutely no cover. Most flew out of the splashes on the neighbouring marsh, where we cannot go, but didn't seem to go far. Hide up, Silosox decoys out and time for a coffee before it got light. Several lumps of geese came into the area but all of them went to join the others on the neighbouring splash. You can't compete with several hundred of the real things when it comes to decoys and callers! At eight we decided action was required. Two shots into the air jumped the mass of geese. They cooperated by flying straight over us. I missed but my colleague dropped one. After that it was a matter of waiting for skeins to come over and enticing them to come into the decoys. We got one each on the next arrival. Then I got a singleton. Then we each got another two which involved a long walk with the dog across the neighbours land - we are allowed to pick up there - and a good retrieve from a marsh dyke. Merlyn found it in the reeds and charged in after it so it dived. But the clever dog climbed out on the far bank and when it surfaced made an enormous jump and landed right on it! And that's how we finished - three pinks apiece. Me feeling happy to have shown my mate some good sport and got him to the right place - and my mate happy to have clean killed three pinks with an AYA Yeoman and Ely number three bismuth cartridges. Decoy well, let them come in and shoot straight seems to be the answer. We stayed dry as well - A good result. (And several phone calls from Pavman to see how we were getting on). Edited January 14, 2014 by Grandalf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
la bala Posted January 14, 2014 Report Share Posted January 14, 2014 nice post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harrycatcat1 Posted January 14, 2014 Report Share Posted January 14, 2014 Its good when a plan comes together Well done. Regards H Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henry d Posted January 14, 2014 Report Share Posted January 14, 2014 (And several phone calls from Pavman to see how we were getting on). Well you can`t have everything eh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fenboy Posted January 14, 2014 Report Share Posted January 14, 2014 Well done , sounds like you had a good day. I always look at those grazing marshes with envy when I travel along the acle straight on my way beach fishing , last time a few weeks back there were geese galore . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandalf Posted January 14, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2014 Well done , sounds like you had a good day. I always look at those grazing marshes with envy when I travel along the acle straight on my way beach fishing , last time a few weeks back there were geese galore . Join the club boy... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fenboy Posted January 14, 2014 Report Share Posted January 14, 2014 A bit to far for me to get the best out of it I feel , and with me living only a stones throw from the wash , I am new this season to foreshore shooting and have plenty to learn about the wash yet , but who knows perhaps one day . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motty Posted January 15, 2014 Report Share Posted January 15, 2014 Well done, Grandalf, sounds like a great day out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandalf Posted January 15, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 15, 2014 A bit to far for me to get the best out of it I feel , and with me living only a stones throw from the wash , I am new this season to foreshore shooting and have plenty to learn about the wash yet , but who knows perhaps one day . Then you have the best of shooting for the learning fowler. I started my fowling on the Wash back in the early 60's. A fabulous place. Unfortunately I am getting, no got, a little long in the tooth for solo forays around Anderson's Creek etc. I do what I can and still enjoy every second I can spend on any marsh that I can get to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fenboy Posted January 15, 2014 Report Share Posted January 15, 2014 Then you have the best of shooting for the learning fowler. I started my fowling on the Wash back in the early 60's. A fabulous place. Unfortunately I am getting, no got, a little long in the tooth for solo forays around Anderson's Creek etc. I do what I can and still enjoy every second I can spend on any marsh that I can get to. Anderson's is plenty far enough for me I was down that way last week and its a good hike , especially as I pulled something in my groin on the walk back (not that something ) , it could have been worse , I very nearly had a Canada to bring back but was unable to pick it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anser2 Posted January 15, 2014 Report Share Posted January 15, 2014 Well done Grandalf. I hope to have a week in the area once this moon is out of the way. I was down yesterday about 10 miles south of you, found a couple of very nice flashes on my shoot and a mate and I took one each for the flight. There were a lot of goose dropings around my flash but despite a very long wait from dusk until well into the evening under the moon we never saw a goose or a duck. Mind you the day could have been a real disaster. For the last 10 years I have had some rough shooting alive with Pheasants close to the Yoxford . I have not been down all season until yesterday and found as we got out of the car the farmer had sold the land. My suspisions were rased because small tag on the farm gate so I though I had better check with the farmer. Had I used another entrance I would not have though anything had changed and might have ended up poaching. Admittedly I did not pay in money for the shoot ( I did survey work for the farmer to get HLS and in exchange he gave me the shooting ) it would have been nice for the farmer to have warned me that the land had been sold a few months ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richie10 Posted January 15, 2014 Report Share Posted January 15, 2014 Poaching is the least of your worries, it's armed trespass that you have to worry about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandalf Posted January 15, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 15, 2014 Anser 2 - That's farmers for you. Most of my local friends are farmers and they are a rum lot. Pity you lost the shooting though. It's hard to come by. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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