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Wildfowling Season 2014 - 2015


Wildfowler325
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Out sat morning Walking out at 3am in position by 4;00 I feel it important to be set up while its still dark especially on a flat marsh more so with geese than duck but still its a factor. Anyhow the geese were not out on the sand having spent the lighter night out on the feed. Packed the gear by 6;30-7:00 after watching the duck move about and taking note of flight lines as it indicates were they were feeding last night. Back to the truck for a tour to find those geese. 9:30 and the tide still didn't make anything and I spotted geese, a bunch of 8-10 wiffling and spilling the air from their wings down onto the sand and the very start of the estuary in the fresh water zone were the tide hadn't and wouldn't touch on this tide. Within the next 30-40 mins there were a few hundred all coming in to gather grit and sip the fresh water.

Plans forming for the next visit, not gone this morn as the forcast was for dry and bright without a wind, I find it dampens the enthusiasm to suffer too many early season blanks when the odds can be stacked against you.

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We had a great tide flight yesterday, following a fruitless morning, where only a small pack of teal flew past us early on. The guns where sleeved at this point, and really it was still too dark to shoot, so they got away unscathed. My mate had been mithering me to pack up, but I wasn't going anywhere, and just as well, as the wigeon turned up bang on high water... We bagged 6 of them, and 2 teal too, then I told him we had enough and could leave - obviously his mood had changed at this point! So we put the guns away and watched them for another hour, before heading home :good:

 

48BF80EF-732B-4633-A6B6-F9A25E99BB58.jpg

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We had a great tide flight yesterday, following a fruitless morning, where only a small pack of teal flew past us early on. The guns where sleeved at this point, and really it was still too dark to shoot, so they got away unscathed. My mate had been mithering me to pack up, but I wasn't going anywhere, and just as well, as the wigeon turned up bang on high water... We bagged 6 of them, and 2 teal too, then I told him we had enough and could leave - obviously his mood had changed at this point! So we put the guns away and watched them for another hour, before heading home :good:

 

48BF80EF-732B-4633-A6B6-F9A25E99BB58.jpg

Those Cock widgeon are in fine plumage for the time of year I must say

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Nice write up, well worth all the effort you put in.

 

had a mixed day today up again at midnight and left a touch before 1am, made good time and got there earlier than expected so decided to try and get a half hours sleep in the car... my mate snored louder than ive ever heard someone snore so a nap was out of the question

 

we went down onto the broadwater and crossed onto an island, i am petrified of water but i crossed in the pitch black ok (ish) bit of a sissy really as its only just over my knackers deep so nothing to worry about. we both got in position and there where a lot of geese a few hundreds yards away. the bloody dog decided to chase them, slipped his lead and swam off. we then spent almost 3 hours looking for the bloody thing! thankfully found him ok but walked miles in doing so.

 

only had one shot there and hit a mallard, sadly not a clean kill and he swam into an area that i couldnt retrieve him (without the lost dog) so came away empty handed... REALLY hate not being able to either finish the bird quickly... really gets to me

 

off for a breakfast, same place as last week quite expensive but very nice then onto the other ground. a long walk in with boiling hot weather and sweating buckets in my waders. thank god i didnt wear my neoprene deciding instead to wear my leaky old ones. we got the hide set up around 11am and sat watching geese floating over the railway line a hundreds yards down so my mate went down to sit under the flightline while i thought sod it ill wait here.

 

half hour later i heard a load of honking, then looking around spotted a load coming for me, then more and more.. i rekon there where 200 coming my way. i was on the verge of wetting myself in excitment... the first time goose fever has really kicked in, all i could do was say oohh...ohh... ohh as i saw goose after goose heading my way. most where out of range but i emptied my semi auto sadly only dropping one (i was to excited to concentrate) but it was a cracking shot. got one more after that and my mate had one while under the flightline.

 

walking out with a rucksack full of gear a gun and a pair of canadas, one of them huge killed me... by the time i got back to the car i was on te verge of passing out it was so hot :lol:

 

next stop was closest shop for a bucket of energy drinks and a pack of paracetemols as both of us ached all over.... home and geese sorted by 8pm, a LONG day again but well worth it even with only two birds butits not the bag size for me its the enjoyment of being out there

 

oh.. almost forgot id have one mishap... being out for so long nature did eventually call so i went for the closest bush, dropped my kegs and as i went to crouch down noticed the gorse bush behind me so i sidestepped and crouched down and stuck my bare backside on a load of stingy nettles.. OUCH!!! tha tshocked i couldnt even go :lol:

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thanks, apart from the nettle incident it was a good if to hot day... were having a couple of weeks off fowling now waiting for it to get colder and for the ducks to start coming in

 

Strangely the early duck are about in reasonable numbers not sure why with weather as is, perhaps its different on the breeding ground or crowded??

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Strangely the early duck are about in reasonable numbers not sure why with weather as is, perhaps its different on the breeding ground or crowded??

 

not sure where you are (unless the username gives it away!) but on two of the three areas i can use in west/north wales there are very few. i havent seen any on the dyfi which is my usual ground but i know one club memebr who had two on the 1st, i didnt see any that day or this week, thats not to say their not there but they where no where near me. the other area we saw a few widgeon on a walk around on the 30th august and some mallard and wigeon on saturday morning but not many thats why we are leaving it a couple of weeks before going back up... these geese are ok but both i and my shooting mate prefer ducks

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had an excellent week of fowling last week and bagged my first few geese of the season, the dog was glad she came as she has been out of work for 5 months as she moved away with family, very proud of how good she did to say the lack of work shes had,

 

hope you all have a great season

 

Lovely photo "countrysports".......Goose don't look very well, but the dog look in excellent condition :good:

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Not out on the moon as have an associate flight, massive bore tide this evening and we are shooting one of the best marshes to see it. It should be quite a sight, won't be shooting anything over the water during or just after the bore though! Just need to make sure that nobody shoots a surfer :lol:

 

A surfer... how rubbish a shot I am, I'd still probably miss 1 of them as well lol. See you later mate. hh

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Not out on the moon as have an associate flight, massive bore tide this evening and we are shooting one of the best marshes to see it. It should be quite a sight, won't be shooting anything over the water during or just after the bore though! Just need to make sure that nobody shoots a surfer :lol:

Where are you guys off to tonight

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Went out onto the North Norfolk Coast again yesterday morning, loads of Mallard about, never seen so many, but it was a still, windless morning and they all flew from the reserve onto a marsh covered by a 25foot odd tide at high altitude until they got to a place the tide denied me and dived straight in without any hesitation. I count myself very lucky to have got one.

 

I would like to say that it was a superb shot, taken at maximum range and a joy to behold, however, it was from the one bunch that flew lower and I got the bird behind the bird I fired at. Not the first time that's happened to me.

 

Not that anyone was there to behold it, I had the entire acreage to myself.

 

It came down, but was by no means ready to surrender; I'm now on my fifth wildfowling dog, 1 spaniel, 4 Labs and none of them have known what to do when a wounded duck dives, they just look baffled, every time. More my fault than theirs I'm sure.

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