Wildfowling season 2015-2016

[hedge hunter]

Fb mate.

[Spaniel]

Cheers Ian, when they are as hard to get as they seem to be this season then anything is worth looking for. Hoping for a few over the weekend. Out local Saturday am, then off to sunny Devon for some stalking Sunday and then am flight on the Exe and tide flight on the torridge Monday.

Let me know how you get on down south Ben

I'm out Sunday morning after those geese with ollie on pw doing a taster and ross can't wait

Just a single teal to date Ben, out for a tide flight tomorrow down my way, with the Wentloog club. So fingers crossed

Only had the 1 mallard and Canada myself so far

[Ttfjlc]

Well went out tonight for evening flight, wow what a wind! Very cold and bitter! Found a splash that looked to be well used but still had one of those flights. Had shots at 2 passing mallard overhead with no luck, then when I was looking behind me I turned to see 2 wigeon fly right in front of me well within range but by the time my brain had kicked in they were gone. Later on again I was looking behind me at the orange glow of Lynn as I could hear pinks in the distance and again when I turned to face forward a dozen teal had already passed by me; even in a headwind they seem to fly supersonic. The final straw was when I thought all the geese were now out on the roost and seemingly too dark to shoot I had packed up my things and was around 100 yards from my position when a small group of 30-50 flew over where I had been. Oh well I told myself if I had stayed there they wouldn't of flown in that direction! Now up to 5 blank flights, need to speak to a well known washwizard to put me in the right place.

[muncher]

I ventured out on Saturday morning in the hope of a mixed bag of geese and ducks and as I walked out on the marsh I could hear wigeon even in that wind. I eventually got to a large creek I was aiming for and though I was a bit early so I didn't load the gun all off a sudden a small pack of ducks over my head ,****** it is light enough .so I got in a small side creek to the main one and waited .Pack of 5 wigeon struggling into the wind,3 misses and another bunch missed .I had a word with myself to slow down and try and just take single shots as I hadn't got many cartridges with me, duck were all over and I started to connect with a few and when my shells ran out I had ten wigeon 2 mallard and a teal , Rudi picked every bird . No geese showed in range and as I sat drinking coffee, I wondered if I had more cartridges I thought how many I could of shot, as ducks were still pouring in with little regard to me just looking for shelter. Was an amazing flight if only to see that amount of duck I even spotted 3 drake goldeneye .

[Ttfjlc]

I ventured out on Saturday morning in the hope of a mixed bag of geese and ducks and as I walked out on the marsh I could hear wigeon even in that wind. I eventually got to a large creek I was aiming for and though I was a bit early so I didn't load the gun all off a sudden a small pack of ducks over my head ,****** it is light enough .so I got in a small side creek to the main one and waited .Pack of 5 wigeon struggling into the wind,3 misses and another bunch missed .I had a word with myself to slow down and try and just take single shots as I hadn't got many cartridges with me, duck were all over and I started to connect with a few and when my shells ran out I had ten wigeon 2 mallard and a teal , Rudi picked every bird . No geese showed in range and as I sat drinking coffee, I wondered if I had more cartridges I thought how many I could of shot, as ducks were still pouring in with little regard to me just looking for shelter. Was an amazing flight if only to see that amount of duck I even spotted 3 drake goldeneye .

What an amazing flight you had and for your dog to retrieve every bird was the icing on the cake, well done.

[fenboy]

I ventured out on Saturday morning in the hope of a mixed bag of geese and ducks and as I walked out on the marsh I could hear wigeon even in that wind. I eventually got to a large creek I was aiming for and though I was a bit early so I didn't load the gun all off a sudden a small pack of ducks over my head ,****** it is light enough .so I got in a small side creek to the main one and waited .Pack of 5 wigeon struggling into the wind,3 misses and another bunch missed .I had a word with myself to slow down and try and just take single shots as I hadn't got many cartridges with me, duck were all over and I started to connect with a few and when my shells ran out I had ten wigeon 2 mallard and a teal , Rudi picked every bird . No geese showed in range and as I sat drinking coffee, I wondered if I had more cartridges I thought how many I could of shot, as ducks were still pouring in with little regard to me just looking for shelter. Was an amazing flight if only to see that amount of duck I even spotted 3 drake goldeneye .

 

Sound like a great flight , I bet you take more cartridges next time !

What a bonus a goldeneye would have been.

[Smiler23]

Dream flight that,good effort

[muncher]

Schoolboy error FB I even picked up another box and thought,naa just more weight .goldeneye were out of range luckily or it would of been heavy shot being used

[fenboy]

Schoolboy error FB I even picked up another box and thought,naa just more weight .goldeneye were out of range luckily or it would of been heavy shot being used

 

You need to man up Jules, I carried 6 wigeon decoys 2 x 1.5 lb anchors 50 + cartridges gun and hide for 5 miles friday , mind you I was going to go out saturday morning but could barely move

[motty]

That was a great flight, Jules. I just knew it was you I could hear popping away.

You forgot to mention just how rough it was. I don't think I have ever been out in conditions like that. The wind was ridiculous and the sleet was stinging my face so much.I reckon I could have had more than just the one wigeon if my guest could have kept out of the way a bit better. Packs of wigeon kept coming round, just feet off the ground, but they kept spotting him.

[aister]

I had a good couple of flights yesterday to make up for a few blanks. I was out on Friday morning but the geese went wide so I had a better idea for yesterday morning. The geese came off the loch and came over me tail to wind giving me some very sporting shots, I bagged 4 before putting the gun away and watching the rest of the birds come of the loch. While waiting early on I had an owl drift silently close by, I am always amazed at how silent they are. With the frost I knew exactly where I was going at night and I finally had a decent night flight. I managed to bag 2 mallard, a wigeon and 5 teal. I also saw another owl, I saw him coming and sat still, he passed silently literally inches from my head. I think the one in the morning was a barn owl and the one at night was a little owl.

[GADWALL41]

Regarding owls out by day and appreciating the fact That I was not there and not doubting anyone's id,s but I find The most common Owl

flybys are from Short eared owls at this time of year . Had them hover 3 feet over head , wing tips near hit my nose etc .

I was buzzed by 2 different birds on the same evening last week . I have video of the 2 , a still of one att .

Fantastic to see , by the way the tide is behind me .

 

 

 

[Spaniel]

Nice morning on the foreshore we seen a few ducks which really were on the edge of our range and we seen a couple of Canadas but no joy today but good to wake up to a bit of a frost let's hope more cold weather is on its way

Did have a bit of excitement watching a helicopter land on the foreshore apparantly the pilot said it was quicker than driving and they popped in the restaurant for their breakfast you got to laugh sometimes

[Ollieollie]

Evening All,

As spaniel mentioned above i was out with him this morning on my first flight, as has been mentioned in various places on the web wildfowling is not a numbers game so i went out with no expectations. We started a little after six after my drive down to Arlingham from South Birmingham, it was a cold crisp start which gave way to a clear sunny morning, during the flight i had two shots with no luck as did Ian, a little further down the bank Ross had one duck which was lost, there were some ducks and geese about but they decided to pass us by following our early action. We packed up around nine thirty and headed home. Although i didn't shoot anything i think i contracted the bug for wildfowling, my Gloucester wildfowlers association membership application has been started this evening so here's to the future.

Thanks Ian for taking me out & see you soon

Ollie

[Spaniel]

No problem mate glad you seen something and at least had a shot just a shame the geese were not playing but hey there is always next time

More than welcome to come out again

[Penelope]

Nice flight Jules.

 

I must get round to cobbling something up about last weekend.

Edited November 23, 2015 by Penelope

[Fal]

My blanks continue! Went again Friday night, didn't see a duck! Decided I'm holding off going until we get some colder weather, I think the amount of surface water inland isn't helping!

 

I did see a spectacular sunset though, best I've seen for a long time!

 

 

 

 

[marsh man]

Lovely photos there Fal , a bit of compensation for an empty bag .

 

Although we have had a fair bit of rain, our marshes are nowhere near as wet as they were this time last year . I could do with a bit more but not as much as you have got .

 

 

Good luck for whatever weather you are hoping for and hope your luck change before long . M M

[fenboy]

Nice flight Jules.

 

I must get round to cobbling something up about last weekend.

Yes you must !

[fenboy]

Fal , looks a lovely place to shoot despite the blanks , you should book a B&B for a couple of days near the wash to see if you can get over your run of blanks !

[Penelope]

Tonight!!!

 

 

Yes you must !

[Penelope]

Last weekend I spent 3 days shooting, two trips to the coast and a day's pheasant shooting.

 

Friday the 13th, Lucky for some!

 

I had arranged a trip via the BASC permit scheme to visit the Wash with Muncher for Friday, 13th Nov. The morning arrived with the alarm screaming at 2am, bleary eyed, I flew out of bed exited by the prospect of seeing and hopefully getting a shot at a pinkfoot or two. Recent weather reports of storm Abigail increasing that excitement; a randomly booked day coinciding with some proper weather is a rare occurrence.

 

Dressed and flask made I set off from Sou'fend on Mud for the 2 1/2 hour drive to the rendezvous with Muncher who I was due to meet at 5:15am in a remote Fenland village. I arrived about 10 minutes before the allotted time to find Muncher and his truck waiting for me. Brief pleasantries exchanged we set of to a desolate carp park huddled under the sea wall. There were one or two other fowlers already there with assorted hounds in tow and a discussion ensued about who had planned to go where. As the pegs were being drawn, another truck arrived and I was greeted by the sites very own Motty, who would be joining Muncher and I in our morning's quest. Soon we were all donned in rubber and camo and set of on the trek along the sea wall.

Abigail had yet to put in much of an appearance but there was still a brisk breeze blowing up from the south west.

 

After a while we left the sea wall and struck out across the saltings, still dark, still no gale. On the way out Muncher asked me what cartridges I had with me, to which I answered 'Gamebore steel 1's'. 'Here, take a couple of these' he said, as he handed me two of his hevishot home loads 'stick 'em in the choke barrel' referring to the left barrel of my Midland magnum.

 

With the tide due at about 7am, which would fill the creeks and just slop out on to the top of the marsh we stayed about 70 yards in from the mud edge and found homes for the morning in some little runnel creeks around 50yards apart. I erected a scrap of netting, laid out the gun sticks and loaded up, not forgetting to put one of the big thumpers in the left barrel.

Motty mentioned that a few days previous, the geese had started to leave the mud early, but on this day it was light before the first skeins started tracing across the sky to our south, smudges in the far distance growing and forming into skeins of those wonderful birds.

Muncher had a crack at a skein that went over to his right, but missed followed by an expletive and a 'I should of had those'. By now the tide had flooded me out of my creek, so the net was repositioned a yard to the left as I tried to remain hidden laying in a couple of inches of water. Due to the exposed nature of our positions, the good light and no Abigail the geese were seeing us and giving just a wide enough berth to keep them safe.

 

A little bunch headed towards me at a good height and started to veer left, as I lay watching hoping they would swing closer, but they continued on there allotted path. There was a single a little lower and a little closer (but not much) which I had my eye on, when I heard Muncher shout out 'Go on Paul'. To be honest, if I had just had the steel I wouldn't have raised the gun, but I know and have seen what Muncher's home loads can do if pointed right, so I sloshed up onto my knees, pushed the catch forward, found the back trigger and swung. To the crump, the single pink threw back it's head and spiralled down into the tide in a welter of spray. By far the furthest goose I have killed! A cry from Motty behind me 'Bloody good shot!' increased the smile on my face; it's nice to have these things witnessed. To round things off, Muncher's young bitch Rudi, made a great 70 yard blind retrieve from the tide edge which was a pleasure to watch.

 

A short while later I was brought back down to earth with a miss from a single shot of the remaining 'Muncher's Special'. But was I disappointed, hell no, a pink on my first coastal trip of the year. Soon after it was clear that the flight was over so we slowly made our way back to the cars. Motty, said his goodbyes as he had to work, but Muncher and I went for a well earned breakfast before going back to his for some R&R before evening flight on the Ouse Washes.

 

We arrived at washes for about 2:30 with a brisk wind blowing with the intention of sitting on the bank to while away some time before flighting light and the arrival of Muncher's brother, but the covering of water and the odd party of duck on the wing, saw us kit up set out for the ankle deep flood water. With no cover on the bare wash we hung some nets off of poles about 80 yards apart and awaited events. Odd lots of duck were dropping in on the Delph side of the wash so Muncher moved and headed off in that direction. A few Golden Plover kept me entertained, difficult shots at fast low birds in the wind, finally dropping one, my first, the other side of a dyke, which was picked later by Rudi, although she wasn't sure what to make of it first.

 

When the flight came it was eventful, although I was out of it, wigeon, teal, greylag and Canada geese were all seen and offered opportunities and were put in the bag and I witnessed what was the strongest mallard flight that I have seen on the washes. Soon it was time to say my goodbyes and head back home with a pinkfoot goose and golden plover in the bag.

When the goose was dressed out for the Christmas table I found a wound under the chin and two along it's neck, upfront and nutted as some would say.

 

Saturday interlude.

 

Saturday was spent on the game syndicate in Essex that I am a member of on one of the 10 walk one stand one pheasant days. Although the prediction was for rain, we were lucky and only had one drive after lunch in the wet. The bag for the day was 40 pheasants and a Jay, with 6 and the jay falling to my gun, the highlight being a hen on the Priory drive that I took high and well in front.

 

More Fenland Fun!

 

Sunday, the alarm going off earlier than Friday, at 1am as I had to be at Sutton Bridge for 4am to meet Fenboy who would be guiding me on another BASC permit day. Although the excitement was there again, the lure of the bed and the warm blonde were a little harder to drag myself away from. On the road for 1:30am, passing the late night revellers still about in Sou'fend. The miles passed quickly and I was soon at Sutton Bridge. I unloaded my kit into fenboy's car and we set off to a part of the Wash further round the coast into darkest Lincolnshire. We met up with a friend of fenboy, Dewayne who knew the marsh we were going out like the back of his hand, which is always good on a strange marsh.

 

The walk out was easy enough, and even in the dark I could tell that this marsh was of a different make up to the coast further south, this being covered in long rank grass, which had had cattle run over it to graze.

 

Dewayne led us to a large creek intersection, in which the tide was just starting to filter up, so no time was lost in placing a few mixed wigeon and teal decoys, as duck were the intended quarry today, the pinkfeet having moved recently according to fenboy. Once the deeks were fenboy and I set up a couple of hides close to each another and waited on the teal and then wigeon that he had seen stream across a few days earlier, which would hopefully come for a look see at the decoys as the tide rose to it's height, expected at about 9am. The strong wide should help us too.

 

It was very quite at dawn and fenboy was wondering whether the wide had shifted the duck, as the expected teal flight didn't materialise and the wigeon were no where to be seen. Although it's hard when you take people out and want to show them some sport, I was none too despondent as I was enjoy the sights and sounds of a marsh new to me.

 

It was fully light before we saw any action, and came by way of a small bunch of pinks that we saw about a third of a mile away. The were very low and out in front to our right; a couple of 'wink, winks' from us and the little party came right into us at no height at all.

Earlier that morning, fenboy had kindly given me two of his special homeloads,heavy weight this time, which I stuffed in when the geese were some way off, expecting them to pass wide. In a complete opposite to Friday morning, these pinks decided to have a look down the barrels to see what we were using they came so close. In hindsight it would have been just as well to leave the duck squibs in.

My first shot dropped one dead in the creek and fenboy confirmed his first double, my second shot found thin air as they climbed and turned on the wind. What an excellent start to the day, two geese in two foreshore visiting and my second and third coastal pinks.

 

From then on ducks started to flight, a few teal, but mostly wigeon, high for the main, but enough in range to warm the barrels. As the tide started to fall away we were treated to the sight of the most impressive wigeon flight, what looked like smoke in the distance, turning in to flock after flock of whistling and growling ducks from one side of the marsh to the other. I don't think I'd be exaggerating if I say I saw 5,000 plus wigeon that morning. fenboy, Dewayne and I had some good shooting, and I was particularly pleased with one very high wigeon that just folded to my shot (relived in the car park as Dewayne got it on video). There was some great game finding by both fenboy's dog Milo and Dewayne's Moseley who retrieved ducks across the flooded creek.

 

After what was easily one of my most memorable morning flights my bag was three teal, four wigeon and a pink, with two pinks and 3 wigeon to fenboys gun. I believe Dewayne had a pintail duck and a couple of wigeon too.

 

After spending a few hours at fenboys, we were back for evening flight on the same marsh but in a different area, again we were treated to the wonderful sight of all those wigeon as they went back out to the mud. No shots this time, but fantastic memories.

 

I'd like to say a public thank you to Muncher, Motty, fernboy, Dewayne, farma geddon and not forgetting Rudi, Milo and Moesley, without who there would have been nothing in the back.

A total of 647 miles driven over the three days too.

 

 

 

Edited November 25, 2015 by Penelope

[fenboy]

An excellent write up Paul and well worth the wait !

It was a pleasure to have you out for the day and I am pleased it went so well because as you know its not always like that !

 

You certainly pulled off some nice shots , we had to with the height the wigeon were coming off !

 

A slight edit needed , Dewayne's dog is called Mowgli ( as in the jungle book )

[Penelope]

I put that down to my ears being full of wax, olive oil and cotton wool. All nicely irrigated now.

 

An excellent write up Paul and well worth the wait !

It was a pleasure to have you out for the day and I am pleased it went so well because as you know its not always like that !

 

You certainly pulled off some nice shots , we had to with the height the wigeon were coming off !

 

A slight edit needed , Dewayne's dog is called Mowgli ( as in the jungle book )

Edited November 25, 2015 by Penelope

[tomaddy525]

Superb write up... Goosebumps!!!