TOM KNAPP....YOU SUCK

                                             JJ and Jeff Meyer
 
Hunted the lake yesterday and again this morning.  Limits of mallards both days along with two bonus wigeon today. We didn't see as many mallards today as yesterday but we had a better wind direction today.

Today we worked a couple of nice bunches of 75 to 100.  Jeff Meyer was having trouble with his 12 gauge  this morning.  The trigger would not reset after firing the first shot. He was so frustrated that he walked back to the truck to get his 20 gauge. (Tom Harpstreith is smiling)  He was concerned that he didn't have enough firepower.

His first shot at 20 yards was merely a tactic to allow the birds to get to 50 yards.  The strategy worked perfectly as he crumpled a drake.  So much for not enough firepower.

The next flock was our bunch of 100.  The majority of the birds were on Jeff's side of the pit.  The lead birds were at 15 yards and 10 feet off the water.  Jeff's first shot stoned a drake. Jeff's second shot bagged another drake. His third shot dropped two drakes!  That's right, three shots four drakes.  Knapp you got nothing on the Meyer. Jeff shoots almost as well as Todd Norsten.

We are heading back to the river tomorrow.  Will let you know how we do.

JJ

ONCE IN A LIFETIME

                                                    Apprentice
                                            (click on photos to enlarge)
I am blessed in so many ways.  On Wednesday afternoon, I took my 4-year old son Brayden to the river blind. We spent as much time walking around on the sand bars as we did in the blind actually hunting.  We did manage to get a couple of fat greenheads so he was able to watch the mallards work the decoys. I think he liked it because he kept saying "Daddy, I love you!"

On Thursday morning I was blessed to have in the blind with me my Dad, Michael; one my great clients and friend, Jeff Meyer, owner of Pathfinder Ranch in Alcova, WY; and my friend Trent Tatum, co-owner of the North Platte Lodge in Alcova.  We decoyed many flocks of mallards and had our limit by 9:00 AM.

                                               Jeff Meyer and Sage
Needing just three more mallards for our limit, my Dad and I convinced a flock of 25 mallards to come and visit our spread.  They were hovering above the decoys at 15 yards.  I reminded everyone that we needed only three. The first volley rang out and two greenheads hit the water.  Needing one more, Trent focused on a drake that was trying to make his escape through the trees. Bad decision for duck; good decision for Trent.  Trent's yellow lab, Allie, went "into the woods" (Stephen Sondheim reference not intended) and returned with a "once in a lifetime duck"!

It was a magnificent drake mallard/pintail hybrid.  The beak was that of a pintail (sprig), head was a mallard on the sides but had the brown crown of a pintail. The neck was long like a pintail but it had the white ring of a mallard; however, the white extended down the throat for an inch. Wings had the green speculum of a pintail but the body shape was that of a mallard.  The tail had the triangle shape of a pintail but was colored like a drake mallard. It had the spike tail feather of a sprig but instead of coming out the rear of the tail it was located where a drake mallard would have his curl feathers. A magnificent bird. A trophy of a lifetime!

                                         Drake Mallard/Pintail Hybrid

I have been witness to many mallards being harvested over the years. I have seen only one other mallard/pintail hybrid.  My Dad has been hunting mallards for over 50 years. Trust me when I say he has been responsible for thousands of mallards taken over the years (If you have seen the number of duck bands on his call lanyard you know what I mean).  Trent's duck is the first hybrid drake he has ever seen.

                                         Trent Tatum and Allie  
 Thank you to Trent for these wonderful photographs.

I am truly blessed to share my passion for waterfowling with my dad, my son and good friends.

See you on the river.

JJ

FIRST DAY ON THE RIVER - NOVEMBER 6, 2011

A big shout out to my brother Chad and all the folks who work with him at the National Weather Service. The forecast was for snow, low temps around 20 and strong WNW winds. Could you have a more perfect day for the first day on the river? I think not.

On the drive to the river, the stars were brightly shining; the temp was a balmy 31 degrees and the wind was light and variable.  Got to love those weather forecasters! Have to tell the story of how Chad's forecast saved countless lives in Tucson.

Chad's first assignment with the Weather Service was in Tucson. His primary duty was as the Chief Hydrologist for the area. Hydrologist in the desert? You get 5" of moisture a year! Give me a break. Often when they do get rain they do get flash floods. Chad issued a flash flood warning for an arroyo (I think that is a ditch) that winds through several housing developments. It is a playground for kids and dirt bike enthusiasts.  Everyone cleared the arroyo just before a four foot wall of water came racing down the valley.

We were all obviously very proud of him. He received many accolades from the residents of Tucson.  They even held a parade for him....no they didn't but we were proud of him nonetheless. A few days later I asked him how he knew to issue the flash flood warning for that specific arroyo. Expecting some sort of complicated scientific explanation he said "I picked the boys up from soccer practice and on the way home there was water running across the road and I figured that when I get home I better issue a warning!" Gospel truth.

So back to the first day on the river. Saturday evening I drove down to the river. First thing I saw was 1500 mallards hitting a picked cornfield a mile down river from my blind.  I drove to the Kiowa Refuge just south of Morrill, NE, and it was covered in mallards. On Friday it held 200. They can and do show up overnight.

I love blue sky mallards. The sun illuminating the iridescent green heads of the drake mallards is one of nature's most exquisite sites.  And did we see green heads? The first two bunches of the day were each over 100 mallards. A hundred mallards at twenty yards is quite a sight. Taking only one fat greenhead from a bunch, my three gunners harvested their fifteen mallards by 9:30.

It was truly a magical first day.

   Jeff Meyer's Sage, the best Chessie I have ever hunted with.                                                

                           Forest Meyer, Josh Jamison, Sage, Jeff Meyer

PLEASE "NO PICTURES...NO AUTOGRAPHS"

They say (don't have a clue as to who they is) everyone has their fifteen minutes of fame. Alas, I fear that mine is going to extend far beyond the quarter hour. If you have the November-December issue of the Ducks Unlimited Magazine, I invite you to turn to page 69 (I know..I had no input whatsoever on page selection).  The photo was taken on my duck lease near Morrill, NE. The lab in the photo is the world's foremost North Platte River specialist, Dani.

Dani has retained the Canine Career Agency to represent her. The CCA represents Lassie 10, Benji (deceased) and the greatest one hit wonder in all dogdom, Hooch. She is developing a line of field wear that can be worn while hunting pheasants, Chukar and amazingly enough, Sage Grouse.  Her line of waterfowl vests and electronic accessories will be released in time for the spring snow goose season.

I am currently assessing offers from GQ, Just Beautiful Men and Commando Monthly. I have to be very careful with my image.  I don't want to end up like Snooki or Wink Martindale.  However, if you are hunting with me this year, I will have 8x10 glossies available. They are suitable for framing. I will also have the WyoBraska Waterfowl screensavers available on my website.

Enough about me. Lets talk about waterfowl.

The migration is very slow this year. The weather has been very warm in central Canada.  Reports are the migration is two weeks behind normal.  We had our first measurable snow last night.  The three to four inches  was gone by this afternoon. Temps were chilly today, high of 34. We are supposed to have a low of 10 in the morning.

My Dad and I were down to the river this afternoon. We had to cut a few trees that were blocking the road into the duck blind. We are going to place the blind in position tomorrow morning.  Right now, the water in the river may be the best we have ever had. However, a drop in water levels could change everything. Just going to play it by ear. Did see a few duck tracks on the bars near the blind location.

There was a fair number of mallards, pintails, gadwall and teal on the lake today. About 40 little Canadas were on the lake behind the pit. We are seeing the first indications of a migration.  I have learned that they can show up overnight.  Hoping that it is tonight!

I have the first hunters this weekend. Will let you know how we do.

Here are a few photos from the river blind setup and a portfolio pic!

                                      Scientific Waterfowling? I think not!

                         Another autumn, another blind placement consultation

                                       Clearing limbs for visibility

                           Aftermath of the flood - ideal duck water                                        

BACK IN TORRINGTON

The fly rods and the drift boat are put away for the winter.  The fishing was spectacular all season.  Last Sunday, October 16th, was my last day on the river.  The two anglers in my boat (one who had never fly fished before) brought over 60 fish to the net.  At least ten of them were over 20 inches.

It is now time for mallards and Canada geese and there is lots of work to do to get ready for the waterfowl season.

The river blind in Nebraska washed away with the flood along with the road to the blind. We hope to have the road fixed this weekend and then set the new blind in place next week. River is still a little high but is dropping every day. The woods are too wet to drive vehicles through to our parking area.  Will need to get decoys, heaters and other equipment down there when it dries.

I need to cut grass aroung the lake pit and Lingle pit to make room for the goose decoys.  The lake is still quite high because of irrigation water.  The weather remains quite warm which will accelerate the evaporation process.

The Henry field pit is looking great.  We will have corn in front and winter wheat behind us this year. We will begin picking the corn next week, weather permitting. The warm weather and occasional rain has been a boon to the wheat crop. It looks much better than it did last year at this time. It should look like Augusta National fairways by the time visitors from the north arrive.

There remains a lot to get done in the next few weeks, but we will be ready.  My contacts in Canada say they have never seen so many mallards.  Canada geese are starting to show up in southern Alberta and Saskatchewan in large numbers as well. Many biologists believe this may be the largest mallard population ever.  Many mallards nested twice this year.  My friend in Alberta said there are still some young mallards that are not on the wing yet!

Now if the weather cooperates we should have a stellar season.  Looking forward to seeing everyone!

JJ

WyoBraska Waterfowl's ReDeaux Molly

If you have been following the blog (if not, why not?) you know the saga of the most recent addition to the WyoBraska Waterfowl stable of Labrador retrievers. Official name listed above.  She was banished earlier this summer to the Siberian village of Heber City for displaying not a single ounce of desire for retrieving. It was utterly pathetic.

The short version is I had to take her back and she was destined to be a house pet. On a pure whim one evening I threw a dummy for her and she amazingly ran after it and brought it back. Fast forward to today. I just returned from the high plateau where the elusive Sage Grouse dwells. Happy to report there is one less grouse contributing to "Big Al's Greenhouse gasses". Said grouse was tracked, flushed, then shot, then retrieved and delivered to hand by the "ReDeaux" princess. It was as if she had been doing this forever.

Now don't get me wrong, she might be like the guy who hits it great on the range but can't take it to the course. Scratch on the practice tee but can't break 90 when there is a $5 nassau on the line..  But as of right now, she has made amazing progress this summer. Steady to shot; marks 200 yd. triples; is taking hand signals to 300 yd blinds; demonstrates a keen nose; delivers to heel and never wants to quit.

We will find out soon how she does when we drop the flag. She still has a lot to learn but I think we have something we can work with.

                                              WyoBraska Waterfowl's ReDeaux Molly

                                           

SORRY BEEN REALLY BUSY

I had worked 24 straight days until the last two days. Can you say tired?  Oh and as you may have guessed I did go fishing. But I had to. One of the afternoons I went hopper fishing with Trent Tatum, co-owner of North Platte Lodge and our Sims Rep. We had 16 eats in ninety minutes from the dam to Hollingsworth.

Speaking of hoppers. Overall we have been very disappointed in the hoppers this year. On the upper river, except for dam to Ledge Creek, the hopper bite has not materialized. Not sure why. Theory is the spraying for hoppers was very effective. Good for the ranchers and their hay not so good for guides and trout. We are finding lots of hoppers downstream from Sechrist to Casper but they are not getting into river and consequently the trout are feeding on them. Still hopeful for some action in September.

Last night Trent, my Dad and I went on a fact finding/recon mission to a super secret- private pond at the base of  the Pedros Range. OMG! First fish for Trent and I snapped  2x tippet on the strike. Can't say how big the fish were that we caught but I can tell you that if you get invited to this pond you will have to go through memory erasing treatments  in Guantanamo Bay. Can't have this kind of information getting out. "O " didn't close that did he? I am pretty sure he said he was going to but appears he has back tracked on quite a few things.  Fishing has remained strong all through August. The Reef has slowed a bit but still better than most fisheries.

We have been having fun on dries occasionally over the past few weeks. Tricos in the early mornings; hoppers mid-day; and caddis in the evening. Not every day but often enough to keep this senior member of the guide team of North Platte Lodge very happy.  The Mile has been fishing very well. Somedays it has been stupid fishing.  I recently guided two anglers who said they had been on numerous guided fly fishing trips and the most "fish to the net" they ever had was three and the biggest was 15 inches. I know what you are thinking "where the hell have they been fishing"? I took them to the Mile on their first day. After the first 300 yds we had doubled their old record. By lunch we had 25 fish to the net by the end of the day I was a beneficiary in their wills. I think it was the 8 fish over 20" that sealed the deal. That was fun.

Speaking of fun, I got to spend three days on the water with dear friend Boone Scharp from Michigan. Boone and I go way back to our Park City days working on the mountain at the Snow Hut.  We were joined by Boone's childhood friend Jake Tropea who now lives in California. We had three days of spectacular fishing.  Boone and I would like to announce the arranged pre-engagement of my son Brayden, a recent graduate of Busy Bees pre-school at Valley Christian Academy and Boone's daughter Emelia who will be attending Stanford Law School in fall of 2031. Best wishes to the happy couple. We intend to have them meet sometime in the next ten years.

Here are a few pics from August trips.

                                          Brian Vinchur, Elkhorn, NE, with 25" cutbow on a hopper

                                                                                   
                                           

                                               Brian and a 20" Rainbow from the After Bay.                                                                          

I have been privileged to have been guiding Brian and his family for nearly 20 years.  I started Brian and his daughters fly fishing in Park City. They were young girls at the time. They are now young ladies and now I am really old!

                          A one-armed 18" rainbow. The guy fishes better with one arm than most with two.

                            Baby Bald Eagle. Have watched it grow all summer. Just starting to fly.

The most deformed trout I have ever seen. 24" and  over 7 lbs. Clearly has not heard of Michele's anti-obesity initiative. Must be going to Sloane's every morning for burritos, chips and turnovers.

Will be posting a Molly update and hunting outlook soon.