A Few Birds in Northeast Texas

My son and I got lucky and got a few birds off public land north of our house in Northeast Texas last Wednesday and Sunday. Wednesday it was 77 degrees and we got two ducks, but 9 Canadas came into the duck decoys feet down, wings cupped, 25 yards out 10-15 feet off the water. We only had #4’s in our guns, but I knew it was about to get ugly for the geese. We knocked down 5, and Josh got his first Canada geese. Josh is hooked, he thought that was so great when they came crashing down! They weighed 10-12 lbs each. Sunday we went back to the same pond (only about 4 acres) and shot the biggest variety of ducks I think I have ever done – a canvas back, 2 redheads, 3 ring necks, a widgeon, a gadwall, a mallard, a teal and a merganser (kid and dog like to practice). The dog had the best day on long blinds and hunting up downed ducks I have ever seen. He found 4 gliders 75-175 yards away in the prairie around us. A couple we had know idea where they finally went down, because once they went over the pond dam right next to us it was acres of grassland. Now that Allen football is over this kid is bugging me every evening about hunting the next day. I wouldn’t want it any other way!


See ya!

Scott

Dog Days of Fall!

 

It's Go Time!

 

The Pick-Up!

















All of us have been getting ready for hunting season, including the Duck Hounds and Wetland Warriors. Here are a few photos of a training day from this week.  We wish everyone a safe and enjoyable hunting season for whatever your species is.

Hiding in "The Hut" waiting on those pesky geese!





This rubber goose is heavy, say "Hand" already!

Another Successful Allen, Texas DU Fundraising Banquet!

As my third year and term as Allen DU Area Chairman winds down we once again (three consecutive years) raised a significant amount of money for wetland conservation on August 5th and achieved a significant gain over 2009's fundraising efforts. I want to thank all the sponsors and attendees for their generosity at the banquet and our committee members for their hard work in pulling it all together and financial support. Southern Sportsman Aquatics & Land Management recommends all of our friends and clients get involved with a not-for-profit organization that supports whatever they are interested in, whether it be waterfowl, turkey, deer, elk, quail, pheasant, gun rights, etc. Its about raising money for environmental issues you care about and having fun with friends. I told someone recently I enjoy being a committee member for DU, and when I stop having fun I would stop doing it, which will not be anytime soon.

Summer 2010

Sorry its been a while, but I have been on the road for three weeks working. Had a great trip, saw lots of clients, Visited with old friends, got lots of work done, but it was hot and getting hotter out here in Texas! Besides a week collecting data for our Georgia Pacific research project, I visited several client's waterbodies in Alabama, Georgia, Florida and now in Mississippi to collect water chemistry data. All short reports are done and new estimates have been already been sent.

I installed some fish attractors at Ochwalkee Creek Plantation. These have become very popular with our clients. They last forever and are virtually snag-less. We build them on site and deploy in 24 hours. The duck or goose decoy marker helps you find them to fish later. I also had a great catfish fry there with fish we caught in short order one afternoon with my good friend Jeff. There is nothing better than pond fishing and country fish fry. If you haven't tried it in a while do so, as it will bring back great memories, and get your kids involved to create new ones!

Not many quality photo opportunities this trip, except this doe that seems to have no fear of humans. She let me walk within about 10 yards while she was in a food plot, and she walked by me at about 5 yards.

Next week I will be working for Allen Ducks Unlimited. This is my third and final year as Area Chairman and it has been enjoyable, rewarding, but a lot of work. Our banquet is Thursday August 5th, and if you live nearby, please come and enjoy yourself and help raise money for wetland restoration and conservation, including the Gulf Coast cleanup.

On The Road and Sampling Fish

We have been swamped this spring. I was in Florida, Georgia & Alabama for thre of the past four weeks. Got home and did three days of sampling in East Texas and headed to Oklahoma next. We want to thank all our clients for continuing the support and passing our information on as we signed up several new clients this spring in four states. Above are a few photos of some quality fish we have seen over the past few weeks. As one of our new Technicians Clint Osteen said, "Electrofishing is fun, but its a lot of work!" Next is the not-so-glorious task of writing reports.

Nice Bass From The Hall Farm

One of our clients, the Hall Farm near Sylvester, Georgia, sent us this picture of a 12.9 lbs largemouth bass caught from one of their lakes. It was released to be caught another day. Nice fish!

Wild Florida Black Bear Sighting

While working in Florida last week on the way back from sampling one afternoon I came across a black bear in the Ocala National Forest. He was trying to get to a deer that had been hit by a car earlier and drag it back to the scrub oak approximately 50 yards from the road. There were already vultures on the deer, but since it was so fresh he really wanted that free meal. When I drove by he backed into the scrub, so I pulled over, assembled the camera and stood at the back of the boat and waited to see if he would come back out - and he did. He would head back into the woods every time a car came by, but he didn't seemed bothered by my truck parked across the road, and didn't notice me standing by the motor. I got a few good pictures. The next morning the deer was gone, so I think he eventually got the deer to the seclusion of the woods.

Nice St Johns River Bass

I was working on the St Johns River (Florida) the week of March 22nd collecting fish tissue samples for our Georgia Pacific study and we came across these two bass that weighed 11.5 and 8.5 collected near Welaka. They were released after the photos were taken. The water temperature that week was 58 and no spawning activity was observed. Females had not even developed eggs that could be squeezed out yet. We will be back starting the middle of next week electrofishing for fish population data, and I expect to see the largemouth bass spawn in full swing. This is one to two months later than normal in this area due to the cool weather.

Welcome!

I would like to welcome you to the new Southern Sportsman Aquatics & Land Management blog page where we will periodically update on activities being conducted by us. We may pass along pond and lake management techniques or post pictures of some of our work or hobby activities. For more information on what we do and services we offer, please click on the link at the bottom of the page and it will take you to our company web site. I thank you for stopping by.

Scott Brown