Did some scouting before we left for Pelee Island ... the little dog was tired so he hitched a ride ...
Left for our annual Pelee Island hunt last Wednesday ... I've been going for 17 years now and some in our group have been going much longer ... we have never had any problem getting off the Island , but this week was a first !
We arrived Wednesday afternoon .... got some great pictures ... Thursday was the 1st day of the hunt and got some more good pictures ... Friday the storm started ... stranded 70 trucks full of hunters , and our usual Saturday morning ferry ride got delayed until today ! ... we finally got off the island this morining .
Here are some pictures from the trip ...
Wednesday ... Arrived on schedule .... A little triva ... Pheasants were originally introduced to the island in 1897 .... stocking continued thru 1918 to 1927 .... the 1st hunt took place in October 1932 .
They have been restocking the Island ever since to maintain the population ... you can see Pheasants in the the spring and summer ( cocks , hens , chicks )
Thursday ...
All the dogs worked hard ... great weather ... got some good field shots ...
Randy Aspden with his pointing lab work the field cover ...
She made some great retrieves from the deep dike ditches ...
Randy Samson with his Springer ( daughter of my dog Sally ) ... work some field cover ...
I actually got a frame with hunter / dog / bird ... Randy S. lines up on some fast food !
Abby makes a nice retrieve ...
Typical dog work had them going thru some knarly cover ... ( my dog Sally ) it dosen't look that bad in the picture , but trust me , there were enough thorns and brambles ... tear the clothes right off ya !
Some nice cover allows the birds to sprint ahead and leads to some fast ground tracking ...
Even over water since recent down pours flooded the Island ...
It was hard to get the camera on flushes ... but here are a few frames of birds in flight ... ( single flush , multiple flushes )
Some birds get dropped in the lake ... so you need a dog that will retrieve in anything ( lots of big rocks along the shore line ) ... Sally brings back a cock bird ...
I switched guns Thursday / Friday to keep it fresh ... from over/under to side by side .
When the rain and wind came Friday ... the fields got flooded again and the Island's diesel pumps fired up again !
Saturday .... As the sun came up the east side of the Island was calm ...
The west side started to get choppy ...
I pulled my truck onto the slate rock shore to get some dirt washed off it !
The lake birds dive for stuff in the surf ...
The ducks head for cover in the protected bay ...
The wind was still high Sunday ... blowing from the west it reduced the level of the lake and the ferry could not travel ...
We had lots of time for cards , cutting wood , and time to stop by the Memorial for the fallen hunters of flight 126 .... really puts a lump in your throat reading the plaque ...
The weather cleared up This morning and we were able to get back home ... had fun .... now back to chasing whitetails ! ... still got 2 weeks vacation left ! Good luck hunting .... I will check in later in the week with another field report !
