Atlantic Flyway Pro-Staff Hunt - Maryland '07

[Mike Bard]

DATE: 1/26/07 - 1/27/07

LOCATION: Eastern Maryland

SUNRISE/SUNSET: ~7:00am / ~4:55pm

WEATHER: Partly Sunny

TEMPERATURE: Low in the teens (Fri) and a high in the upper 50s (Sat)

WIND: 0-15 mph out of the SW

EQUIPMENT USED: Avery® Mud Case with Flag Sleeve, Greenhead Gear® NeoTumbler, Greenhead Gear® EconoTote, Avery® Expandable Guide's Bag, Avery® Field Staff Cap, Avery® Polypropylene Underwear, Avery® Fleece Callers Gloves, Avery® Power Hunter Blinds, Avery® Game hog, Greenhead Gear® FFD Elite Lesser Full Bodies, Greenhead Gear® FFD Elite Full Bodies, Greenhead Gear® Over-Sized Canada Goose Shells Greenhead Gear® Full Body Goose Decoy Bags, Greenhead Gear® OS Bluebills, Avery® Neck Gaiter, Avery® Skull Caps, and Avery® DIY Lanyards.

HUNTERS: Avery® Pro-Staff Manager Rob Jepson, Avery® Territory Sales Manager Wayne Radcliffe, Avery® Pro-Staff Atlantic Flyway Manager Rusty Hallock, Avery® Pro-Staffer Bob Chaplin, Avery® Pro-Staffer David Rearick, Avery® Pro-Staffer Mike Bard, Avery® Pro-Staffer Greg Boyd, Avery® Pro-Staffer Kevin Addy, Avery® Pro-Staffer TJ Owens, Avery® Pro-Staffer George Zahradka, Robbie Jubb, and Phil Testerman

ATLANTIC FLYWAY PRO-STAFF GET TOGETHER & HUNT - MARYLAND

THURSDAY NIGHT - JOURNAL NOTES BY DAVID REARICK

After arriving in town, meeting up with all the guys over dinner and hearing some very interesting stories about years gone by from Mr. Jepson and the self proclaimed “Chapolicious” AKA Bob Chaplin, we were ready to get after the birds in the morning. That was of course until our room was stormed by the entire clan and was set-up as a base camp for BS, tall tales, and some cold beverages. When Mike and I, finally kicked the guys out of our room, we had a good 4-5 hours of rest to get us ready for the next day. Not only was I glad to get to sleep, but more so I was glad to be rooming with Mike. After witnessing what some of the others had eaten from dinner and hearing about previous occurrences by people who shall remain nameless, it just wasn’t going to be pretty.

FRIDAY 1/26 GOOSE HUNT - GROUP 1 - JOURNAL NOTES BY DAVID REARICK:

The alarm clock went off early, and I groggily made my way out of bed. The weather was going to be down right fridged today, so I dressed appropriately and we made our way downstairs to meet the Jepster at the trucks. The wind was howling and the temps were in the low teens and worse with the wind chill, but this is just something I am accustomed to from hunting the late season back home. After a 30 minute ride, we pulled into a small restaurant just short of where we would be hunting for the rest of the day. It was here, we met up with Wayne Radcliffe and Rusty Hallock. They were already busy finishing their breakfast, so we made short order of ordering and eating ours and heading down the road. It had been decided, we would hunt two groups, since there was 9 of us, and each group quickly divided and began the task of setting decoys. We had two trailers of decoys to set out, both were jammed with FFD’s and our group made quick work of setting the blinds and decoys, while the other guys still were busy trying to finish setting up their rig. The only hitch to the day thus far was Rob’s decision to leave the snow covers at the hotel, as he hadn’t realized that there would be snow on the ground here and not there. If nothing else, it made for a little good humor to break the ice for the day and when the sun came out, we quickly realized, we wouldn’t be needing them anyways.

The birds started moving behind us and we were informed those were not the geese we wanted to try and work. That comment proved to be 100% on the money, as those birds would not cross the road, or give us a look. Rusty and Rob informed the group that the birds we wanted would come from out front, so we anxiously awaited their arrival. Meanwhile, behind us the birds kept pouring in. For hours and hours, non-stop, there were birds in the air and landing in the field behind us. Couple that with the huge tornado’s of snows and just soaking up the day was worth the trip. Mike Brad, who was hunting with the other group, had to leave early on day one for a stop, just on the other side of the state to drop his pup off with a pro trainer for the winter. So, when we saw the guys gathering up the gear, we figured Mike was just going back to his truck. Much to out surprise, all four of the guys got up and left the field. Puzzled and after not receiving any phone calls, we figured they were just going to get some lunch. After waiting it out for about 30 more minutes, the guys decided they would like some lunch as well. I needed to go back to the truck anyways, so we figured we would take orders and run to the store. When we got their, the other group was sitting down eating their lunch. My attempts to let them know we had “limited” and were just coming to get them were quickly thwarted, as I am not the one to tell a good lie with a straight face. Rob and I quickly ordered for the group and headed back to the field, while the other guys still were chatting and getting warm. (It was later revealed to me that Chappy had indeed needed to refill only hours after breakfast and was “cold.” I have a term that could be used to replace his self given nickname, but I will say it for another day. LOL)

Once arriving back at the blinds, we were informed that there was a group of Canadas that had worked the other spread and landed just outside them in the green part of the field. Doesn’t it always seem to work that way? Anyways when the guys came back, they ran them out and waited for the next flocks. Shortly after getting in the blinds and finishing eating lunch the birds started flying. They started coming to the field non-stop and landing just behind the other group in the green. They tried there best to re-setup, turn around, etc., but the birds just kept amassing in the green field 250 yards out. It is very hard to compete with an ever building flock of Canadas, especially when they won’t even leave if you run them out. We watched as some birds would work our spread and then go back to theirs and vice versa. At some points, it looked as though they were going to land in between us. We tried everything from hard calling, to no calling, to hard flagging, to no flagging and the birds just wouldn’t finish. We had a few very shootable flocks that we didn’t take, as we wanted the birds feet down in the hole. We did however get to watch a “magnificent”, I guess that is a good term for it, display of shooting from the guys across the field. Let me tell you, it was something to be seen, and something we can definitely use to our advantage in later years. The number of birds hitting the green was unbelievable and they just wouldn’t stop. After having countless flocks lock up and look like they were going to do it, we had a pair buy the spread and swing right into the kill hole. They started to drift to the right side of the spread and the shot was called. When I brought the gun to my shoulder, I downed the bird on the right first and after hearing no reports from the other guys, made quick work of finishing off the bird on the left. My intuition that the birds may be a little too far to the right for a safe shot were true, as Kevin couldn’t get a clean shot at the other bird and decided to forgo the shot. I guess this is one of the only times being a lefty was a good thing for me. I felt bad for the other guys not getting a crack at the birds though. I only hoped we would get more birds into the decoys and they could finish out their limits as well.

Even with non-stop flights of these AP interior’s, none were buying our meager spread of 18 dozen FFD’s over the thousand that had surmounted 500 yards in front of us. Even at the reports of the guns, they wouldn’t fly more than 75 yards before putting down again. We got to see the show, from a perfect viewing distance and it was something that made the entire trip worthwhile. When darkness and LST finally fell, we picked up the rig and got ready for day 2.


FRIDAY 1/26 GOOSE HUNT - GROUP 2 - JOURNAL NOTES BY BOB CHAPLIN:

It must have been around Thanksgiving when we got the news that we were going to have a Pro-Staff Hunt in Maryland this year and I just could not wait. Not only was I going to be able to hook up with some guys I had not seen in a year and others I’d never met, but I was also going to hunt the famous Eastern Shore of Maryland.

The time finally came. Greg and I had hit the road Thursday driving 7-hours to get to the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Once in Maryland we picked up Licenses and stamps, and headed to the hotel to wait for the morning. 4:30am came real quick and Thursday evening’s events that David described earlier. We met some of the others, ate breakfast, divided into two groups and then headed toward the field to start setting up 200 plus FFD and shell decoys along with our Power Hunters, we had everything ready to go as the sun came up over us.

Fly they did, we watched flock after flock of Canadas and snows all morning long, at times it seemed as if they knew right were they wanted to be and would look and just keep going. We took a lunch break and upon our return there were geese in the decoys, but finally the goose gods must have been on our side because as we worked a flock of about 500, they did just like we planned. There were several obstacles that had to be contended with to get the birds to finish, but patience and persistence paid off.



The remainder of the day was spent working birds that were coming from all directions, with several flocks landing outside the spread in the green parts of the field. It was truly a spectacle to see geese in such numbers and to be able to share the experience with good friends.
The only bad thing was at about noon; Mike had to run his dog out to a trainer and missed all the action. I know he made up for it on Saturday though.






SATURDAY 1/27 SEA DUCK HUNT - JOURNAL NOTES BY KEVIN ADDY:

We finished hunting geese on Friday at the Chestertown lease and were all eating dinner at a restaurant when Wayne got a call from Avery® Pro-Staffer George Z. He was looking for some people to hunt sea ducks and divers out of a layout boat in the morning. Without hesitation TJ and I told Wayne we were in. I’ve hunted divers and sea ducks before, but never out of a layout. TJ had never hunted divers or sea ducks before and we both have killed a bunch of geese this year, so a chance to do something different was a dream come true. The other guys planned on hunting geese again in the morning.

We met George, Robbie Jubb, and Phil Testerman, at a gas stop on route 50, at 4 am. After putting some fuel in the truck and in the boat, we were on our way. George’s phone rang from the time we left, until we got to the launch ramp. If he charged for hunting advice, he would have made a week’s wages by the time we got to the ramp. We had a lot of laughs on the way down and I could tell this was going to be a great day no matter if we got birds or not.

We arrived at the ramp, loaded up the gear and backed the boat in the water. After warming the boat up, we were off. George’s plan was to head south for some scoters and then, maybe go up north later in the day for black heads. As we headed south the sun was just starting to glow on the horizon. After a few miles we started running in to birds, but George didn’t bat an eye and continued on our bearing. The further south we went the more birds we saw. We arrived at the spot and George had the layout boat in the water an anchored up in minutes. You could tell he has done this once or twice before. It didn’t take long to deploy the rig of scoter boards, GHG® Bluebills, redheads and buffleheads.



TJ and I climbed in the layout boat, got settled in and really got to see the bay from a new perspective. The sun was cresting the horizon and the birds were starting to trade around. We were out in the middle of the bay and I almost forgot it was winter and cold out. The view from eight inches above the water was incredible.



Birds were starting to move around now and some of them passed right over the layout heading somewhere behind us. By the time you saw the birds and sat up they were out of range. Both of us were fired up and the adrenaline was pumping. The birds were coming from all directions and we were a mess for the 1st 15 minutes. We missed birds, sat up too early, too late, forgot to eject shells, you name it. We finally settled down and began picking off the birds. The water was flat and when George came in to pick up some downed birds, he said, “Just relax, its only going to get better as the wind picks up.” Those words of wisdom couldn’t have been truer. As the wind picked up, the birds went from cutting the edge of the spread making for tough shooting, to back peddling at 5 yards, right over the GHG® decoys.



TJ and I managed some drake scoters, a drake and a hen old squaw, drake and hen buffleheads and a drake merganser. I haven’t shot a merganser since I was a kid, but since I was in a layout boat, I was able to justify it. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. I did take some abuse from the MD boys about it. Apparently if it wasn’t for Pa. guys hunting Maryland, they would be over-run with mergansers.

TJ and I switched out with Robbie and Phil as the bay was just starting to get a good chop on it. We weren’t 50 yards from the layout when scoters were being crushed left and right. The birds were really working well now and it didn’t take they guys long to secure a limit. We then dropped George off, so he could get some shooting done. He had been taking people out the last few weeks and didn’t gun. He wasn’t in the layout long before we were seeing white splashes around the decoys. We were making our way in to pick up the birds and George was sitting on the back of the layout. He said someone else could get in the boat and finish out the last few birds. While we were picking up the downed birds on the right side of the rig, a flock of scoters were making their way towards them. I was thinking there is no way they are going in to the “kill hole” with George sitting on the back of the layout, but they did and once they got to 20 feet he crushed 2 of them. I think it was out of self defense.

We now secured a 5 man limit and were going to head north to try the blackheads. We picked up the rig quickly and ran up north to see if the birds were still around. We found about 2000, but that was nothing compared to what was there a few days ago George said. There was going to be a surprise birthday party for Jesse Lowers that night, so the decision was made to call it a day and get home early.

The day far exceeded my expectations and my stomach hurt for 2 days afterward from laughing so much. It was a great ending to an awesome Avery® Pro-Staff weekend in Maryland.



SATURDAY 1/27 GOOSE HUNT - JOURNAL NOTES BY MIKE BARD:

Today was the final day of the Canada goose season in this particular zone. The group had slimmed down, as you know some went off to chase sea ducks and Rusty hunted with his father. This left Chappy, Greg, David, Rob, Wayne and I to the geese this morning. We again met for a quick breakfast, where we caught up with Rob and Wayne, and then it was off to the same field we hunted the day previous.

This morning we chose to set our rig mainly in the winter wheat growing in the field and use a shallow ditch and its natural grasses to help hide our Power Hunters. We set out a large loose spread of full bodies and shells giving the appearance that several groups of different sizes had landed in this part of the field and were content on staying and eating the winter wheat.

The first few hours passed much like yesterday morning; thousands of geese both light and dark flew behind us interested in fields having ponds in them. Being the last day, we were surrounded by other groups of hunters in just about every field, I had never witnessed anything like this before, and the pressure these birds were under was incredible.

Mid-day Chappy and Greg had had enough and wanted to get on the road, given their drive back to Ohio was long. Rob thought it was a good idea as well, so we took a quick break to pull Rob’s decoys from the spread and re-adjust the rest of the spread. Wayne was still very optimistic, despite our field being outside the morning’s flight path. Once Chappy, Greg and Rob were picked up and on their way, the remaining three of us got back in our blinds, skipping lunch, as we didn’t want to miss a single opportunity knowing it could be our only one.

The temperature had really warmed up this afternoon and the birds continued to fly, looking to feed after a few days of abnormally cold weather for Maryland. As the afternoon went on, birds started to come from a different area and were showing interest in our spread. We worked a couple groups with none that would do it just right and they would circle around behind us and then drift off. With just a couple hours remaining, a larger group came over and one immediately broke off and landed in the spread…we held off on the single attempting to get either a few more to commit or even the entire group. Again these birds circled several times and ended up drifting off, as our single on the ground got nervous and decided it was time to leave as well…as he jumped up, I popped from my Power Hunter and attempted to draw a bead on him, but all I saw was grass covering the end of my barrel. Wayne quickly took a shot, as I cleared my barrel. The goose continued to fly, so I took and shot bringing the bird down. We avoided the skunk, so the pressure was off now.



With little time left in the day more groups of Canadas continued to fly over our field, but didn’t want to work our rig, until another single descended from a large group. Without hesitation, Wayne called then it and fired off a shot connecting, but failing to bring the goose down. David fired a follow-up shot bringing the bird down and our day to an end. We snapped a couple quick pictures before the sun set and then pulled in the rig in the dark. We gave it our best effort today and now it was time to get on the road ourselves and make our drives home.



It was a great weekend full of excellent food and friends. Fun was had by all…especially Saturday’s mid-day Pro-Staff wrestling tournament, where David and Chappy competed in the finals, in an almost biblical fight dubbed “The Battle of David and Chapolicious.”

[Ryan Thomas]

Looks like a great time was had by all!!

[Jason Mears]

Sounds like you guys had a great couple days, wish I could of made it. Nice JE guys!

[Rhett Riddle]

Looks like ya'll had a blast guys!

[Jocelyn "Josh" Léger]

Great hunts, great times.

Who won the wrestling tournament ?

[Mark "LA CROSS" Hoke]

I heard you guy's had a great time . I wish I could have join you guy's on the hunt . Maybe next year .

You can't go wrong hunting with Wayner or Georgie .

We should get a list together of Pro-Staffers and different hunts they would like to do . Brant / Sea Duck / Snow Goose and try trading off . You guy's think about it.

______________________________
Mark La Cross Hoke
Avery Pro-Staff
Zink Call's Z-Unit

[Aaron Hitchins]

That sounds like a great time, I would love to see a huge Pro-Staff reunion on a snow goose hunt, imagine 25-30 guys perfectly hidden among scores of snows, think of how many you could drop in one volley!

Aaron

[Rob Jepson]

That was a great read guys and reminded me of a fun couple of days. Thanks for making the effort to come down and join us and thanks to Wayne, Georgie, Rusty, and Mark for making the guys feel welcome! Hope we can do it again next year...

Rusty...do you still have that "extra" Cheesesteak?

[Rusty Hallock]

I did my best to keep that cheese steak warm that day, but at the end of the day it was only a quarter inch thick. For the life of me, I could not find any takers. I guess some people are more particular then others.

[Jeff Kreit]

Great JE Glad you guys had a good time here in Maryland.