The BilletHead's 2015/2016 season

[BilletHead]

      Movie was good. We seen the very first one shortly after we got married. Have not missed one since. I suppose as long as they keep making them and we are still living it will be a date for us.

   Now to the hunt. Again scouting can be the key to success. We are holding lots of geese. They will be here one day and not the next. Warm enough they don't really have to hit fields for energy. The field that they use off and on is a winter wheat/radish/turnip mix. Cow eaten down and hard to hide in. We picked one pond, it was on the "X" this time . Wind was supposed to be from the South East turning South in the early morning. We had planned on being on the West side planning on having the birds go from North to South in front of us. Well the wind turned out to be more out of the East blowing pretty hard. Well the plan was not as planned and we picked out kind of a point and turned our blinds to the North West so if the wind did change we would still be OK. Had a few ducks work early but no shots taken. Then from the West in come four little geese, I mean little geese wings set gliding in. The shooting commenced with the Mrs. dumping two with me whiffing. She shouted I got two. Yes it was going to be one of those days I thought. The little geese were cacklers and this was her first and second. What a gal. We had geese going every which way.  Here and there  with some of them giving us the stink eye and going on. Some even landing in the mixed greens field. Soon another group sail in going to my right landing way around on my bad side. By the time I sat up and twisted around for the shot, you guessed it I whiffed again. This time the Mrs. gave me the stink eye . A bit later more pitching in with me dropping two and Mrs. Taking he last one out.. Not long again a group in and one less bird for them and one more for me. Just like that we were done. Now for some shots with the camera. First the spread we worked with,

  The Mrs. doing a retrieve,

Her and her little birds next to the daily take,

Finally a head comparison of a cackler and a greater,

  A good day for us, The  BilletHeads

[luckycraft]

love that plateau beanie  

[BilletHead]

   Yep it is more than a fly shop, also a place where friends hang out. Just got off the phone with Jim wishing him and staff a Merry Christmas,

BilletHead

 

[Mitch f]

Marty, those pics take me back to the 90's when I was a waterfowl freak. I got out the call lanyard the other day and gave a few calls....it's like riding a bike, once you learn, you never forget it. It seemed like I had never stopped hunting.

My favorite memory of goose hunting was at Truman lake....we were hunting in extreme fog and pulled away from the boat ramp. You couldn't see past 15-20 yards, due to the fog, so we puttered as slow as possible to where we thought we were going. This was obviously before GPS was convenient and affordable. After one hour and much deliberation, we shined our light and saw something. It was our truck and trailer in the parking lot!!!! Ha ha. We had made a complete circle!!

Thd second attempt proved much better, we found our spot on the lake, which was a semi submerged fence line with trees. We set up the blind and decoys and waited.

At daylight we heard a huge flock of geese coming from very far away, we could hear others trying to call the flock, but to no avail. They kept getting closer and closer, when they finally broke thru the fog, they were so close they already had their landing gear down. There were 4 of us in the boat and it sounded like WWIII. They were so close that one goose actually bounced off the deck of our boat when it was shot. The dog just reached down and picked it up without ever swimming. A couple of others were crashing thru the tree our boat was tied to, broken branches were falling in the boat. After things settled, we all silently looked at each other in disbelief. Then we hooted and hollered! I can just imagine what other boats were thinking....."Those lucky #%*%%#%**^!"

[JohnP]

8 hours ago, Mitch f said:

Marty, those pics take me back to the 90's when I was a waterfowl freak. I got out the call lanyard the other day and gave a few calls....it's like riding a bike, once you learn, you never forget it. It seemed like I had never stopped hunting.

My favorite memory of goose hunting was at Truman lake....we were hunting in extreme fog and pulled away from the boat ramp. You couldn't see past 15-20 yards, due to the fog, so we puttered as slow as possible to where we thought we were going. This was obviously before GPS was convenient and affordable. After one hour and much deliberation, we shined our light and saw something. It was our truck and trailer in the parking lot!!!! Ha ha. We had made a complete circle!!

Thd second attempt proved much better, we found our spot on the lake, which was a semi submerged fence line with trees. We set up the blind and decoys and waited.

At daylight we heard a huge flock of geese coming from very far away, we could hear others trying to call the flock, but to no avail. They kept getting closer and closer, when they finally broke thru the fog, they were so close they already had their landing gear down. There were 4 of us in the boat and it sounded like WWIII. They were so close that one goose actually bounced off the deck of our boat when it was shot. The dog just reached down and picked it up without ever swimming. A couple of others were crashing thru the tree our boat was tied to, broken branches were falling in the boat. After things settled, we all silently looked at each other in disbelief. Then we hooted and hollered! I can just imagine what other boats were thinking....."Those lucky #%*%%#%**^!"

Thanks for sharing the great memories ?Mitch.  Reminds of a couple times hunting/boating in the fog on lower Taneycomo.  One time in particular had a new guy with me that had never duck hunted.  Pre-dawn boat ride, pre GPS aswell, on a 3 mile trip up lake when we hit the fog bank.  Told the guy as long as I could see the hillside outline on the right side bank we were good.  The look on his face, at least what I could make out as I couldn't see the front of the boat ;), when I said "OH Sh#!, where'd the bank go?" was priceless.   What should of been a 10-15 min trip turned into an hour somehow getting turned around and ended up back at the ramp.   Decided to wait it out for the fog burn off some still ended up having a good with 2 limits of gaddies.

[Buck]

I've experienced that thick fog on Taneycomo many times. I run a light bar on the front of my boat and stick next to the shore, but even with that its still hard to see 30' past the bow. Great reports though, BilletHead. You're a lucky man to have amazing spots and hunts like those. 

[BilletHead]

  Yes I am Buck, I know that and treat  landowners like friends.Well they are friends. It is going to be interesting next week. Access to wet fields will be tricky. I am thinking there might be a point where my ponds will freeze and hopefully birds will start using fields and they will freeze enough That access may happen so hopefully field hunting may happen finally,

BilletHead

[luckycraft]

Freeze... Something I have been waiting for all season.  Rain..... uh I have had enough.  Bring on that high of 35 and 19 low with the mallards in our face.. go get em boys

[BilletHead]

     The Saga continues, Goosefest!

So this will be the sixth year our Friend Brad and his wife Pam have made the trip from Arnold to hunt with us. Brad all six years and his wife three of those six. They are off from Christmas to New Years so they spend a few days with us in BilletHeadville. Conditions were going to be testy. Wet fields preventing access to some ponds and every field. Roost pond in neighborhood holding many, many birds with some ponds beginning to freeze over. They arrived and Brad and I scouted and made a plan for that Evening. Just he and I went to a location with access by ATV and my little trailer. A central location among many other ponds being used. Dozen and a half mallard decoys and same amount of goose floaters plus sixteen full body geese, pond partially frozen. On trip in scare off thirty plus geese and at least that many mallards. A few ducks worked back with no shots, geese by hundreds from all over head for roost all evening with out even a look at us. While picking up after LST ducks back in until we leave. So much for hunt one?

  New Years Eve, Mrs. BilletHead working so the rest of us back to same pond as day before. More goose floaters as we had day before. Hoping after birds off of roost they will spill out to us. Some ice again on pond. Boys set out decoys while Mrs. Brad set up blinds. As we wait for daylight we see ice forming around decoys. Shoot two ducks as more ice forms. Mrs. BilletHead calls on her way to work " Hey the roost pond is loaded" . Then she drives down the road we are near and honks her horn on way to work. We hunt until close to noon. Only seeing birds get off roost go up fly in circles and drop right back into roost pond. Decide to leave decoys at location get a bite to eat rest a bit and come and hunt again. Afternoon hunt ice thawed and scare off ducks and geese off of pond right next to our location. No dice, no birds, nadda, zilch. Pick up and decide to regroup. Big meal and discussions of where to go next day. To bed by Ten o'clock New years eve with no plan to hunt the next very cold morning. 

   Up next morning to big breakfast with boys doing a little predator calling and bird scout. Girls to town shopping. No predators for guys but plan for next hunt, girls bring home for evening snacking. Out to hunt again on another pond where other geese have been loafing part of the day with some roosting there too. We set up my best dozen and a half floaters and Brads floaters the same amount as mine. Then out came both Brads and my arsenal of full bodies. A count of fifty or more. All I know is it as two trips from the trucks to the location. Three out first trip with all four blinds. Two stay to start sitting up, back for other person and rest of decoys. Set up and hid real well we wait. We could hear on next pond over many goose noises. Mrs. BilletHead took a peek and said the place was covered with geese. Geese in the air but they of course decided to go to the real thing. I was beginning to sweat goosefest. I made a remark someone should get up the birds off the near pond so we might have a chance. if more flew. Then we spy more flocks in the distance and Pat says some have to land here as there isn't much room on the other pond. Ten more minutes left before LST to quit and a group likes us better than the live ones and they pitch in with us dropping three. I think to myself stink off maybe goosefest will be a success after all. We pick up birds and Brad says I got a band! Well yes he did! Icing on the cake. Pick up in reverse makes a late return home and why I like morning hunts better! Banded goose rather large and fat. I guess Missouri bird others guess Iowa, Minnesota and Canada. Report bird band. I win guess Local bird banded about thirty miles away. Make a decision to hunt same place in the morning.

  Next morning repeat process but with a slight wind change change layout location forty yards. A few ducks early with no shots and then the geese begin to move. Any low flying birds respond to calling. High flyers go right on and mid flyers circle, give us the stink eye and move on. But low birds save the day. We brought in a triple and others in singles and doubles. First group triple and three birds down. Good start. Then a double in and down. Another double in and down. I grab the fishing pole cast out the big plug for my birds retrieve. Guess what? My bird is banded! Back in the blinds I call it another Missouri bird, others will not commit until they know the band numbers and how close they are in sequence. I get on the phone, check out the number from yesterday to find they are pretty far off so the others guess? Soon another double comes in and one drops. Let one get away. Two more singles come in and they stay. We call the day with ten birds. Photo time, the set up,

Hero shot of the girls and Brad,

And then me,

Good times with good friends, back to the house and a relaxing afternoon. Oh yea sent in band info. Another local bird banded close to my home town. Still birds were banded thirty or so miles apart. Banded the same year three days apart. We four have had pretty good odds on banded birds together. Over the six years eighteen days afield and out of those days the girls maybe six with us guys but out of those six for the four of us have been blessed with four bands. Not too shabby,

BilletHead

 

[BilletHead]

A view from the layout blind this morning.

Wish the sun would come back out. 

Billethead